| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Dream Life and Real Life by Olive Schreiner: know I can trust you. I couldn't have told my mother, or any one but you."
"Now you must go; I have my work to finish."
The younger woman put her arms round her. "Oh, you are so good and
beautiful!"
The silk dress and the fur cloak rustled out of the room.
The woman who was left alone walked up and down, at last faster and faster,
till the drops stood on her forehead. After a time she went up to the
table; there was written illegibly in a man's hand on a fragment of
manuscript paper: "Can I come to see you this afternoon?" Near it was a
closed and addressed envelope. She opened it. In it were written the
words: "Yes, please, come."
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Dracula by Bram Stoker: The Professor and I sawed the top off the stake, leaving the point of it
in the body. Then we cut off the head and filled the mouth with garlic.
We soldered up the leaden coffin, screwed on the coffin lid, and gathering
up our belongings, came away. When the Professor locked the door he gave
the key to Arthur.
Outside the air was sweet, the sun shone, and the birds sang,
and it seemed as if all nature were tuned to a different pitch.
There was gladness and mirth and peace everywhere, for we
were at rest ourselves on one account, and we were glad,
though it was with a tempered joy.
Before we moved away Van Helsing said, "Now, my friends,
Dracula |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Beast in the Jungle by Henry James: full wind-up of their understanding. "I'll watch with you," said
May Bartram.
CHAPTER II
The fact that she "knew"--knew and yet neither chaffed him nor
betrayed him--had in a short time begun to constitute between them
a goodly bond, which became more marked when, within the year that
followed their afternoon at Weatherend, the opportunities for
meeting multiplied. The event that thus promoted these occasions
was the death of the ancient lady her great-aunt, under whose wing,
since losing her mother, she had to such an extent found shelter,
and who, though but the widowed mother of the new successor to the
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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 Iron Puddler by James J. Davis: good boy, Jimmy, and I'm proud of you. I always knew you'd make
your mark."
"I haven't made much of a mark, dad," I laughed. "City clerk
isn't much. County recorder is what I'm aiming for." In fact, I
had gone so far as to dream of being auditor of the state of
Indiana.
A jolly old uncle who was there and who was looked on as the
sage and wit of the Welsh settlement, began kidding me.
"From city clerk to county recorder is only a step, Jimmy," he
said. "Next you'll be governor, and then president."
Father took it seriously.
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