| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Red Seal by Natalie Sumner Lincoln: noticeable when I went to Turnbull's aid, and I concluded then that
he had some heart trouble and had inhaled the drug to ward off an
attack. It bears out Mr. Rochester's theory of death from angina
pectoris."
"I see. Thank you, doctor. Please wait with the other witnesses;
we may call you again," and with a sigh the busy physician resigned
himself to spending another hour in the room reserved for the
witnesses.
The next to take the witness stand was Deputy Marshal Grant. His
testimony was short and concise, - and his description of the
scene in the police court preceding Turnbull's death was
The Red Seal |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Grimm's Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm: went into the castle together, and found a great many servants there,
and the rooms all richly furnished, and full of golden chairs and
tables; and behind the castle was a garden, and around it was a park
half a mile long, full of sheep, and goats, and hares, and deer; and
in the courtyard were stables and cow-houses. 'Well,' said the man,
'now we will live cheerful and happy in this beautiful castle for the
rest of our lives.' 'Perhaps we may,' said the wife; 'but let us sleep
upon it, before we make up our minds to that.' So they went to bed.
The next morning when Dame Ilsabill awoke it was broad daylight, and
she jogged the fisherman with her elbow, and said, 'Get up, husband,
and bestir yourself, for we must be king of all the land.' 'Wife,
Grimm's Fairy Tales |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Bride of Lammermoor by Walter Scott: presume there is some reference to a love affair between them."
"Do you really presume to form such a bold conjecture?" said
Tinto. "And the indignant earnestness with which you see the man
urge his suit, the unresisting and passive despair of the
younger female, the stern air of inflexible determination in the
elder woman, whose looks express at once consciousness that she
is acting wrong and a firm determination to persist in the course
she has adopted----"
"If her looks express all this, my dear Tinto," replied I,
interrupting him, "your pencil rivals the dramatic art of Mr.
Puff in The Critic, who crammed a whole complicated sentence
The Bride of Lammermoor |
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 Betty Zane by Zane Grey: Most interesting was the large room. The chinks between the logs had been
plastered up with clay and then the walls covered with white birch bark;
trophies of the chase, Indian bows and arrows, pipes and tomahawks hung upon
them; the wide spreading antlers of a noble buck adorned the space above the
mantel piece; buffalo robes covered the couches; bearskin rugs lay scattered
about on the hardwood floor. The wall on the western side had been built over
a huge stone, into which had been cut an open fireplace.
This blackened recess, which had seen two houses burned over it, when full of
blazing logs had cheered many noted men with its warmth. Lord Dunmore, General
Clark, Simon Kenton, and Daniel Boone had sat beside that fire. There
Cornplanter, the Seneca chief, had made his famous deal with Colonel Zane,
Betty Zane |
