| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Prince Otto by Robert Louis Stevenson: your distresses. You have been completely selfish, and now reap the
consequence. Had you once thought of your husband, instead of
singly thinking of yourself, you would not now have been alone, a
fugitive, with blood upon your hands, and hearing from a morose old
Englishman truth more bitter than scandal.'
'I thank you,' she said, quivering. 'This is very true. Will you
stop the carriage?'
'No, child,' said Sir John, 'not until I see you mistress of
yourself.'
There was a long pause, during which the carriage rolled by rock and
woodland.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The United States Bill of Rights: ***
#STARTMARK#
The United States Bill of Rights.
The Ten Original Amendments to the Constitution of the United States
Passed by Congress September 25, 1789
Ratified December 15, 1791
I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
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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 A Prince of Bohemia by Honore de Balzac: characteristic touches," continued Nathan. "He once came upon a friend
of his, a fellow-Bohemian, involved in a dispute on the boulevard with
a bourgeois who chose to consider himself affronted. To the modern
powers that be, Bohemia is insolent in the extreme. There was talk of
calling one another out.
" 'One moment,' interposed La Palferine, as much Lauzun for the
occasion as Lauzun himself could have been. 'One moment. Monsieur was
born, I suppose?'
" 'What, sir?'
" 'Yes, are you born? What is your name?'
" 'Godin.'
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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 The Hated Son by Honore de Balzac: rider, a good shot with an arquebuse, and skilful with his dagger.
When the boy was big enough he took him to hunt, and let him acquire
the savage language, the rough manners, the bodily strength, and the
vivacity of look and speech which to his mind were the attributes of
an accomplished man. The boy became, by the time he was twelve years
old, a lion-cub ill-trained, as formidable in his way as the father
himself, having free rein to tyrannize over every one, and using the
privilege.
Etienne lived in the little house, or lodge, near the sea, given to
him by his father, and fitted up by the duchess with some of the
comforts and enjoyments to which he had a right. She herself spent the
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