| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Island Nights' Entertainments by Robert Louis Stevenson: cried, "what ails me? I thought I was pretty, and I knew I loved
him. What ails me that I throw this cloud upon my husband?"
"Poor Kokua," said Keawe. He sat down by her side, and sought to
take her hand; but that she plucked away. "Poor Kokua," he said,
again. "My poor child - my pretty. And I had thought all this
while to spare you! Well, you shall know all. Then, at least, you
will pity poor Keawe; then you will understand how much he loved
you in the past - that he dared hell for your possession - and how
much he loves you still (the poor condemned one), that he can yet
call up a smile when he beholds you."
With that, he told her all, even from the beginning.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Gobseck by Honore de Balzac: and I . . .' (here the old man turned his pale eyes upon me)--'and I
not to be moved, inexorable!' he continued. 'I am there as the
avenger, the apparition of Remorse. So much for hypotheses. I reached
the house.
" ' "Madame la Comtesse is asleep," says the maid.
" ' "When can I see her?"
" ' "At twelve o'clock."
" ' "Is Madame la Comtesse ill?"
" ' "No, sir, but she only came home at three o'clock this morning
from a ball."
" ' "My name is Gobseck, tell her that I shall call again at twelve
Gobseck |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Maria, or the Wrongs of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft: with the service, on account of the preferment of men whose chief
merit was their family connections or borough interest, he retired
into the country; and, not knowing what to do with himself--married.
In his family, to regain his lost consequence, he determined to
keep up the same passive obedience, as in the vessels in which he
had commanded. His orders were not to be disputed; and the whole
house was expected to fly, at the word of command, as if to man
the shrouds, or mount aloft in an elemental strife, big with life
or death. He was to be instantaneously obeyed, especially by my
mother, whom he very benevolently married for love; but took care
to remind her of the obligation, when she dared, in the slightest
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The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from Tom Grogan by F. Hopkinson Smith: sometimes waited on them, but he rarely spoke to her as she passed
in and out, except with his eyes.
When Cully handed him the scarf, Carl had already dressed himself
in his best clothes, producing so marked a change in the outward
appearance of the young Swede that Cully in his admiration
pronounced him "out o' sight."
Cully's metamorphosis was even more complete than Carl's. Now
that the warm spring days were approaching, Mr. Finnegan had
decided that his superabundant locks were unseasonable, and had
therefore had his hair cropped close to his scalp, showing here
and there a white scar, the record of some former scrimmage.
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