| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Daughter of Eve by Honore de Balzac: the ethereal spheres to which he soared, by laying her hand upon his
shoulder.
"My good Schmucke--" she said.
"Going already?" he cried. "Ah! why did you come?"
He did not murmur, but he sat up like a faithful dog who listens to
his mistress.
"My good Schmucke," she repeated, "this is a matter of life and death;
minutes can save tears, perhaps blood."
"Always the same!" he said. "Go, angel! dry the tears of others. Your
poor Schmucke thinks more of your visit than of your gifts."
"But we must see each other often," she said. "You must come and dine
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy: everything went on well till some time after, when he got into a
most terrible row with King Charles the Fourth
'I can't stand Charles the Fourth. Upon my word, that's too
much.'
'Why? There was a George the Fourth, wasn't there?'
'Certainly.'
'Well, Charleses be as common as Georges. However I'll say no
more about it....Ah, well! 'tis the funniest world ever I lived
in--upon my life 'tis. Ah, that such should be!'
The dusk had thickened into darkness while they thus conversed,
and the outline and surface of the mansion gradually disappeared.
A Pair of Blue Eyes |
