| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Kenilworth by Walter Scott: but know why you think thus hardly of Tressilian?"
"Madam," replied the Earl, "my will ought to be a sufficient
reason. If you desire more, consider how this Tressilian is
leagued, and with whom. He stands high in the opinion of this
Radcliffe, this Sussex, against whom I am barely able to maintain
my ground in the opinion of our suspicious mistress; and if he
had me at such advantage, Amy, as to become acquainted with the
tale of our marriage, before Elizabeth were fitly prepared, I
were an outcast from her grace for ever--a bankrupt at once in
favour and in fortune, perhaps, for she hath in her a touch of
her father Henry--a victim, and it may be a bloody one, to her
Kenilworth |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf: to church in order to realise the nature of his Creator, which he had
done very vividly that morning, thanks to Mr. Bax, who had inspired
him to write three of the most superb lines in English literature,
an invocation to the Deity.
"I wrote 'em on the back of the envelope of my aunt's last letter,"
he said, and pulled it from between the pages of Sappho.
"Well, let's hear them," said Hewet, slightly mollified
by the prospect of a literary discussion.
"My dear Hewet, do you wish us both to be flung out of the hotel
by an enraged mob of Thornburys and Elliots?" Hirst enquired.
"The merest whisper would be sufficient to incriminate me
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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 Court Life in China by Isaac Taylor Headland: ground of having been the means of introducing Kang Yu-wei to the
notice of the Emperor, and thus interfering in state affairs. She
continued in solitary confinement from that time until the flight
of the court in 1900 when in their haste to get away from the
allies she was overlooked and left in the palace. When she
discovered that she was alone with the eunuchs, fearing that she
might become a victim to the foreign soldiers, she took her life
by jumping into a well. On the return of the court in 1902, the
Empress Dowager bestowed upon her posthumous honours, in
recognition of her conduct in thus taking her life and protecting
her virtue.
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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 Ten Years Later by Alexandre Dumas: "You kill me, D'Herblay, with your calmness," said the
superintendent, passing his handkerchief over his face.
"Do you not remember that I one day told you not to make
yourself uneasy, if you possessed courage? Have you any?"
"I believe so."
"Then don't make yourself uneasy."
"It is decided, then, that, at the last moment, you will
come to my assistance."
"It will only be the repayment of a debt I owe you."
"It is the vocation of financiers to anticipate the wants of
men such as yourself, D'Herblay."
Ten Years Later |
