| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Venus and Adonis by William Shakespeare: EVEN as the sun with purple-colour'd face
Had ta'en his last leave of the weeping morn,
Rose-cheek'd Adonis tried him to the chase;
Hunting he lov'd, but love he laugh'd to scorn; 4
Sick-thoughted Venus makes amain unto him,
And like a bold-fac'd suitor 'gins to woo him.
'Thrice fairer than myself,' thus she began,
'The field's chief flower, sweet above compare, 8
Stain to all nymphs, more lovely than a man,
More white and red than doves or roses are;
Nature that made thee, with herself at strife,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, etc. by Oscar Wilde: her ladyship is quite well. Do you mind sitting with me while I
finish my breakfast? There is an excellent PATE, and my friends
are kind enough to say that my Rhine wine is better than any they
get at the German Embassy,' and before Lord Arthur had got over his
surprise at being recognised, he found himself seated in the back-
room, sipping the most delicious Marcobrunner out of a pale yellow
hock-glass marked with the Imperial monogram, and chatting in the
friendliest manner possible to the famous conspirator.
'Explosive clocks,' said Herr Winckelkopf, 'are not very good
things for foreign exportation, as, even if they succeed in passing
the Custom House, the train service is so irregular, that they
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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 Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane: from the guns made a crimson flare and a high,
thick smoke. Occasional glimpses could be
caught of groups of the toiling artillerymen. In
the rear of this row of guns stood a house, calm
and white, amid bursting shells. A congregation
of horses, tied to a long railing, were tugging
frenziedly at their bridles. Men were running
hither and thither.
The detached battle between the four regi-
ments lasted for some time. There chanced to
be no interference, and they settled their dispute
The Red Badge of Courage |
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 Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: and among them were several varieties of the Martian "man-flower,"
whose blooms have eyes and hands with which to see and seize the
insects which form their diet.
The repulsive calot tree was, too, much in evidence. It is a
carnivorous plant of about the bigness of a large sage-brush such
as dots our western plains. Each branch ends in a set of strong jaws,
which have been known to drag down and devour large and formidable
beasts of prey.
Both Woola and I had several narrow escapes from these greedy,
The Warlord of Mars |
