| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton: impartiality. In the first place, she should have to marry some
day, and when she made the bargain she meant it to be an honest
one; and secondly, in the matter of love, she would never give
herself to anyone she did not really care for, and if such
happiness ever came to her she did not want it shorn of half its
brightness by the need of fibbing and plotting and dodging.
"I've seen too much of that kind of thing. Half the women I
know who've had lovers have had them for the fun of sneaking and
lying about it; but the other half have been miserable. And I
should be miserable."
It was at this point that she unfolded her plan. Why shouldn't
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Spirit of the Border by Zane Grey: At his feet sat his daughter, Whispering Winds. Her maidens were gathered
round her. She raised her soft, black eyes, shining with a wondrous light of
surprise and expectation, to the young missionary's face.
Beyond the circle the Indians were massed together, even beyond the limits of
the glade. Under the trees on every side sat warriors astride their steeds;
some lounged on the green turf; many reclined in the branches of low-spreading
maples.
As Jim looked out over the sea of faces he started in surprise. The sudden
glance of fiery eyes had impelled his gaze. He recognized Silvertip, the
Shawnee chief. The Indian sat motionless on a powerful black horse. Jim
started again, for the horse was Joe's thoroughbred, Lance. But Jim had no
The Spirit of the Border |
