| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Malbone: An Oldport Romance by Thomas Wentworth Higginson: Veiled Prophet of Khorassan, she would not have won him? So her
only resource was a cheerful acquiescence in Emilia's luck, and
a judicious propitiation of the accepted favorite.
"I wouldn't mind playing Virtue Rewarded myself, young woman,"
said Blanche, "at such a scale of prices. I would do it even
to so slow an audience as old Lambert. But you see, it isn't
my line. Don't forget your humble friends when you come into
your property, that's all." Then the tender coterie of
innocents entered on some preliminary consideration of
wedding-dresses.
When Emilia came home, she dismissed the whole matter lightly
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce: And gives us every moment a fresh fool.
Harley Shum
OLEAGINOUS, adj. Oily, smooth, sleek.
Disraeli once described the manner of Bishop Wilberforce as
"unctuous, oleaginous, saponaceous." And the good prelate was ever
afterward known as Soapy Sam. For every man there is something in the
vocabulary that would stick to him like a second skin. His enemies
have only to find it.
OLYMPIAN, adj. Relating to a mountain in Thessaly, once inhabited by
gods, now a repository of yellowing newspapers, beer bottles and
mutilated sardine cans, attesting the presence of the tourist and his
The Devil's Dictionary |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery: he had looked at twenty very much as he looked at sixty,
lacking a little of the grayness.
When he reached Bright River there was no sign of any
train; he thought he was too early, so he tied his horse in
the yard of the small Bright River hotel and went over to
the station house. The long platform was almost deserted;
the only living creature in sight being a girl who was
sitting on a pile of shingles at the extreme end. Matthew,
barely noting that it WAS a girl, sidled past her as quickly
as possible without looking at her. Had he looked he could
hardly have failed to notice the tense rigidity and
Anne of Green Gables |
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 Troll Garden and Selected Stories by Willa Cather: everywhere in his arms. He did not wait for encouragement. He
took up the story and told it slowly, as if to himself, just sort
of rose up and told his own woe to answer Mascagni's. It overcame
me."
"Poor devil," said Wyllis, looking at her with mysterious
eyes, "and so you've given him a new woe. Now he'll go on
wanting Grieg and Schubert the rest of his days and never getting
them. That's a girl's philanthropy for you!"
Jerry Lockhart came out of the house screwing his chin over
the unusual luxury of a stiff white collar, which his wife insisted
upon as a necessary article of toilet while Miss Elliot was
The Troll Garden and Selected Stories |
