| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Octopus by Frank Norris: of Mrs. Broderson.
Annie Derrick was very pretty that evening. She was dressed in a
grey silk gown with a collar of pink velvet. Her light brown
hair that yet retained so much of its brightness was transfixed
by a high, shell comb, very Spanish. But the look of uneasiness
in her large eyes--the eyes of a young girl--was deepening every
day. The expression of innocence and inquiry which they so
easily assumed, was disturbed by a faint suggestion of aversion,
almost of terror. She settled herself in her place, in the
corner of the hall, in the rear rank of chairs, a little
frightened by the glare of lights, the hum of talk and the
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Rivers to the Sea by Sara Teasdale: THOUGHTS
WHEN I can make my thoughts come forth
To walk like ladies up and down,
Each one puts on before the glass
Her most becoming hat and gown.
But oh, the shy and eager thoughts
That hide and will not get them dressed,
Why is it that they always seem
So much more lovely than the rest?
TO DICK, ON HIS SIXTH BIRTHDAY
Tho' I am very old and wise,
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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 Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart: bell. It was answered by the elderly maid who took care of his
own bedroom.
Months later, puzzling over the situation, Bassett was to wonder,
and not to know, whether chance or design brought the Thorwald
woman to the door that night. At the time, and for weeks, he laid
it to tragic chance, the same chance which had placed in Dick's
hand the warning letter that had brought him West. But as months
went on, the part played in the tragedy by that faded woman with
her tired dispirited voice and her ash colored hair streaked with
gray, assumed other proportions, loomed large and mysterious.
There were times when he wished that some prescience of danger had
The Breaking Point |
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 War and the Future by H. G. Wells: record and reminder of German brutalities and German aggression,
the press organisations of the Allies have none of this
definiteness in their task. The aim of the national intelligence
in each of the allied countries is not to exalt one's own nation
and confuse and divide the enemy, but to get a real understanding
with the peoples and spirits of a number of different nations, an
understanding that will increase and become a fruitful and
permanent understanding between the allied peoples. Neither the
English, the Russians, the Italians, nor the French, to name only
the bigger European allies, are concerned in setting up a legend,
as the Germans are concerned in setting up a legend of themselves
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