| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Polly of the Circus by Margaret Mayo: and his pale, little eyes sought the face of the stalwart man
before him; a numb desolation was growing in his heart; the
object for which he had gone on day by day was being left behind
and he must stumble forth into the night alone.
"It's hard to leave her," he mumbled; "but the show has got to go
on."
The door shut out the bent, old figure. Douglas stood for some
time where Toby had left him, still thinking of his prophetic
words. His revery was broken by the sounds of the departing
wagons, the low muttered curses of the drivers, the shrieking and
roaring of the animals, as the circus train moved up the distant
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Marie by H. Rider Haggard: visited the Zulu king Dingaan, under command of the late Governor and
General Pieter Retief, you did falsely and wickedly urge the said
Dingaan to murder the said Pieter Retief and his companions, and
especially Henri Marais, your father-in-law, and Hernando Pereira, his
nephew, with both of whom you had a quarrel. Further, that afterwards
you brought about the said murder, having first arranged with the king
of the Zulus that you should be removed to a place of safety while it
was done. Do you plead Guilty or Not guilty?"
Now when I heard this false and abominable charge my rage and
indignation caused me to laugh aloud.
"Are you mad, commandant," I exclaimed, "that you should say such
Marie |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Nada the Lily by H. Rider Haggard: otherwise, for this is the fashion of the Isanusis, that no two of
them smell out in the same way. And this party swept the faces of
certain of the king's councillors, naming them guilty of the witch-
work.
"Stand ye on one side!" said the king to those who had been smelt out;
"and ye who have hunted out their wickedness, stand ye with those who
named Mopo, son of Makedama. It well may be that all are guilty."
So these stood on one side also, and a third party took up the tale.
And they named certain of the great generals, and were in turn bidden
to stand on one side together with those whom they had named.
So it went on through all the day. Company by company the women doomed
Nada the Lily |
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 Pathology of Lying, Etc. by William and Mary Healy: passable border between the two is permanently occupied or is at
times approached.
We keep our border-line cases separate in order to emphasize that
pathological lying by an insane person does not make a
pathological liar in the true sense. We should hesitate,
however, to give in legal form a verdict of insanity in several
of these border-line cases we cite--they are very difficult to
classify, and the question of responsibility called for sometimes
in court work is unanswerable. Keeping even these mild cases
away from our others serves, however, to lessen confusion; we
need in this subject to conserve all the clearness possible by
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