| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Twilight Land by Howard Pyle: took a spade and a lamp and went out in the garden to bury his
money. He drove his spade into the ground--and click! He struck
something hard that rang under his foot with a sound as of iron.
"Hello!" said he, "what have we here?" and if he had known as
much as you and I do, he would have filled in the earth, and
tramped it down, and have left that plate of broth for somebody
else to burn his mouth with.
As it was, he scraped away the soil, and then he found a box of
adamant, with a ring in the lid to lift it by. The Tailor
clutched the ring and bent his back, and up came the box with the
damp earth sticking to it. He cleaned the mould away, and there
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Gobseck by Honore de Balzac: The broad daylight streaming in through the short curtains against the
window pane fell with softened light on her girlish face. A pile of
shaped pieces of linen told me that she was a sempstress. She looked
like a spirit of solitude. When I held out the bill, I remarked that
she had not been at home when I called in the morning.
" ' "But the money was left with the porter's wife," said she.
" 'I pretended not to understand.
" ' "You go out early, mademoiselle, it seems."
" ' "I very seldom leave my room; but when you work all night, you are
obliged to take a bath sometimes."
" 'I looked at her. A glance told me all about her life. Here was a
Gobseck |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Selected Writings of Guy De Maupassant by Guy De Maupassant: chemist with his wife. We have a good spread, and plenty of wine,
and we should be enchanted to leave pleasant recollections of
ourselves behind us with the people here.'
"The priest thought again for a long time and then said
resolutely: 'No, there is nobody.'
"I began to laugh. 'By Jove, Monsieur le Cure, it is very vexing
not to have an Epiphany queen, for we have the bean. Come, think.
Is there not a married mayor, or a married deputy-mayor, or a
married municipal councilor, or schoolmaster?'
" 'No all the ladies have gone away.'
" 'What, is there not in the whole place some good tradesman's
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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 Under the Andes by Rex Stout: The center of the cavern was a lake, taking up something more
than half of its area. The water was black as night, and curiously
smooth and silent. Its banks sloped by degrees for a hundred feet
or so, but at its edge there was a perpendicular bank of rock
fifteen or twenty feet in height.
Near the middle of the lake, ranged at an equal distance from
its center and from each other, were three--what shall I call
them?--islands, or columns. They were six or eight feet across at
their top, which rose high above the water.
On top of each of these columns was a huge vat or urn, and
from each of the urns arose a steady, gigantic column of fire.
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