| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy: a long guttural sigh -- there was a contraction -- an exten-
sion -- then his muscles relaxed, and he lay still.
Boldwood was seen through the smoke to be now
again engaged with the gun. It was double-barrelled,
and he had, meanwhile, in some way fastened his hand-
kerchief to the trigger, and with his foot on the other
end was in the act of turning the second barrel upon
himself. Samway his man was the first to see this, and
in the midst of the general horror darted up to him.
Boldwood had already twitched the handkerchief, and
the gun exploded a second time, sending its contents,
Far From the Madding Crowd |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift: strict charge to take care of me. I was very much tired, and
disposed to sleep, which my mistress perceiving, she put me on
her own bed, and covered me with a clean white handkerchief, but
larger and coarser than the mainsail of a man-of-war.
I slept about two hours, and dreamt I was at home with my wife
and children, which aggravated my sorrows when I awaked, and
found myself alone in a vast room, between two and three hundred
feet wide, and above two hundred high, lying in a bed twenty
yards wide. My mistress was gone about her household affairs, and
had locked me in. The bed was eight yards from the floor. Some
natural necessities required me to get down; I durst not presume
Gulliver's Travels |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Son of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: fate cast into their clutches. This much he had gleaned from
penny-dreadfuls.
And they must have money!
Again he approached the corpse. This time resolutely. The ape
squatted in a corner watching his young companion. The youth
commenced to remove the American's clothing piece by piece,
and, piece by piece, he examined each garment minutely. Even to
the shoes he searched with painstaking care, and when the last
article had been removed and scrutinized he dropped back upon
the bed with dilated eyes that saw nothing in the present--
only a grim tableau of the future in which two forms swung
The Son of Tarzan |
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 Gift of the Magi by O. Henry: and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they
are wisest. They are the magi.
End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of THE GIFT OF THE MAGI.
The Gift of the Magi |
