| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Moran of the Lady Letty by Frank Norris: morning."
Again there was silence.
"I wonder," she began again, staring up into the dark, "if Charlie
took that frying-pan off with him when he went?"
"I don't know. He probably did."
"It was the only thing we had to cook abalones in. Make me think
to look into the galley to-morrow....This ground's as hard as
nails, for all your blankets....Well, good-night, mate; I'm going
to sleep."
"Good-night, Moran."
Three hours later Wilbur, who had not closed his eyes, sat up and
|
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: property, though such are the crimes that the English law, valuing
what a man has more than what a man is, punishes with the harshest
and most horrible severity, if we except the crime of murder, and
regard death as worse than penal servitude, a point on which our
criminals, I believe, disagree. But though a crime may not be
against property, it may spring from the misery and rage and
depression produced by our wrong system of property-holding, and
so, when that system is abolished, will disappear. When each
member of the community has sufficient for his wants, and is not
interfered with by his neighbour, it will not be an object of any
interest to him to interfere with anyone else. Jealousy, which is
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Lair of the White Worm by Bram Stoker: object to. He was very civil, and all that was proper--just what a
landlord might be to a tenant's daughter. . . Yet--yet--well, I
don't know how it was, but it made my blood boil."
"How did the hawk and the pigeon come in?" Sir Nathaniel's voice
was soft and soothing, nothing of contradiction or overdone
curiosity in it--a tone eminently suited to win confidence.
"I can hardly explain. I can only say that he looked like a hawk
and she like a dove--and, now that I think of it, that is what they
each did look like; and do look like in their normal condition."
"That is so!" came the soft voice of Sir Nathaniel.
Adam went on:
Lair of the White Worm |
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 In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield: she remembered how they had come home together the first night. Now they
had five babies and twice as much money; BUT--
"Na, what is it all for?" she muttered, and not until she had reached home,
and prepared a little supper of meat and bread for her man did she stop
asking herself that silly question.
Herr Brechenmacher broke the bread into his plate, smeared it round with
his fork and chewed greedily.
"Good?" she asked, leaning her arms on the table and pillowing her breast
against them.
"But fine!"
He took a piece of the crumb, wiped it round his plate edge, and held it up
|
