| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Off on a Comet by Jules Verne: there was no signature attached; nor was there anything to give a clue
as to the locality in which it had been committed to the waves.
A telescope-case would probably be the property of some one on board
a ship; and the figures obviously referred to the astronomical wonders
that had been experienced.
To these general observations Captain Servadac objected that
he thought it unlikely that any one on board a ship would use
a telescope-case for this purpose, but would be sure to use
a bottle as being more secure; and, accordingly, he should rather
be inclined to believe that the message had been set afloat
by some _savant_ left alone, perchance, upon some isolated coast.
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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 Complete Poems of Longfellow by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: The only one in the gray of morn
Yes, it stopped, it stood still of its own free will,
Right over Bethlehem on the hill,
The city of David where Christ was born.
And the Three Kings rode through the gate and the guard,
Through the silent street, till their horses turned
And neighed as they entered the great inn-yard;
But the windows were closed, and the doors were barred,
And only a light in the stable burned.
And cradled there in the scented hay,
In the air made sweet by the breath of kine,
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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 Poor and Proud by Oliver Optic: where Mrs. Gordon, by a slow process that did not agitate the
invalid too violently, revealed herself to her sister. The fine
lady of Temple Street had a heart, a warm and true heart, and not
that day, nor that night, nor for a week, did she leave the sick
bed of the sufferer. There, in the midst of her sister's poverty,
she did a sister's offices.
It was three weeks before Mrs. Redburn was in a condition to be
moved to her sister's house; and then she was once more in the
midst of the luxury and splendor of her early life. One day, when
she had improved so much as to be able to bear the fatigue of a
long conversation, Mrs. Gordon, who had thus far declined to
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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 Bab:A Sub-Deb, Mary Roberts Rinehart by Mary Roberts Rinehart: tone, intimite rather than fond:
"I darsay you can lend me five dollars for a day or so."
"I darsay I can. But I won't," was her cruel reply.
"Oh, very well," I said breifly. But I could not refrain from
making a grimase at her back, and she saw me in a mirror.
"When I think," she said heartlessly, "that that wreched school may
be closed for weeks, I could scream."
"Well, scream!" I replied. "You'll scream harder if I've brought
the meazles home on me. And if you're laid up, you can say good-bye
to the Dishonorable. You've got him tide, maybe," I remarked, "but
not thrown as yet."
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