| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Chita: A Memory of Last Island by Lafcadio Hearn: flash of it that had saved her; yet her eyes and brows were
beautifully black. She was comely, but with such a curious,
delicate comeliness--totally unlike the robust beauty of Concha
... At intervals she would moan a little between her sobs; and at
last cried out, with a thin, shrill cry: "Maman!--oh! maman!"
Then Carmen lifted her from the bed to her lap, and caressed her,
and rocked her gently to and fro, as she had done many a night
for Concha,--murmuring,--"Yo sere tu madre, angel mio, dulzura
mia;--sere tu madrecita, palomita mia!" (I will be thy mother, my
angel, my sweet;--I will be thy little mother, my doveling.) And
the long silk fringes of the child's eyes overlapped, shadowed
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Oscar Wilde Miscellaneous by Oscar Wilde: life of pleasure. Two other similar plays Wilde invented in prison,
AHAB AND ISABEL and PHARAOH; he would never write them down, though
often importuned to do so. Pharaoh was intensely dramatic and
perhaps more original than any of the group. None of these works
must be confused with the manuscripts stolen from 16 Tite Street in
1895--namely, the enlarged version of Mr. W. H., the second draft of
A Florentine Tragedy, and The Duchess of Padua (which, existing in a
prompt copy, was of less importance than the others); nor with The
Cardinal of Arragon, the manuscript of which I never saw. I
scarcely think it ever existed, though Wilde used to recite proposed
passages for it.
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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 Miracle Mongers and Their Methods by Harry Houdini: profitable following to defend and advertise
him.
So I do not feel that I need to apologize for
adding another volume to the shelves of works
dealing with the marvels of the miracle-
mongers. My business has given me an intimate
knowledge of stage illusions, together
with many years of experience among show
people of all types. My familiarity with the
former, and what I have learned of the
psychology of the latter, has placed me at a
Miracle Mongers and Their Methods |
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 Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne: body, moving onward, and with an unaccustomed force. But where
was his mind? Far and deep in its own region, busying itself,
with preternatural activity, to marshal a procession of stately
thoughts that were soon to
THE PROCESSION 289
The Scarlet Letter |
