| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Princess of Parms by Edgar Rice Burroughs: upper works dissolved in spurts of flame as the irresistible
projectiles of our warriors mowed through them.
The fire from the vessels was most ineffectual, owing, as I
afterward learned, to the unexpected suddenness of the first
volley, which caught the ship's crews entirely unprepared and
the sighting apparatus of the guns unprotected from the
deadly aim of our warriors.
It seems that each green warrior has certain objective points
for his fire under relatively identical circumstances of warfare.
For example, a proportion of them, always the best marksmen,
direct their fire entirely upon the wireless finding and
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Chita: A Memory of Last Island by Lafcadio Hearn: Evening came; and the great dominant celestial tone
deepened;--the circling horizon filled with ghostly
tints,--spectral greens and grays, and pearl-lights and
fish-colors ... Carmelo, as he crouched at the tiller, was
singing, in a low, clear alto, some tristful little melody. Over
the sea, behind them, lay, black-stretching, a long low arm of
island-shore;--before them flamed the splendor of sun-death; they
were sailing into a mighty glory,--into a vast and awful light of
gold.
Shading his vision with his fingers, Sparicio pointed to the long
lean limb of land from which they were fleeing, and said to La
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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 Miracle Mongers and Their Methods by Harry Houdini: he will find to wonder at.
My professional life has been a constant
record of disillusion, and many things that
seem wonderful to most men are the every-day
commonplaces of my business. But I have
never been without some seeming marvel to
pique my curiosity and challenge my investigation.
In this book I have set down some of
the stories of strange folk and unusual
performers that I have gathered in many years
of such research.
Miracle Mongers and Their Methods |
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 A Distinguished Provincial at Paris by Honore de Balzac: the study always teaches more than all the theories and criticisms in
the world.
"What friends are these! What hearts! How fortunate I am!" he cried,
grasping his manuscript tightly.
With the quick impulsiveness of a poetic and mobile temperament, he
rushed off to Daniel's lodging. As he climbed the stairs, and thought
of these friends, who refused to leave the path of honor, he felt
conscious that he was less worthy of them than before. A voice spoke
within him, telling him that if d'Arthez had loved Coralie, he would
have had her break with Camusot. And, besides this, he knew that the
brotherhood held journalism in utter abhorrence, and that he himself
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