| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Copy-Cat & Other Stories by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman: black eyes, so unlike the Trumbulls', that his aunt
Janet was reading. He therefore expected her to
pass him without recognition, and marched on kick-
ing up the dust. But suddenly, as he grew nearer
the spry little figure, he was aware of a pair of gray
eyes, before which waved protectingly a hand clad
in a black silk glove with dangling finger-tips, be-
cause it was too long, and it dawned swiftly upon
him that Aunt Janet was trying to shield her face
from the moving column of brown motes. He
stopped kicking, but it was too late. Aunt Janet
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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 Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin: The bizcacha [1] is well known to form a prominent feature
in the zoology of the Pampas. It is found as far south as
the Rio Negro, in lat. 41 degs., but not beyond. It cannot,
like the agouti, subsist on the gravelly and desert plains of
Patagonia, but prefers a clayey or sandy soil, which produces a
different and more abundant vegetation. Near Mendoza, at
the foot of the Cordillera, it occurs in close neighbourhood
with the allied alpine species. It is a very curious
circumstance in its geographical distribution, that it has never
been seen, fortunately for the inhabitants of Banda Oriental, to
the eastward of the river Uruguay: yet in this province there
The Voyage of the Beagle |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne: interrogatively in Trim's face.
I would lay my Montero-cap, said Trim--Now Trim's Montero-cap, as I once
told you, was his constant wager; and having furbish'd it up that very
night, in order to go upon the attack--it made the odds look more
considerable--I would lay, an' please your honour, my Montero-cap to a
shilling--was it proper, continued Trim (making a bow), to offer a wager
before your honours--
--There is nothing improper in it, said my father--'tis a mode of
expression; for in saying thou would'st lay thy Montero-cap to a shilling--
all thou meanest is this--that thou believest--
--Now, What do'st thou believe?
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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 La Grande Breteche by Honore de Balzac: M.--(Dear, what am I saying? I beg your pardon, I thought I was
dictating a lease.)--In short, that she burnt everything in the meadow
at Merret. Have you been to Merret, monsieur?--No,' said he, answering
himself, 'Ah, it is a very fine place.'
" 'For about three months previously,' he went on, with a jerk of his
head, 'the Count and Countess had lived in a very eccentric way; they
admitted no visitors; Madame lived on the ground-floor, and Monsieur
on the first floor. When the Countess was left alone, she was never
seen excepting at church. Subsequently, at home, at the chateau, she
refused to see the friends, whether gentlemen or ladies, who went to
call on her. She was already very much altered when she left la Grande
La Grande Breteche |
