| 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: though her direct response was for some time delayed he could feel
in her meanwhile the working of this truth. It might have been
simply, as she waited, that they were now in presence altogether of
truth spreading like a flood and not for the moment to be offered
her in the mere cupful; inasmuch as who should ces dames prove to
be but persons about whom--once thus face to face with them--she
found she might from the first have told him almost everything?
This would have freely come had he taken the simple precaution of
giving her their name. There could be no better example--and she
appeared to note it with high amusement--than the way, making
things out already so much for himself, he was at last throwing
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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 Brother of Daphne by Dornford Yates: There was no sound at all. It was the dead of night indeed. I
glanced over the balustrade at the car. Her headlights burned
steadily, making the moonlit road ahead more bright.
"I can hear nothing," I said, coming back into the boudoir.
"Look," said Silvia, pointing over my shoulder.
As I turned, something struck me on the cheek. I stooped and
picked it up. A piece of flexible cord about five inches long.
I swung round and looked at the girl. On the table a pair of
scissors lay by her side.
"Why have you done this?" I demanded.
She raised her eyebrows by way of answer and reached for a
The Brother of Daphne |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: immediately it cannot be true?" - "Not true!" said I; "what do you
mean by that?" - "Why, sir," said he, "she will tell me it cannot
be true that this God I shall tell her of can be just, or can
punish or reward, since I am not punished and sent to the devil,
that have been such a wicked creature as she knows I have been,
even to her, and to everybody else; and that I should be suffered
to live, that have been always acting so contrary to what I must
tell her is good, and to what I ought to have done." - "Why, truly,
Atkins," said I, "I am afraid thou speakest too much truth;" and
with that I informed the clergyman of what Atkins had said, for he
was impatient to know. "Oh," said the priest, "tell him there is
Robinson Crusoe |
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 Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain: in the form of muttered ejaculations. One of these was, "Ain't nigger
enough in him to show in his fingernails, en dat takes mighty little--
yit dey's enough to pain his soul."
Presently she muttered. "Yassir, enough to paint a whole thimbleful
of 'em." At last her ramblings ceased altogether, and her countenance
began to clear--a welcome sight to Tom, who had learned her moods,
and knew she was on the threshold of good humor now.
He noticed that from time to time she unconsciously carried her finger
to the end of her nose. He looked closer and said:
"Why, Mammy, the end of your nose is skinned. How did that come?"
She sent out the sort of wholehearted peal of laughter which God had
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