| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson: that she could beg or borrow, and she prayed heaven we could be
doing with it. Lastly, she said, she enclosed us one of the
bills in which we were described.
This we looked upon with great curiosity and not a little fear,
partly as a man may look in a mirror, partly as he might look
into the barrel of an enemy's gun to judge if it be truly aimed.
Alan was advertised as "a small, pock-marked, active man of
thirty-five or thereby, dressed in a feathered hat, a French
side-coat of blue with silver buttons, and lace a great deal
tarnished, a red waistcoat and breeches of black, shag;" and I as
"a tall strong lad of about eighteen, wearing an old blue coat,
Kidnapped |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Blix by Frank Norris: of the last alley--the one where the slave girls are--upon the
edge of the Mexican quarter, and by going straight forward a block
or two and by keeping a sharp lookout to right and left you will
hit upon it. It is always to be searched for. Always to be
discovered.
On that particular Monday evening Blix and Condy arrived at Luna's
some fifteen minutes before seven. Condy had lost himself and all
sense of direction in the strange streets of the quarter, and they
were on the very brink of despair when Blix discovered the sign
upon an opposite corner.
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories by Alice Dunbar: hard to be submissive. There was the morning work in the
refectory, the stupid little girls to teach sewing, and the
insatiable lamps that were so greedy for oil. And always the
tender, boyish brown eyes, that looked so sorrowfully at the
fragile, beautiful little sister, haunting, following, pleading.
Perchance, had Sister Josepha been in the world, the eyes would
have been an incident. But in this home of self-repression and
retrospection, it was a life-story. The eyes had gone their way,
doubtless forgetting the little sister they pitied; but the
little sister?
The days glided into weeks, the weeks into months. Thoughts of
The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories |
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: it. Born and bred in de briar patch, like Br'er Rabbit. I've
been trying to place you for a long time; I think I must have met
you before."
"Thank you," said Everett, taking the card; "my name is
Hilgarde. You've probably met my brother, Adriance; people often
mistake me for him."
The traveling man brought his hand down upon his knee with
such vehemence that the solitaire blazed.
"So I was right after all, and if you're not Adriance
Hilgarde, you're his double. I thought I couldn't be mistaken.
Seen him? Well, I guess! I never missed one of his recitals at
The Troll Garden and Selected Stories |
