| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from An International Episode by Henry James: was a traveler's tale. Though she was a girl of a lively imagination,
there could in the nature of things be, to her sense, no reality in
the idea of her belonging to a vulgar category. What she said aloud was,
"I must say that in that case I am very sorry for Lord Lambeth."
Mrs. Westgate, more and more exhilarated by her scheme, was smiling
at her again. "If I could only believe it was safe!" she exclaimed.
"When you begin to pity him, I, on my side, am afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"Of your pitying him too much."
Bessie Alden turned away impatiently; but at the end of a minute she
turned back. "What if I should pity him too much?" she asked.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Enchanted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum: again to Prince Marvel, while his crimson face glowed with
embarrassment, and his front eye rolled with baffled rage as he
thought how vain had been all his efforts to kill this impudent
invader of his domains.
But his powers were by no means exhausted. He was a mighty king--the
mightiest of all in the Enchanted Island, he believed--and ways to
destroy his enemies were numerous.
"Send for a hundred of my Gray Men!" he suddenly cried; and a courtier
ran at once to summon them. The Gray Men would obey his orders
without question, he well knew. They were silent, stubborn, quick,
and faithful to their king. Terribus had but to command and his will
The Enchanted Island of Yew |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Pool in the Desert by Sara Jeanette Duncan: I must exist more than half in other people. It is what they think
and feel that matters to me, just as much as what I think and feel.
The best of life is in that communication.'
'It has always been a passion with you, Judy,' I replied. 'I can
imagine how much you must miss--'
'Whom?'
'Anna Chichele,' I said softly.
She got up and walked about the room, fixing here and there an
intent regard upon things which she did not see. 'Oh, I do,' she
said at one point, with the effect of pulling herself together. She
took another turn or two, and then finding herself near the door she
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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 Margret Howth: A Story of To-day by Rebecca Harding Davis: He got up at last, and without a sigh went slowly away, leaving
the courage and self-reliance of his life behind him, buried with
that one beautiful, fair dream of life. He never came back
again. People said Knowles was quieter since his loss; but I
think only God saw the depth of the difference. When he was
leaving the plateau, that day, he looked back at it, as if to say
good-bye,--not to the dingy fields and river, but to the
Something he had nursed so long in his rugged heart, and given up
now forever. As he looked, the warm, red sun came out, lighting
up with a heartsome warmth the whole gray day. Some blessing
power seemed to look at him from this grave yard of his hopes,
Margret Howth: A Story of To-day |
