| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne: melted into her associations, as now to seem a more important
centre-point of remembrance than all which had gone before.
How had Hepzibah--grim, silent, and irresponsive to her overflow
of cordial sentiment--contrived to win so much love? And Clifford,
--in his abortive decay, with the mystery of fearful crime upon
him, and the close prison-atmosphere yet lurking in his breath,
--how had he transformed himself into the simplest child, whom
Phoebe felt bound to watch over, and be, as it were, the providence
of his unconsidered hours! Everything, at that instant of farewell,
stood out prominently to her view. Look where she would, lay her
hand on what she might, the object responded to her consciousness,
House of Seven Gables |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Virginian by Owen Wister: arrangement was adopted. "We're the first this season over this
piece of the trail," he observed presently.
His companion had noticed the ground already, and assented. There
were no tracks anywhere to be seen over which winter had not come
and gone since they had been made. Presently the trail wound into
a sultry gulch that hemmed in the heat and seemed to draw down
the sun's rays more vertically. The sorrel horse chose this place
to make a try for liberty. He suddenly whirled from the trail,
dragging with him his less inventive fellow. Leaving the
Virginian with the old mare, Balaam headed them off, for Pedro
was quick, and they came jumping down the bank together, but
The Virginian |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Lock and Key Library by Julian Hawthorne, Ed.: afterwards helped to strengthen them.
We had gone on a visit to Schwanthaler, the sculptor, at his tiny
little castle of Schwaneck, a few miles from Munich. The artist
was out for a walk, but we were invited to come in and await his
return, which would be shortly; and meanwhile Bourgonef undertook
to show me over the castle, interesting as a bit of modern Gothic,
realizing on a diminutive scale a youthful dream of the sculptor's.
When our survey was completed--and it did not take long--we sat at
one of the windows and enjoyed a magnificent prospect. "It is
curious," said Bourgonef, "to be shut up here in this imitation of
medieval masonry, where every detail speaks of the dead past, and
|
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 Within the Tides by Joseph Conrad: whether he had a money belt fastened round his body. Byrne began
to sob into his handkerchief.
It was a nervous outburst which passed off quickly. Remaining on
his knees he contemplated sadly the athletic body of as fine a
seaman as ever had drawn a cutlass, laid a gun, or passed the
weather earring in a gale, lying stiff and cold, his cheery,
fearless spirit departed - perhaps turning to him, his boy chum, to
his ship out there rolling on the grey seas off an iron-bound
coast, at the very moment of its flight.
He perceived that the six brass buttons of Tom's jacket had been
cut off. He shuddered at the notion of the two miserable and
Within the Tides |
