| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Sylvie and Bruno by Lewis Carroll: Warden's hands a few printed notices, that were lying ready, with some
open ledgers, on a side-table.
"Yes, yes, I see!" the Warden muttered, glancing carelessly through
them. "Order countermanded by my brother, and supposed to be my doing!
Rather sharp practice! It's all right!" he added in a louder tone.
"My name is signed to it: so I take it on myself. But what do they
mean by 'Less Taxes'? How can they be less? I abolished the last of
them a month ago!"
"It's been put on again, y'reince, and by y'reince's own orders!",
and other printed notices were submitted for inspection.
The Warden, whilst looking them over, glanced once or twice at the
Sylvie and Bruno |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Passionate Pilgrim by William Shakespeare: Fair creature, kill'd too soon by death's sharp sting!
Like a green plum that hangs upon a tree,
And falls, through wind, before the fall should he.
I weep for thee, and yet no cause I have;
For why thou left'st me nothing in thy will:
And yet thou left'st me more than I did crave;
For why I craved nothing of thee still:
O yes, dear friend, I pardon crave of thee,
Thy discontent thou didst bequeath to me.
XI.
Venus, with young Adonis sitting by her
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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 The Faith of Men by Jack London: last beans, which he had been rationing for some time, were
finished; yet he steadfastly refused to touch the eggs. He could
not reconcile his mind to the legitimacy of it, and staggered and
fell along the way to Indian River. Here a fresh-killed moose and
an open-handed old-timer gave him and his dogs new strength, and at
Ainslie's he felt repaid for it all when a stampede, ripe from
Dawson in five hours, was sure he could get a dollar and a quarter
for every egg he possessed.
He came up the steep bank by the Dawson barracks with fluttering
heart and shaking knees. The dogs were so weak that he was forced
to rest them, and, waiting, he leaned limply against the gee-pole.
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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 My Antonia by Willa Cather: sure of a good trade when the dancing was over. Mr. Jensen,
the Danish laundryman, used to bring a chair from his porch and sit
out in the grass plot. Some ragged little boys from the depot
sold pop and iced lemonade under a white umbrella at the corner,
and made faces at the spruce youngsters who came to dance.
That vacant lot soon became the most cheerful place in town.
Even on the hottest afternoons the cottonwoods made a rustling shade,
and the air smelled of popcorn and melted butter, and Bouncing
Bets wilting in the sun. Those hardy flowers had run away from
the laundryman's garden, and the grass in the middle of the lot
was pink with them.
My Antonia |
