| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Amazing Interlude by Mary Roberts Rinehart: armies, of big guns on caterpillar trucks that were moving slowly up to
the Allied Front. Great Britain had at last learned her lesson, that
only shells of immense destructiveness were of any avail against the
German batteries. She was moving heaven and earth to get them, but the
supply was still inadequate. With the new shells experiments were being
made in barrage fire - costly experiments now and then; but the Allies
were apt in learning the ugly game of modem war.
Only on the Belgian Front was there small change. The shattered army
was being freshly outfitted. England was sending money and ammunition,
and on the sand dunes small bodies of fresh troops drilled and smiled
grimly and drilled again. But there were not, as in England and in
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Seraphita by Honore de Balzac: to his works. According to him, all things are derived from heaven,
all things lead back to heaven. His writings are sublime and clear; he
speaks in heaven, and earth hears him. Take one of his sentences by
itself and a volume could be made of it'; and the disciple quotes the
following passages taken from a thousand others that would answer the
same purpose.
"'The kingdom of heaven,' says Swedenborg ('Celestial Arcana'), 'is
the kingdom of motives. ACTION is born in heaven, thence into the
world, and, by degrees, to the infinitely remote parts of earth.
Terrestrial effects being thus linked to celestial causes, all things
are CORRESPONDENT and SIGNIFICANT. Man is the means of union between
Seraphita |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Buttered Side Down by Edna Ferber: hadn't even devoured her with his gaze.
This morning, however, he had begun to show some signs of
life. He was developing possibilities. Whereupon, at this
critical stage in the story-writing game, the hair-washing mania
seized Mary Louise. She tried to dismiss the idea. She pushed it
out of her mind, and slammed the door. It only popped in again.
Her fingers wandered to her hair. Her eyes wandered to the June
sunshine outside. The hero was left poised, arms outstretched, and
unquenchable love-light burning in his eyes, while Mary Louise
mused, thus:
"It certainly feels sticky. It's been six weeks, at least.
Buttered Side Down |
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 Bab:A Sub-Deb, Mary Roberts Rinehart by Mary Roberts Rinehart: "It's the way I would greet most any Left-over," I said. "I eat
hash at school, but I don't have to pretend to like it."
"I came to see YOU."
"How youthfull of you!" I replied, in stinging tones.
He sat down on a Bench and stared at me.
"What's got into you lately?" he said. "Just as you're geting to be
the prettiest girl around, and I'm strong for you, you--you turn
into a regular Rattlesnake."
The kindness of his tone upset me considerably, to who so few kind
Words had come recently. I am compeled to confess that I wept,
although I had not expected to, and indeed shed few tears, although
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