| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: of these green fiends."
To reach the courtyard where the thoats were kept
it was necessary for Carthoris to pass through one of
the buildings which surrounded the square. Which were
occupied and which not he could not even guess, so he
was compelled to take considerable chances to gain the
enclosure in which he could hear the restless beasts
squealing and quarrelling among themselves.
Chance carried him through a dark doorway into a
large chamber in which lay a score or more green warriors
wrapped in their sleeping silks and furs. Scarce had
Thuvia, Maid of Mars |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Brother of Daphne by Dornford Yates: In a few telling sentences I intimated that I would do nothing
of the kind.
"I will appear," I said at last, "I will appear and run round
generally, but I promise nothing more."
"Nonsense," said my sister. "I have promised, and I'm not going
to let you break my word. You are going to do something
definite."
"Desperate?"
"Definite. You have three days in which to get ready. There's
Jill calling me. We're going to run over to Barley to whip up
the Ashton crowd. D'you think we've enough petrol?"
The Brother of Daphne |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Chance by Joseph Conrad: because the captain and his wife were already on board. That in
itself was already somewhat unusual. Captains and their wives do
not, as a rule, join a moment sooner than is necessary. They prefer
to spend the last moments with their friends and relations. A ship
in one of London's older docks with their restrictions as to lights
and so on is not the place for a happy evening. Still, as the tide
served at six in the morning, one could understand them coming on
board the evening before.
Just then young Powell felt as if anybody ought to be glad enough to
be quit of the shore. We know he was an orphan from a very early
age, without brothers or sisters--no near relations of any kind, I
Chance |
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 Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens: and bade Miggs hold her tongue directly.
'WHICH, was you pleased to observe, Miss Varden?' said Miggs, with
a strong emphasis on the irrelative pronoun.
Dolly repeated her request.
'Ho, gracious me!' cried Miggs, with hysterical derision. 'Ho,
gracious me! Yes, to be sure I will. Ho yes! I am a abject
slave, and a toiling, moiling, constant-working, always-being-
found-fault-with, never-giving-satisfactions, nor-having-no-
time-to-clean-oneself, potter's wessel--an't I, miss! Ho yes! My
situations is lowly, and my capacities is limited, and my duties is
to humble myself afore the base degenerating daughters of their
Barnaby Rudge |
