| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Maria, or the Wrongs of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft: estranged him from her so completely, that her very person became
distasteful to him; and he began to hate, as well as despise me,
before I was born.
"My mother, grieved to the soul by his neglect, and unkind
treatment, actually resolved to famish herself; and injured her
health by the attempt; though she had not sufficient resolution to
adhere to her project, or renounce it entirely. Death came not at
her call; yet sorrow, and the methods she adopted to conceal her
condition, still doing the work of a house-maid, had such an effect
on her constitution, that she died in the wretched garret, where
her virtuous mistress had forced her to take refuge in the very
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Lily of the Valley by Honore de Balzac: felt unworthy to touch her; but he went before me to open the door of
her bedroom next the salon,--a sacred room I had never entered. I put
the countess on her feet and held her for a moment in one arm, passing
the other round her waist, while Monsieur de Mortsauf took the eider-
down coverlet from the bed; then together we lifted her and laid her,
still dressed, on the bed. When she came to herself she motioned to us
to unfasten her belt. Monsieur de Mortsauf found a pair of scissors,
and cut through it; I made her breathe salts, and she opened her eyes.
The count left the room, more ashamed than sorry. Two hours passed in
perfect silence. Henriette's hand lay in mine; she pressed it to mine,
but could not speak. From time to time she opened her eyes as if to
The Lily of the Valley |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie: path through the long grass, which cut off the detours of the
winding drive. So I, accordingly, went that way. I had nearly
reached the lodge, when my attention was arrested by the running
figure of a man approaching me. It was Mr. Inglethorp. Where
had he been? How did he intend to explain his absence?
He accosted me eagerly.
"My God! This is terrible! My poor wife! I have only just heard."
"Where have you been?" I asked.
"Denby kept me late last night. It was one o'clock before we'd
finished. Then I found that I'd forgotten the latch-key after
all. I didn't want to arouse the household, so Denby gave me a
The Mysterious Affair at Styles |
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 The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela: into a lugubrious silence. Slowly, inevitably, the catastro-
phe must come; it was even now being realized. Villa
defeated was a fallen god; when gods cease to be
omnipotent, they are nothing.
Quail spoke. His words faithfully interpreted the gen-
eral opinion:
"What the hell, boys! Every spider's got to spin his
own web now!"
III
In Zacatecas and Aguascalientes, in the little country
towns and the neighboring communities, haciendas and
The Underdogs |
