| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe: stem of the Usher race, all time-honoured as it was, had put
forth, at no period, any enduring branch; in other words, that
the entire family lay in the direct line of descent, and had
always, with very trifling and very temporary variation, so lain.
It was this deficiency, I considered, while running over in
thought the perfect keeping of the character of the premises with
the accredited character of the people, and while speculating
upon the possible influence which the one, in the long
lapse of centuries, might have exercised upon the other--it was
this deficiency, perhaps, of collateral issue, and the consequent
undeviating transmission, from sire to son, of the patrimony with
The Fall of the House of Usher |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum: The Guardian of the Gates looked surprised, and shook his head as if
dissatisfied with the reply.
"What are you, a man or a pumpkin?" he asked, politely.
"Both, if you please," answered Jack.
"And this wooden horse -- is it alive?" questioned the Guardian.
The horse rolled one knotty eye upward and winked at Jack. Then it gave a
prance and brought one leg down on the Guardian's toes.
"Ouch!" cried the man; "I'm sorry I asked that question. But the answer is
most convincing. Have you any errand, sir, in the Emerald City?"
"It seems to me that I have," replied the Pumpkinhead, seriously; "but I
cannot think what it is. My father knows all about it, but he is not here."
The Marvelous Land of Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Maitre Cornelius by Honore de Balzac: carried her off so rapidly, with the strength of despair, that the
brocaded stuff of silk and gold tore noisily apart, and the sleeve
alone remained in the hand of the old man. A roar like that of a lion
rose louder than the shouts of the multitude, and a terrible voice
howled out the words:--
"To me, Poitiers! Servants of the Comte de Saint-Vallier, here! Help!
help!"
And the Comte Aymar de Poitiers, sire de Saint-Vallier, attempted to
draw his sword and clear a space around him. But he found himself
surrounded and pressed upon by forty or fifty gentlemen whom it would
be dangerous to wound. Several among them, especially those of the
|
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 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle: like to draw out of the business, there is plenty of time to do
so.'
"I thought of the fifty guineas, and of how very useful they
would be to me. 'Not at all,' said I, 'I shall be very happy to
accommodate myself to your wishes. I should like, however, to
understand a little more clearly what it is that you wish me to
do.'
"'Quite so. It is very natural that the pledge of secrecy which
we have exacted from you should have aroused your curiosity. I
have no wish to commit you to anything without your having it all
laid before you. I suppose that we are absolutely safe from
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
