| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Youth by Joseph Conrad: dart of fire shot out viciously at us, and suddenly she
went down, head first, in a great hiss of steam. The
unconsumed stern was the last to sink; but the paint had
gone, had cracked, had peeled off, and there were no
letters, there was no word, no stubborn device that was
like her soul, to flash at the rising sun her creed and her
name.
"We made our way north. A breeze sprang up, and
about noon all the boats came together for the last time.
I had no mast or sail in mine, but I made a mast out of a
spare oar and hoisted a boat-awning for a sail, with a
Youth |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Amazing Interlude by Mary Roberts Rinehart: might, before it was too late, see this thing as she was seeing it. The
wanton waste of it all, the ghastly cruelty the Germans had brought into
this war.
Sara Lee's vague thinking began to crystallize. This war was not a
judgment sent from on high to a sinful world. It was the wicked
imposition of one nation on other nations. It was national. It was
almost racial. But most of all it was a war of hate on the German side.
She had never believed in hate. There were ugly passions in the world
- jealousy, envy, suspicion; but not hate. The word was not in her
rather limited vocabulary.
There was no hate on the part of the men she knew. The officers who
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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 Lady Susan by Jane Austen: sixteen, and ought to know better; but from what her mother insinuates, I
am afraid she is a perverse girl. She has been sadly neglected, however,
and her mother ought to remember it. Mr. Vernon set off for London as soon
as she had determined what should be done. He is, if possible, to prevail
on Miss Summers to let Frederica continue with her; and if he cannot
succeed, to bring her to Churchhill for the present, till some other
situation can be found for her. Her ladyship is comforting herself
meanwhile by strolling along the shrubbery with Reginald, calling forth all
his tender feelings, I suppose, on this distressing occasion. She has been
talking a great deal about it to me. She talks vastly well; I am afraid of
being ungenerous, or I should say, TOO well to feel so very deeply; but I
Lady Susan |
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 Fisherman's Luck by Henry van Dyke: that which is truly personal, that which we take into our inner life
and make our own forever, by understanding and admiration and
sympathy and love. This is the only kind of possession that is
worth anything.
A gallery of great paintings adorns the house of the Honourable
Midas Bond, and every year adds a new treasure to his collection.
He knows how much they cost him, and he keeps the run of the
quotations at the auction sales, congratulating himself as the price
of the works of his well-chosen artists rises in the scale, and the
value of his art treasures is enhanced. But why should he call them
his? He is only their custodian. He keeps them well varnished, and
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