| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The King of the Golden River by John Ruskin: "Dish the mutton, sir. If ever I catch you at such a trick again--
bless me, why, the mutton's been cut!"
"You promised me one slice, brother, you know," said Gluck.
"Oh! and you were cutting it hot, I suppose, and going to
catch all the gravy. It'll be long before I promise you such a
thing again. Leave the room, sir; and have the kindness to wait
in the coal cellar till I call you."
Gluck left the room melancholy enough. The brothers ate as
much mutton as they could, locked the rest in the cupboard, and
proceeded to get very drunk after dinner.
Such a night as it was! Howling wind and rushing rain, without
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from An Old Maid by Honore de Balzac: (pronounced Treville) "to sleep." How many ideas in those few words!
The old maid was bathed in hope.
"Will you put him in the green chamber?"
"The bishop's room? No; that's too near mine," said Mademoiselle
Cormon. "All very well for monseigneur; he's a saintly man."
"Give him your uncle's room."
"Oh, that's so bare; it is actually indecent."
"Well, then, mademoiselle, why not arrange a bed in your boudoir? It
is easily done; and there's a fire-place. Moreau can certainly find in
his warerooms a bed to match the hangings."
"You are right, Josette. Go yourself to Moreau; consult with him what
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft: unpossessed by Dunwich and its denizens. The strangeness did not
reside in what he said, or even in the simple idioms he used;
but seemed vaguely linked with his intonation or with the internal
organs that produced the spoken sounds. His facial aspect, too,
was remarkable for its maturity; for though he shared his mother's
and grandfather's chinlessness, his firm and precociously shaped
nose united with the expression of his large, dark, almost Latin
eyes to give him an air of quasi-adulthood and well-nigh preternatural
intelligence. He was, however, exceedingly ugly despite his appearance
of brilliancy; there being something almost goatish or animalistic
about his thick lips, large-pored, yellowish skin, coarse crinkly
The Dunwich Horror |
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 The Enchanted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum: Having traversed this narrow space some distance the wall opened
suddenly upon a level plat of ground, where grass and trees grew. It
was not a very big place, but was surely the end of the path, as all
around it stood bare walls so high and steep that neither horse nor
man could climb them. In the side of the rocky wall facing the
entrance the traveler noticed a hollow, like the mouth of a cave,
across which was placed an iron gate. And above the gateway was
painted in red letters on the gray stone the following words:
WUL-TAKIM
KING OF THIEVES
------
The Enchanted Island of Yew |
