| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Copy-Cat & Other Stories by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman: don't think myself that they know they tell whop-
pers; but they ought to know. Strikes me you are
just spoiling the whole lot, father thrown in, Annie.
You are a dear, just as they say, but you are too
much of a dear to be good for them."
Annie stared.
"You are letting that omelet burn," said Benny.
"Say, Annie, I will go out and turn that hay in
the morning. I know I don't amount to much, but
I ain't a girl, anyhow, and I haven't got a cross-eyed
soul. That's what ails a lot of girls. They mean all
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, etc. by Oscar Wilde: Lord Arthur started, and a faint blush came into his cheek. He had
almost entirely forgotten what he had done, and it seemed to him a
curious coincidence that Sybil, for whose sake he had gone through
all that terrible anxiety, should have been the first to remind him
of it.
'Of course you can have it, Sybil. I gave it to poor Lady Clem
myself.'
'Oh! thank you, Arthur; and may I have the BONBON too? I had no
notion that Lady Clementina liked sweets. I thought she was far
too intellectual.'
Lord Arthur grew deadly pale, and a horrible idea crossed his mind.
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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 War in the Air by H. G. Wells: balancing in every case the chances of victory. As a
consequence, and after their first experiences of battle, one
finds a growing tendency on the part of the air-fleet admirals to
evade joining battle, and to seek rather the moral advantage of a
destructive counter attack.
And if the airships were too ineffective, the early
drachenflieger were either too unstable, like the German, or too
light, like the Japanese, to produce immediately decisive
results. Later, it is true, the Brazilians launched a
flying-machine of a type and scale that was capable of dealing
with an airship, but they built only three or four, they operated
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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 Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde: together.]
LADY BRACKNELL. Pardon me, you are not engaged to any one. When
you do become engaged to some one, I, or your father, should his
health permit him, will inform you of the fact. An engagement
should come on a young girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant,
as the case may be. It is hardly a matter that she could be
allowed to arrange for herself . . . And now I have a few questions
to put to you, Mr. Worthing. While I am making these inquiries,
you, Gwendolen, will wait for me below in the carriage.
GWENDOLEN. [Reproachfully.] Mamma!
LADY BRACKNELL. In the carriage, Gwendolen! [GWENDOLEN goes to
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