| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart: though he was expected to kiss the hand that had beaten him, but
when she came close to him he put an arm around her shoulders.
"Poor Bev!' he said. "We've made pretty much a mess of it, haven't
we?"
He patted her and let her go, and her eyes followed him as he left
the room. The elder brotherliness of that embrace had told her the
truth as he could never have hurt her in words. She went back to
the chair where he had sat, and leaned her cheek against it.
After a time she went slowly upstairs and into her room. When her
maid came in she found her before the mirror of her dressing-table,
staring at her reflection with hard, appraising eyes
The Breaking Point |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson: till that hour. Presently after came Neil of the red head. The next
to go past was a miller's cart, and after that nothing but manifest
country people. Here was enough to have turned the most foolhardy from
his purpose, but my inclination ran too strong the other way. I argued
it out that if Neil was on that road, it was the right road to find him
in, leading direct to his chief's daughter; as for the other
Highlandman, if I was to be startled off by every Highlandman I saw, I
would scarce reach anywhere. And having quite satisfied myself with
this disingenuous debate, I made the better speed of it, and came a
little after four to Mrs. Drumond-Ogilvy's.
Both ladies were within the house; and upon my perceiving them together
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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 The Faith of Men by Jack London: You're too near dead as it is. But Twenty Mile is too small for
the pair of us, and you've got to mush. It's two hundred miles to
Holy Cross. You can make it if you're careful not to over-exert.
I'll give you grub, a sled, and three dogs. You'll be as safe as
if you were in jail, for you can't get out of the country. And
I'll give you one chance. You're almost dead. Very well. I shall
send no word to the Company until the spring. In the meantime, the
thing for you to do is to die. Now MUSH!"
"You go to bed!" Jees Uck insisted, when Amos had churned away into
the night towards Holy Cross. "You sick man yet, Neil."
"And you're a good girl, Jees Uck," he answered. "And here's my
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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 Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum: they're so pretty to look at."
This didn't help to solve the problem, and they all fell silent and
looked at one another questioningly.
"Really, I don't know what to do," muttered the shaggy man, gazing
hard at Toto; and the little dog wagged his tail and said "Bow-wow!"
just as if he could not tell, either, what to do. Button-Bright got a
stick and began to dig in the earth, and the others watched him for a
while in deep thought. Finally, the shaggy man said:
"It's nearly evening, now; so we may as well sleep in this pretty
place and get rested; perhaps by morning we can decide what is best
to be done."
The Road to Oz |
