| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Deputy of Arcis by Honore de Balzac: pouch and sell us in the market-place."
"To whom?" asked Vinet.
"Oh! to a project! to an idea! to a system!" replied the notary, to
whom Olivier smiled with a knowing air.
"Imagine my surprise," continued Madame Mollot, "when I saw a stuff, a
material, of splendid magnificence, most beautiful! dazzling! I said
to myself, 'That must be a dressing-gown of the spun-glass material I
have sometimes seen in exhibitions of industrial products.' So I
fetched my opera-glass to examine it. But, good gracious! what do you
think I saw? Above the dressing-gown, where the head ought to have
been, I saw an enormous mass, something like a knee--I can't tell you
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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 Amazing Interlude by Mary Roberts Rinehart: And as though he also had never gone away, Henri pushed into the salle
a manger and stood before her smiling.
"You bandage well, mademoiselle," he said gayly. "But I? I bandage
better! See now, a turn here, and it is done! Does it hurt, Paul?"
The man in the dressing chair squirmed and grinned sheepishly.
"The iodine," he explained. "It is painful."
"Then I shall ask you a question, and you will forget the iodine. Why
is a dead German like the tail of a pig?"
Paul failed. The room failed. Even Colonel Lilias confessed himself at
fault.
"Because it is the end of the swine," explained Henri, and looked about
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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 Copy-Cat & Other Stories by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman: husband.
Margaret's stepmother had been a child in spite of
her two marriages, and a very silly, although pretty
child. The daughter, Camille, was like her, although
not so pretty, and the man whom Camille had mar-
ried was what Margaret had been taught to regard
as "common." His business pursuits were irregular
and partook of mystery. He always smoked ciga-
rettes and chewed gum. He wore loud shirts and a
diamond scarf-pin which had upon him the appear-
ance of stolen goods. The gem had belonged to
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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 Time Machine by H. G. Wells: two dimensions. But how about up and down? Gravitation limits
us there.'
`Not exactly,' said the Medical Man. `There are balloons.'
`But before the balloons, save for spasmodic jumping and the
inequalities of the surface, man had no freedom of vertical
movement.' `Still they could move a little up and down,' said
the Medical Man.
`Easier, far easier down than up.'
`And you cannot move at all in Time, you cannot get away from
the present moment.'
`My dear sir, that is just where you are wrong. That is just
The Time Machine |
