| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Prince of Bohemia by Honore de Balzac: will sooner get into mischief than do nothing at all; this invariably
happens in France. Youth at present day has two sides to it; the
studious or unappreciated, and the ardent or /passionne/."
"That will do!" repeated Mme. de Rochefide, with an authoritative
gesture. "You are setting my nerves on edge."
"To finish my portrait of La Palferine, I hasten to make the plunge
into the gallant regions of his character, or you will not understand
the peculiar genius of an admirable representative of a certain
section of mischievous youth--youth strong enough, be it said, to
laugh at the position in which it is put by those in power; shrewd
enough to do no work, since work profiteth nothing; yet so full of
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: unquiet eyes for some sign of danger. He feared not death, yet
he desired ardently to live, for life to him was Nina. She had
promised to come, to follow him, to share his danger and his
splendour. But with her by his side he cared not for danger, and
without her there could be no splendour and no joy in existence.
Crouching in his shady hiding-place, he closed his eyes, trying
to evoke the gracious and charming image of the white figure that
for him was the beginning and the end of life. With eyes shut
tight, his teeth hard set, he tried in a great effort of
passionate will to keep his hold on that vision of supreme
delight. In vain! His heart grew heavy as the figure of Nina
Almayer's Folly |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Grimm's Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm: to come to his chair, and then he stretched out his feet and said:
'Pull off my boots,' and then he threw them in her face, and made her
pick them up again, and clean and brighten them. She, however, did
everything he bade her, without opposition, silently and with half-
shut eyes. When the first cock crowed, the manikin carried her back to
the royal palace, and laid her in her bed.
Next morning when the princess arose she went to her father, and told
him that she had had a very strange dream. 'I was carried through the
streets with the rapidity of lightning,' said she, 'and taken into a
soldier's room, and I had to wait upon him like a servant, sweep his
room, clean his boots, and do all kinds of menial work. It was only a
Grimm's Fairy Tales |
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 Contrast by Royall Tyler: ladies will play the counter-tenor; the beaux will
squeak the treble; and our jolly friends in the gallery
a thorough base, ho, ho, ho!
JONATHAN
Well, can't you let me see that gamut?
JESSAMY
Oh! yes, Mr. Jonathan; here it is. [Takes out a
book.] Oh! no, this is only a titter with its variations.
Ah, here it is. [Takes out another.] Now, you must
know, Mr. Jonathan, this is a piece written by Ben
Johnson, which I have set to my master's gamut. The
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