| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen: Raymond went to the stone slab, and Clarke watched him
drearily as he bent over a row of phials and lit the flame under
the crucible. The doctor had a small hand-lamp, shaded as the
larger one, on a ledge above his apparatus, and Clarke, who sat
in the shadows, looked down at the great shadowy room, wondering
at the bizarre effects of brilliant light and undefined darkness
contrasting with one another. Soon he became conscious of an
odd odour, at first the merest suggestion of odour, in the room,
and as it grew more decided he felt surprised that he was not
reminded of the chemist's shop or the surgery. Clarke found
himself idly endeavouring to analyse the sensation, and half
The Great God Pan |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Brother of Daphne by Dornford Yates: sister."
"And fourteen out of Berry- that's twenty-five. I say, there's
no chance of their getting bee hydrophobia, is there? And
stinging us, or anything?"
At this moment Daphne appeared, smelling like a consulting room."
"Why, Madrigal darling, so Boy brought you to fetch us back; did
he? I'm so awfully sorry Berry and I weren't there for dinner.
I hope Boy entertained you properly."
I gasped. Then :
"Madrigal, were you- ?
Daphne was staring at me. So our brougham had been sent to
The Brother of Daphne |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde: on a salver.]
LADY CHILTERN. Some tea, Lady Markby?
LADY MARKBY. No thanks, dear. [The servants go out.] The fact is,
I have promised to go round for ten minutes to see poor Lady
Brancaster, who is in very great trouble. Her daughter, quite a
well-brought-up girl, too, has actually become engaged to be married
to a curate in Shropshire. It is very sad, very sad indeed. I can't
understand this modern mania for curates. In my time we girls saw
them, of course, running about the place like rabbits. But we never
took any notice of them, I need hardly say. But I am told that
nowadays country society is quite honeycombed with them. I think it
|
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 Life of the Spider by J. Henri Fabre: exterminations among such as are not akin. What would happen if
the two belonged to the same species? It is easily seen. I cannot
rely upon spontaneous invasions, which may be rare under normal
conditions, and I myself place a Banded Epeira on her kinswoman's
web. A furious attack is made forthwith. Victory, after hanging
for a moment in the balance, is once again decided in the
stranger's favour. The vanquished party, this time a sister, is
eaten without the slightest scruple. Her web becomes the property
of the victor.
There it is, in all its horror, the right of might: to eat one's
like and take away their goods. Man did the same in days of old:
The Life of the Spider |
