| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Figure in the Carpet by Henry James: was awfully interesting; she had published at the age of nineteen a
novel in three volumes, "Deep Down," about which, in THE MIDDLE, he
had been really splendid. He appreciated my present eagerness and
undertook that the periodical in question should do no less; then
at the last, with his hand on the door, he said to me: "Of course
you'll be all right, you know." Seeing I was a trifle vague he
added: "I mean you won't be silly."
"Silly - about Vereker! Why what do I ever find him but awfully
clever?"
"Well, what's that but silly? What on earth does 'awfully clever'
mean? For God's sake try to get AT him. Don't let him suffer by
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Master Key by L. Frank Baum: where the air was thin but remarkably pleasant to inhale and the rays
of the sun were not so hot as when reflected by the surface of the water.
He could see the dark clouds rolling beneath him like volumes of smoke
from a factory chimney, and knew the earth was catching a severe
shower of rain; yet he congratulated himself on his foresight in not
being burdened with umbrella or raincoat, since his elevated position
rendered him secure from rain-clouds.
But, having cut himself off from the earth, there remained nothing to
see except the clear sky overhead and the tumbling clouds beneath; so
he took from his pocket the Automatic Record of Events, and watched
with breathless interest the incidents occurring in different parts of
The Master Key |
