| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The American by Henry James: "I wish I spoke French as well," said Newman, good-naturedly. "Your
daughter is very clever."
"Oh, sir!" and M. Nioche looked over his spectacles with tearful
eyes and nodded several times with a world of sadness.
"She has had an education--tres-superieure! Nothing was spared.
Lessons in pastel at ten francs the lesson, lessons in oil
at twelve francs. I didn't look at the francs then.
She's an artiste, ah!"
"Do I understand you to say that you have had reverses?" asked Newman.
"Reverses? Oh, sir, misfortunes--terrible."
"Unsuccessful in business, eh?"
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from An Old Maid by Honore de Balzac: at the court of Saint-Petersburg; he was a FOREIGNER; one of those
ALLIES so hated by the liberals; the Abbe de Sponde had slyly
negotiated this marriage. All the persons who had a right to call upon
Mademoiselle Cormon determined to do so that very evening.
During this transurban excitement, which made that of Suzanne almost a
forgotten affair, Mademoiselle was not less agitated; she was filled
with a variety of novel emotions. Looking about her salon, dining-
room, and boudoir, cruel apprehensions took possession of her. A
species of demon showed her with a sneer her old-fashioned luxury. The
handsome things she had admired from her youth up she suddenly
suspected of age and absurdity. In short, she felt that fear which
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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 Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence: The mate he brought was called Daniele. He was not a regular gondolier,
so he had none of the cadger and prostitute about him. He was a sandola
man, a sandola being a big boat that brings in fruit and produce from
the islands.
Daniele was beautiful, tall and well-shapen, with a light round head of
little, close, pale-blond curls, and a good-looking man's face, a
little like a lion, and long-distance blue eyes. He was not effusive,
loquacious, and bibulous like Giovanni. He was silent and he rowed with
a strength and ease as if he were alone on the water. The ladies were
ladies, remote from him. He did not even look at them. He looked ahead.
He was a real man, a little angry when Giovanni drank too much wine and
Lady Chatterley's Lover |
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 Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum: used to drink the lemonade from. Within the pail were three slices of
turkey, two slices of cold tongue, some lobster salad, four slices of
bread and butter, a small custard pie, an orange and nine large
strawberries, and some nuts and raisins. Singularly enough, the nuts
in this dinner-pail grew already cracked, so that Dorothy had no
trouble in picking out their meats to eat.
She spread the feast upon the rock beside her and began her dinner,
first offering some of it to Tiktok, who declined because, as he said,
he was merely a machine. Afterward she offered to share with Billina,
but the hen murmured something about "dead things" and said she
preferred her bugs and ants.
Ozma of Oz |
