| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Mother by Owen Wister: thousand dollars,' I said."
"'Only!' said Ethel. 'Well, I hope his mother will lose a great deal
more than that.'"
"It is seldom that Ethel taps her foot, but she had begun to tap it now;
and this inclined me to avoid any attempt at a soothing reply, in the
hope that silence might prove still more soothing, and that thus we might
get away from old Mrs. Beverly."
"'She cannot possibly be less than sixty-five,' Ethel presently
announced. 'And she is far more likely to be seventy.'"
"I thought it best to agree to any age that Ethel chose to give the old
lady."
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Second Home by Honore de Balzac: reticence.
"There, madame, I must correct you," said the Count, coolly
interrupting his wife. "Though Mademoiselle de Bellefeuille is rich,
it is at nobody's expense. My uncle was master of his fortune, and had
several heirs. In his lifetime, and out of pure friendship, regarding
her as his niece, he gave her the little estate of Bellefeuille. As
for anything else, I owe it to his liberality--"
"Such conduct is only worthy of a Jacobin!" said the sanctimonious
Angelique.
"Madame, you are forgetting that your own father was one of the
Jacobins whom you scorn so uncharitably," said the Count severely.
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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 Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: usually abdicate with the first heir to the throne and go into a
seclusion almost as close as a French nunnery, though by no means
as quiet. Whether they like it or not, they are virtually put
upon the shelf as soon as the wedding excitement is over, and most
of them might exclaim, as did a very pretty woman the other day,
"I'm as handsome as ever, but no one takes any notice of me because
I'm married."
Not being a belle or even a fashionable lady, Meg did not
experience this affliction till her babies were a year old,
for in her little world primitive customs prevailed, and she
found herself more admired and beloved than ever.
Little Women |
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 Moon-Face and Other Stories by Jack London: admitted that his course proved the nobility of his motive. The police
departments of all the great cities cooperated, and even the United States
Government stepped in, and the affair became one of the highest questions of
state. Certain contingent funds of the nation were devoted to the unearthing
of the M. of M., and every government agent was on the alert. But all in vain.
The Minions of Midas carried on their damnable work unhampered. They had their
way and struck unerringly.
But while he fought to the last, Mr. Hale could not wash his hands of the
blood with which they were dyed. Though not technically a murderer, though no
jury of his peers would ever have convicted him, none the less the death of
every individual was due to him. As I said before, a word from him and the
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