| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde: to us the most marvellous of all gospels, the gospel of gold. I
think he saw the effect he had produced on me, for some days
afterwards he wrote and asked me to come and see him. He was living
then in Park Lane, in the house Lord Woolcomb has now. I remember so
well how, with a strange smile on his pale, curved lips, he led me
through his wonderful picture gallery, showed me his tapestries, his
enamels, his jewels, his carved ivories, made me wonder at the
strange loveliness of the luxury in which he lived; and then told me
that luxury was nothing but a background, a painted scene in a play,
and that power, power over other men, power over the world, was the
one thing worth having, the one supreme pleasure worth knowing, the
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Across The Plains by Robert Louis Stevenson: mouth of the Salinas river is at the middle of the bend; and
Monterey itself is cosily ensconced beside the barb. Thus the
ancient capital of California faces across the bay, while the
Pacific Ocean, though hidden by low hills and forest, bombards her
left flank and rear with never-dying surf. In front of the town,
the long line of sea-beach trends north and north-west, and then
westward to enclose the bay. The waves which lap so quietly about
the jetties of Monterey grow louder and larger in the distance; you
can see the breakers leaping high and white by day; at night, the
outline of the shore is traced in transparent silver by the
moonlight and the flying foam; and from all round, even in quiet
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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 Copy-Cat & Other Stories by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman: was busily brushing her best dress.
After dinner, little Lucy, very happy and quite
restored, sat in Sally Patterson's lap on the veranda,
while Jim hovered near. His innocent boy-love
made him feel as if he had wings. But his wings
only bore him to failure, before an earlier and
mightier force of love than his young heart could
yet compass for even such a darling as little Lucy.
He sat on the veranda step and gazed eagerly and
rapturously at little Lucy on his mother's lap, and
the desire to have her away from other loves came
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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 Shadow Line by Joseph Conrad: "No."
"It wouldn't do," Mr. Burns declared forcibly.
"Mustn't let him. If he gets hold of one he will
get them all."
I cried out angrily at this. I believe I even
swore at the disturbing effect of these words.
They attacked all the self-possession that was left
to me. In my endless vigil in the face of the enemy
I had been haunted by gruesome images enough. I
had had visions of a ship drifting in calms and
swinging in light airs, with all her crew dying slowly
The Shadow Line |
