| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy: head; and everything was ready for Stephen's departure.
'You named August for your visit. August it shall be; that is, if
you care for the society of such a fossilized Tory,' said Mr.
Swancourt.
Mr. Smith only responded hesitatingly, that he should like to come
again.
'You said you would, and you must,' insisted Elfride, coming to
the door and speaking under her father's arm.
Whatever reason the youth may have had for not wishing to enter
the house as a guest, it no longer predominated. He promised, and
bade them adieu, and got into the pony-carriage, which crept up
A Pair of Blue Eyes |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Unconscious Comedians by Honore de Balzac: actress's ear: "He is Leon's cousin, a manufacturer, enormously rich;
he wants to win a suit before the Council of State against his
prefect, and he thinks it wise to fascinate you in order to get Massol
on his side."
All Paris knows the beauty of that young actress, and will therefore
understand the stupefaction of the Southerner on seeing her. Though
she had received him at first rather coldly, he became the object of
her good graces before they had been many minutes alone together.
"How strange!" said Gazonal, looking round him disdainfully on the
furniture of the salon, the door of which his accomplices had left
half open, "that a woman like you should be allowed to live in such an
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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 An Old Maid by Honore de Balzac: played. When, in the course of a deal, those sickening dissertations
on the game would take place, the chevalier invariably drew out his
snuff-box with a gesture that was worthy of Mole, looked at the
Princess Goritza, raised the cover with dignity, shook, sifted, massed
the snuff, and gathered his pinch, so that by the time the cards were
dealt he had decorated both nostrils and replaced the princess in his
waistcoat pocket,--always on his left side. A gentleman of the "good"
century (in distinction from the "grand" century) could alone have
invented that compromise between contemptuous silence and a sarcasm
which might not have been understood. He accepted poor players and
knew how to make the best of them. His delightful equability of temper
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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 Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War by Frederick A. Talbot: instantly put the latter out of action. The shell has a diameter
of about .75 inch and weighs about four ounces. The gun is a
hybrid of the mitrailleuse and the French "Soixante-quinze,"
combining the firing rapidity of the former with the recoil
mechanism of the latter. This missile has established its
ability to penetrate the defensive armouring of any aeroplane and
the motor of the machine at 1,000 yards' range. This offensive
arm is now being manufactured, so that it is likely to be seen in
the near future as the main armament of aeroplanes.
At the moment widespread efforts are being made in the direction
of increasing the offensive efficiency of aircraft. It is one of
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