| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories by Alice Dunbar: neighbourhood five years ago, robed in crape, and crying with
great sobs that seemed to shake the vitality out of her.
Perfectly silent, too, she was about her former life; but for all
that, Michel, the quartee grocer at the corner, and Madame
Laurent, who kept the rabbe shop opposite, had fixed it all up
between them, of her sad history and past glories. Not that they
knew; but then Michel must invent something when the neighbours
came to him as their fountain-head of wisdom.
One morning little Miss Sophie opened wide her dingy windows to
catch the early freshness of the autumn wind as it whistled
through the yellow-leafed trees. It was one of those calm,
The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis: Babbitt, revolving his hat like a defaulting poor tenant, winced so visibly
that Maxwell condescended:
"I don't like to hurt your feelings, but you see we both want to do our best
for Riesling, and we mustn't consider any other factor. The trouble with you,
Babbitt, is that you're one of these fellows who talk too readily. You like
to hear your own voice. If there were anything for which I could put you in
the witness-box, you'd get going and give the whole show away. Sorry. Now I
must look over some papers--So sorry."
II
He spent most of the next morning nerving himself to face the garrulous world
of the Athletic Club. They would talk about Paul; they would be lip-licking
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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 Aesop's Fables by Aesop: not happened to lose it yourself."
Distrust interested advice.
The One-Eyed Doe
A Doe had had the misfortune to lose one of her eyes, and
could not see any one approaching her on that side. So to avoid
any danger she always used to feed on a high cliff near the sea,
with her sound eye looking towards the land. By this means she
could see whenever the hunters approached her on land, and often
escaped by this means. But the hunters found out that she was
blind of one eye, and hiring a boat rowed under the cliff where
she used to feed and shot her from the sea. "Ah," cried she with
Aesop's Fables |
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 St. Ives by Robert Louis Stevenson: on me, and were crossed by ironical shadows of those who had
remained behind.
CHAPTER XXIX - EVENTS OF TUESDAY: THE TOILS CLOSING
THIS day began with a surprise. I found a letter on my breakfast-
table addressed to Edward Ducie, Esquire; and at first I was
startled beyond measure. 'Conscience doth make cowards of us all!'
When I had opened it, it proved to be only a note from the lawyer,
enclosing a card for the Assembly Ball on Thursday evening.
Shortly after, as I was composing my mind with a segar at one of
the windows of the sitting-room, and Rowley, having finished the
light share of work that fell to him, sat not far off tootling with
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