| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Girl with the Golden Eyes by Honore de Balzac: "I did not translate /nigger/," said the interpreter, waiting for the
mulatto's reply. . . .
"He said, sir," went on the interpreter, after having listened to the
unknown, "that you must be at half-past ten to-morrow night on the
boulevard Montmartre, near the cafe. You will see a carriage there, in
which you must take your place, saying to the man, who will wait to
open the door for you, the word /cortejo/--a Spanish word, which means
/lover/," added Poincet, casting a glance of congratulation upon
Henri.
"Good."
The mulatto was about to bestow the two /louis/, but De Marsay would
The Girl with the Golden Eyes |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley: next?
What? Oh! What carbonic acid is. He can tell you that. Carbon
and oxygen gas.
But what is carbon?
Nobody knows.
Why, here is this stupid Analysis at fault again.
Nay, nay, again. Be patient with him. If he cannot tell you what
carbon is, he can tell you what is carbon, which is well worth
knowing. He will tell you, for instance, that every time you
breathe or speak, what comes out of your mouth is carbonic acid;
and that, if your breath comes on a bit of slacked lime, it will
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton: seen the book at her brother's, when she was staying with him in
Brazil, and had even carried it off to read one day on a boating
party; but they had all got to shying things at each other in the
boat, and the book had gone overboard, so she had never had the
chance--
The picture evoked by this anecdote did not advance Mrs. Roby's
credit with the club, and there was a painful pause, which was
broken by Mrs. Plinth's remarking: "I can understand that, with
all your other pursuits, you should not find much time for
reading; but I should have thought you might at least have GOT UP
'The Wings of Death' before Osric Dane's arrival."
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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 Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: much money at that time, and if it would not straiten him? He told
me he could not say but it might straiten him a little; but,
however, it was my money, and I might want it more than he.
Everything the good man said was full of affection, and I could
hardly refrain from tears while he spoke; in short, I took one
hundred of the moidores, and called for a pen and ink to give him a
receipt for them: then I returned him the rest, and told him if
ever I had possession of the plantation I would return the other to
him also (as, indeed, I afterwards did); and that as to the bill of
sale of his part in his son's ship, I would not take it by any
means; but that if I wanted the money, I found he was honest enough
Robinson Crusoe |
