| 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: 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
Cross.
"Three months ago Claudine drove to La Palferine's door in her
splendid carriage with its armorial bearings. Du Bruel's grandfather
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Moby Dick by Herman Melville: that strictly makes a whaleman of him, that might be mooted. It
nowhere appears that he ever actually harpooned his fish, unless,
indeed, from the inside. Nevertheless, he may be deemed a sort of
involuntary whaleman; at any rate the whale caught him, if he did not
the whale. I claim him for one of our clan.
But, by the best contradictory authorities, this Grecian story of
Hercules and the whale is considered to be derived from the still
more ancient Hebrew story of Jonah and the whale; and vice versa;
certainly they are very similar. If I claim the demigod then, why
not the prophet?
Nor do heroes, saints, demigods, and prophets alone comprise the
Moby Dick |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Oakdale Affair by Edgar Rice Burroughs: awestruck, open-mouthed Willie Case whose very ex-
pression invited heroics.
Bridge made no reply, but his eyes wandered to the
right hand side pocket of the boy's coat. Instantly the
latter glanced guiltily downward to flush redly at the
sight of several inches of pearl necklace protruding ac-
cusingly therefrom. The girl, a silent witness of the oc-
currence, was brought suddenly and painfully to a
realization of her present position and recollection of
the happenings of the preceding night. For the time she
had forgotten that she was alone in the company of a
The Oakdale Affair |
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 Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton: the first time, that he did not always hear clearly when several
people were talking at once, or when he was at the theatre; and
he developed a habit of saying over and over again: "Does so-
and-so speak indistinctly? Or am I getting deaf, I wonder?"
which wore on her nerves by its suggestion of a corresponding
mental infirmity.
These thoughts did not always trouble her. The current of idle
activity on which they were both gliding was her native element
as well as his; and never had its tide been as swift, its waves
as buoyant. In his relation to her, too, he was full of tact
and consideration. She saw that he still remembered their
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