| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Case of the Golden Bullet by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: re-entered the office to lay some papers on the desk. His duties
over, he was about to turn out the gas, when his eye fell on the
blotter on Horn's desk. He looked at it more closely, then burst
into a loud laugh. The same two words were scribbled again and
again over the white surface, but it was not the name of any fair
maiden, or even the title of a love poem; it was only the words,
"That dog - "
Several days had passed since the discovery of the murder. Fellner
had been buried and his possessions taken into custody by the
authorities until his heirs should appear. The dead man's papers
and affairs were in excellent condition and the arranging of the
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tattine by Ruth Ogden [Mrs. Charles W. Ide]: could "higher it," as Tattine said, or lower it, or swing it clear of the fire
on either side. At the end of the branch away from the fire hung a chain, with
a few blocks tied into it, for a weight, so that you lifted the weight with
one hand when you wished to change the position of the branch with the other,
and then let it rest on the ground again at the spot where you wanted the pole
to stay. You see, the great advantage of this was that, when you wished to see
how things were going on inside of the kettle, or to stop its boiling
instantly--you could just swing it away from the fire in no time, and not run
the risk of burning face or hands, or petticoats, if you belong to the
petticoat family.`
"Now," panted Tattine, for it was her turn to be breathless with running,
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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 Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield: side to side. Only one of his ears twitched to prove that he saw, and
thought her a silly young female.
The breeze of morning lifted in the bush and the smell of leaves and wet
black earth mingled with the sharp smell of the sea. Myriads of birds were
singing. A goldfinch flew over the shepherd's head and, perching on the
tiptop of a spray, it turned to the sun, ruffling its small breast
feathers. And now they had passed the fisherman's hut, passed the charred-
looking little whare where Leila the milk-girl lived with her old Gran.
The sheep strayed over a yellow swamp and Wag, the sheep-dog, padded after,
rounded them up and headed them for the steeper, narrower rocky pass that
led out of Crescent Bay and towards Daylight Cove. "Baa! Baa!" Faint the
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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 The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela: "They were so Goddamned fat they couldn't even run.
By God, I wish you could have seen them, tripping and
stumbling at every step they took, climbing up the hill,
red as tomatoes, their tongues hanging out like hounds.
'Don't run so fast, you lousy beggars!' I called after them.
'I'm not so fond of frightened geese--stop, You bald-
headed bastards: I won't harm you! You needn't worry!'
By God, they certainly fell for it. Pop, pop! One shot for
each of them, and a well-earned rest for a pair of poor
sinners, be damned to them!"
"I couldn't get a single one of their generals!" said a
The Underdogs |
