| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence: intimacy into which Hilda always entered ponderously.
Sir Malcolm decided to travel with Connie, and Duncan could come on
with Hilda. The old artist always did himself well: he took berths on
the Orient Express, in spite of Connie's dislike of TRAINS DE LUXE, the
atmosphere of vulgar depravity there is aboard them nowadays. However,
it would make the journey to Paris shorter.
Sir Malcolm was always uneasy going back to his wife. It was habit
carried over from the first wife. But there would be a house-party for
the grouse, and he wanted to be well ahead. Connie, sunburnt and
handsome, sat in silence, forgetting all about the landscape.
'A little dull for you, going back to Wragby,' said her father,
Lady Chatterley's Lover |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Outlaw of Torn by Edgar Rice Burroughs: They rode for many miles in silence when suddenly
she turned, saying:
"You take your time, Sir Knight, in answering my
query. Who be ye?"
"I am Nor--" and then he stopped. Always before
he had answered that question with haughty pride.
Why should he hesitate, he thought. Was it because
he feared the loathing that name would inspire in the
breast of this daughter of the aristocracy he despised?
Did Norman of Torn fear to face the look of seem and
repugnance that was sure to be mirrored in that lovely
The Outlaw of Torn |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Records of a Family of Engineers by Robert Louis Stevenson: phenomenon. For example, when a gale is succeeded by a calm,
every third or fourth wave forms one of these great seas,
which occur in spaces of from three to five minutes, as noted
by the writer's watch; but in the course of the next tide they
become less frequent, and take off so as to occur only in ten
or fifteen minutes; and, singular enough, at the third tide
after such gales, the writer has remarked that only one or two
of these great waves appear in the course of the whole tide.
[Tuesday, 19th June]
The 19th was a very unpleasant and disagreeable day, both
for the seamen and artificers, as it rained throughout with
|
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 Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen: "What's to be the end of this! What's to become of me!" groaned he; but he was
forced, in spite of his opposition, to drink with the rest. They took hold of
the worthy man; who, hearing on every side that he was intoxicated, did not in
the least doubt the truth of this certainly not very polite assertion; but on
the contrary, implored the ladies and gentlemen present to procure him a
hackney-coach: they, however, imagined he was talking Russian.
Never before, he thought, had he been in such a coarse and ignorant company;
one might almost fancy the people had turned heathens again. "It is the most
dreadful moment of my life: the whole world is leagued against me!" But
suddenly it occurred to him that he might stoop down under the table, and then
creep unobserved out of the door. He did so; but just as he was going, the
Fairy Tales |
