| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Mad King by Edgar Rice Burroughs: his message had been delivered to the chancellor he sought
out the chancellor's daughter, to tell her all that had oc-
curred at Blentz.
"I saw but little of Mr. Custer," he said. "He was very
quiet. I think all that he has been through has unnerved
him. He was slightly wounded in the left leg. The king was
wounded in the breast. His majesty conducted himself in a
most valiant and generous manner. Wounded, he lay upon
his stomach in the courtyard of the castle and defended
Mr. Custer, who was, of course, unarmed. The king shot
three of Prince Peter's soldiers who were attempting to
The Mad King |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Vailima Prayers & Sabbath Morn by Robert Louis Stevenson: shameless disregard of all that is reputable in Samoan social life.
No doubt, to many, the evening service is no more than a duty
fulfilled. The child who says his prayer at his mother's knee can
have no real conception of the meaning of the words he lisps so
readily, yet he goes to his little bed with a sense of heavenly
protection that he would miss were the prayer forgotten. The
average Samoan is but a larger child in most things, and would lay
an uneasy head on his wooden pillow if he had not joined, even
perfunctorily, in the evening service. With my husband, prayer,
the direct appeal, was a necessity. When he was happy he felt
impelled to offer thanks for that undeserved joy; when in sorrow,
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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 The Atheist's Mass by Honore de Balzac: escape from nothingness. I consumed more oil than bread; the
light I burned during these endless nights cost me more than
food. It was a long duel, obstinate, with no sort of consolation.
I found no sympathy anywhere. To have friends, must we not form
connections with young men, have a few sous so as to be able to
go tippling with them, and meet them where students congregate?
And I had nothing! And no one in Paris can understand that
nothing means NOTHING. When I even thought of revealing my
beggary, I had that nervous contraction of the throat which makes
a sick man believe that a ball rises up from the oesophagus into
the larynx.
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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 A House of Pomegranates by Oscar Wilde: black hair. The little Dwarf frowned, and the monster frowned
also. He laughed, and it laughed with him, and held its hands to
its sides, just as he himself was doing. He made it a mocking bow,
and it returned him a low reverence. He went towards it, and it
came to meet him, copying each step that he made, and stopping when
he stopped himself. He shouted with amusement, and ran forward,
and reached out his hand, and the hand of the monster touched his,
and it was as cold as ice. He grew afraid, and moved his hand
across, and the monster's hand followed it quickly. He tried to
press on, but something smooth and hard stopped him. The face of
the monster was now close to his own, and seemed full of terror.
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