| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie: in scientific subjects.
"When I came to, Mrs. Vandemeyer was sweet as honey to me. She'd
had her orders, I guess. She spoke to me in French--told me I'd
had a shock and been very ill. I should be better soon. I
pretended to be rather dazed--murmured something about the
'doctor' having hurt my wrist. She looked relieved when I said
that.
"By and by she went out of the room altogether. I was suspicious
still, and lay quite quiet for some time. In the end, however, I
got up and walked round the room, examining it. I thought that
even if anyone WAS watching me from somewhere, it would seem
Secret Adversary |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from La Grande Breteche by Honore de Balzac: added aloud quite coolly: 'You had better help him.'
"Monsieur and Madame de Merret were silent all the time while
Gorenflot was walling up the door. This silence was intentional on the
husband's part; he did not wish to give his wife the opportunity of
saying anything with a double meaning. On Madame de Merret's side it
was pride or prudence. When the wall was half built up the cunning
mason took advantage of his master's back being turned to break one of
the two panes in the top of the door with a blow of his pick. By this
Madame de Merret understood that Rosalie had spoken to Gorenflot. They
all three then saw the face of a dark, gloomy-looking man, with black
hair and flaming eyes.
La Grande Breteche |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Wrecker by Stevenson & Osbourne: starboard. In the first collision she must have sustained some
damage, as she was making water forward. The rice will
probably be all destroyed: but the more valuable part of the
cargo is fortunately in the afterhold. Captain Trent was
preparing his long-boat for sea, when the providential arrival of
the Tempest, pursuant to Admiralty orders to call at islands in
her course for castaways, saved the gallant captain from all
further danger. It is scarcely necessary to add that both the
officers and men of the unfortunate vessel speak in high terms
of the kindness they received on board the man-of-war. We
print a list of the survivors: Jacob Trent, master, of Hull,
|
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 Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin: I immediately got into work at Palmer's, then a famous printing-house
in Bartholomew Close, and here I continu'd near a year. I was
pretty diligent, but spent with Ralph a good deal of my earnings
in going to plays and other places of amusement. We had together
consumed all my pistoles, and now just rubbed on from hand to mouth.
He seem'd quite to forget his wife and child, and I, by degrees,
my engagements with Miss Read, to whom I never wrote more than
one letter, and that was to let her know I was not likely soon
to return. This was another of the great errata of my life,
which I should wish to correct if I were to live it over again.
In fact, by our expenses, I was constantly kept unable to pay
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin |
