| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Professor by Charlotte Bronte: exclusive, unsupported by sincerity, will sometimes fail of its
effect; thus, on this occasion, the longer she preached about the
necessity of being indulgent to the governess pupil, the more
impatient I felt as I listened. I discerned so clearly that
while her professed motive was a wish to aid the dull, though
well-meaning Mdlle. Henri, her real one was no other than a
design to impress me with an idea of her own exalted goodness and
tender considerateness; so having again hastily nodded assent to
her remarks, I obviated their renewal by suddenly demanding the
compositions, in a sharp accent, and stepping from the estrade, I
proceeded to collect them. As I passed the governess-pupil, I
The Professor |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Heart of the West by O. Henry: each of our bosoms. Let the best man of us have her. I'll play you a
square game, and won't do any underhanded work. I'll do all of my
courting of her in your presence, so you will have an equal
opportunity. With that arrangement I don't see why our steamboat of
friendship should fall overboard in the medicinal whirlpools you speak
of, whichever of us wins out.'
"'Good old hoss!' says Paisley, shaking my hand. 'And I'll do the
same,' says he. 'We'll court the lady synonymously, and without any of
the prudery and bloodshed usual to such occasions. And we'll be
friends still, win or lose.'
"At one side of Mrs. Jessup's eating-house was a bench under some
Heart of the West |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Phoenix and the Turtle by William Shakespeare: That the turtle saw his right
Flaming in the phoenix' sight:
Either was the other's mine.
Property was thus appall'd,
That the self was not the same;
Single nature's double name
Neither two nor one was call'd.
Reason, in itself confounded,
Saw division grow together;
To themselves yet either-neither,
Simple were so well compounded.
|
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 Herbert West: Reanimator by H. P. Lovecraft: to touch the body, he first injected a drug in the wrist just
beside the place his needle had punctured when injecting the embalming
compound. This, he said, was to neutralise the compound and release
the system to a normal relaxation so that the reanimating solution
might freely work when injected. Slightly later, when a change
and a gentle tremor seemed to affect the dead limbs; West stuffed
a pillow-like object violently over the twitching face, not withdrawing
it until the corpse appeared quiet and ready for our attempt at
reanimation. The pale enthusiast now applied some last perfunctory
tests for absolute lifelessness, withdrew satisfied, and finally
injected into the left arm an accurately measured amount of the
Herbert West: Reanimator |
