| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Village Rector by Honore de Balzac: tells us that her confession may serve to rehabilitate an unfortunate
son of this parish, we leave her free to follow the inspirations of
her repentance."
After these words, said with pastoral unction and dignity, the
archbishop turned aside to give place to Veronique. The dying woman
came forward, supported by her old mother and the rector,--the mother
from whom she derived her body, the Church, the spiritual mother of
her soul. She knelt down on a cushion, clasped her hands, and seemed
to collect herself for a few moments, as if to gather from some source
descending from heaven the power to speak. At this moment the silence
was almost terrifying. None dared look at their neighbor. All eyes
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Sons of the Soil by Honore de Balzac: by becoming a manufacturer. In the country a poor man can always get
something to do, and make at least a pretence of gaining an honest
livelihood. At sixty-eight years of age the old man started his rope-
walk, a manufactory which requires the very smallest capital. The
workshop is, as we have seen, any convenient wall; the machinery costs
about ten francs. The apprentice slept, like his master, in a hay-
loft, and lived on whatever he could pick up. The rapacity of the law
in the matter of doors and windows expires "sub dio." The tow to make
the first rope can be borrowed. But the principal revenue of Pere
Fourchon and his satellite Mouche, the natural son of one of his
natural daughters, came from the otters; and then there were
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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 Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence: land rose steeply, so the back yard was sunken, and enclosed by a low
stone wall. She turned the corner of the house and stopped. In the
little yard two paces beyond her, the man was washing himself, utterly
unaware. He was naked to the hips, his velveteen breeches slipping down
over his slender loins. And his white slim back was curved over a big
bowl of soapy water, in which he ducked his head, shaking his head with
a queer, quick little motion, lifting his slender white arms, and
pressing the soapy water from his ears, quick, subtle as a weasel
playing with water, and utterly alone. Connie backed away round the
corner of the house, and hurried away to the wood. In spite of herself,
she had had a shock. After all, merely a man washing himself,
Lady Chatterley's Lover |
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 Lone Star Ranger by Zane Grey: the country."
"Mother!" exclaimed Duane.
"She's away from home. You can't wait. I'll break it to
her--what she always feared."
Suddenly Duane sat down and covered his face with his hands.
"My God! Uncle, what have I done?" His broad shoulders shook.
"Listen, son, an' remember what I say," replied the elder man,
earnestly. "Don't ever forget. You're not to blame. I'm glad to
see you take it this way, because maybe you'll never grow hard
an' callous. You're not to blame. This is Texas. You're your
father's son. These are wild times. The law as the rangers are
The Lone Star Ranger |
