| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Lily of the Valley by Honore de Balzac: woman who finds the mere passing tones from her heart preferred to the
delights of another love. The count was losing the game; he said he
was tired, as an excuse to give it up, and we went to walk on the lawn
while waiting for the carriage. When the count left us, such pleasure
shone on my face that Madame de Mortsauf questioned me by a look of
surprise and curiosity.
"Henriette does exist," I said. "You love me still. You wound me with
an evident intention to break my heart. I may yet be happy!"
"There was but a fragment of that poor woman left, and you have now
destroyed even that," she said. "God be praised; he gives me strength
to bear my righteous martyrdom. Yes, I still love you, and I might
The Lily of the Valley |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells: already lolling out, ran the Wolf-women in great leaping strides.
The Swine folk followed, squealing with excitement, and the two
Bull-men in their swathings of white. Then came Moreau in a
cluster of the Beast People, his wide-brimmed straw hat blown off,
his revolver in hand, and his lank white hair streaming out.
The Hyena-swine ran beside me, keeping pace with me and glancing furtively
at me out of his feline eyes, and the others came pattering and shouting
behind us.
The Leopard-man went bursting his way through the long canes,
which sprang back as he passed, and rattled in M'ling's face.
We others in the rear found a trampled path for us when we reached
The Island of Doctor Moreau |
| 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: old Mme. de Bonfalot, who bored her horribly; she made handsome
presents to mean old Mme. de Chisse, du Bruel's great-aunt; she spent
a summer with the latter lady, and never missed a single mass. She
even went to confession, received absolution, and took the sacrament;
but this, you must remember, was in the country, and under the aunt's
eyes.
" 'I shall have real aunts now, do you understand?' she said to us
when she came back in the winter.
"She was so delighted with her respectability, so glad to renounce her
independence, that she found means to compass her end. She flattered
the old people. She went on foot every day to sit for a couple of
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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 War in the Air by H. G. Wells: eye, and he whipped the whole thing off. Kurt was also sitting
up, a yard away from him, pink as ever, wrapped in blankets, and
with an aluminium diver's helmet over his knee, staring at him
with a severe expression, and rubbing his downy unshaven chin.
They were both on a slanting floor of crimson padding, and above
them was an opening like a long, low cellar flap that Bert by an
effort perceived to be the cabin door in a half-inverted
condition. The whole cabin had in fact turned on its side.
"What the deuce do you mean by it, Smallways?" said Kurt,
"jumping out of that locker when I was certain you had gone
overboard with the rest of them? Where have you been?"
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