| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Chinese Boy and Girl by Isaac Taylor Headland: and caused much hilarity. At times even the solemn face
of Chi relaxed into a smile.
"Honor," called out Chi, and as in the circus when the
ringmaster cracks his whip, everything changed. The boys
each hooked the first finger of his right hand with that of
his companion and then pulled until their fingers broke
apart, when they each uttered the word "Honor." This
must not be spoken before they broke apart, but as soon as
possible after, and he who was first heard was entitled to
an obeisance on the part of the other. Those who failed
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Monster Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs: dawn burst forth he turned to face the girl.
As Virginia Maxon saw the fine features of the giant
where she had expected to find the grotesque and
hideous lineaments of a monster, she gave a quick
little cry of pleasure and relief.
"Thank God!" she cried fervently. "Thank God that
you are a man--I thought that I was in the clutches
of the hideous and soulless monster, Number Thirteen."
The smile upon the young man's face died. An expression
of pain, and hopelessness, and sorrow swept across his features.
The girl saw the change, and wondered, but how could she guess
The Monster Men |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Venus and Adonis by William Shakespeare: 'No, no,' quoth she, 'sweet Death, I did but jest;
Yet pardon me, I felt a kind of fear
Whenas I met the boar, that bloody beast,
Which knows no pity, but is still severe; 1000
Then, gentle shadow,--truth I must confess--
I rail'd on thee, fearing my love's decease.
'Tis not my fault: the boar provok'd my tongue;
Be wreak'd on him, invisible commander; 1004
'Tis he, foul creature, that hath done thee wrong;
I did but act, he 's author of my slander:
Grief hath two tongues: and never woman yet,
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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 Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan by Honore de Balzac: certain gilded sorrows."
"I know all!" he cried.
"No, you know nothing."
D'Arthez felt like a man lost on the Alps of a dark night, who sees,
at the first gleam of dawn, a precipice at his feet. He looked at the
princess with a bewildered air, and felt a cold chill running down his
back. Diane thought for a moment that her man of genius was a
weakling, but a flash from his eyes reassured her.
"You have become to me almost my judge," she said, with a desperate
air. "I must speak now, in virtue of the right that all calumniated
beings have to show their innocence. I have been, I am still (if a
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