| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Twilight Land by Howard Pyle: palace, the like of which was not in the four quarters of the
earth--a palace of marble and gold and carmine and
ultramarine--rising into the purple starry sky, and shining in
the moonlight like a vision of Paradise. The palace was
illuminated from top to bottom and from end to end; the windows
shone like crystal, and from it came sounds of music and
rejoicing.
When the crowd that stood waiting saw the young man appear, they
shouted: "Welcome! Welcome! To the master who has come again! To
Aben Hassen the Fool!"
The young man walked up the avenue of marble to the palace,
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Iron Puddler by James J. Davis: and let them know that I was as square in my dealings with them
as they were with me. I studied their business as thoroughly as I
studied the case of the men. I soon got from them all the
concessions we had demanded when we called the strike. It was
fortunate for us that the strike was cancelled, for we kept our
jobs and in due course got all the things that we were going to
strike for.
In fact, I got so many concessions by dickering with those
bosses that I made life a burden for them at times. I knew the
cost of every different kind of plate the mill put out, and so I
could demand a high rate of wages and support my demands with
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Maitre Cornelius by Honore de Balzac: old man made every one suppose him the possessor of Oriental riches.
Consequently the NARRATORS of that region--the home of the tale in
France--built rooms full of gold and precious tones in the Fleming's
house, not omitting to attribute all this fabulous wealth to compacts
with Magic.
Maitre Cornelius had brought with him from Ghent two Flemish valets,
an old woman, and a young apprentice; the latter, a youth with a
gentle, pleasing face, served him as secretary, cashier, factotum, and
courier. During the first year of his settlement in Tours, a robbery
of considerable amount took place in his house, and judicial inquiry
showed that the crime must have been committed by one of its inmates.
|
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 Beauty and The Beast by Bayard Taylor: and which now, with a terrible shock and choking leap of the heart,
she recognized. Her senses faded, and she would have fallen
from her seat but for the support of the partition against
which she leaned. Fortunately, the women near her were too much
occupied with the narrative to notice her condition. Many of them
wept silently, with their handkerchiefs pressed over their mouths.
The first shock of death-like faintness passed away, and she clung
to the speaker's voice, as if its sound alone could give her
strength to sit still and listen further.
"Deserted by his friends, unable to stay his feet on the evil
path," he continued, "the young man left his home and went to a
|
