| 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: feel remorse for the catastrophe they have caused. I use that word
"catastrophe" thinking of you and how you love me; as for me, I
reach the haven of my rest, sacrificed to duty and not without
regret--ah! I tremble at that thought. God knows better than I
whether I have fulfilled his holy laws in accordance with their
spirit. Often, no doubt, I have tottered, but I have not fallen;
the most potent cause of my wrong-doing lay in the grandeur of the
seductions that encompassed me. The Lord will behold me trembling
when I enter His presence as though I had succumbed. Farewell
again, a long farewell like that I gave last night to our dear
valley, where I soon shall rest and where you will often--will you
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 Vailima Letters by Robert Louis Stevenson: manner, which is what I have to do just now with WEIR OF
HERMISTON.
We have given a ball; I send you a paper describing the
event. We have two guests in the house, Captain-Count
Wurmbrand and Monsieur Albert de Lautreppe. Lautreppe is
awfully nice - a quiet, gentlemanly fellow, GONFLE DE REVES,
as he describes himself - once a sculptor in the atelier of
Henry Crosse, he knows something of art, and is really a
resource to me.
Letter from Meredith very kind. Have you seen no more of
Graham?
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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 The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas: he might address only one question, but his eyes everywhere
met strange faces, and the attention of all was directed
towards the chair of state, on which the Stadtholder had
seated himself.
William rose, casting a tranquil glance over the
enthusiastic crowd, and his keen eyes rested by turns on the
three extremities of a triangle formed opposite to him by
three persons of very different interests and feelings.
At one of the angles, Boxtel, trembling with impatience, and
quite absorbed in watching the Prince, the guilders, the
black tulip, and the crowd.
The Black Tulip |
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 In the Cage by Henry James: was far from over, even on his sending across the way, with the
pleasantest laugh she had ever heard, a little lift of his hat and
an "Oh good evening!" It was still less over on their meeting, the
next minute, though rather indirectly and awkwardly, in the middle,
of the road--a situation to which three or four steps of her own
had unmistakeably contributed--and then passing not again to the
side on which she had arrived, but back toward the portal of Park
Chambers.
"I didn't know you at first. Are you taking a walk?"
"Ah I don't take walks at night! I'm going home after my work."
"Oh!"
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