| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Miracle Mongers and Their Methods by Harry Houdini: passed. No longer does fashion flock to his
doors, nor science study his wonders, and he
must now seek a following in the gaping
loiterers of the circus side-show, the pumpkin-
and-prize-pig country fair, or the tawdry
booth at Coney Island. The credulous, wonder-
loving scientist, however, still abides with
us and, while his serious-minded brothers are
wringing from Nature her jealously guarded
secrets, the knowledge of which benefits all
mankind, he gravely follows that perennial
Miracle Mongers and Their Methods |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Passion in the Desert by Honore de Balzac: slept. He had made the sacrifice of his life. His last thought was one
of regret. He repented having left the Maugrabins, whose nomadic life
seemed to smile upon him now that he was far from them and without
help. He was awakened by the sun, whose pitiless rays fell with all
their force on the granite and produced an intolerable heat--for he
had had the stupidity to place himself adversely to the shadow thrown
by the verdant majestic heads of the palm trees. He looked at the
solitary trees and shuddered--they reminded him of the graceful shafts
crowned with foliage which characterize the Saracen columns in the
cathedral of Arles.
But when, after counting the palm trees, he cast his eyes around him,
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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 Life in the Iron-Mills by Rebecca Davis: pays them money to do with their souls' concerns, more than the
grocer or butcher who takes it?"
"And yet," said Mitchell's cynical voice, "look at her! How
hungry she is!"
Kirby tapped his boot with his cane. No one spoke. Only the
dumb face of the rough image looking into their faces with the
awful question, "What shall we do to be saved?" Only Wolfe's
face, with its heavy weight of brain, its weak, uncertain mouth,
its desperate eyes, out of which looked the soul of his class,--
only Wolfe's face turned towards Kirby's. Mitchell laughed,--a
cool, musical laugh.
Life in the Iron-Mills |
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 Memoir of Fleeming Jenkin by Robert Louis Stevenson: woman weaving rainbow illusions; the ugly, clear-sighted, loving
son sitting at her side in one of his rare hours of pleasure, half-
beguiled, half-amused, wholly admiring, as he listens. But as he
goes home, and the fancy pictures fade, and Stowting is once more
burthened with debt, and the noisy companions and the long hours of
drudgery once more approach, no wonder if the dirty green seems all
the dirtier or if Atlas must resume his load.
But in healthy natures, this time of moral teething passes quickly
of itself, and is easily alleviated by fresh interests; and
already, in the letter to Frank Scott, there are two words of hope:
his friends in London, his love for his profession. The last might
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