| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Bab:A Sub-Deb, Mary Roberts Rinehart by Mary Roberts Rinehart: I did not. I stood there, with my heart crushed, until I felt
strong enough to escape. Then I fled, like a Gilty Soul. It was gastly.
On the doorstep I met Jane. She gazed at me strangely when she saw
my face, and then cluched me by the arm.
"Bab!" she cried. "What on the earth is the matter with your complexion?"
But I was desparate.
"Let me go!" I said. "Only lend me two dollars for a taxi and let
me go. Somthing horible has happened."
She gave me ninety cents, which was all she had, and I rushed down
the street, followed by her peircing gaze.
Although realizing that my Life, at least the part of it pertaining
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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 Enchanted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum: remember their promises, bade them good by, and set out in search of
further adventure.
As they left the clearing by the narrow passage that led between the
overhanging rocks, the prince looked back and saw that the sign above
the gate of the cave, which had told of the thieves' treasure house,
had been changed. It now read as follows:
WUL-TAKIM
KING OF HONEST MEN
-------
HIS PLEASURE HOUSE
WALK IN
The Enchanted Island of Yew |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Twice Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne: had sunk upon his shoulder, "there is our home."
At the word "home," a thrill passed through the child's frame,
but he continued silent. A few moments brought them to a cottage
door, at which the owner knocked; for at that early period, when
savages were wandering everywhere among the settlers, bolt and
bar were indispensable to the security of a dwelling. The summons
was answered by a bond-servant, a coarse-clad and dull-featured
piece of humanity, who, after ascertaining that his master was
the applicant, undid the door, and held a flaring pineknot torch
to light him in. Farther back in the passage-way, the red blaze
discovered a matronly woman, but no little crowd of children came
Twice Told Tales |
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 Beauty and The Beast by Bayard Taylor: termination. Familiarity with the inevitable step gave them
increase of courage; yet, when the moment had come and gone, when,
speeding on opposite trains, the hills and valleys multiplied
between them with terrible velocity, a pang like death cut to the
heart of each, and the divided life became a chill, oppressive
dream.
During the separation no letters passed between them. When the
neighbors asked Jonathan for news of his brother, he always
replied, "He is well," and avoided further speech with such
evidence of pain that they spared him. An hour before the month
drew to an end, he walked forth alone, taking the road to the
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