| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War by Frederick A. Talbot: burst to the left of the aerostat, as revealed by the relation of
the position of the balloon to the bursting of the shell shown in
Fig. 3.
A third round is fired, and the shell explodes at F. In this
instance the explosion takes place below the balloon. Both the
observers and the artillery man concur in their deductions upon
the point at which the shell burst. But the shell must explode
above the balloon, and accordingly a fourth round is discharged
and the shell bursts at G.
This appears to be above the balloon, inasmuch as the lines of
sight of the two observers and B converge at this point. But
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Crisis in Russia by Arthur Ransome: prepared for the particular political needs of the section it
serves, bearing its own name, carrying its regular crew-a
propaganda unit, as corporate as the crew of a ship. The
five trains at present in existence are the "Lenin," the
"Sverdlov," the "October Revolution," the "Red East,"
which is now in Turkestan, and the "Red Cossack," which,
ready to start for Rostov and the Don, was standing, in the
sidings at the Kursk station, together with the "Lenin,"
returned for refitting and painting.
Burov, the organizer of these trains, a ruddy, enthusiastic
little man in patched leather coat and breeches, took a party
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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 To-morrow by Joseph Conrad: gested, timidly.
He was too hungry to answer her; and, holding
the plate submissively to his hand, she began to
whisper up to him in a quick, panting voice. He
listened, amazed, eating slower and slower, till at
last his jaws stopped altogether. "That's his
game, is it?" he said, in a rising tone of scathing
contempt. An ungovernable movement of his arm
sent the plate flying out of her fingers. He shot
out a violent curse.
She shrank from him, putting her hand against
To-morrow |
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 Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson: showy and not strong.
About your place I shall try to find my way alone, an interesting
exploration. Imagine me, as I go to bed, falling over a blood-
stained remorse; opening that cupboard in the cerebellum and being
welcomed by the spirit of your murdered uncle. I should probably
not like your remorses; I wonder if you will like mine; I have a
spirited assortment; they whistle in my ear o' nights like a north-
easter. I trust yours don't dine with the family; mine are better
mannered; you will hear nought of them till, 2 A.M., except one, to
be sure, that I have made a pet of, but he is small; I keep him in
buttons, so as to avoid commentaries; you will like him much - if
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