| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tattine by Ruth Ogden [Mrs. Charles W. Ide]: little puppies' minds, and as she started to run back to the house, all four
of them buried their sharp little teeth in the frill of Priscilla's wrapper.
Still Tattine succeeded in making her way across the lawn back to the door,
although she had four puppies in tow and was almost weak from laughing.
She knew perfectly well what a funny picture she must make, with the wrapper
that was so much too large for her, only kept in place by the big puff
sleeves: and with the puppies pulling away for dear life, it the train. When
she reached the screen door, she had a tussle with them, one by one, taking a
sort of reef in the trailing skirt as each puppy was successfully disposed of,
until all of it was clear of the sharp little teeth, and she could bang the
door to between them.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Les Miserables by Victor Hugo: morning the whole army had admired them, when, at nine o'clock,
with braying of trumpets and all the music playing "Let us watch
o'er the Safety of the Empire," they had come in a solid column,
with one of their batteries on their flank, another in their centre,
and deployed in two ranks between the roads to Genappe and Frischemont,
and taken up their position for battle in that powerful second line,
so cleverly arranged by Napoleon, which, having on its extreme
left Kellermann's cuirassiers and on its extreme right Milhaud's
cuirassiers, had, so to speak, two wings of iron.
Aide-de-camp Bernard carried them the Emperor's orders. Ney drew
his sword and placed himself at their head. The enormous squadrons
Les Miserables |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from A Prince of Bohemia by Honore de Balzac: of intimacy, as a man has a right to claim when a woman singles
him out and keeps him at her side as a complacent /souffre-
douleur/ rather than a makeshift."
"Well," says she, "have you found those letters of which you spoke
yesterday? You said that you could not tell me all about /him/ without
them?"
"Yes, I have them."
"It is your turn to speak; I am listening like a child when his mother
begins the tale of /Le Grand Serpentin Vert/."
"I count the young man in question in that group of our acquaintances
which we are wont to style our friends. He comes of a good family; he
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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 Pierrette by Honore de Balzac: near her. Though he saw her tremble and turn pale, like an autumn leaf
about to flutter down, he did not lose his head, but quietly bought
fruit of the market-woman with whom Sylvie was bargaining. He found
his chance of slipping a note to Pierrette, all the while joking the
woman with the ease of a man accustomed to such manoeuvres; so cool
was he in action, though the blood hummed in his ears and rushed
boiling through his veins and arteries. He had the firmness of a
galley-slave without, and the shrinkings of innocence within him,--
like certain mothers in their moments of mortal trial, when held
between two dangers, two catastrophes.
Pierrette's inward commotion was like Brigaut's. She slipped the note
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