| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Beauty and The Beast by Bayard Taylor: hoisted five minutes later than usual, and the consumption of
Cognac was alarming; but no mirror was smashed, and when Prince
Alexis read the letter to his poor relations, he even chuckled over
some portions of it. Boris had boldly demanded twenty thousand
rubles, in the desperate hope of receiving half that amount,--and
he had calculated correctly.
Before midsummer he was Helena's accepted lover. Not, however,
until then, when her father had given his consent to their marriage
in the autumn, did he disclose his true rank. The old man's face
lighted up with a glow of selfish satisfaction; but Helena quietly
took her lover's hand, and said,--
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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 Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: voice chanted: "There is no hope, there is no hope;
the dead return not, the dead return not; nor is there
any resurrection. Hope not, for there is no hope."
Though our eyes instantly turned toward the spot from
which the voice seemed to emanate, there was no one in
sight, and I must admit that cold shivers played along my
spine and the short hairs at the base of my head stiffened
and rose up, as do those upon a hound's neck when in the
night his eyes see those uncanny things which are hidden
from the sight of man.
Quickly I walked toward the mournful voice, but it had
The Gods of Mars |
