Today's Stichomancy for T. E. Lawrence
| 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: nomination to the Council of State. He reprinted divers archaeological
treatises, a couple of political pamphlets, and a statistical work, by
way of pretext for his appointment to one of the obliging academies of
the Institut. At this moment he is a Commander of the Legion, and
(after fishing in the troubled waters of political intrigue) has quite
recently been made a peer of France and a count. As yet our friend
does not venture to bear his honors; his wife merely puts 'La Comtesse
du Bruel' on her cards. The sometime playwright has the Order of
Leopold, the Order of Isabella, the cross of Saint-Vladimir, second
class, the Order of Civil Merit of Bavaria, the Papal Order of the
Golden Spur,--all the lesser orders, in short, besides the Grand
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Commission in Lunacy by Honore de Balzac: "There is a leading fact put forward by Madame d'Espard, the most
serious of all, of which I must beg for an explanation," said the
judge after a pause. "It refers to the dissipation of your fortune to
the advantage of a certain Madame Jeanrenaud, the widow of a
bargemaster--or rather, to that of her son, Colonel Jeanrenaud, for
whom you are said to have procured an appointment, to have exhausted
your influence with the King, and at last to have extended such
protection as secures him a good marriage. The petition suggests that
such a friendship is more devoted than any feelings, even those which
morality must disapprove----"
A sudden flush crimsoned the Marquis' face and forehead, tears even
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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 Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen: he felt as it were, the fragrance of the Danish groves; and from among the
leaves of the flowers he could distinctly see the little maiden, peeping forth
with her bright blue eyes--and then she whispered, "It is delightful here in
Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter"; and a hundred visions glided before his
mind.
Thus passed many years, and he was now an old man, and sat with his old wife
under the blooming tree. They held each other by the hand, as the old
grand-father and grand-mother yonder in the New Booths did, and they talked
exactly like them of old times, and of the fiftieth anniversary of their
wedding. The little maiden, with the blue eyes, and with Elderblossoms in her
hair, sat in the tree, nodded to both of them, and said, "To-day is the
 Fairy Tales |
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 Catherine de Medici by Honore de Balzac: to watch Catherine.
Chiverni had come from Paris and Ecouen. The last to arrive was Saint-
Andre, who was marshal of France and became so important that the
Guises, whose creature he was, made him the third person in the
triumvirate they formed the following year against Catherine. The
other /seigneur/ who had arrived during the night was Vieilleville,
also a creature of the Guises and a marshal of France, who was
returning from a secret mission known only to the Grand Master, who
had entrusted it to him. As for Saint-Andre, he was in charge of
military measures taken with the object of driving all Reformers under
arms into Amboise; a scheme which now formed the subject of a council
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