| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Philosophy 4 by Owen Wister: swooping June-bug into space.
"Sit down, idiot," said his sprightly mate."
Conversation ceased. Instruction went forward. Their pencils worked.
The causal law, etc., went into their condensed notes like Liebig's
extract of beef, and drops of perspiration continued to trickle from
their matted hair.
II
Bertie and Billy were sophomores. They had been alive for twenty years,
and were young. Their tutor was also a sophomore. He too had been
alive for twenty years, but never yet had become young. Bertie and
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Young Forester by Zane Grey: shoulder.
"Come on. Stay close to me, an' keep your eyes peeled."
XII. BEARS
The old hunter walked so swiftly that I had to run to keep up with him. The
trail led up the creek, now on one side, again on the other, and I was
constantly skipping from stone to stone. The grassy slopes grew fewer, and
finally gave way altogether to cracked cliffs and weathered rocks. A fringe
of pine-trees leaned over the top with here and there a blasted spear
standing out white.
"I had my trap set up thet draw," said Hiram Bent, as he pointed toward an
intersecting canyon. "Just before I waked you I was comin' along here, an'
The Young Forester |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Lock and Key Library by Julian Hawthorne, Ed.: it. It was Italian in workmanship, and I knew that the carving and
chasing of the silver were more precious even than the jewels which
studded it, and whose rough setting gave so firm a grasp to my
hand. Was the blade as fair as the covering, I wondered? A little
resistance at first, and then the long thin steel slid easily out.
Sharp, and bright, and finely tempered it looked with its deadly,
tapering point. Stains, dull and irregular, crossed the fine
engraving on its surface and dimmed its polish. I bent to examine
them more closely, and as I did so a sudden stronger gust of wind
blew out the candle. I shuddered a little at the darkness and
looked up. But it did not matter: the curtain was still drawn away
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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 The Red Seal by Natalie Sumner Lincoln: broad breast bore many military decorations.
"Dance the encore with me" - Kent could be very persuasive when
he wished, and Mrs. Brewster dimpled with pleasure, but there was a
faint indecision in her manner which he was quick to note. What
prompted it? He had been on friendly terms with her; in fact, she
had openly championed his cause, so Barbara had once told him, when
Colonel McIntyre had made caustic remarks about his frequent calls
at the McIntyre house.
"Just one turn," she said, as the foreigner bowed and withdrew. "I
am feeling a little weary to-night - the strain of the inquest," she,
added in explanation.
The Red Seal |
