| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Muse of the Department by Honore de Balzac: which the journalist left for Bianchon; for Madame de la Baudraye, on
seeing the parcel, of which the form and string were obviously from
the printers, exclaimed:
"What, does literature pursue you even here?"
"Not literature," replied he, "but a review in which I am now
finishing a story to come out ten days hence. I have reached the stage
of '/To be concluded in our next/,' so I was obliged to give my
address to the printer. Oh, we eat very hard-earned bread at the hands
of these speculators in black and white! I will give you a description
of these editors of magazines."
"When will the conversation begin?" Madame de Clagny asked of Dinah,
The Muse of the Department |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from In Darkest England and The Way Out by General William Booth: working order, and to create any further machinery would do more harm
than good."
Now, what is the existing machinery by which Society, whether through
the organisation of the State, or by individual endeavour, attempts to
deal with the submerged residuum? I had intended at one time to have
devoted considerable space to the description of the existing agencies,
together with certain observations which have been forcibly impressed
upon my mind as to their failure and its cause. The necessity,
however, of subordinating everything to the supreme purpose of this
book, which is to endeavour to show how light can be let into the heart
of Darkest England, compels me to pass rapidly over this department of
In Darkest England and The Way Out |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Maitre Cornelius by Honore de Balzac: justification for these precautions.
As six o'clock was striking from the great tower of the Abbey Saint-
Martin, the lover of the hapless countess passed in front of the hotel
de Poitiers and paused for a moment to listen to the sounds made in
the lower hall by the servants of the count, who were supping. Casting
a glance at the window of the room where he supposed his love to be,
he continued his way to the adjoining house. All along his way, the
young man had heard the joyous uproar of many feasts given throughout
the town in honor of the day. The ill-joined shutters sent out streaks
of light, the chimneys smoked, and the comforting odor of roasted
meats pervaded the town. After the conclusion of the church services,
|
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 Chessmen of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: fortune, or drift helplessly past without hope of returning
through the banth-infested valley, from many points of which he
could now hear the roars and growls of these fierce Barsoomian
lions.
Slipping over the side Gahan descended by the trailing
anchor-rope until his feet touched the top of the wall, where he
had no difficulty in arresting the slow drifting of the ship.
Then he drew up the anchor and lowered it inside the enclosure.
Still there was no movement upon the part of the sleepers
beneath--they lay as dead men. Dull lights shone from openings in
the tower; but there was no sign of guard or waking inmate.
The Chessmen of Mars |
