| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from La Grenadiere by Honore de Balzac: was quick and alert in his movements, and strong of limb, without a
trace of awkwardness. Nothing took him unawares, and he seemed to
think about everything that he saw.
Marie-Gaston, the other child, had hair that was almost golden, though
a lock here and there had deepened to the mother's chestnut tint.
Marie-Gaston was slender; he had the delicate features and the subtle
grace so charming in Mme. Willemsens. He did not look strong. There
was a gentle look in his gray eyes; his face was pale, there was
something feminine about the child. He still wore his hair in long,
wavy curls, and his mother would not have him give up embroidered
collars, and little jackets fastened with frogs and spindle-shaped
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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 Soul of Man by Oscar Wilde: man to the level of a machine. In Art, the public accept what has
been, because they cannot alter it, not because they appreciate it.
They swallow their classics whole, and never taste them. They
endure them as the inevitable, and as they cannot mar them, they
mouth about them. Strangely enough, or not strangely, according to
one's own views, this acceptance of the classics does a great deal
of harm. The uncritical admiration of the Bible and Shakespeare in
England is an instance of what I mean. With regard to the Bible,
considerations of ecclesiastical authority enter into the matter,
so that I need not dwell upon the point. But in the case of
Shakespeare it is quite obvious that the public really see neither
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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 Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie: questioning her. Bit of a slip on my part, that! But it wasn't
the sort of thing a fellow would be likely to guess."
"They didn't give you any sort of hint as to where Jane was?"
Tommy shook his head regretfully.
"Not a word. I'm a bit of an ass, as you know. I ought to have
got more out of them somehow."
"I guess you're lucky to be here at all. That bluff of yours was
the goods all right. How you ever came to think of it all so pat
beats me to a frazzle!"
"I was in such a funk I had to think of something," said Tommy
simply.
Secret Adversary |
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 Enchanted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum: and frankly, often showing themselves to those they befriended.
So people knew fairies in those days, my dear, and loved them,
together with all the ryls and knooks and pixies and nymphs and other
beings that belong to the hordes of immortals. And a fairy tale was a
thing to be wondered at and spoken of in awed whispers; for no one
thought of doubting its truth.
To-day the fairies are shy; for so many curious inventions of men have
come into use that the wonders of Fairyland are somewhat tame beside
them, and even the boys and girls can not be so easily interested or
surprised as in the old days. So the sweet and gentle little
immortals perform their tasks unseen and unknown, and live mostly in
The Enchanted Island of Yew |
