| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Options by O. Henry: guess, but I don't care. And I came to New York on the train, and I
met Mr.--Mr. Flip on the street and asked him if he knew where I
could find G--G--"
"Now, Miss Lowery," broke in Tripp, loudly, and with much bad taste, I
thought, as she hesitated with her word, "you like this young man,
Hiram Dodd, don't you? He's all right, and good to you, ain't he?"
"Of course I like him," said Miss Lowery emphatically. "Hi's all
right. And of course he's good to me. So is everybody."
I could have sworn it myself. Throughout Miss Ada Lowery's life all
men would be to good to her. They would strive, contrive, struggle,
and compete to hold umbrellas over her hat, check her trunk, pick up
Options |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Human Drift by Jack London: stretches, in the waters of the bay itself, was a delightful
experience. The wonderful part was to come. Very few San
Franciscans, much less Californians, know of that drive from
Willow Camp, to the south and east, along the poppy-blown cliffs,
with the sea thundering in the sheer depths hundreds of feet below
and the Golden Gate opening up ahead, disclosing smoky San
Francisco on her many hills. Far off, blurred on the breast of
the sea, can be seen the Farallones, which Sir Francis Drake
passed on a S. W. course in the thick of what he describes as a
"stynking fog." Well might he call it that, and a few other
names, for it was the fog that robbed him of the glory of
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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 Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum: "And the Sawhorse couldn't hurt the Magician," declared that wooden
animal.
"For my part," said Toto, "I am helpless, having lost my growl."
"Then," said Cayke the Cookie Cook, "we must depend upon the Frogman.
His marvelous wisdom will surely inform him how to conquer the wicked
Magician and restore to me my dishpan."
All eyes were now turned questioningly upon the Frogman. Finding
himself the center of observation, he swung his gold-headed cane,
adjusted his big spectacles, and after swelling out his chest, sighed
and said in a modest tone of voice, "Respect for truth obliges me to
confess that Cayke is mistaken in regard to my superior wisdom. I am
The Lost Princess of Oz |
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 War and the Future by H. G. Wells: By the extremest good luck I have got my mind and spirit out of
the distortions of that cramping beginning, but I can still
recall even the anger of those old days.
He becomes an employee between thirteen and fifteen; he is made
to do work he does not like for no other purpose that he can see
except the profit and glory of a fortunate person called his
employer, behind whom stand church and state blessing and
upholding the relationship. He is not allowed to feel that he
has any share whatever in the employer's business, or that any
end is served but the employer's profit. He cannot see that the
employer acknowledges any duty to the state. Neither church nor
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