| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry: and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they
are wisest. They are the magi.
End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of THE GIFT OF THE MAGI.
The Gift of the Magi |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Wrong Box by Stevenson & Osbourne: higher,' cried the little artist to himself. All through his tea
and afterward, as he was giving his eldest boy a lesson on the
fiddle, his mind dwelt no longer on his troubles, but he was rapt
into the better land; and no sooner was he at liberty than he
hastened with positive exhilaration to his studio.
Not even the sight of the barrel could entirely cast him down. He
flung himself with rising zest into his work--a bust of Mr
Gladstone from a photograph; turned (with extraordinary success)
the difficulty of the back of the head, for which he had no
documents beyond a hazy recollection of a public meeting;
delighted himself by his treatment of the collar; and was only
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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 Commission in Lunacy by Honore de Balzac: have unfortunately read the letter in which he begged him to apply to
Deodatus, the name agreed upon by the Court to designate the King. In
this letter there is a tone of jocosity with reference to the victim,
which filled me with horror. In the end, the sums of money sent by the
refugee family to ransom the poor man were kept by the governor, who
despatched the merchant all the same."
The Marquis paused, as though the memory of it were still too heavy
for him to bear.
"This unfortunate family were named Jeanrenaud," he went on. "That
name is enough to account for my conduct. I could never think without
keen pain of the secret disgrace that weighed on my family. That
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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 Complete Angler by Izaak Walton: swifter streams, and there lies at the watch for any fly or minnow that
comes near to him; and he especially loves the May-fly, which is bred
of the cod-worm, or cadis; and these make the Trout bold and lusty, and
he is usually fatter and better meat at the end of that month than at any
time of the year.
Now you are to know that it is observed, that usually the best Trouts are
either red or yellow; though some, as the Fordidge Trout, be white and
yet good; but that is not usual: and it is a note observable, that the
female Trout hath usually a less head, and a deeper body than the male
Trout, and is usually the better meat. And note, that a hog back and a
little head, to either Trout, Salmon or any other fish, is a sign that that
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