| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from St. Ives by Robert Louis Stevenson: had let it pass. And we fought, and he fell, and I have no
remorse.'
I waited anxiously for some reply. The worst was now out, and I
knew that she had heard of it before; but it was impossible for me
to go on with my narrative without some shadow of encouragement.
'You blame me?'
'No, not at all. It is a point I cannot speak on - I am only a
girl. I am sure you were in the right: I have always said so - to
Ronald. Not, of course, to my aunt. I am afraid I let her speak
as she will. You must not think me a disloyal friend; and even
with the Major - I did not tell you he had become quite a friend of
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Droll Stories, V. 1 by Honore de Balzac: was quite delighted to let him kiss them, and even without looking too
carefully to see what she was going to do, she abandoned her dress to
him, knowing well that to keep it from sweeping the ground it must be
taken at the bottom to raise it; but it was written that for that
evening she should be good, for the handsome Lavalliere said to her
with despair--
"Ah, madame, I am an unfortunate man and a wretch."
"Not at all," said she.
"Alas, the joy of loving you is denied to me."
"How?" said she.
"I dare not confess my situation to you!"
Droll Stories, V. 1 |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe: men, and of the remote and exposed situation of the burial-ground
of the family. I will not deny that when I called to mind the
sinister countenance of the person whom I met upon the staircase,
on the day of my arrival at the house, I had no desire to oppose
what I regarded as at best but a harmless, and by no means an
unnatural, precaution.
At the request of Usher, I personally aided him in the
arrangements for the temporary entombment. The body having been
encoffined, we two alone bore it to its rest. The vault in which
we placed it (and which had been so long unopened that our
torches, half smothered in its oppressive atmosphere, gave us
The Fall of the House of Usher |
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 Selected Writings of Guy De Maupassant by Guy De Maupassant: but who carried out all the orders of his superiors to the
letter, no matter what they might be. He stood there, with an
impassive face while he received the baron's instructions, and
then went out; five minutes later a large wagon belonging to the
military train, covered with a miller's tilt, galloped off as
fast as four horses could take it, under the pouring rain, and
the officers all seemed to awaken from their lethargy, their
looks brightened, and they began to talk.
Although it was raining as hard as ever, the major declared that
it was not so dull, and Lieutenant von Grossling said with
conviction, that the sky was clearing up, while Mademoiselle Fifi
|
