| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Arrow of Gold by Joseph Conrad: She didn't hear the slightest noise of any sort till she heard me
shut the door gently. Quietness of movement was one of Therese's
accomplishments, and the harassed heiress of the Allegre millions
naturally thought it was her sister coming again to renew the
scene. Her heart sank within her. In the end she became a little
frightened at the long silence, and raised her eyes. She didn't
believe them for a long time. She concluded that I was a vision.
In fact, the first word which I heard her utter was a low, awed
"No," which, though I understood its meaning, chilled my blood like
an evil omen.
It was then that I spoke. "Yes," I said, "it's me that you see,"
The Arrow of Gold |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from King Henry VI by William Shakespeare: Even in the chair of state! belike he means,
Back'd by the power of Warwick, that false peer,
To aspire unto the crown and reign as king.--
Earl of Northumberland, he slew thy father;
And thine, Lord Clifford; and you both have vow'd revenge
On him, his sons, his favourites, and his friends.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
If I be not, heavens be reveng'd on me!
CLIFFORD.
The hope thereof makes Clifford mourn in steel.
WESTMORELAND.
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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 The Deserted Woman by Honore de Balzac: always a little discomfort over the transition. Then, gradually, if
nothing removes him from his surroundings, he grows accustomed to
them, and adapts himself to the vacuity which grows upon him and
renders him powerless. Even now, Gaston's lungs were accustomed to the
air; and he was willing to discern a kind of vegetable happiness in
days that brought no mental exertion and no responsibilities. The
constant stirring of the sap of life, the fertilizing influences of
mind on mind, after which he had sought so eagerly in Paris, were
beginning to fade from his memory, and he was in a fair way of
becoming a fossil with these fossils, and ending his days among them,
content, like the companions of Ulysses, in his gross envelope.
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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 The Riverman by Stewart Edward White: deuce, and all that."
"What of it?" said Orde.
The elderly gentleman puffed out his cheeks.
"You are from the West, are you not?" he stated, rather than asked.
"We call it the East out there," said Orde. "It's Michigan."
"I should call that pretty far west," said the old gentleman.
Nothing more was said. After a block or two Orde descended on his
way to a small hotel just off Broadway. The old gentleman saluted.
Orde nodded good-humouredly. In his private soul he was a little
amused at the old boy. To his view a man and clothes carried to
their last refinement were contradictory terms.
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