| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Life in the Iron-Mills by Rebecca Davis: murderers are made, instead. All the time Haley and the woman
were laying straight the limbs and cleaning the cell, Deborah
sat still, keenly watching the Quaker's face. Of all the crowd
there that day, this woman alone had not spoken to her,--only
once or twice had put some cordial to her lips. After they all
were gone, the woman, in the same still, gentle way, brought a
vase of wood-leaves and berries, and placed it by the pallet,
then opened the narrow window. The fresh air blew in, and swept
the woody fragrance over the dead face, Deborah looked up with
a quick wonder.
"Did hur know my boy wud like it? Did hur know Hugh?"
Life in the Iron-Mills |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Contrast by Royall Tyler: Mr. Jessamy bid me say, and I dare as well be hanged
as act what he bid me do, I'm so ashamed. [Aside.]
Yes, Ma'am, I can sing--I can sing Mear, Old
Hundred, and Bangor.
JENNY
Oh! I don't mean psalm tunes. Have you no little
song to please the ladies, such as Roslin Castle, or the
Maid of the Mill?
JONATHAN
Why, all my tunes go to meeting tunes, save one,
and I count you won't altogether like that 'ere.
|
| 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: ocean.
At first their fall was swift as an arrow, but
presently they seemed to be going more moderately and
Trot was almost sure that unseen arms were about her,
supporting her and protecting her. She could see
nothing, because the water filled her eyes and blurred
her vision, but she clung fast to Cap'n Bill's
sou'wester, while other arms clung fast to her, and so
they gradually sank down and down until a full stop was
made, when they began to ascend again.
But it seemed to Trot that they were not rising
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 Tales of Unrest by Joseph Conrad: they descended one after another into their boat, and were paddled to
the shore, sitting close together, clad in vivid colours, with hanging
heads: the gold embroideries of their jackets flashed dazzlingly as
they went away gliding on the smooth water, and not one of them looked
back once. Before sunset the growling clouds carried with a rush the
ridge of hills, and came tumbling down the inner slopes. Everything
disappeared; black whirling vapours filled the bay, and in the midst
of them the schooner swung here and there in the shifting gusts of
wind. A single clap of thunder detonated in the hollow with a violence
that seemed capable of bursting into small pieces the ring of high
land, and a warm deluge descended. The wind died out. We panted in the
Tales of Unrest |
