| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Yates Pride by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman: to see the same Harry Lawton who had gone away. She did not
expect to see a stout, middle-aged man, but a slim youth.
However, as they drew nearer each other, she knew; and curiously
enough it was that swing of the tightly furled umbrella which
gave her the clue. She knew Harry because of that. It was a
little boyish trick which had survived time. It was too late for
her to draw back, for he had seen her, and Eudora was keenly
alive to the indignity of abruptly turning and scuttling away
with the tail of her black silk swishing, her India shawl
trailing, and the baby-carriage bumping over the furrows. She
continued, and Harry Lawton continued, and they met.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Enemies of Books by William Blades: were used by our economical first printer, Caxton, to make boards,
by pasting them together. Whether the old paste was an attraction,
or whatever the reason may have been, the worm, when he got in there,
did not, as usual, eat straight through everything into the middle
of the book, but worked his way longitudinally, eating great furrows
along the leaves without passing out of the binding; and so furrowed
are these few leaves by long channels that it is difficult to raise
one of them without its falling to pieces.
This is bad enough, but we may be very thankful that in these temperate
climes we have no such enemies as are found in very hot countries,
where a whole library, books, bookshelves, table, chairs, and all,
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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 Beauty and The Beast by Bayard Taylor: fell, and he said in his ordinary voice--
"You sing remarkably well. Go, now: you shall have ten rubles and
an embroidered caftan for your singing."
But any one would have made a great mistake who dared to awaken
Prince Alexis a second time in the same manner.
V.
Prince Boris, in St. Petersburg, adopted the usual habits of his
class. He dressed elegantly; he drove a dashing troika; he
played, and lost more frequently than he won; he took no special
pains to shun any form of fashionable dissipation. His money went
fast, it is true; but twenty-five thousand rubles was a large sum
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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 Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad: whatever. The attitude in which he rested his menaced eyes was
profoundly meditative. He did not alter it the least bit. But his
tone was not dreamy.
"Well! What is it that you've found out already? You came upon
something unexpected on the first step."
"Not exactly unexpected, Sir Ethelred. What I mainly came upon was
a psychological state."
The Great Presence made a slight movement. "You must be lucid,
please."
"Yes, Sir Ethelred. You know no doubt that most criminals at some
time or other feel an irresistible need of confessing - of making a
The Secret Agent |
