| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan by Honore de Balzac: over his eyes.
CHAPTER IV
THE CONFESSION OF A PRETTY WOMAN
One evening Daniel found the princess thoughtful, one elbow resting on
a little table, her beautiful blond head bathed in light from the
lamp. She was toying with a letter which lay on the table-cloth. When
d'Arthez had seen the paper distinctly, she folded it up, and stuck it
in her belt.
"What is the matter?" asked d'Arthez; "you seem distressed."
"I have received a letter from Monsieur de Cadignan," she replied.
"However great the wrongs he has done me, I cannot help thinking of
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Off on a Comet by Jules Verne: Nina and Pablo earned loud applause by their rapid proficiency;
Captain Servadac, an adept in athletics, almost outvied his instructor,
the count; and Ben Zoof, who had upon some rare occasions skated upon
the Lake of Montmartre (in his eyes, of course, a sea), performed
prodigies in the art.
This exercise was not only healthful in itself, but it was acknowledged that,
in case of necessity, it might become a very useful means of locomotion.
As Captain Servadac remarked, it was almost a substitute for railways,
and as if to illustrate this proposition, Lieutenant Procope, perhaps the
greatest expert in the party, accomplished the twenty miles to Gourbi Island
and back in considerably less than four hours.
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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 Men of Iron by Howard Pyle: clattering and jingling, the sunlight gleaming and flaming and
flashing upon their polished armor. They drew rein to the right,
and so rode in a little cloud of dust along the Strand Street
towards London town, with the breeze blowing merrily, and the
sunlight shining as sweetly and blithesomely as though they were
riding to a wedding rather than to a grim and dreadful ordeal
that meant either victory or death.
CHAPTER 32
In the days of King Edward III a code of laws relating to trial
by battle had been compiled for one of his sons, Thomas of
Woodstock. In this work each and every detail, to the most
Men of Iron |
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 Deserted Woman by Honore de Balzac: made no attempt to see any one. M. de Champignelles and a few
gentlemen went to call upon her, but she would see no one but M. de
Champignelles, perhaps because he is a connection of the family. They
are related through the Beauseants; the father of the present Vicomte
married a Mlle. de Champignelles of the older branch. But though the
Vicomtesse de Beauseant is supposed to be a descendant of the House of
Burgundy, you can understand that we could not admit a wife separated
from her husband into our society here. We are foolish enough still to
cling to these old-fashioned ideas. There was the less excuse for the
Vicomtesse, because M. de Beauseant is a well-bred man of the world,
who would have been quite ready to listen to reason. But his wife is
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