| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley: blessing; and coming back, fell in (God be thanked!) with Valdez'
great galleon; and in it good booty, which the Dons his fellows had
left behind, like faithful and valiant comrades, and the Lord
Howard had let slip past him, thinking her deserted by her crew. I
have sent to Dartmouth a sight of noblemen and gentlemen, maybe a
half-hundred; and Valdez himself, who when I sent my pinnace aboard
must needs stand on his punctilios, and propound conditions. I
answered him, I had no time to tell with him; if he would needs
die, then I was the very man for him; if he would live, then, buena
querra. He sends again, boasting that he was Don Pedro Valdez, and
that it stood not with his honor, and that of the Dons in his
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde: angrily; and he threw the rose into the street, where it fell into
the gutter, and a cart-wheel went over it.
"Ungrateful!" said the girl. "I tell you what, you are very rude;
and, after all, who are you? Only a Student. Why, I don't believe
you have even got silver buckles to your shoes as the Chamberlain's
nephew has"; and she got up from her chair and went into the house.
"What I a silly thing Love is," said the Student as he walked away.
"It is not half as useful as Logic, for it does not prove anything,
and it is always telling one of things that are not going to
happen, and making one believe things that are not true. In fact,
it is quite unpractical, and, as in this age to be practical is
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield: be offered up as tokens of thanksgiving when her holiday time was over.
Four of the clock one July afternoon she appeared at the Pension Muller. I
was sitting in the arbour and watched her bustling up the path followed by
the red-bearded porter with her dress-basket in his arms and a sunflower
between his teeth. The widow and her five innocent daughters stood
tastefully grouped upon the steps in appropriate attitudes of welcome; and
the greetings were so long and loud that I felt a sympathetic glow.
"What a journey!" cried the Frau Fischer. "And nothing to eat in the
train--nothing solid. I assure you the sides of my stomach are flapping
together. But I must not spoil my appetite for dinner--just a cup of
coffee in my room. Bertha," turning to the youngest of the five, "how
|
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 Whirligigs by O. Henry: who expected a realization of their literary guide books,
they supplied the demands of the market.
"But perhaps I am wandering from the question. In
what way can I assist you, gentlemen? I beg you will
believe that the hospitality of the street is extended to
all. There are, I regret to say, many catchpenny places
of entertainment, but I cannot conceive that they would
entice you."
I felt Rivington lean somewhat heavily against me.
"Say!" he remarked, with uncertain utterance; "come
and have a drink with us."
|
