| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan by Honore de Balzac: strings, absorbed you, feared comparisons, and clung to my conquest
knowing it to be my last! Who will know that you are my friend, my
only friend? If you love me indeed, as you say you love me, you will
make the world believe that we are purely and simply brother and
sister-- Go on with what you were saying."
In his armor of tenderness, riveted by the knowledge of so many
splendid virtues, d'Arthez obeyed this behest on the following day and
went to see Madame d'Espard, who received him with charming coquetry.
The marquise took very good care not to say a single word to him about
the princess, but she asked him to dinner on a coming day.
On this occasion d'Arthez found a numerous company. The marquise had
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Prince of Bohemia by Honore de Balzac: " 'That is just what I mean,' he continued. 'Why, but for these
violent emotions, one would be bored to death! Ah! that woman has the
gift of rousing me.'
"We went to the Varietes after dinner; but before we left the house I
slipped into du Bruel's room, and on a shelf among a pile of waste
papers found the copy of the /Petites-Affiches/, in which, agreeably
to the reformed law, notice of the purchase of the house was inserted.
The words stared me in the face--'At the request of Jean Francois du
Bruel and Claudine Chaffaroux, his wife----' /Here/ was the
explanation of the whole matter. I offered my arm to Claudine, and
allowed the guests to descend the stairs in front of us. When we were
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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 The Lock and Key Library by Julian Hawthorne, Ed.: Mervyn cabinet, a fascinating puzzle of which I will speak later,
but which certainly had nothing haunting or horrible about its
appearance.
My uncle's family consisted of three sons. The eldest, George, the
present baronet, was now in his thirties, married, and with
children of his own. The second, Jack, was the black-sheep of the
family. He had been in the Guards, but, about five years back, had
got into some very disgraceful scrape, and had been obliged to
leave the country. The sorrow and the shame of this had killed his
unhappy mother, and her husband had not long afterwards followed
her to the grave. Alan, the youngest son, probably because he was
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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 Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Shakespeare: 'Thus far the miles are measured from thy friend!'
The beast that bears me, tired with my woe,
Plods dully on, to bear that weight in me,
As if by some instinct the wretch did know
His rider lov'd not speed, being made from thee:
The bloody spur cannot provoke him on,
That sometimes anger thrusts into his hide,
Which heavily he answers with a groan,
More sharp to me than spurring to his side;
For that same groan doth put this in my mind,
My grief lies onward, and my joy behind.
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