| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Collected Articles by Frederick Douglass: of starting, and jumped upon the car myself when the train was in motion.
Had I gone into the station and offered to purchase a ticket,
I should have been instantly and carefully examined, and undoubtedly arrested.
In choosing this plan I considered the jostle of the train, and the natural
haste of the conductor, in a train crowded with passengers, and relied upon
my skill and address in playing the sailor, as described in my protection,
to do the rest. One element in my favor was the kind feeling which prevailed
in Baltimore and other sea-ports at the time, toward "those who go down
to the sea in ships." "Free trade and sailors' rights" just then expressed
the sentiment of the country. In my clothing I was rigged out in sailor style.
I had on a red shirt and a tarpaulin hat, and a black cravat tied
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Mosses From An Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne: lovely woman. The walls were hung with gorgeous curtains, which
imparted the combination of grandeur and grace that no other
species of adornment can achieve; and as they fell from the
ceiling to the floor, their rich and ponderous folds, concealing
all angles and straight lines, appeared to shut in the scene from
infinite space. For aught Georgiana knew, it might be a pavilion
among the clouds. And Aylmer, excluding the sunshine, which would
have interfered with his chemical processes, had supplied its
place with perfumed lamps, emitting flames of various hue, but
all uniting in a soft, impurpled radiance. He now knelt by his
wife's side, watching her earnestly, but without alarm; for he
Mosses From An Old Manse |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Chance by Joseph Conrad: flare-up for me, sir."
"This time," Captain Anthony exclaimed and turned round. "Mrs.
Anthony lighted the flare? Mrs. Anthony! . . . " Powell explained
that she was in the companion all the time.
"All the time," repeated the captain. It seemed queer to Powell
that instead of going himself to see the captain should ask him:
"Is she there now?"
Powell said that she had gone below after the ship had passed clear
of the Ferndale. Captain Anthony made a movement towards the
companion himself, when Powell added the information. "Mr. Smith
called to Mrs. Anthony from the saloon, sir. I believe they are
Chance |
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 Whirligigs by O. Henry: reflected his own importance -- by a little afterpiece of
philosophical comment.
"A gentleman like you, Sir," he went on affably,
"would never notice it, but it comes in my line to observe
what an immense amount of trouble is made by that com-
bination -- I mean the stage, diamonds and light-headed
women who aren't satisfied with good homes. I tell
you, Sir, a man these days and nights wants to know what
his women folks are up to."
The policeman smiled a good night, and returned to
the side of his charge, who had been intently watching
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