| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Democracy In America, Volume 1 by Alexis de Toqueville: comprehends the union or the balance of powers, and collects
clear practical notions on the nature of his duties and the
extent of his rights.
The Counties Of New England
The division of the countries in America has considerable
analogy with that of the arrondissements of France. The limits
of the counties are arbitrarily laid down, and the various
districts which they contain have no necessary connection, no
common tradition or natural sympathy; their object is simply to
facilitate the administration of justice.
The extent of the township was too small to contain a system
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Start in Life by Honore de Balzac: the fact that the other was on four wheels. This coach, of comical
construction, called the "four-wheel-coach," held seventeen
travellers, though it was bound not to carry more than fourteen. It
rumbled so noisily that the inhabitants of Isle-Adam frequently said,
"Here comes Pierrotin!" when he was scarcely out of the forest which
crowns the slope of the valley. It was divided into two lobes, so to
speak: one, called the "interior," contained six passengers on two
seats; the other, a sort of cabriolet constructed in front, was called
the "coupe." This coupe was closed in with very inconvenient and
fantastic glass sashes, a description of which would take too much
space to allow of its being given here. The four-wheeled coach was
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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 Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum: It bit me!" wailed the Ork. "I don't like your
candles. The thing began to disappear slowly as soon as
I took it in my claw, and it grew smaller and smaller
until just now it turned and bit me -- a most
unfriendly thing to do. Oh -- oh! Ouch, what a bite!"
"That's the nature of candles, I'm sorry to say,"
explained Cap'n Bill, with a grin. "You have to handle
'em mighty keerful. But tell us, what did you find down
there?"
"I found a way to continue our journey," said the
Ork, nursing tenderly the claw which had been burned.
The Scarecrow of Oz |
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 Lone Star Ranger by Zane Grey: the impression he wanted to make upon different people whom he
met. He was in turn a cowboy, a rancher, a cattleman, a stock-
buyer, a boomer, a land-hunter; and long before he reached the
wild and inhospitable Ord he had acted the part of an outlaw,
drifting into new territory. He passed on leisurely because he
wanted to learn the lay of the country, the location of
villages and ranches, the work, habit, gossip, pleasures, and
fears of the people with whom he came in contact. The one
subject most impelling to him--outlaws--he never mentioned; but
by talking all around it, sifting the old ranch and cattle
story, he acquired a knowledge calculated to aid his plot. In
The Lone Star Ranger |
