| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Under the Andes by Rex Stout: a curious tenseness in her attitude that made me follow her gaze,
and what I saw left me with no wonder at it--a huge, black,
indistinct form that moved slowly toward us through the darkness.
Harry caught sight of it at the same moment as myself, and on
the instant he turned about, covering his face with his hands, and
called to Desiree and me to do likewise.
Desiree obeyed; I had risen to my knees and remained so,
gazing straight ahead, ready for a combat if it were not a physical
one. I will not say that a certain feeling of dread did not rise
in my heart, but I intended to show Desiree and Harry the
childishness of their terror.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Distinguished Provincial at Paris by Honore de Balzac: Lucien would sign his treaty of peace with Dauriat. Florine and
Lousteau, Lucien and Coralie, Blondet and Finot, were to dine at the
Palais-Royal; du Bruel was giving the manager of the Panorama-
Dramatique a dinner.
"They are right," exclaimed Lucien, when he was alone with Coralie.
"Men are made to be tools in the hands of stronger spirits. Four
hundred francs for three articles! Doguereau would scarcely give me as
much for a book which cost me two years of work."
"Write criticism," said Coralie, "have a good time! Look at me, I am
an Andalusian girl to-night, to-morrow I may be a gypsy, and a man the
night after. Do as I do, give them grimaces for their money, and let
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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 Where There's A Will by Mary Roberts Rinehart: only knows where he puts it all! He's sagged in like a chair
with broken springs."
I saw then that she thought I was feeding Senator Biggs on the
sly, and I breathed again. But my nerves were nearly gone, and
when just then I heard a shot from the direction of the deer
park, even Tillie noticed how pale I got.
"I don't know what's come over you, Minnie," she said. "That's
only Mr. Carter shooting rabbits. I saw him go out as I started
down the path."
I was still nervous when I put on my shawl and picked up the
basket. But there was a puddle on the floor and the soup
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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 Amazing Interlude by Mary Roberts Rinehart: firmly believed in.
Then she led the little horse back along the road.
At the poplar trees she turned and looked behind, toward the trenches.
The grove was but a skeleton now, a strange and jagged thing of twisted
branches, as though it had died in agony. She stood there while the
pony nuzzled her gently. If she called, would he come? But, then, all
of life was one call now, for her. She went on slowly.
After that it was not unusual for her to go to the trenches, on such
nights as no men could come to the little house. Always she was joyously
welcomed, and always on her way back she turned to send from the poplar
trees that inarticulate aching call that she had come somehow to
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