| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Pool in the Desert by Sara Jeanette Duncan: that he had a poorer idea than ever of society now that he saw the
pattern from the smart side. That his convictions on this head
survived one of the best Simla tailors shows that they must always
have been strong. I think he believed that he was doing all that he
did do to make himself socially possible with the purpose of
pleasing Dora Harris. I would not now venture to say how far Dora
inspired and controlled him in this direction, and how far the
impulse was his own. The measure of appreciation that began to seek
his pictures, poor and small though it was, gave him, on the other
hand, the most unalloyed delight. He talked of the advice of Sir
William Lamb as if it were anything but that of a pompous old ass,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain: I was joined there by a stranger, who dropped into conversation
with me--a brisk young fellow, who said he was born in a town
in the interior of Wisconsin, and had never seen a steamboat
until a week before. Also said that on the way down from La
Crosse he had inspected and examined his boat so diligently
and with such passionate interest that he had mastered the whole
thing from stem to rudder-blade. Asked me where I was from.
I answered, New England. 'Oh, a Yank!' said he; and went
chatting straight along, without waiting for assent or denial.
He immediately proposed to take me all over the boat and tell
me the names of her different parts, and teach me their uses.
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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 Paz by Honore de Balzac: But the gift of original thought which makes a great man he did not
possess, and it can never be acquired. Paz, great in heart only,
approached in heart to the sublime; but in the sphere of sentiments,
being more a man of action than of thought, he kept his thoughts to
himself; and they only served therefore to eat his heart out. What,
after all, is a thought unexpressed?
After Clementine's little speech, the Marquis de Ronquerolles and his
sister exchanged a singular glance, embracing their niece, Comte Adam,
and Paz. It was one of those rapid scenes which take place only in
France and Italy,--the two regions of the world (all courts excepted)
where eyes can say everything. To communicate to the eye the full
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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 Ebb-Tide by Stevenson & Osbourne: hideous excitement shook him, but he was master of himself.
Slowly he turned, and faced Attwater and the muzzle of a
pointed rifle. 'Why could I not do that last night?' he thought.
'Well, why don't you fire?' he said aloud, with a voice that
trembled.
Attwater slowly put his gun under his arm, then his hands in
his pockets.
'What brings you here?' he repeated.
'I don't know' ' said Herrick; and then, with a cry: 'Can you
do anything with me?'
'Are you armed?' said Attwater. 'I ask for the form's sake.'
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