| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan by Honore de Balzac: life. It is all horrible, is it not? and yet, what I have told you is
the history of many women."
The last few words were said in a tone of easy pleasantry which
recalled the presence of the woman of the world. D'Arthez was
dumbfounded. In his eyes convicts sent to the galleys for murder, or
aggravated robbery, or for putting a wrong name to checks, were saints
compared to the men and women of society. This atrocious elegy, forged
in the arsenal of lies, and steeped in the waters of the Parisian
Styx, had been poured into his ears with the inimitable accent of
truth. The grave author contemplated for a moment that adorable woman
lying back in her easy-chair, her two hands pendant from its arms like
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Buttered Side Down by Edna Ferber: There are fresh mushrooms, and jumbo cocoanuts, and green almonds;
costly things in beds of cotton nestle next to strange and
marvelous things in tissue, wrappings. Oh, that window is no place
for the hungry, the dissatisfied, or the man out of a job. When
the air is filled with snow there is that in the sight of
muskmelons which incites crime.
Queerly enough, the gazers before that window foot up the
same, year in, and year out, something after this fashion:
Item: One anemic little milliner's apprentice in coat and
shoes that even her hat can't redeem.
Item: One sandy-haired, gritty-complexioned man, with a
Buttered Side Down |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle: little, shabby-genteel place, where four lines of dingy
two-storied brick houses looked out into a small railed-in
enclosure, where a lawn of weedy grass and a few clumps of faded
laurel-bushes made a hard fight against a smoke-laden and
uncongenial atmosphere. Three gilt balls and a brown board with
"JABEZ WILSON" in white letters, upon a corner house, announced
the place where our red-headed client carried on his business.
Sherlock Holmes stopped in front of it with his head on one side
and looked it all over, with his eyes shining brightly between
puckered lids. Then he walked slowly up the street, and then down
again to the corner, still looking keenly at the houses. Finally
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
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 In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield: out in spots all over on account of her nerves. She was very excited
yesterday after having written two post-cards."
"A delicate woman," volunteered the Hungarian, "but pleasant. Fancy, she
has a separate plate for each of her front teeth! But she has no right to
let her daughters wear such short sailor suits. They sit about on benches,
crossing their legs in a most shameless manner. What are you going to do
this afternoon, Fraulein Anna?"
"Oh," said the Coral Necklace, "the Herr Oberleutnant has asked me to go
with him to Landsdorf. He must buy some eggs there to take home to his
mother. He saves a penny on eight eggs by knowing the right peasants to
bargain with."
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