| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from On Revenues by Xenophon: on some matters of history, and to begin at the beginning,[10] the
Median war. Was it by high-handed violence, or as benefactors of the
Hellenes, that we obtained the headship of the naval forces, and the
trusteeship of the treasury of Hellas?[11] Again, when through the too
cruel exercise of her presidency, as men thought, Athens was deprived
of her empire, is it not the case that even in those days,[12] as soon
as we held aloof from injustice we were once more reinstated by the
islanders, of their own free will, as presidents of the naval force?
Nay, did not the very Thebans, in return for certain benefits, grant
to us Athenians to exercise leadership over them?[13] And at another
date the Lacedaemonans suffered us Athenians to arrange the terms of
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Bureaucracy by Honore de Balzac: representation of a vaudeville produced, like all vaudevilles, by
three collaborators, "The audience preferred the scenes written by
two."
"Why don't you write alone?" asked Sebastien naively.
There were good reasons why du Bruel did not write alone. He was the
third of an author. A dramatic writer, as few people know, is made up
of three individuals; first, the man with brains who invents the
subject and maps out the structure, or scenario, of the vaudeville;
second, the plodder, who works the piece into shape; and third, the
toucher-up, who sets the songs to music, arranges the chorus and
concerted pieces and fits them into their right place, and finally
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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 Captain Stormfield by Mark Twain: anyway - not exactly splice the main-brace with them, you know, but
shake hands and pass the time of day."
"Could Tom, Dick and Harry call on the Cabinet of Russia and do
that? - on Prince Gortschakoff, for instance?"
"I reckon not, Sandy."
"Well, this is Russia - only more so. There's not the shadow of a
republic about it anywhere. There are ranks, here. There are
viceroys, princes, governors, sub-governors, sub-sub-governors, and
a hundred orders of nobility, grading along down from grand-ducal
archangels, stage by stage, till the general level is struck, where
there ain't any titles. Do you know what a prince of the blood is,
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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 In the Cage by Henry James: austerity. If she hadn't quite the courage in short to say to Mr.
Mudge that her actual chance for a play of mind was worth any week
the three shillings he desired to help her to save, she yet saw
something happen in the course of the month that in her heart of
hearts at least answered the subtle question. This was connected
precisely with the appearance of the memorable lady.
CHAPTER III
She pushed in three bescribbled forms which the girl's hand was
quick to appropriate, Mr. Buckton having so frequent a perverse
instinct for catching first any eye that promised the sort of
entertainment with which she had her peculiar affinity. The
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