| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Sanitary and Social Lectures by Charles Kingsley: great numbers, are the names of men of note, of all ranks, all
shades in politics and religion, all professions--legal, clerical,
military, medical, and literary. A list of names representing so
much intellect, so much learning, so much acknowledged moderation,
so much good work already done and acknowledged by the country,
has never, perhaps, been collected for any political purpose; and
if their scheme (the details of which are not yet made public)
should in anywise succeed, it will do more for the prospects of
Sanitary Reform than any forward movement of the quarter of a
century.
For if Sanitary Reform, or perhaps any really progressive measure,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Master of the World by Jules Verne: "Mr. Strock!" It was Wells, who called to me softly from close at
hand.
I drew back in all haste and crouched down beside him. Was it too
late to take possession of the boat? Or would the attempt perhaps
result in disaster from the presence of others watching on board?
At any rate, the two men with the lantern were close at hand
returning down the ravine. Plainly they suspected nothing. Each
carrying a bundle of wood, they came forward and stopped upon the
quay.
Then one of them raised his voice, though not loudly. "Hullo!
Captain!"
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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 Shadow out of Time by H. P. Lovecraft: travel and in study at various centres of learning. My travels,
however, were singular in the extreme, involving long visits to
remote and desolate places.
In 1909 I spent a month in the Himalayas,
and in 1911 roused much attention through a camel trip into the
unknown deserts of Arabia. What happened on those journeys I have
never been able to learn.
During the summer of l9l2 I chartered
a ship and sailed in the Arctic, north of Spitzbergen, afterward
showing signs of disappointment.
Later in that year I spent
Shadow out of Time |
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 St. Ives by Robert Louis Stevenson: sometimes of mirth, sometimes almost of friendship, with the
officers in charge. A young lieutenant singled me out to be his
adversary at chess, a game in which I was extremely proficient, and
would reward me for my gambits with excellent cigars. The major of
the battalion took lessons of French from me while at breakfast,
and was sometimes so obliging as to have me join him at the meal.
Chevenix was his name. He was stiff as a drum-major and selfish as
an Englishman, but a fairly conscientious pupil and a fairly
upright man. Little did I suppose that his ramrod body and frozen
face would, in the end, step in between me and all my dearest
wishes; that upon this precise, regular, icy soldier-man my
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