| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Brother of Daphne by Dornford Yates: held her hand to my lips. Then I shut the door, slipped back
into my seat, and drove on and in to the kerb. As I pulled up,
Jill came running down the steps of the inn.
"Then you got home all right, Boy?
"Before I had time to answer, Berry appeared in the doorway.
"Aha," said he, "the brave's return! Skaul! You are late, but
never mind. Skaul again, my pathfinder. I thought of you when I
was going to bed. Was the snow-hut comfortable? I hope you
didn't find that coat too much? It isn't really cold, you know.
Now, when I was in Patagonia- "
"Are you all ready?" said I. "I'm just coming in to warm my
The Brother of Daphne |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas: way to the chamber in which she had dressed, and where she was to
take off her costume.
The attention which we have been obliged to give, during the
commencement of the chapter, to the illustrious personages we
have introduced into it, has diverted us for an instant from him
to whom Anne of Austria owed the extraordinary triumph she had
obtained over the cardinal; and who, confounded, unknown, lost in
the crowd gathered at one of the doors, looked on at this scene,
comprehensible only to four persons--the king, the queen, his
Eminence, and himself.
The queen had just regained her chamber, and D'Artagnan was about
The Three Musketeers |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Don Quixote by Miquel de Cervantes: tell him the whole truth of the matter, and so we gave him a full
account of all, without hiding anything from him. We pointed out to
him the window at which the reed appeared, and he by that means took
note of the house, and resolved to ascertain with particular care
who lived in it. We agreed also that it would be advisable to answer
the Moorish lady's letter, and the renegade without a moment's delay
took down the words I dictated to him, which were exactly what I shall
tell you, for nothing of importance that took place in this affair has
escaped my memory, or ever will while life lasts. This, then, was
the answer returned to the Moorish lady:
"The true Allah protect thee, Lady, and that blessed Marien who is
Don Quixote |
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 The Atheist's Mass by Honore de Balzac: structure; the ground floor occupied by a furniture-dealer, while
each floor seemed to shelter a different and independent form of
misery. Throwing up his arm with a vehement gesture, Desplein
exclaimed:
"I lived up there for two years."
"I know; Arthez lived there; I went up there almost every day
during my first youth; we used to call it then the pickle-jar of
great men! What then?"
"The mass I have just attended is connected with some events
which took place at the time when I lived in the garret where you
say Arthez lived; the one with the window where the clothes line
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