| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tarzan the Untamed by Edgar Rice Burroughs: which stood out in brilliant relief against the solid background
of impenetrable night, and beyond the firelight there was
nothing.
The jungle seemed ominously quiet. Far away in the dis-
tance she heard faintly the boom of big guns; but she could
not locate their direction. She strained her ears until her
nerves were on the point of breaking; but she could not tell
from whence the sound came. And it meant so much to her to
know, for the battle-lines were north of her and if she could
but locate the direction of the firing she would know which
way to go in the morning.
Tarzan the Untamed |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Montezuma's Daughter by H. Rider Haggard: horrible priests, casting themselves on the body, carried it with
shouts to the edge of the pyramid or teocalli, and rolled it down
the steep sides. At the foot of the slope it was lifted and borne
away by certain men who were waiting, for what purpose I did not
know at that time.
Scarcely was the first victim dead when the second was seized and
treated in a like fashion, the multitude prostrating themselves as
before. And then last of all came my turn. I felt myself seized
and my senses swam, nor did I recover them till I found myself
lying on the accursed stone, the priests dragging at my limbs and
head, my breast strained upwards till the skin was stretched tight
Montezuma's Daughter |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Unconscious Comedians by Honore de Balzac: the scissors in one hand, the comb in the other.
"Monsieur, you speak like a--child! and yet, from your accent, I judge
you are from the South, the birthplace of men of genius."
"Yes, I know that hair-dressing requires some taste," replied Gazonal.
"Hush, monsieur, hush! I expected better things of YOU. Let me tell
you that a hair-dresser,--I don't say a good hair-dresser, for a man
is, or he is not, a hair-dresser,--a hair-dresser, I repeat, is more
difficult to find than--what shall I say? than--I don't know what--a
minister?--(Sit still!) No, for you can't judge by ministers, the
streets are full of them. A Paganini? No, he's not great enough. A
hair-dresser, monsieur, a man who divines your soul and your habits,
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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 Sarrasine by Honore de Balzac: figure. She sat down in silence, and I seated myself beside her and
took her hand without her noticing it. Forgotten for a portrait! At
that moment we heard in the silence a woman's footstep and the faint
rustling of a dress. We saw the youthful Marianina enter the boudoir,
even more resplendent by reason of her grace and her fresh costume;
she was walking slowly and leading with motherly care, with a
daughter's solicitude, the spectre in human attire, who had driven us
from the music-room; as she led him, she watched with some anxiety the
slow movement of his feeble feet. They walked painfully across the
boudoir to a door hidden in the hangings. Marianina knocked softly.
Instantly a tall, thin man, a sort of familiar spirit, appeared as if
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