| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells: was allowed to remain until it sank of its own accord into
the ground. As a rule the Martians, when it had served its
purpose, cleared the air of it again by wading into it and
directing a jet of steam upon it.
This they did with the vapour banks near us, as we saw
in the starlight from the window of a deserted house at Upper
Halliford, whither we had returned. From there we could
see the searchlights on Richmond Hill and Kingston Hill
going to and fro, and about eleven the windows rattled, and
we heard the sound of the huge siege guns that had been put
in position there. These continued intermittently for the space
War of the Worlds |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln by Helen Nicolay: views upon slavery; but good as it was, the measure was never
allowed to come to a vote, and Lincoln went back to Springfield,
at the end of his term, feeling doubtless that his efforts in
behalf of the slaves had been all in vain.
While in Washington he lived very simply and quietly, taking
little part in the social life of the city, though cordially
liked by all who made his acquaintance. An inmate of the modest
boarding-house where he had rooms has told of the cheery
atmosphere he seemed to bring with him into the common
dining-room, where political arguments were apt to run high. He
never appeared anxious to insist upon his own views; and when
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