| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Poor and Proud by Oliver Optic: through her tearful eyes, upon the pale but flushed cheek of the
patient sufferer.
"I only wish to prepare you for the worst. I may get well; and
for your sake, I have prayed that I may. And, Katy, I have never
before felt prepared to leave this world, full of trial and
sorrow as it has been for me. Whatever of woe, and want, and
disappointment it has been my lot to confront, has been a
blessing in disguise. I feel like a new creature. I feel
reconciled to live or die, as God ordains."
"Do not look on the dark side, mother," sobbed Katy.
"Nay, child, I am looking on the bright side, "returned Mrs.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Democracy In America, Volume 2 by Alexis de Toqueville: facility of combining words is most remarkable in the strange
formation of their verbs. The most complex action is often
expressed by a single verb, which serves to convey all the shades
of an idea by the modification of its construction. Those who
may wish to examine more in detail this subject, which I have
only glanced at superficially, should read: -
1. The correspondence of Mr. Duponceau and the Rev. Mr.
Hecwelder relative to the Indian languages, which is to be found
in the first volume of the "Memoirs of the Philosophical Society
of America," published at Philadelphia, 1819, by Abraham Small;
vol. i. p. 356-464.
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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 A Second Home by Honore de Balzac: lovingly traced with a delicate brush. Her eyes, of a light blue, were
expressive of innocence.
Though Granville discerned a sort of rigid reserve in this girlish
face, he could ascribe it to the devotion in which Angelique was rapt.
The solemn words of prayer, visible in the cold, came from between
rows of pearls, like a fragrant mist, as it were. The young man
involuntarily bent over her a little to breathe this diviner air. This
movement attracted the girl's notice; her gaze, raised to the altar,
was diverted to Granville, whom she could see but dimly in the gloom;
but she recognized him as the companion of her youth, and a memory
more vivid than prayer brought a supernatural glow to her face; she
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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 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle: should like to vanish away and never see any of them again--just
sending a line to pa, perhaps, to show him that I was alive. It
was awful to me to think of all those lords and ladies sitting
round that breakfast-table and waiting for me to come back. So
Frank took my wedding-clothes and things and made a bundle of
them, so that I should not be traced, and dropped them away
somewhere where no one could find them. It is likely that we
should have gone on to Paris to-morrow, only that this good
gentleman, Mr. Holmes, came round to us this evening, though how
he found us is more than I can think, and he showed us very
clearly and kindly that I was wrong and that Frank was right, and
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
