| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Schoolmistress and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov: hay at the Zemstvo hut, hearing the subdued voices of the
witnesses; he fancied that Lesnitsky was close by, not fifteen
paces away. In his dreams he remembered how the insurance agent,
black-haired and pale, wearing dusty high boots, had come into
the bookkeeper's office. "This is our insurance agent.
. . ."
Then he dreamed that Lesnitsky and Loshadin the constable were
walking through the open country in the snow, side by side,
supporting each other; the snow was whirling about their heads,
the wind was blowing on their backs, but they walked on,
singing: We go on, and on, and on. . . ."
The Schoolmistress and Other Stories |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Bride of Lammermoor by Walter Scott: footmen, dressed in white, with black jockey-caps, and long
staffs in their hands, headed the train; and such was their
agility, that they found no difficulty in keeping the necessary
advance, which the etiquette of their station required, before
the carriage and horsemen. Onward they came at a long swinging
trot, arguing unwearied speed in their long-breathed calling.
Such running footmen are often alluded to in old plays (I would
particularly instance Middleton's Mad World, my Masters), and
perhaps may be still remembered by some old persons in Scotland,
as part of the retinue of the ancient nobility when travelling in
full ceremony. Behind these glancing meteors, who footed it as
The Bride of Lammermoor |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Tales of the Klondyke by Jack London: Jan ran blindly, reckoning not of the way of his feet, for he was
mastered by the verb "to live." To live! To exist! Buck flashed
gray through the air, but missed. The man struck madly at him,
and stumbled. Then the white teeth of Bright closed on his
mackinaw jacket, and he pitched into the snow. TO LIVE! TO
EXIST! He fought wildly as ever, the centre of a tossing heap of
men and dogs. His left hand gripped a wolf-dog by the scruff of
the back, while the arm was passed around the neck of Lawson.
Every struggle of the dog helped to throttle the hapless sailor.
Jan's right hand was buried deep in the curling tendrils of Red
Bill's shaggy head, and beneath all, Mr. Taylor lay pinned and
|
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 Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: is the marksmanship of my opponent. Wherefore, then, should
I be dissatisfied? Have you not yourself told me that Count
de Coude is a splendid marksman?"
"You mean that you hope to be killed?" exclaimed D'Arnot,
in horror.
"I cannot say that I hope to be; but you must admit that
there is little reason to believe that I shall not be killed."
Had D'Arnot known the thing that was in the ape-man's
mind--that had been in his mind almost from the first
intimation that De Coude would call him to account on the
field of honor--he would have been even more horrified than
The Return of Tarzan |
