The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Twelve Stories and a Dream by H. G. Wells: glasses slipped off and clattered against his vest buttons.
The fat man changed countenance, a flash of savage resolution
crossed his face, and something in the revolver clicked. He put
his other hand to the weapon. And then he looked at Mr. Ledbetter,
and his eye went down to the dropped pince-nez.
"Full-cock now, anyhow," said the fat man, after a pause, and his
breath seemed to catch. "But I'll tell you, you've never been so
near death before. Lord! I'M almost glad. If it hadn't been that
the revolver wasn't cocked you'd be lying dead there now."
Mr. Ledbetter said nothing, but he felt that the room was swaying.
"A miss is as good as a mile. It's lucky for both of us it wasn't.
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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: awfully sorry, Mr. Otis,' gasped out the boy, 'but I can't eat any
dinner as long as Virginia is lost. Please, don't be angry with
me; if you had let us be engaged last year, there would never have
been all this trouble. You won't send me back, will you? I can't
go! I won't go!'
The Minister could not help smiling at the handsome young
scapegrace, and was a good deal touched at his devotion to
Virginia, so leaning down from his horse, he patted him kindly on
the shoulders, and said, 'Well, Cecil, if you won't go back I
suppose you must come with me, but I must get you a hat at Ascot.'
'Oh, bother my hat! I want Virginia!' cried the little Duke,
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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 Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: self-destruction rather than wed him he had given up.
And then it had been that he had legally wed one of his
slaves that he might have a son to stand among the jeds
when Nutus died and a new jeddak was chosen.
Slowly Astok withdrew from the presence of his father.
With white face and shaking limbs he made his way to his
own palace. As he crossed the courtyard his glance
chanced to wander to the great east tower looming high
against the azure of the sky.
At sight of it beads of sweat broke out upon his brow.
Issus! No other hand than his could be trusted to
 Thuvia, Maid of Mars |
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 Alkahest by Honore de Balzac: escaped from her hand and swung back by its own weight with a solemn,
ponderous sound that echoed along the roof of a wide paved archway and
through the depths of the house, as though the door had been of iron.
This archway, painted to resemble marble, always clean and daily
sprinkled with fresh sand, led into a large court-yard paved with
smooth square stones of a greenish color. On the left were the linen-
rooms, kitchens, and servants' hall; to the right, the wood-house,
coal-house, and offices, whose doors, walls, and windows were
decorated with designs kept exquisitely clean. The daylight, threading
its way between four red walls chequered with white lines, caught rosy
tints and reflections which gave a mysterious grace and fantastic
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