| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Brother of Daphne by Dornford Yates: take Jill with me for such an ugly run. As a matter of fact, I
had started once with her in the car, but before we had got clear
of the town, I had turned about and driven her back to the inn.
The people had evidently half expected her back, for, as we
stopped at the door, it was flung open and the landlord stood
ready to welcome her in. The next moment I was once more on my
way. In spite of the weather, the car went well, and I had soon
covered more than half the distance. I was just about to emerge
from a side-road on to the main highway, when a dark mass right
on the opposite corner against the hedgerow attracted my
attention. The next second my head-lights showed what it was,
The Brother of Daphne |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Adieu by Honore de Balzac: take his pistols. Five men dragged the mare to the fire, and cut her
up with the dexterity of a Parisian butcher. The pieces were instantly
seized and flung upon the embers.
The major went up to the young woman, who had uttered a cry on
recognizing him. He found her motionless, seated on a cushion beside
the fire. She looked at him silently, without smiling. Philippe then
saw the soldier to whom he had confided the carriage; the man was
wounded. Overcome by numbers, he had been forced to yield to the
malingerers who attacked him; and, like the dog who defended to the
last possible moment his master's dinner, he had taken his share of
the booty, and was now sitting beside the fire, wrapped in a white
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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 Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum: the parts joined together with a nicety that was astonishing.
"Why, it's like a picture puzzle!" exclaimed the little girl.
"Let's find the rest of him, and get him all together."
"What's the rest of him like?" asked the Wizard. "Here are some
pieces of blue legs and green arms, but I don't know whether they are
his or not."
"Look for a white shirt and a white apron," said the head which had
been put together, speaking in a rather faint voice. "I'm the cook."
"Oh, thank you," said Dorothy. "It's lucky we started you first, for
I'm hungry, and you can be cooking something for us to eat while we
match the other folks together."
The Emerald City of Oz |
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 Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer: was gnawing at his mustache impatiently when his assistant returned.
I administered the powerful restorative, and although,
as later transpired, chloral was not responsible for West's condition,
the antidote operated successfully.
Norris West struggled into a sitting position, and looked about him
with haggard eyes.
"The Chinamen! The Chinamen!" he muttered.
He sprang to his feet, glaring wildly at Smith and me, reeled,
and almost fell.
"It is all right," I said, supporting him. "I'm a doctor.
You have been unwell."
The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu |
