The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft: that the storm had worn itself away. When Armitage inadvertently
took a wrong direction, Joe Osborn warned him and walked ahead
to show the right one. Courage and confidence were mounting, though
the twilight of the almost perpendicular wooded hill which lay
towards the end of their short cut, and among whose fantastic
ancient trees they had to scramble as if up a ladder, put these
qualities to a severe test.
At length they emerged on a muddy
road to find the sun coming out. They were a little beyond the
Seth Bishop place, but bent trees and hideously unmistakable tracks
showed what had passed by. Only a few moments were consumed in
The Dunwich Horror |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Chouans by Honore de Balzac: each other. Merle saw their amazement, and, true to his native
character, he said, with a smile: "Gentlemen, you will scarcely refuse
a glass of wine to a man who is about to make his last journey."
It was just as the company had calmed down under the influence of
these words, said with a true French carelessness which pleased the
Vendeans, that Montauran returned, his face pale, his eyes fixed.
"Now you shall see," said Merle, "how death can make men lively."
"Ah!" said the marquis, with a gesture as if suddenly awaking, "here
you are, my dear councillor of war," and he passed him a bottle of
/vin de Grave/.
"Oh, thanks, citizen marquis," replied Merle. "Now I can divert
The Chouans |