| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Pocket Diary Found in the Snow by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: seriously ill, they tell me. The janitor seems very fond of him.
"Hm - we'll see what sort of a man he is. You can go back to the
station now, you must be nearly frozen standing here."
Muller looked carefully at the house which bore the number 14. It
was a handsome, old-fashioned building, a true patrician mansion
which looked worthy of all confidence. But Muller knew that the
outside of a house has very little to do with the honesty of the
people who live in it. He rang the bell carefully, as he wished no
one but the janitor to hear him.
The latter did not seem at all surprised to find a stranger asking
for the owner of the house at so late an hour. "You come with a
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from At the Sign of the Cat & Racket by Honore de Balzac: the depth of winter, and decorated with the taste peculiar to women
born to opulence or to the elegant habits of the aristocracy,
Augustine felt a terrible clutch at her heart; she coveted the secrets
of an elegance of which she had never had an idea; she breathed in an
air of grandeur which explained the attraction of the house for her
husband. When she reached the private rooms of the Duchess she was
filled with jealousy and a sort of despair, as she admired the
luxurious arrangement of the furniture, the draperies and the
hangings. Here disorder was a grace, here luxury affected a certain
contempt of splendor. The fragrance that floated in the warm air
flattered the sense of smell without offending it. The accessories of
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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 Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton: different at her age, you know. I liked dancing, and doing a
pretty bit of fancy-work. Not that I couldn't sketch, too; I had
a master down from London. My aunts have some of my crayons hung
up in their drawing-room now--I did a view of Kenilworth which
was thought pleasing. But I liked a picnic, too, or a pretty
walk through the woods with young people of my own age. I say
it's more natural, Mr. Wyant; one may have a feeling for art, and
do crayons that are worth framing, and yet not give up everything
else. I was taught that there were other things."
Wyant, half-ashamed of provoking these innocent confidences,
could not resist another question. "And Miss Lombard cares for
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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 House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne: dreamed of this? You are not young, Cousin Jaffrey!--no, nor
middle-aged,--but already an old man! The hair is white upon
your head! How many years have you to live? Are you not rich
enough for that little time? Shall you be hungry,--shall you
lack clothes, or a roof to shelter you,--between this point
and the grave? No! but, with the half of what you now possess,
you could revel in costly food and wines, and build a house twice
as splendid as you now inhabit, and make a far greater show to the
world,--and yet leave riches to your only son, to make him bless
the hour of your death! Then, why should you do this cruel,
cruel thing?--so mad a thing, that I know not whether to call it
House of Seven Gables |
