| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Edition of The Ambassadors by Henry James: was his vision of the expense that, when so wound up, the lady at
home was prepared to incur. Vivid not less was his memory of what,
during his long observation of her, some of her attainments of that
high pitch had cost her. Distinctly she was at the highest now,
and Waymarsh, who imagined himself an independent performer, was
really, forcing his fine old natural voice, an overstrained
accompanist. The whole reference of his errand seemed to mark her
for Strether as by this time consentingly familiar to him, and
nothing yet had so despoiled her of a special shade of
consideration. "You don't know," he asked, "whether Sarah has been
directed from home to try me on the matter of my also going to
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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 Foolish Virgin by Thomas Dixon: human being vitally concerned in this affair, and the
only one save the man whose life would be joined to
hers.
In five minutes after the painful scene with Jane
she had completely regained her composure, and her face
was radiant with happiness when she waved to Jim. He
was standing before the door in the car, waiting to
take her to the City Hall to get the marriage
license.
"Gee!" he cried, "you're the prettiest, sweetest
thing that ever walked this earth, with those cheeks
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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 Dream Life and Real Life by Olive Schreiner: sing them now, she was glad, she was so free; but she sang the notes
without the words, as the cock-o-veets do. Singing and jumping all the
way, she went back, and took a sharp stone, and cut at the root of a
kippersol, and got out a large piece, as long as her arm, and sat to chew
it. Two conies came out on the rock above her head and peeped at her. She
held them out a piece, but they did not want it, and ran away.
It was very delicious to her. Kippersol is like raw quince, when it is
very green; but she liked it. When good food is thrown at you by other
people, strange to say, it is very bitter; but whatever you find yourself
is sweet!
When she had finished she dug out another piece, and went to look for a
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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 Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum: conquered the Postmen and delivered to me its imperious
Commands, insisted that Trot and Cap'n Bill be admitted
to the Land of Oz, where Trot could enjoy the society
of Dorothy, Betsy Bobbin and Ozma, while the one-
legged sailor-man might become a comrade of the Tin
Woodman, the Shaggy Man, Tik-Tok and all the other
quaint people who inhabit this wonderful fairyland.
It was no easy task to obey this order and land Trot
and Cap'n Bill safely in Oz, as you will discover by
reading this book. Indeed, it required the best efforts
of our dear old friend, the Scarecrow, to save them
The Scarecrow of Oz |
