| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Roads of Destiny by O. Henry: glance that I must be hers and she mine forever. I thought of my face
and nearly fainted; and then I thought of my other talents and stood
upright again. And I had been wooing her for three weeks for another
man!
"As Senorita Anabela's carriage rolled slowly past, she gave Fergus a
long, soft glance from the corners of her night-black eyes, a glance
that would have sent Judson Tate up into heaven in a rubber-tired
chariot. But she never looked at me. And that handsome man only
ruffles his curls and smirks and prances like a lady-killer at my
side.
"'What do you think of her, Judson?' asks Fergus, with an air.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Pierre Grassou by Honore de Balzac: price of the picture. The clergy told Madame la Dauphine that the
subject was suggestive of good thoughts; and there was, in truth, a
most satisfying religious tone about it. Monseigneur the Dauphin
admired the dust on the stone-floor,--a huge blunder, by the way, for
Fougeres had painted greenish tones suggestive of mildew along the
base of the walls. "Madame" finally bought the picture for a thousand
francs, and the Dauphin ordered another like it. Charles X. gave the
cross of the Legion of honor to this son of a peasant who had fought
for the royal cause in 1799. (Joseph Bridau, the great painter, was
not yet decorated.) The minister of the Interior ordered two church
pictures of Fougeres.
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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 A Drama on the Seashore by Honore de Balzac: for the little girl,--linen, clothes, and what not,--and it so chanced
that she had sewed a bit of Spanish gold into her mattress for a nest-
egg toward paying off that money. It was wrapped in paper, and on the
paper was written by her: 'For Perotte.' Jacquette Brouin had had a
fine education; she could write like a clerk, and had taught her son
to write too. I can't tell you how it was that the villain scented the
gold, stole it, and went off to Croisic to enjoy himself. Pierre
Cambremer, as if it was ordained, came back that day in his boat; as
he landed he saw a bit of paper floating in the water, and he picked
it up, looked at it, and carried it to his wife, who fell down as if
dead, seeing her own writing. Cambremer said nothing, but he went to
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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 Underdogs by Mariano Azuela: silently across the floor, coming to a stop at Luis Cer-
vantes' feet.
Demetrio, lying on the rug, seemed to be asleep; Cer-
vantes, who had watched everything with profound in-
difference, pulled the box closer to him with his foot, and
stooping to scratch his ankle, swiftly picked it up. Some-
thing gleamed up at him, dazzling. It was two pure-water
diamonds mounted in filigreed platinum. Hastily he thrust
them inside his coat pocket.
When Demetrio awoke, Cervantes said:
"General, look at the mess these boys have made
The Underdogs |
