| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Gentle Grafter by O. Henry: left to 15"--as plain as the Yale captain giving orders in the
football dialect. Now, boys,' says Bassett, 'this is an early rising
town. They tell me the citizens are all up and stirring before
daylight. I asked what for, and they said because breakfast was ready
at that time. And what of merry Robin Hood? It must be Yoicks! and
away with the tinkers' chorus. I'll stake you. How much do you want?
Speak up. Capital.'
"'My dear young friend,' says this ground squirrel of a Ricks,
standing on his hind legs and juggling nuts in his paws, 'I have
friends in Denver who would assist me. If I had a hundred dollars I--'
"Basset unpins a package of the currency and throws five twenties to
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Dawn O'Hara, The Girl Who Laughed by Edna Ferber: two great steps over to my chair, and grasped my hands
and pulled me to my feet. I stared up at him like a
silly creature. His face was suffused with a dull red,
and his eyes were unbelievably blue and bright. He had
my hands in his great grip, but his voice was very quiet
and contained.
"You are married," he said. "Never forget that for
a moment. You are bound, hard and fast and tight. And
you are for no man. You are married as much as though
that poor creature in the mad house were here working for
you, instead of the case being reversed as it is. So."
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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 Brother of Daphne by Dornford Yates: baths carefully. We passed from one to another, asking
questions, receiving information, examining, criticizing,
discussing for over an hour. Four times, to our great joy, the
excellent partner actually climbed into a bath, the more
satisfactorily to emphasize its advantages. As he sat there,
faithfully reproducing the various movements of the arms,
universally, I suppose, employed in the process of ablution, the
living picture which he presented, put an obviously severe strain
upon the gravity of my companion. And when, in response to a
daringly ingenuous thirst for intelligence on my part, he
proceeded to demonstrate the comparative ease with which a
The Brother of Daphne |
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 Stories From the Old Attic by Robert Harris: of his date, even after seeing her soaked to the skin, her gown
ruined, her hair plastered against her neck, her mascara running
down her cheeks in little inky rivulets--even after observing all
this, not only was he seen escorting her frequently to other
entertainments, but eventually he offered her a ring.
The History of Professor De Laix
The world had long been promised a fifty-volume definitive analysis
on the meaning of life by the brilliant and internationally
respected Professor de Laix. Admirers from all across the surface
of the earth produced unremitting and enthusiastic requests--nay,
demands--for the wise professor to bestow upon the world his
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