| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Young Forester by Zane Grey: sprouts grew, seemed generally to be down-slope from the parent trees. It
was easy to tell the places where the wind had blown the seeds.
The hours sped by. The shadows of the pines lengthened, the sun set, and
the shade deepened in the hollows. Returning to my camp, I cooked my supper
and made my bed. When I had laid up a store of firewood it was nearly dark.
With night came the coyotes. The carcass of the deer attracted them, and
they approached from all directions. At first it was fascinating to hear
one howl far off in the forest, and then to notice the difference in the
sound as he came nearer and nearer. The way they barked and snapped out
there in the darkness was as wild a thing to hear as any boy could have
wished for. It began to be a little too much for me. I kept up a bright
The Young Forester |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories by Alice Dunbar: woods, and leaves a great glow on the still bayou. Ma'am Mouton
paused at her gate and cast a contemplative look at the red sky.
"Hit will rain to-morrow, sho'. I mus' git in my t'ings."
Ma'am Mouton's remark must have been addressed to herself or to
the lean dog, for no one else was visible. She moved briskly
about the yard, taking things from the line, when Louisette's
voice called cheerily:
"Ah, Ma'am Mouton, can I help?"
Louisette was petite and plump and black-haired. Louisette's
eyes danced, and her lips were red and tempting. Ma'am Mouton's
face relaxed as the small brown hands relieved hers of their
The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Wrong Box by Stevenson & Osbourne: The words were uttered with undisguised ill-feeling; it was plain
the pair were not congenial, and further conversation, even to
one of Mr Finsbury's pathetic loquacity, was out of the question.
With an angry gesture, he pulled down the brim of the forage-cap
over his eyes, and, producing a notebook and a blue pencil from
one of his innermost pockets, soon became absorbed in
calculations.
On his part the carrier fell to whistling with fresh zest; and if
(now and again) he glanced at the companion of his drive, it was
with mingled feelings of triumph and alarm--triumph because he
had succeeded in arresting that prodigy of speech, and alarm lest
|
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 Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe: him that I was a fortune, and so did not actually deceive him
myself, yet I did encourage the having it thought that I was so,
and by that means I was the occasion originally of his mischief.
The surprise of the thing only struck deeper into my thoughts,
any gave me stronger reflections than all that had befallen me
before. I grieved day and night for him, and the more for that
they told me he was the captain of the gang, and that he had
committed so many robberies, that Hind, or Whitney, or the
Golden Farmer were fools to him; that he would surely be
hanged if there were no more men left in the country he was
born in; and that there would abundance of people come in
Moll Flanders |
