| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Blix by Frank Norris: hand, and that at a time when every nerve of him quivered like a
smitten harp-string. It was not in him or in his temperament to
love her calmly, quietly, or at a distance; he wanted the touch of
her hand, the touch of her cool, smooth cheek, the delicious aroma
of her breath in his nostrils her lips against his, her hair and
all its fragrance in his face
"Condy, what's the matter?" Blix was looking at him with an
expression of no little concern. "What are you frowning so about,
and clinching your fists? And you're pale, too. What's gone
wrong?"
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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 Pupil by Henry James: casual art upon Pemberton, but he felt they had enough of an eye to
him not to wish to meet him as young ladies whose frocks had been
confiscated - and Ulick appeared to have jumped overboard. The
host and his staff, in a word, had ceased to "go on" at the pace of
their guests, and the air of embarrassed detention, thanks to a
pile of gaping trunks in the passage, was strangely commingled with
the air of indignant withdrawal. When Morgan took all this in -
and he took it in very quickly - he coloured to the roots of his
hair. He had walked from his infancy among difficulties and
dangers, but he had never seen a public exposure. Pemberton
noticed in a second glance at him that the tears had rushed into
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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 Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne: coal, threw out its smoke upon cotton, coffee, nutmeg, clove,
and pepper plantations, while the steam curled in spirals around
groups of palm-trees, in the midst of which were seen picturesque
bungalows, viharis (sort of abandoned monasteries), and marvellous
temples enriched by the exhaustless ornamentation of Indian architecture.
Then they came upon vast tracts extending to the horizon, with jungles
inhabited by snakes and tigers, which fled at the noise of the train;
succeeded by forests penetrated by the railway, and still haunted
by elephants which, with pensive eyes, gazed at the train as it passed.
The travellers crossed, beyond Milligaum, the fatal country so often
stained with blood by the sectaries of the goddess Kali. Not far off
Around the World in 80 Days |
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 Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum: one last good-bye she clapped the heels of her shoes together three
times, saying:
"Take me home to Aunt Em!"
Instantly she was whirling through the air, so swiftly that
all she could see or feel was the wind whistling past her ears.
The Silver Shoes took but three steps, and then she stopped so
suddenly that she rolled over upon the grass several times before
she knew where she was.
At length, however, she sat up and looked about her.
"Good gracious!" she cried.
For she was sitting on the broad Kansas prairie, and just
The Wizard of Oz |
