| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Prince of Bohemia by Honore de Balzac: times over. It seemed to me that I had been horribly ungrateful. I
told myself that I had been unkind.--Was I very unkind?' she asked,
turning to me.--'Why not receive your friends? Is it not your house?
Do you want to know the reason of it all? Well, I was afraid that I
was not loved; and indeed I was half-way between repentance and the
shame of going back. I read the newspapers, and saw that there was a
first night at the Varietes, and I thought you had meant to give the
dinner to a collaborator. Left to myself, I gave way, I dressed to
hurry out after you--poor pet.'
"Du Bruel looked at me triumphantly, not a vestige of a recollection
of his orations /contra Tullia/ in his mind.
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce: to be made of it.) A fine white clay, which for convenience in
coloring it brown is made into tobacco pipes and smoked by the workmen
engaged in that industry. The purpose of coloring it has not been
disclosed by the manufacturers.
There was a youth (you've heard before,
This woeful tale, may be),
Who bought a meerschaum pipe and swore
That color it would he!
He shut himself from the world away,
Nor any soul he saw.
He smoke by night, he smoked by day,
The Devil's Dictionary |
