| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart: his soul against even friendly eyes.
But midnight found others awake. It found Nina, for instance, in
her draped French bed, consulting her jeweled watch and listening
for Leslie's return from the country club. An angry and rather
heart-sick Nina. And it found the night editor of one of the
morning papers drinking a cup of coffee that a boy had brought in,
and running through a mass of copy on his desk. He picked up
several sheets of paper, with a photograph clamped to them, and
ran through them quickly. A man in a soft hat, sitting on the desk,
watched him idly.
"Beverly Carlysle," commented the night editor. "Back with bells
The Breaking Point |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry: all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give
and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they
are wisest. They are the magi.
End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of THE GIFT OF THE MAGI.
The Gift of the Magi |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Dynamiter by Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny Van De Grift Stevenson: countenance.
'Hullo!' said he, 'this is bad; this is deuced bad, Miss
Valdevia. You would not listen to sound sense, you would
send that pocket-book to that man Caulder's son.'
'Sir George,' said I, 'it was my duty.'
'You are prettily paid for it, at least,' says he; 'and much
as I regret it, I, for one, am done with you. This fellow
Caulder demands your extradition.'
'But a slave,' I returned, 'is safe in England.'
'Yes, by George!' replied the baronet; 'but it's not a slave,
Miss Valdevia, it's a thief that he demands. He has quietly
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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 1492 by Mary Johntson: mouths and hanging forests and bold cliffs. We sailed west
and still headland followed headland, and still the lookout
cried, ``It stretched forever like the main!''
We came to a river where ships might ride. Sounding,
we found deep water, entered river mouth and dropped
anchor, then went ashore in the boats. Palms and their
water doubles, and in the grove a small abandoned village.
We had seen the people flee before us, and they were no
more nor other kind of people than had showed in Concepcion
or Fernandina. Yet were they a little wealthier. We
found parrots on their perches, and two dogs, small and
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