| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy: horrible, this net, as it were drawn in a circle, at dead of night, on
a lonely beach, round a few defenceless men, defenceless because they
were tricked and unsuspecting; of these one was the husband she
idolised, another the brother she loved. She vaguely wondered who the
others were, who were also calmly waiting for the Scarlet Pimpernel,
while death lurked behind every boulder of the cliffs.
For the moment she could do nothing but follow the soldiers
and Chauvelin. She feared to lose her way, or she would have rushed
forward and found that wooden hut, and perhaps been in time to warn
the fugitives and their brave deliverer yet.
For a second, the thought flashed through her mind of uttering
The Scarlet Pimpernel |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Drama on the Seashore by Honore de Balzac: is deepened by the rhythmic quiver of the wave upon the shore."
"If you will give your understanding to the three immensities which
surround us, the water, the air, and the sands, and listen exclusively
to the repeating sounds of flux and reflux," I answered her, "you will
not be able to endure their speech; you will think it is uttering a
thought which will annihilate you. Last evening, at sunset, I had that
sensation; and it exhausted me."
"Oh! let us talk, let us talk," she said, after a long pause. "I
understand it. No orator was ever more terrible. I think," she
continued, presently, "that I perceive the causes of the harmonies
which surround us. This landscape, which has but three marked colors,
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Chinese Boy and Girl by Isaac Taylor Headland: she was always so intent upon her work as never to give
him an opportunity to confess his affection, but now he
determined to follow her to earth, and, if possible, win her for
his bride.
He followed her through the green fields and shady
groves, but never dared approach her or tell her of his love.
At last, however, the time came. He discovered her
bathing in a limpid stream, the banks of which were
carpeted with flowers, while myriad boughs of blossoming
|
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 Court Life in China by Isaac Taylor Headland: and into the sacrificial hall. These ceremonies were all
conducted in the house and court which the Dowager Princess had
occupied, and where I had often gone to see her when she wanted
to thank me for some medical attention I had given her children
or grandchildren.
As we passed through the great gate, I noticed that the court was
covered with a mat pavilion making a room about one hundred and
fifty feet square, lighted by great squares of glass near the
top, and decorated with banners of rich brocade silks or satins,
of sober colours, blue, gray or white, on which were texts
extolling the virtues of the late Dowager or her family. These
|
