| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from New Arabian Nights by Robert Louis Stevenson: shaved and had his hair dressed every morning by a barber in a
neighbouring street. This gave him something of a foreign air, and
seemed to wipe off the reproach of his past years.
At length, on the Saturday afternoon, he betook himself to the box-
office of the theatre in the Rue Richelieu. No sooner had he
mentioned his name than the clerk produced the order in an envelope
of which the address was scarcely dry.
"It has been taken this moment," said the clerk.
"Indeed!" said Francis. "May I ask what the gentleman was like?"
"Your friend is easy to describe," replied the official. "He is
old and strong and beautiful, with white hair and a sabre-cut
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson: think, amuse you. But there were finer touches still; as when
Belle and Lady Jersey came out to brush their teeth in front of the
rebel King's palace, and the night guard squatted opposite on the
grass and watched the process; or when I and my interpreter, and
the King with his secretary, mysteriously disappeared to conspire.
- Ever yours sincerely,
R. L. STEVENSON.
Letter: TO GORDON BROWNE
VAILIMA, SAMOA, AUTUMN 1892.
TO THE ARTIST WHO DID THE ILLUSTRATIONS TO 'UMA.'
DEAR SIR, - I only know you under the initials G. B., but you have
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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 Deputy of Arcis by Honore de Balzac: "Oh!" exclaimed Pigoult, "the general sentiment of the electors is for
one of their own townsmen. Whom can you oppose to Simon Giguet,--a man
who has just spent two hours in explaining the word /progress/."
"Take old Grevin!" cried the sub-prefect.
"He has no such ambition," replied Pigoult. "But we must first of all
consult the Comte de Gondreville. Look, look!" he added; "see the
attentions with which Simon is taking him that gilded booby,
Beauvisage."
And he pointed to the candidate, who was holding the mayor by the arm
and whispering in his ear. Beauvisage meantime was bowing right and
left to the inhabitants, who gazed at him with the deference which
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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 This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald: many voices, too much scattered, illogical, ill-considered
criticism. It's worse in the case of newspapers. Any rich,
unprogressive old party with that particularly grasping,
acquisitive form of mentality known as financial genius can own a
paper that is the intellectual meat and drink of thousands of
tired, hurried men, men too involved in the business of modern
living to swallow anything but predigested food. For two cents
the voter buys his politics, prejudices, and philosophy. A year
later there is a new political ring or a change in the paper's
ownership, consequence: more confusion, more contradiction, a
sudden inrush of new ideas, their tempering, their distillation,
This Side of Paradise |
