| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Phoenix and the Turtle by William Shakespeare: Every fowl of tyrant wing,
Save the eagle, feather'd king:
Keep the obsequy so strict.
Let the priest in surplice white,
That defunctive music can,
Be the death-defying swan,
Lest the requiem lack his right.
And thou, treble-dated crow,
That thy sable gender mak'st
With the breath thou giv'st and tak'st,
'Mongst our mourners shalt thou go.
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: assume your proper position in society, for I will not allow
my destiny to overshadow yours. Daughter of a prince, I
restore to you the riches and name of your father."
Haidee became pale, and lifting her transparent hands to
heaven, exclaimed in a voice stifled with tears, "Then you
leave me, my lord?"
"Haidee, Haidee, you are young and beautiful; forget even my
name, and be happy."
"It is well," said Haidee; "your order shall be executed, my
lord; I will forget even your name, and be happy." And she
stepped back to retire.
The Count of Monte Cristo |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Red Seal by Natalie Sumner Lincoln: As the widow stepped into the corridor she brushed by an
over-dressed woman, whose cheap finery gave clear indication of her
tastes. Hardly noticing another's presence she turned and took
McIntyre's arm and they strolled off together, her soft laugh
floating back to where Mrs. Sylvester stood talking to her husband.
CHAPTER XIII
THE FACE AT THE WINDOW
Harry Kent rang the doorbell at the McIntyre residence for the fifth
time, and wondered what had become of the faithful Grimes; the butler
was usually the soul of promptness, and to keep a caller waiting on
the doorstep would, in his category, rank as the height of
The Red Seal |
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 Desert Gold by Zane Grey: showed a strange, almost sullen reluctance which Gale had never
seen in them before. Raiders were one thing, Rojas was another;
Camino del Diablo still another; but that vast and desolate and
unwatered waste of cactus and lava, the Sonora Desert, might
appal the stoutest heart. Gale felt his own sink--felt himself
flinch.
"Oh, where is he going?" cried Mercedes. Her poignant voice seemed
to break a spell.
"Shore, lady, Yaqui's goin' home," replied Ladd, gently. "An'
considerin' our troubles I reckon we ought to thank God he knows
the way."
Desert Gold |
