| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln by Helen Nicolay: and pray to the same God; and each invokes his aid against the
other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just
God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other
men's faces; but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The
prayers of both could not be answered--that of neither has been
answered fully.
"The Almighty has his own purposes. 'Woe unto the world because
of offenses! For it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to
that man by whom the offense cometh.' If we shall suppose that
American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the
providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued
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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 Light of Western Stars by Zane Grey: was humble, submissive, reverent, and fearful even while she
gloried in the grandeur of the dark, cloud-shadowed crags and
canons, the stupendous strife of sound, the wonderful driving
lances of white fire.
With blacker gloom and deafening roar came the torrent of rain.
It was a cloud-burst. It was like solid water tumbling down.
For long Madeline sat her horse, head bent to the pelting rain.
When its force lessened and she heard Stewart call for all to
follow, she looked up to see that he was starting once more. She
shot a glimpse at Dorothy and as quickly glanced away. Dorothy,
who would not wear a hat suitable for inclement weather, nor one
The Light of Western Stars |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from An International Episode by Henry James: the day before--the red roofs, the green shutters, the clean,
bright browns and buffs of the housefronts. The flower beds
on the little lawns seemed to sparkle in the radiant air,
and the gravel in the short carriage sweeps to flash and twinkle.
Along the road came a hundred little basket phaetons, in which,
almost always, a couple of ladies were sitting--ladies in white
dresses and long white gloves, holding the reins and looking
at the two Englishmen, whose nationality was not elusive,
through thick blue veils tied tightly about their faces as if
to guard their complexions. At last the young men came within
sight of the sea again, and then, having interrogated a gardener
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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 Chronicles of the Canongate by Walter Scott: afterwards learned that a highly-respectable gentleman, one of
the few surviving friends of my father, and an acute critic,
[James Chalmers, Esq., Solicitor at Law, London, who (died during
the publication of the present edition of these Novels. (Aug.
1831.)] had said, upon the appearance of the work, that he was
now convinced who was the author of it, as he recognized in the
Antiquary of Monkbarns traces of the character of a very intimate
friend of my father's family.
I may here also notice that the sort of exchange of gallantry
which is represented as taking place betwixt the Baron of
Bradwardine and Colonel Talbot, is a literal fact. The real
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