| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Court Life in China by Isaac Taylor Headland: can imagine they hear him whining with a half-sleepy yawn: "I
don't want to be emperor. I want to sleep." But she bundled
little Tsai Tien up in comfortable wraps, took him out of a happy
home, from a loving father and mother, and a jolly little baby
brother,--out of a big beautiful world, where he would have
freedom to go and come at will, toys to play with, children to
contend with him in games, and everything in a home of wealth
that is dear to the heart of a child. And for what? She folded
him in her arms, adopted him as her own son, and carried him into
the Forbidden--and no doubt to him forbidding--City, where his
world was one mile square, without freedom, without another child
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Little Britain by Washington Irving: room is taken up with a bow-window, on the panes of which
are recorded the names of previous occupants for many
generations, mingled with scraps of very indifferent
gentlemanlike poetry, written in characters which I can scarcely
decipher, and which extol the charms of many a beauty of
Little Britain who has long, long since bloomed, faded, and
passed away. As I am an idle personage, with no apparent
occupation, and pay my bill regularly every week, I am looked
upon as the only independent gentleman of the neighborhood;
and, being curious to learn the internal state of a community so
apparently shut up within itself, I have managed to work my
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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 Soul of Man by Oscar Wilde: change him. The many have come now. He is still the same. He is
an incomparable novelist. With the decorative arts it is not
different. The public clung with really pathetic tenacity to what
I believe were the direct traditions of the Great Exhibition of
international vulgarity, traditions that were so appalling that the
houses in which people lived were only fit for blind people to live
in. Beautiful things began to be made, beautiful colours came from
the dyer's hand, beautiful patterns from the artist's brain, and
the use of beautiful things and their value and importance were set
forth. The public were really very indignant. They lost their
temper. They said silly things. No one minded. No one was a whit
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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 The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad: also a man, and he could not let such words pass.
"All this is good to frighten children with," he said. "I'll have
you yet."
It was very well said, without scorn, with an almost austere
quietness.
"Doubtless," was the answer; "but there's no time like the present,
believe me. For a man of real convictions this is a fine
opportunity of self-sacrifice. You may not find another so
favourable, so humane. There isn't even a cat near us, and these
condemned old houses would make a good heap of bricks where you
stand. You'll never get me at so little cost to life and property,
The Secret Agent |
