| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer: "so we naturally thought poor Mary was wandering in her mind.
But last night--and it's not to be wondered at--my wife couldn't sleep,
and she was wide awake at half-past two."
"Well?"
Nayland Smith was standing before him, alert, bright-eyed.
"She heard it, too!"
The sun was streaming into the cozy little sitting-room;
but I will confess that Weymouth's words chilled me uncannily.
Karamaneh laid her hand upon mine, in a quaint, childish fashion
peculiarly her own. Her hand was cold, but its touch thrilled me.
For Karamaneh was not a child, but a rarely beautiful girl--
The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table by Oliver Wendell Holmes: water gets clear and the air smells of the ocean, - till all at
once I remember, that, if a west wind blows up of a sudden, I shall
drift along past the islands, out of sight of the dear old State-
house, - plate, tumbler, knife and fork all waiting at home, but no
chair drawn up at the table, - all the dear people waiting,
waiting, waiting, while the boat is sliding, sliding, sliding into
the great desert, where there is no tree and no fountain. As I
don't want my wreck to be washed up on one of the beaches in
company with devil's-aprons, bladder-weeds, dead horse-shoes, and
bleached crab-shells, I turn about and flap my long narrow wings
for home. When the tide is running out swiftly, I have a splendid
The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Red Inn by Honore de Balzac: ardor to plan a crime theoretically. While fancying the death of the
merchant he saw distinctly the gold and the diamonds. His eyes were
dazzled by them. His heart throbbed. Deliberation was, undoubtedly,
already crime. Fascinated by that mass of gold he intoxicated himself
morally by murderous arguments. He asked himself if that poor German
had any need to live; he supposed the case of his never having
existed. In short, he planned the crime in a manner to secure himself
impunity. The other bank of the river was occupied by the Austrian
army; below the windows lay a boat and boatman; he would cut the
throat of that man, throw the body into the Rhine, and escape with the
valise; gold would buy the boatman and he could reach the Austrians.
|
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 Pellucidar by Edgar Rice Burroughs: the iron-mine, which is on the mainland, is a smelter, and
on the eastern shore of Anoroc, a well equipped ship-
yard. All these industries are guarded by forts in which
several cannon are mounted and where warriors are
always on guard.
"You would be surprised now, David, at the aspect of
Anoroc. I am surprised myself; it seems always to me as
I compare it with the day that I first set foot upon it
from the deck of the Sari that only a miracle could have
worked the change that has taken place."
"It is a miracle," I said; it is nothing short of a miracle
Pellucidar |
