| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Domestic Peace by Honore de Balzac: entertainments more superb than those which preceded and followed the
sovereign's marriage with an Austrian archduchess. Never, in the most
splendid days of the Monarchy, had so many crowned heads thronged the
shores of the Seine, never had the French aristocracy been so rich or
so splendid. The diamonds lavishly scattered over the women's dresses,
and the gold and silver embroidery on the uniforms contrasted so
strongly with the penury of the Republic, that the wealth of the globe
seemed to be rolling through the drawing-rooms of Paris. Intoxication
seemed to have turned the brains of this Empire of a day. All the
military, not excepting their chief, reveled like parvenus in the
treasure conquered for them by a million men with worsted epaulettes,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, etc. by Oscar Wilde: himself forward, crossed over the room to where Lady Windermere was
sitting, and, with a charming blush, asked her if she thought Mr.
Podgers would mind.
'Of course, he won't mind,' said Lady Windermere, 'that is what he
is here for. All my lions, Lord Arthur, are performing lions, and
jump through hoops whenever I ask them. But I must warn you
beforehand that I shall tell Sybil everything. She is coming to
lunch with me to-morrow, to talk about bonnets, and if Mr. Podgers
finds out that you have a bad temper, or a tendency to gout, or a
wife living in Bayswater, I shall certainly let her know all about
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 Albert Savarus by Honore de Balzac: great--that you may be as proud of my name as of your own name of
Colonna."
"I should be grieved to see you without such sentiments in your
heart," she replied, with a bewitching smile. "But do not wear
yourself out too soon in your ambitious labors. Remain young. They say
that politics soon make a man old."
One of the rarest gifts in women is a certain gaiety which does not
detract from tenderness. This combination of deep feeling with the
lightness of youth added an enchanting grace at this moment to
Francesca's charms. This is the key to her character; she laughs and
she is touched; she becomes enthusiastic, and returns to arch raillery
Albert Savarus |
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 A Legend of Montrose by Walter Scott: (crossing himself)--"twa Sassenach bits o' bodies, that wadna do
something that M'Callum More bade them;" and turning from
Dalgetty with an air of indifference, away he walked, staying no
farther question.
Dalgetty shrugged his shoulders and proceeded, for Sir Duncan
Campbell's tenth or twelfth cousin had already shown some signs
of impatience.
At the gate of the castle another terrible spectacle of feudal
power awaited him. Within a stockade or palisade, which seemed
lately to have been added to the defences of the gate, and which
was protected by two pieces of light artillery, was a small
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