| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Cousin Betty by Honore de Balzac: Hulot went home, striding along in a fury, and talking to himself; he
found his family still playing the game of whist at two sous a point,
at which he left them. On seeing her husband return, poor Adeline
imagined something dreadful, some dishonor; she gave her cards to
Hortense, and led Hector away into the very room where, only five
hours since, Crevel had foretold her the utmost disgrace of poverty.
"What is the matter?" she said, terrified.
"Oh, forgive me--but let me tell you all these horrors." And for ten
minutes he poured out his wrath.
"But, my dear," said the unhappy woman, with heroic courage, "these
creatures do not know what love means--such pure and devoted love as
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Within the Tides by Joseph Conrad: chap. Black eyes. White face. The woman of the house - a widow
lady, she called herself - very full of Mr. Stafford; Mr. Stafford
this and Mr. Stafford that. . . Anyhow, Cloete one evening takes
him out to have a drink. Cloete mostly passed away his evenings in
saloon bars. No drunkard, though, Cloete; for company; liked to
talk to all sorts there; just habit; American fashion.
"So Cloete takes that chap out more than once. Not very good
company, though. Little to say for himself. Sits quiet and drinks
what's given to him, eyes always half closed, speaks sort of
demure. . . I've had misfortunes, he says. The truth was they had
kicked him out of a big steam-ship company for disgraceful conduct;
Within the Tides |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Elixir of Life by Honore de Balzac: II. in Raphael's studio or at the delicious Villa Madama; not so
Belvidero. He went to see the Pope as pontiff, to be convinced of
any doubts that he (Don Juan) entertained. Over his cups the
Rovere would have been capable of denying his own infallibility
and of commenting on the Apocalypse.
Nevertheless, this legend has not been undertaken to furnish
materials for future biographies of Don Juan; it is intended to
prove to honest folk that Belvidero did not die in a duel with
stone, as some lithographers would have us believe.
When Don Juan Belvidero reached the age of sixty he settled in
Spain, and there in his old age he married a young and charming
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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 Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft: time I saw no reason to dissent from this dictum, but latterly
I am inclined to wonder - and more than wonder.
As my great-uncle's
heir and executor, for he died a childless widower, I was expected
to go over his papers with some thoroughness; and for that purpose
moved his entire set of files and boxes to my quarters in Boston.
Much of the material which I correlated will be later published
by the American Archaeological Society, but there was one box
which I found exceedingly puzzling, and which I felt much averse
from showing to other eyes. It had been locked and I did not find
the key till it occurred to me to examine the personal ring which
Call of Cthulhu |
