| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Camille by Alexandre Dumas: hand. "It is not for myself, but for you."
Marguerite made a gesture as if to say, "Oh, it is long since
that I have done with propriety!" At that moment Nanine appeared.
"Is supper ready?" asked Marguerite. "Yes, madame, in one
moment."
"Apropos," said Prudence to me, "you have not looked round; come,
and I will show you." As you know, the drawing-room was a marvel.
Marguerite went with us for a moment; then she called Gaston and
went into the dining-room with him to see if supper was ready.
"Ah," said Prudence, catching sight of a little Saxe figure on a
side-table, "I never knew you had this little gentleman."
Camille |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from When a Man Marries by Mary Roberts Rinehart: I took the cook book into the pantry and read the recipe over
three times. When I came back I knew it by heart, although I did
not understand it.
"I will tell you how," I said with a great deal of dignity, "and
since you want to help, you may make it yourself."
He was delighted.
"Fine!" he said. "Suppose you give me the idea first. Then we'll
go over it slowly, bit by bit. We'll make a big fluffy omelet,
and if the others aren't around, we'll eat it ourselves."
"Well," I said, trying to remember exactly, "you take two eggs--"
"Two!" he repeated. "Two eggs for ten people!"
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Ten Years Later by Alexandre Dumas: "You were going to M. Fouquet's," said Aramis biting his
lips, "to M. Fouquet, the abbe, or the superintendent?"
Baisemeaux almost made up his mind to tell an untruth, but
he could not summon courage to do so. "To the
superintendent," he said.
"It is true, then, that you were in want of money, since you
were going to a person who gives it away!"
"I assure you, my lord ---- "
"You were afraid?"
"My dear lord, it was the uncertainty and ignorance in which
I was as to where you were to be found."
Ten Years Later |
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 Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne: "Well?"
"Well, if we waited for the 22nd June we should be too late to see
the shadow of Scartaris touch the crater of Sneffels. Therefore we
must get to Copenhagen as fast as we can to secure our passage. Go
and pack up."
There was no reply to this. I went up to my room. Gräuben followed
me. She undertook to pack up all things necessary for my voyage. She
was no more moved than if I had been starting for a little trip to
Lübeck or Heligoland. Her little hands moved without haste. She
talked quietly. She supplied me with sensible reasons for our
expedition. She delighted me, and yet I was angry with her. Now and
Journey to the Center of the Earth |
