| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Hidden Masterpiece by Honore de Balzac: "It is not yet equal to my Beautiful Nut-girl; still, one can put
one's name to such a work. Yes, I will sign it," he added, rising to
fetch a mirror in which to look at what he had done. "Now let us go
and breakfast. Come, both of you, to my house. I have some smoked ham
and good wine. Hey! hey! in spite of the degenerate times we will talk
painting; we are strong ourselves. Here is a little man," he
continued, striking Nicolas Poussin on the shoulder, "who has the
faculty."
Observing the shabby cap of the youth, he pulled from his belt a
leathern purse from which he took two gold pieces and offered them to
him, saying,--
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Child of Storm by H. Rider Haggard: of Saduko bending over me upon one side, and on the other that of Scowl,
the half-bred Hottentot, who was weeping, for his hot tears fell upon my
face.
"He is gone," said poor Scowl; "that bewitched beast with the split horn
has killed him. He is gone who was the best white man in all South
Africa, whom I loved better than my father and all my relatives."
"That you might easily do, Bastard," answered Saduko, "seeing that you
do not know who they are. But he is not gone, for the 'Opener-of-Roads'
said that he would live; also I got my spear into the heart of that
buffalo before he had kneaded the life out of him, as fortunately the
mud was soft. Yet I fear that his ribs are broken"; and he poked me
Child of Storm |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Snow Image by Nathaniel Hawthorne: when lo! the dark array of cares and sorrows that rose up to warn
them back. The varied narratives of the strangers had arranged
themselves into a parable; they seemed not merely instances of
woful fate that had befallen others, but shadowy omens of
disappointed hope and unavailing toil, domestic grief and
estranged affection, that would cloud the onward path of these
poor fugitives. But after one instant's hesitation, they opened
their arms, and sealed their resolve with as pure and fond an
embrace as ever youthful love had hallowed.
"We will not go back," said they. "The world never can be dark to
us, for we will always love one another."
The Snow Image |
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 Maitre Cornelius by Honore de Balzac: I shall watch over her with greater care than I have done since I
married her to you."
Hearing these words, Marie silently pressed her father's arm as if to
thank him for his mercy and goodness. As for Louis XI., he was
laughing to himself in his sleeve.
CHAPTER IV
THE HIDDEN TREASURE
Louis XI. was fond of intervening in the affairs of his subjects, and
he was always ready to mingle his royal majesty with the burgher life.
This taste, severely blamed by some historians, was really only a
passion for the "incognito," one of the greatest pleasures of princes,
|
