| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A House of Pomegranates by Oscar Wilde: a wave fretting the smooth pebbles below. So she reached out her
hand, and drew him near to her and put her dry lips close to his
ear.
'To-night thou must come to the top of the mountain,' she
whispered. 'It is a Sabbath, and He will be there.'
The young Fisherman started and looked at her, and she showed her
white teeth and laughed. 'Who is He of whom thou speakest?' he
asked.
'It matters not,' she answered. 'Go thou to-night, and stand under
the branches of the hornbeam, and wait for my coming. If a black
dog run towards thee, strike it with a rod of willow, and it will
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Lesson of the Master by Henry James: season, that people got a good talk. But luckily now, of a fine
Sunday, half the world went out of town, and that made it better
for those who didn't go, when these others were in sympathy. It
was the defect of London - one of two or three, the very short list
of those she recognised in the teeming world-city she adored - that
there were too few good chances for talk; you never had time to
carry anything far.
"Too many things - too many things!" Paul said, quoting St.
George's exclamation of a few days before.
"Ah yes, for him there are too many - his life's too complicated."
"Have you seen it NEAR? That's what I should like to do; it might
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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 Wife, et al by Anton Chekhov: his head on my breast, and said what he always did say on meeting
me:
"You grow younger and younger. I don't know what dye you use for
your hair and your beard; you might give me some of it."
"I've come to return your call, Ivan Ivanitch," I said
untruthfully. "Don't be hard on me; I'm a townsman, conventional;
I do keep count of calls."
"I am delighted, my dear fellow. I am an old man; I like respect.
. . . Yes."
From his voice and his blissfully smiling face, I could see that
he was greatly flattered by my visit. Two peasant women helped me
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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 Rinkitink In Oz by L. Frank Baum: friends, we're so much alike in everything but
disposition and intelligence."
Then he began to chuckle, while Kaliko stared hard at
him, not knowing whether to accept his speech as a
compliment or not. And now the nome's eyes wandered to
Bilbil, and he asked:
"Is that your talking goat?"
Bilbil met the Nome King's glowering look with a gaze
equally surly and defiant, while Rinkitink answered:
"It is, Your Majesty."
"Can he really talk?" asked Kaliko, curiously.
Rinkitink In Oz |
