| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Straight Deal by Owen Wister: specimen of the American in Europe at his very worst, I turn back to the
English: only, pray do not fail to give those other Americans who were
shocked by the outrage of the lamp their due. How wide of the mark would
you be if you judged us all by the one who approved of that horrible
vandal girl's act! It cannot be too often repeated that we must never
condemn a whole people for what some of the people do.
In the two-and-a-half anecdotes which follow, you must watch out for
something which lies beneath their very obvious surface.
An American sat at lunch with a great English lady in her country-house.
Although she had seen him but once before, she began a conversation like
this:
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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 Vision Splendid by William MacLeod Raine: lolling back in his swivel chair with a fat cigar in his mouth.
The boss did not take the trouble to rise as he waved his visitor
to a chair.
Farnum explained that he was interested in the political situation
and that he was prepared to take an active part in the campaign
about to open. The big man listened, watching him out of half shut
attentive eyes. He had never yet seen a kid glove politician that
was worth the powder to blow him up. Moreover, he had special
reasons for disliking this one. His cousin was editor of the
_World_, and that paper was becoming a thorn in his side.
O'Brien took the cigar from his mouth. "Did youse go to the
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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 Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells: I have worked hard at her head and brain--"And now," said he,
standing up after a long gap of silence, during which we had each
pursued our own thoughts, "what do you think? Are you in fear of me
still?"
I looked at him, and saw but a white-faced, white-haired man,
with calm eyes. Save for his serenity, the touch almost of beauty that
resulted from his set tranquillity and his magnificent build, he might
have passed muster among a hundred other comfortable old gentlemen.
Then I shivered. By way of answer to his second question, I handed
him a revolver with either hand.
"Keep them," he said, and snatched at a yawn. He stood up, stared at
The Island of Doctor Moreau |
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 Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton: to her ears, to her mouth. . . . Ah, now it was rising too high;
the impulse to struggle was renewed;. . . her mouth was full;. . .
she was choking. . . . Help!
"It is all over," said the nurse, drawing down the eyelids with
official composure.
The clock struck three. They remembered it afterward. Someone
opened the window and let in a blast of that strange, neutral air
which walks the earth between darkness and dawn; someone else led
the husband into another room. He walked vaguely, like a blind
man, on his creaking boots.
II.
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