| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Somebody's Little Girl by Martha Young: their walk by the stone bench where Bessie Bell and the lady sat.
Everybody loved to come to the Mall in the afternoon when the band
played. Everybody loved to hear the gay music. Everybody loved to
see the children in their prettiest clothes, and to see all the
nurses rolling the babies in the carriages with the pretty parasols.
And one of the ladies passing by looked over to the stone bench
where Bessie Bell sat with her hands folded on her blue checked
apron, and where the lady had seated herself just as Sister Helen
Vincula had sat before she went across the long bridge.
And the lady said, as she passed by and looked: ``Striking
likeness.''
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Twilight Land by Howard Pyle: streets scrambling and fighting for the money and shouting and
cheering, and others gazing down at the spectacle from the
windows and house-tops, the fagot-maker and his troop rode slowly
along through the town.
Now it chanced that their way led along past the royal palace,
and the princess, hearing all the shouting and the hubbub, looked
over the edge of the balcony and down into the street. At the
same moment Abdallah chanced to look up, and their eyes met.
Thereupon the fagot-maker's heart crumbled away within him, for
she was the most beautiful princess in all the world. Her eyes
were as black as night, her hair like threads of fine silk, her
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: forsake the disguise of friendship, and confess themselves lovers.
Intelligence of Mr. Hindley's arrival drove Linton speedily to his
horse, and Catherine to her chamber. I went to hide little
Hareton, and to take the shot out of the master's fowling-piece,
which he was fond of playing with in his insane excitement, to the
hazard of the lives of any who provoked, or even attracted his
notice too much; and I had hit upon the plan of removing it, that
he might do less mischief if he did go the length of firing the
gun.
CHAPTER IX
HE entered, vociferating oaths dreadful to hear; and caught me in
Wuthering Heights |
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 Bab:A Sub-Deb, Mary Roberts Rinehart by Mary Roberts Rinehart: Here in the same city as I, looking out over perchance the same newspaper
to perchance the same sun, wondering--ah, what was he wondering?
I was not even then, in that first Rapture, foolish about him. I
knew that to him I was probably but a tender memory. I knew, to,
that he was but human and probably very concieted. On the other
hand, I pride myself on being a good judge of character, and he
carried Nobility in every linament. Even the obliteration of one
eye by the printer could only hamper but not destroy his dear face.
"Barbara," mother said sharply. "I am speaking. Are you being sulkey?"
"Pardon me, mother," I said in my gentlest tones. "I was but dreaming."
And as she made no reply, but rang the bell visciously, I went on,
|
