| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Virginian by Owen Wister: made it a sort of joke; but I knew that both of us were glad when
presently we rode into a steeper country, and among its folds and
carvings lost all sight of the plain. He had not slept, I found.
His explanation was that the packs needed better balancing, and
after that he had gone up and down the stream on the chance of
trout. But his haunted eyes gave me the real reason--they spoke
of Steve, no matter what he spoke of; it was to be no short thing
with him.
XXXII. SUPERSTITION TRAIL
We did not make thirty-five miles that day, nor yet twenty-five,
for he had let me sleep. We made an early camp and tried some
The Virginian |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from American Notes by Rudyard Kipling: where the corpse lay all among the roses and smilax. I whipped
out my note-book and pawed around among the floral tributes,
turn-ing up the tickets on the wreaths and seeing who had sent
them. In the middle of this I heard some one saying: "Please,
oh, please!" behind me, and there stood the daughter of the
house, just bathed in tears--I--You unmitigated brute!
HE--Pretty much what I felt myself. "I'm very sorry, miss," I
said, "to intrude on the privacy of your grief. Trust me, I
shall make it as little painful as possible."
I--But by what conceivable right did you outrage--HE--Hold your
horses. I'm telling you. Well, she didn't want me in the house
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