| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from An International Episode by Henry James: the emotions of either class to a dear friend, of her own sex,
in Boston, with whom she was in voluminous correspondence.
Some of her reflections, indeed, she attempted to impart
to Lord Lambeth, who came almost every day to Jones's Hotel,
and whom Mrs. Westgate admitted to be really devoted.
Captain Littledale, it appeared, had gone to India; and of
several others of Mrs. Westgate's ex-pensioners--gentlemen who,
as she said, had made, in New York, a clubhouse of her drawing room--
no tidings were to be obtained; but Lord Lambeth was certainly
attentive enough to make up for the accidental absences,
the short memories, all the other irregularities of everyone else.
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Last War: A World Set Free by H. G. Wells: it against the side. It was a black sphere two feet in diameter.
Between its handles was a little celluloid stud, and to this he
bent his head until his lips touched it. Then he had to bite in
order to let the air in upon the inducive. Sure of its
accessibility, he craned his neck over the side of the aeroplane
and judged his pace and distance. Then very quickly he bent
forward, bit the stud, and hoisted the bomb over the side.
'Round,' he whispered inaudibly.
The bomb flashed blinding scarlet in mid-air, and fell, a
descending column of blaze eddying spirally in the midst of a
whirlwind. Both the aeroplanes were tossed like shuttlecocks,
The Last War: A World Set Free |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard: you are not, and, awful as it all is, perhaps you will pull through
after all; and if you don't, why, you cannot help it, you see!
And when all's said and done an underground river will make
a very appropriate burying-place.'
At first, however, I am bound to say that the strain upon the
nerves was very great. It is trying to the coolest and most
experienced person not to know from one hour to another if he
has five minutes more to live, but there is nothing in this world
that one cannot get accustomed to, and in time we began to get
accustomed even to that. And, after all, our anxiety, though
no doubt natural, was, strictly speaking, illogical, seeing that
Allan Quatermain |
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 Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: as of pleasure that he had found it, stooped, recovered
it, and returned it to the Heliumite. Then he dropped
back to his station behind the nobles and was forgotten.
A moment later Carthoris had made his adieux to
Thuvan Dihn and his nobles, and with lights twinkling
had risen into the star-shot void of the Martian night.
CHAPTER II
SLAVERY
As the ruler of Ptarth, followed by his courtiers,
descended from the landing-stage above the palace,
the servants dropped into their places in the rear
Thuvia, Maid of Mars |
