| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield: held?
Days lengthened into weeks. Still we were together, and still the solitary
little figure, head bowed as though under the weight of the spectacles,
haunted me. He entered with the black bag, he retired with the black
bag--and that was all.
At last the manager of the pension told us the Baron was leaving the next
day.
"Oh," I thought, "surely he cannot drift into obscurity--be lost without
one word! Surely he will honour the Frau Oberregierungsrat of the Frau
Feldleutnantswitwe ONCE before he goes."
In the evening of that day it rained heavily. I went to the post office,
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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 Chouans by Honore de Balzac: picked men, and was therefore, no doubt, the leader of the attacking
party. He was eager to see this man distinctly, and he made many
efforts to distinguish his features, but in vain; they were hidden by
the red caps and broad-brimmed hats of those about him. Hulot did,
however, see Marche-a-Terre beside this leader, repeating his orders
in a hoarse voice, his own carbine, meanwhile, being far from
inactive. The commandant grew impatient at being thus baffled. Waving
his sword, he urged on the recruits and charged the centre of the
Chouans with such fury that he broke through their line and came close
to their chief, whose face, however, was still hidden by a broad-
brimmed felt hat with a white cockade. But the invisible leader,
The Chouans |
| 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: not in the least follow that all Stevensons are of the clan
Alpin; but it does follow that some may be. And I cannot
conceal from myself the possibility that James Stevenson in
Glasgow, my first authentic ancestor, may have had a Highland
ALIAS upon his conscience and a claymore in his back parlour.
To one more tradition I may allude, that we are somehow
descended from a French barber-surgeon who came to St. Andrews
in the service of one of the Cardinal Beatons. No details
were added. But the very name of France was so detested in my
family for three generations, that I am tempted to suppose
there may be something in it. (1)
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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 The Gentle Grafter by O. Henry: 'to try to do up these robbers that prey upon the public. I'll show
'em whether the water's fine. Five dollars for one--that's what J.
Smith offers, and he'll have to keep his contract if he does business
with Bill Murkison.'
"We got into Chicago about 7 P.M. Murkison was to meet the gray man at
half past 9. We had dinner at a hotel and then went up to Murkison's
room to wait for the time to come.
"'Now, boys,' says Murkison, 'let's get our gumption together and
inoculate a plan for defeating the enemy. Suppose while I'm exchanging
airy bandage with the gray capper you gents come along, by accident,
you know, and holler: "Hello, Murk!" and shake hands with symptoms of
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