| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from House of Mirth by Edith Wharton: even the alleviation of a cigarette, her brute of a
husband having neglected to replenish her case before they parted
that morning.
"And at this hour of the day I don't suppose you've a single one
left, have you, Lily?" she plaintively concluded.
Miss Bart caught the startled glance of Mr. Percy Gryce, whose
own lips were never defiled by tobacco.
"What an absurd question, Bertha!" she exclaimed, blushing at the
thought of the store she had laid in at Lawrence Selden's.
"Why, don't you smoke? Since when have you given it up? What--you
never---And you don't either, Mr. Gryce? Ah, of course--how
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Long Odds by H. Rider Haggard: loaded up, I went on to look for the black-maned beauty who had killed
Kaptein. Slowly, and with the greatest care, I proceeded up the kloof,
searching every bush and tuft of grass as I went. It was wonderfully
exciting, work, for I never was sure from one moment to another but that
he would be on me. I took comfort, however, from the reflection that a
lion rarely attacks a man--rarely, I say; sometimes he does, as you will
see--unless he is cornered or wounded. I must have been nearly an hour
hunting after that lion. Once I thought I saw something move in a clump
of tambouki grass, but I could not be sure, and when I trod out the
grass I could not find him.
"At last I worked up to the head of the kloof, which made a cul-de-sac.
Long Odds |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Riverman by Stewart Edward White: ducked in and planted a number of short-arm jabs at close range.
The round ended almost immediately to a storm of applause from the
galleries.
"What do you think of his being muscle-bound?" Gerald asked Murphy,
as the latter flung himself panting on the wrestling mat for his
rest.
"He's quick as chained lightning," acknowledged the other
grudgingly. "But I'll get him. He can't keep that up; he'll be
winded in half a minute."
Orde sat down on a roll of mat. His smile had quite vanished, and
he seemed to be awaiting eagerly the beginning of the next round.
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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 Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum: exactly where they were going. Moving under water more
slowly than on the surface, the submarine gradually
approached the island and halted with its bow pressed
against the huge marble door in the basement under the
Dome. This door was tightly closed and it was evident
to both Glinda and the Wizard that it would not open to
admit the underwater boat unless a magic word was
spoken by them or someone from within the basement of
the island. But what was this magic word? Neither of
them knew.
"I'm afraid," said the Wizard regretfully, "that we
Glinda of Oz |
