| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Chouans by Honore de Balzac: turned its brigandage into a great war, Brittany turned war into a
brigandage. The proscription of princes, the destruction of religion,
far from inspiring great sacrifices, were to the Chouans pretexts for
mere pillage; and the events of this intestine warfare had all the
savage moroseness of their own natures. When the real defenders of the
monarchy came to recruit men among these ignorant and violent people
they vainly tried to give, for the honor of the white flag, some
grandeur to the enterprises which had hitherto rendered the brigands
odious; the Chouans remain in history as a memorable example of the
danger of uprousing the uncivilized masses of the nation.
The sketch here made of a Breton valley and of the Breton men in the
The Chouans |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Lemorne Versus Huell by Elizabeth Drew Stoddard: Waterbury till spring. He would not decide about taking a house in
New York till then; by that time his brother might return, and if
possible we would go to Europe for a few months. I acquiesced in
all his plans. Indeed I was not consulted; but I was happy--happy
in him, and happy in every thing.
The winter passed in waiting for him to come to Waterbury every
Saturday; and in the enjoyment of the two days he passed with me.
In March Aunt Eliza wrote me that Lemorne was beaten! Van Horn had
taken up the whole contents of his snuff-box in her house the
evening before in amazement at the turn things had taken.
That night I dreamed of the scene in the hotel at Newport. I
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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 Maria, or the Wrongs of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft: handsome fortune; and returning on the wings of love, lost in the
most enchanting reveries, to England, to share it with his mistress
and his friend, he found them--united.
"There were some circumstances, not necessary for me to recite,
which aggravated the guilt of the friend beyond measure, and the
deception, that had been carried on to the last moment, was so
base, it produced the most violent effect on my uncle's health and
spirits. His native country, the world! lately a garden of blooming
sweets, blasted by treachery, seemed changed into a parched desert,
the abode of hissing serpents. Disappointment rankled in his heart;
and, brooding over his wrongs, he was attacked by a raging fever,
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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 Barlaam and Ioasaph by St. John of Damascus: Ay, and in this world he exhorteth us to let our `light so shine
before men, that they may see,' he saith, `your good works, and
glorify your Father which is in heaven.'
"For the law of Moses, formerly given to the Israelites, saith,
'Thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt
not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness:' but Christ saith
'Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in
danger of the judgement; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool,
shall be in danger of hell fire:' and, `if thou bring thy gift to
the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught
against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy
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