| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from In the South Seas by Robert Louis Stevenson: with something like excitement that we saw the beach and terrace
suddenly blacken with attendant vassals, the king and party embark,
the boat (a man-of-war gig) come flying towards us dead before the
wind, and the royal coxswain lay us cleverly aboard, mount the
ladder with a jealous diffidence, and descend heavily on deck.
Not long ago he was overgrown with fat, obscured to view, and a
burthen to himself. Captains visiting the island advised him to
walk; and though it broke the habits of a life and the traditions
of his rank, he practised the remedy with benefit. His corpulence
is now portable; you would call him lusty rather than fat; but his
gait is still dull, stumbling, and elephantine. He neither stops
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Under the Red Robe by Stanley Weyman: foreseeing the worst, and no longer in any mood for Zaton's.
Such a revelation of such a man was enough to appal me, for a
moment conscience cried out that he must have heard that
Cocheforet had escaped him, and through me. But I dismissed the
idea as soon as formed. In the vast meshes of the Cardinal's
schemes Cocheforet could be only a small fish; and to account for
the face in the coach I needed a cataclysm, a catastrophe, a
misfortune as far above ordinary mishaps as this man's intellect
rose above the common run of minds.
It was almost dark when I crossed the bridges, and crept
despondently to the Rue Savonnerie. After stabling my horse I
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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 Girl with the Golden Eyes by Honore de Balzac: woman's hand.
"Could you tap a bottle of Chablis, with a few dozen oysters, and a
/filet saute/ with mushrooms to follow it?" said Laurent, who wished
to win the postman's valuable friendship.
"At half-past nine, when my round is finished---- Where?"
"At the corner of the Rue de la Chaussee-d'Antin and the Rue Neuve-
des-Mathurins, at the /Puits sans Vin/," said Laurent.
"Hark ye, my friend," said the postman, when he rejoined the valet an
hour after this encounter, "if your master is in love with the girl,
he is in for a famous task. I doubt you'll not succeed in seeing her.
In the ten years that I've been postman in Paris, I have seen plenty
The Girl with the Golden Eyes |
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 Essays of Travel by Robert Louis Stevenson: Abercrummie has told you enough of the Tolbooth; but, as a bit of
spelling, this inscription on the Tolbooth bell seems too delicious
to withhold: 'This bell is founded at Maiboll Bi Danel Geli, a
Frenchman, the 6th November, 1696, Bi appointment of the heritors of
the parish of Maiyboll.' The Castle deserves more notice. It is a
large and shapely tower, plain from the ground upwards, but with a
zone of ornamentation running about the top. In a general way this
adornment is perched on the very summit of the chimney-stacks; but
there is one corner more elaborate than the rest. A very heavy
string-course runs round the upper story, and just above this, facing
up the street, the tower carries a small oriel window, fluted and
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