| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer: from my grip--being drawn out of the window--drawn to his death!
"Hold him, Guthrie!" I gasped hoarsely. "My God, he's going!
Hold him!"
My friend writhed in our grasp, and I saw him stretch his arm upward.
The crack of his revolver came, and he collapsed on to the floor,
carrying me with him.
But as I fell I heard a scream above. Smith's revolver went
hurtling through the air, and, hard upon it, went a black shape--
flashing past the open window into the gulf of the night.
"The light! The light!" I cried.
Guthrie ran and turned on the light. Nayland Smith, his eyes
The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Call of the Canyon by Zane Grey: exhilaration.
Another day, the warmest of the spring so far, she rode a Navajo mustang
she had recently bought from a passing trader; and at the farthest end of
her section, in rough wooded and ridged ground she had not explored, she
found a canyon with red walls and pine trees and gleaming streamlet and
glades of grass and jumbles of rock. It was a miniature canyon, to be
sure, only a quarter of a mile long, and as deep as the height of a lofty
pine, and so narrow that it seemed only the width of a lane, but it had all
the features of Oak Creek Canyon, and so sufficed for the exultant joy of
possession. She explored it. The willow brakes and oak thickets harbored
rabbits and birds. She saw the white flags of deer running away down the
The Call of the Canyon |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith: grave conversation myself; I could hear it for ever. Indeed, I have
often been surprised how a man of sentiment could ever admire those
light airy pleasures, where nothing reaches the heart.
MARLOW. It's----a disease----of the mind, madam. In the variety of
tastes there must be some who, wanting a relish----for----um--a--um.
MISS HARDCASTLE. I understand you, sir. There must be some, who,
wanting a relish for refined pleasures, pretend to despise what they
are incapable of tasting.
MARLOW. My meaning, madam, but infinitely better expressed. And I
can't help observing----a----
MISS HARDCASTLE. (Aside.) Who could ever suppose this fellow
She Stoops to Conquer |
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 Marie by H. Rider Haggard: appetite, although Carolus and Johannes, who by this time had recovered
somewhat from the shock of that night of blood and terror, ate in a
fashion which might have filled Hans himself with envy.
Shortly after we had finished our meal, Hans, who, by the way, seemed to
have quite recovered from his fatigues, came to remove the dishes. He
informed us that all the Boers were having a great "talk," and that they
were about to send for me. Sure enough, a few minutes later two armed
men arrived and ordered me to follow them. I turned to say some words
of farewell to Marie, but she said:
"I go where you do, husband," and, as no objection was made by the
guard, she came.
Marie |
