| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Wyoming by William MacLeod Raine: "One moment! Mr. McWilliams and I are going with you," the girl
announced.
"Changed your mind? Think you'll take a little pasear, after
all?"
"I don't want to be responsible for your killing. We'll see you
safe off the place," she answered curtly.
The foreman fell in on one side of Bannister, his mistress on the
other. They rode in close formation, to lessen the chance of an
ambuscade. Bannister alone chatted at his debonair ease, ignoring
the responsibility they felt for his safety.
"I got my ride, after all," he presently chuckled. "To be sure, I
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Astoria by Washington Irving: the main body of the Columbia. The Canadian voyageurs rejoiced at
the idea of once more launching themselves upon their favorite
element; of exchanging their horses for canoes, and of gliding
down the bosoms of rivers, instead of scrambling over the backs
of mountains. Others of the party, also, inexperienced in this
kind of travelling, considered their toils and troubles as
drawing to a close. They had conquered the chief difficulties of
this great rocky barrier, and now flattered themselves with the
hope of an easy downward course for the rest of their journey.
Little did they dream of the hardships and perils by land and
water, which were yet to be encountered in the frightful
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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 Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol: internal arrangements of that receptacle. Why should I not gratify
their curiosity? To begin with, the centre of the box contained a
soap-dish, with, disposed around it, six or seven compartments for
razors. Next came square partitions for a sand-box[7] and an inkstand,
as well as (scooped out in their midst) a hollow of pens, sealing-wax,
and anything else that required more room. Lastly there were all sorts
of little divisions, both with and without lids, for articles of a
smaller nature, such as visiting cards, memorial cards, theatre
tickets, and things which Chichikov had laid by as souvenirs. This
portion of the box could be taken out, and below it were both a space
for manuscripts and a secret money-box--the latter made to draw out
Dead Souls |
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 Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, etc. by Oscar Wilde: tasselled horns and with their tiny hands waved to her to go back.
'Go back! little Virginia,' they cried, 'go back!' but the Ghost
clutched her hand more tightly, and she shut her eyes against them.
Horrible animals with lizard tails, and goggle eyes, blinked at her
from the carven chimney-piece, and murmured 'Beware! little
Virginia, beware! we may never see you again,' but the Ghost glided
on more swiftly, and Virginia did not listen. When they reached
the end of the room he stopped, and muttered some words she could
not understand. She opened her eyes, and saw the wall slowly
fading away like a mist, and a great black cavern in front of her.
A bitter cold wind swept round them, and she felt something pulling
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