| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Mansion by Henry van Dyke: the scheme of a Christian life. I doubt whether it is consistent
with
the tone of my house. I will sell it this winter. It will bring
three or four times what I paid for it. That was a good
purchase,
a very good bargain."
He dropped into the revolving chair before his big library table.
It was covered with pamphlets and reports of the various
enterprises
in which he was interested. There was a pile of newspaper
clippings
|
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 Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: confused consciousness of shame that he a white man-- Still, a
convent education of four years!--and then she may mercifully
die. He was always lucky, and money is powerful! Go through it.
Why not? He had a vague idea of shutting her up somewhere,
anywhere, out of his gorgeous future. Easy enough to dispose of
a Malay woman, a slave, after all, to his Eastern mind, convent
or no convent, ceremony or no ceremony.
He lifted his head and confronted the anxious yet irate seaman.
"I--of course--anything you wish, Captain Lingard."
"Call me father, my boy. She does," said the mollified old
adventurer. "Damme, though, if I didn't think you were going to
Almayer's Folly |
