| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Touchstone by Edith Wharton: terror.
"Lord, no. This is a sure thing--I almost wish it wasn't; I mean
if I can work it--" He had a sudden vision of the
comprehensiveness of the temptation. If only he had been less
sure of Dinslow! His assurance gave the situation the base
element of safety.
"I don't understand you," she faltered.
"Trust me, instead!" he adjured her, with sudden energy; and
turning on her abruptly, "If you go, you know, you go free," he
concluded.
She drew back, paling a little. "Why do you make it harder for
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Odyssey by Homer: drive in the best of these cows and offer them in sacrifice to
the immortal gods? If we ever get back to Ithaca, we can build a
fine temple to the sun-god and enrich it with every kind of
ornament; if, however, he is determined to sink our ship out of
revenge for these homed cattle, and the other gods are of the
same mind, I for one would rather drink salt water once for all
and have done with it, than be starved to death by inches in
such a desert island as this is.'
"Thus spoke Eurylochus, and the men approved his words. Now the
cattle, so fair and goodly, were feeding not far from the ship;
the men, therefore, drove in the best of them, and they all
The Odyssey |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Two Noble Kinsmen by William Shakespeare: As it is white, wast neere to make the male
To thy Sex captive, but that this thy Lord,
Borne to uphold Creation in that honour
First nature stilde it in, shrunke thee into
The bownd thou wast ore-flowing, at once subduing
Thy force, and thy affection: Soldiresse
That equally canst poize sternenes with pitty,
Whom now I know hast much more power on him
Then ever he had on thee, who ow'st his strength
And his Love too, who is a Servant for
The Tenour of thy Speech: Deere Glasse of Ladies,
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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 Whirligigs by O. Henry: "Her mysterious disappearance recalled." "Nothing has
been heard of her since."
Twisting herself quickly out of the hammock, Mrs.
Conant's eye soon traversed the half-column of the
"Recall." It ended thus: "It will be remembered that
Mrs. Conant disappeared one evening in March of last
year. It was freely rumoured that her marriage with
Lloyd B. Conant resulted in much unhappiness. Stories
were not wanting to the effect that his cruelty toward
his wife had more than once taken the form of physical
abuse. After her departure a full bottle of tincture of
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