Today's Stichomancy for Nicolas Cage

The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Voice of the City by O. Henry:

acquaint you with the spirit of its contents.

In the event that your disposition of the $1,000 demonstrates that you possess any of the qualifica- tions that deserve reward, much benefit will accrue to you. Mr. Sharp and I are named as the judges, and I assure you that we will do our duty strictly according to justice-with liberality. We are not at all unfavorably disposed toward you, Mr. Gillian. But let us return to the letter of the codicil. If your disposal of the money in question has been prudent, wise, or unselflish, it is in our power to

The Voice of the City

The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Falk by Joseph Conrad:

door of the billiard-room the footsteps of two men entering from the verandah, a murmur of two voices; at the sharp tapping of a coin on a table Mrs. Schomberg half rose irresolutely. "Sit still," he hissed at her, and then, in an hospitable, jovial tone, contrasting amazingly with the angry glance that had made his wife sink in her chair, he cried very loud: "Tiffin still going on in here, gentle- men."

There was no answer, but the voices dropped sud- denly. The head Chinaman went out. We heard

Falk

The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Koran:

shall meet with a penalty; doubled for him shall be the torment on the resurrection day, and he shall be therein for aye despised. Save he who turns again and believes and does a righteous work; for, as to those, God will change their evil deeds to good, for God is ever forgiving, merciful.

And he who turns again and does right, verily, he turns again to God repentant.

And those who do not testify falsely; and when they pass by frivolous discourse, pass by it honourably; and those who when they are reminded of the signs of their Lord do not fall down thereat deaf and blind; and those who say, 'Our Lord! grant us from our

The Koran

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 Virginibus Puerisque by Robert Louis Stevenson:

he had not penetrated very deeply into the subject after all; but the story indicates right thinking, and may serve as an apologue to readers of this essay.

When at last the scales fall from his eyes, it is not without something of the nature of dismay that the man finds himself in such changed conditions. He has to deal with commanding emotions instead of the easy dislikes and preferences in which he has hitherto passed his days; and he recognises capabilities for pain and pleasure of which he had not yet suspected the existence. Falling in love is the one illogical adventure, the one thing of which we are tempted to