| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Margret Howth: A Story of To-day by Rebecca Harding Davis: standing by the window, with his face toward the gray fields. It
was a long time before he turned and came to her.
"You have spoken honestly: it is an old fashion of yours. You
believed what you said. Let me also tell you what you call God's
truth, for a moment, Margret. It will not do you harm."--He
spoke gravely, solemnly.--"When you loved me long ago, selfish,
erring as I was, you fulfilled the law of your nature; when you
put that love out of your heart, you make your duty a tawdry
sham, and your life a lie. Listen to me. I am calm."
It was calmness that made her tremble as she had not done before,
with a strange suspicion of the truth flashing on her. That she,
Margret Howth: A Story of To-day |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Plutarch's Lives by A. H. Clough: from them, he gradually gained as great honor and power as Pompey
had from his many famous expeditions. And it was a curious thing
in their rivalry, that Pompey's name and interest in the city was
greatest when he was absent, for his renown in war, but when
present he was often less successful than Crassus, by reason of
his superciliousness and haughty way of living, shunning crowds of
people, and appearing rarely in the forum, and assisting only some
few, and that not readily, that his interest might be the stronger
when he came to use it for himself. Whereas Crassus, being a
friend always at hand, ready to be had and easy of access, and
always with his hands full of other people's business, with his
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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 Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas: Buckingham was an ally, and not an enemy. What you would
now do amounts to treason."
D'Artagnan perceived the force of this reasoning, and was
silent.
"But," said Porthos, "I think I have an idea, in my turn."
"Silence for Monsieur Porthos's idea!" said Aramis.
"I will ask leave of absence of Monsieur de Treville, on
some pretext or other which you must invent; I am not very
clever at pretexts. Milady does not know me; I will get
access to her without her suspecting me, and when I catch my
beauty, I will strangle her."
The Three Musketeers |
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 Michael Strogoff by Jules Verne: was shaken to its foundations.
Happily, the tarantass could be so placed that the storm
might strike it obliquely. But the counter-currents, di-
rected towards it by the slope, could not be so well avoided,
and so violent were they that every instant it seemed as
though it would be dashed to pieces.
Nadia was obliged to leave her seat, and Michael, by the
light of one of the lanterns, discovered an excavation bear-
ing the marks of a miner's pick, where the young girl could
rest in safety until they could once more start.
Just then -- it was one o'clock in the morning -- the rain
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