| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from A Second Home by Honore de Balzac: excused; important business compels him to be in court this morning."
A minute later the woman reappeared and asked on madame's behalf
whether she would have the pleasure of seeing Monsieur le Comte before
he went out.
"He is gone," was always the rely, though often his carriage was still
waiting.
This little dialogue by proxy became a daily ceremonial. Granville's
servant, a favorite with his master, and the cause of more than one
quarrel over his irreligious and dissipated conduct, would even go
into his master's room, as a matter of form, when the Count was not
there, and come back with the same formula in reply.
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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 Hellenica by Xenophon: not give them the slightest chance to scatter from their main body, so
that the Thebans, heartily vexed at the turn their foray had taken,
beat a retreat quicker than they had come. The muleteers threw away
with their own hands the fruits they had captured, in their anxiety to
get home as quickly as possible; so dire a dread had fallen upon the
invading army. This was the chance for the Spartan to press home his
attack boldly, keeping his light division in close attendance on
himself, and leaving the heavy infantry under orders to follow him in
battle order. He was in hopes even that he might put the enemy to
complete rout, so valiantly did he lead the advance, encouraging the
light troops to "come to a close grip with the invadors," or summoning
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