| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Oakdale Affair by Edgar Rice Burroughs: gave no indication that he would ever accept them as
aught but enemies.
It was a breathless Willie who broke into his mother's
kitchen wide eyed and gasping from the effects of ex-
citement and a long, hard run.
"Fer lan' sakes!" exclaimed Mrs. Case. "Whatever in
the world ails you?"
"I got 'em; I got 'em!" cried Willie, dashing for the
telephone.
"Fer lan' sakes! I should think you did hev 'em," re-
torted his mother as she trailed after him in the direc-
The Oakdale Affair |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Miracle Mongers and Their Methods by Harry Houdini: Mr. Sothern's face.
After this an enormous hot iron, in the
shape of a horseshoe, was placed on Mr.
Sothern's body, where it cooled, without
leaving a sign of a burn.
As a final test, a tailor's goose was put
on the coals, and, after being thoroughly
heated, was placed on Mr. Sothern's chair.
The latter lighted a fresh cigar, and then
coolly took a seat on the goose without the
least seeming inconvenience. During the
Miracle Mongers and Their Methods |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Astoria by Washington Irving: that they could not be far from the bottoms of the Missouri; and
they were rejoiced at putting up several prairie hens, a kind of
grouse seldom found far in the interior. In picking up driftwood
for fuel, also, they found on some pieces the mark of an axe,
which caused much speculation as to the time when and the persons
by whom the trees had been felled. Thus they went on, like
sailors at sea, who perceive in every floating weed and wandering
bird, harbingers of the wished-for land.
By the close of the month the weather became very mild, and,
heavily burdened as they were, they found the noontide
temperature uncomfortably warm. On the 30th, they came to three
|
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 Just Folks by Edgar A. Guest: And I fancied, once I had it, I should never have to fret.
But I saw that I had wasted precious hours in seeking wealth;
I had made a tidy fortune, but I couldn't buy her health.
And I saw this truth much clearer than I'd ever seen before:
That the rich man and the poor man have to let death through the door.
We're not half so keen for money as one time we used to be;
I am thinking more of mother and she's thinking more of me.
Now we spend more time together, and I know we're meaning more
To each other on life's journey, than we ever meant before.
It was hard to understand it! Oh, the dreary nights we've cried!
But we've found the depth of loving, since the day that Jessie died.
Just Folks |
