| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Collected Articles by Frederick Douglass: slave--a prisoner for life, punished for some transgression in
which I had no lot nor part; and the other counseled me to manly
endeavor to secure my freedom. This contest was now ended; my
chains were broken, and the victory brought me unspeakable joy.
But my gladness was short-lived, for I was not yet out of the reach
and power of the slave-holders. I soon found that New York was not quite
so free or so safe a refuge as I had supposed, and a sense of loneliness
and insecurity again oppressed me most sadly. I chanced to meet on the street,
a few hours after my landing, a fugitive slave whom I had once known well
in slavery. The information received from him alarmed me. The fugitive
in question was known in Baltimore as "Allender's Jake," but in New York
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Michael Strogoff by Jules Verne: ice which bore Michael and Nadia. They feared every
moment that it would give way beneath them. Swept
along in the middle of the current, it was unnecessary to
give it an oblique direction until they drew near the quays
of Irkutsk. Michael, his teeth tight set, his ear on the
strain, did not utter a word. Never had he been so near
his object. He felt that he was about to attain it!
Towards two in the morning a double row of lights
glittered on the dark horizon in which were confounded
the two banks of the Angara. On the right hand were the
lights of Irkutsk; on the left, the fires of the Tartar camp.
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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 Miracle Mongers and Their Methods by Harry Houdini: ground without being the least hurt.
Barsabas' sister was not unique in her
century. I quote from a magazine called The
Parlor Portfolio or Post-Chaise Companion,
published in London in 1724:
To be seen, at Mr. John Syme's, Peruke
maker, opposite the Mews, Charing Cross,
the surprising and famous Italian Female
Sampson, who has been seen in several
courts of Europe with great applause.
She will absolutely walk, barefoot, on a
Miracle Mongers and Their Methods |
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 King of the Golden River by John Ruskin: all wound neatly about him, clapped his cap on his head, very much
on one side (for it could not stand upright without going through
the ceiling), gave an additional twist to his corkscrew mustaches,
and replied with perfect coolness: "Gentlemen, I wish you a very
good morning. At twelve o'clock tonight I'll call again; after
such a refusal of hospitality as I have just experienced, you will
not be surprised if that visit is the last I ever pay you."
"If ever I catch you here again," muttered Schwartz,
coming, half frightened, out of the corner--but before he could
finish his sentence the old gentleman had shut the house door
behind him with a great bang, and there drove past the window at
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