| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from First Inaugural Address by Abraham Lincoln: never interfere with the domestic institutions of the States,
including that of persons held to service. To avoid misconstruction
of what I have said, I depart from my purpose not to speak of particular
amendments so far as to say that, holding such a provision to now be
implied Constitutional law, I have no objection to its being made express
and irrevocable.
The chief magistrate derives all his authority from the people,
and they have conferred none upon him to fix terms for the
separation of the states. The people themselves can do this
also if they choose; but the executive, as such, has nothing to
do with it. His duty is to administer the present government,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from When a Man Marries by Mary Roberts Rinehart: that I am foot free and heart free--yes, my friend, heart
free--here I am, shut in the house of a man I never saw until
last night, and wouldn't care if I never saw again, with a lot of
people who never heard of me, who are almost equally vague about
South America, who play as hard at bridge as I ever worked at
building one (forgive this, won't you? The novelty has gone to my
head), and who belong to the very class of extravagant,
luxury-loving, non-producing parasites (isn't that what we called
them?) that you and I used to revile from our lofty Andean
pinnacle.
To come down to earth: here we are, six women and five men,
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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 Under the Red Robe by Stanley Weyman: enraged. But I was not to be checked; hints and sour looks were
lost upon me. I grew more outspoken with every glass, I drank to
the Rochellois, I swore it would not be long before they raised
their heads again; and, at last, while the innkeeper and his wife
were engaged lighting the lamp, I passed round the bottle and
called on all for a toast.
'I'll give you one to begin,' I bragged noisily. 'A gentleman's
toast! A southern toast! Here is confusion to the Cardinal, and
a health to all who hate him!'
'MON DIEU!' one of the strangers cried, springing from his seat
in a rage. 'I am not going to stomach that! Is your house a
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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 Brother of Daphne by Dornford Yates: "Yes?"
"Well, he's a bold fellow, the fire. He'll say things that I
can't, Eve. He'll praise, thank, bless you al] in a flash. See
what he says for a moment. Remember he's speaking for me."
"Praise, thank, bless," she repeated dreamily. "Does he ever ask
anything in return?"
"Never," said I.
For a full moment she sat gazing into the flames. Then she flung
her cigarette into the grate and jumped to her feet before I had
time to help her.
"Bed-time," she cried. "Mine, at any rate.
The Brother of Daphne |
