| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Marie by H. Rider Haggard: answered in Dutch, for rage made me eloquent and bold:
"Yes, I am he; but, mynheer, if you are to be my master, I hope you will
not call the English pigs any more to me."
"Indeed, gamin" (that is, little scamp), "and pray, what will happen if
I am so bold as to repeat that truth?"
"I think, mynheer," I replied, growing white with rage at this new
insult, "the same that has happened to yonder buck," and I pointed to
the klipspringer behind Hans's saddle. "I mean that I shall shoot you."
"Peste! Au moins il a du courage, cet enfant" (At least the child is
plucky), exclaimed Monsieur Leblanc, astonished. From that moment, I
may add, he respected me, and never again insulted my country to my
Marie |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare: God saue the marke, here on his manly brest,
A pitteous Coarse, a bloody piteous Coarse:
Pale, pale as ashes, all bedawb'd in blood,
All in gore blood I sounded at the sight
Iul. O breake my heart,
Poore Banckrout breake at once,
To prison eyes, nere looke on libertie.
Vile earth to earth resigne, end motion here,
And thou and Romeo presse on heauie beere
Nur. O Tybalt, Tybalt, the best Friend I had:
O curteous Tybalt honest Gentleman,
Romeo and Juliet |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from In the Cage by Henry James: alone, and that was exactly a part of the luck of it. Not unaware-
-as how could her observation have left her so?--of the
possibilities through which it could range, our young lady had ever
since had in her mind a dozen conflicting theories about Everard's
type; as to which, the instant they came into the place, she felt
the point settled with a thump that seemed somehow addressed
straight to her heart. That organ literally beat faster at the
approach of the gentleman who was this time with Cissy, and who, as
seen from within the cage, became on the spot the happiest of the
happy circumstances with which her mind had invested the friend of
Fritz and Gussy. He was a very happy circumstance indeed as, with
|
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 Arrow of Gold by Joseph Conrad: he was already there. On the other side of the little marble table
Madame Leonore, leaning with mature grace on her elbow, was
listening to him absorbed. Then I passed on and - what would you
have! - I ended by making my way into the street of the Consuls. I
had nowhere else to go. There were my things in the apartment on
the first floor. I couldn't bear the thought of meeting anybody I
knew.
The feeble gas flame in the hall was still there, on duty, as
though it had never been turned off since I last crossed the hall
at half-past eleven in the evening to go to the harbour. The small
flame had watched me letting myself out; and now, exactly of the
The Arrow of Gold |
