| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from House of Mirth by Edith Wharton: benevolence, and the surprised sense of human fellowship took the
mortal chill from her heart.
It was not till she entered her own door that she felt the
reaction of a deeper loneliness. It was long after seven o'clock,
and the light and odours proceeding from the basement made it
manifest that the boarding-house dinner had begun. She hastened
up to her room, lit the gas, and began to dress. She did not mean
to pamper herself any longer, to go without food because her
surroundings made it unpalatable. Since it was her fate to live
in a boarding-house, she must learn to fall in with the
conditions of the life. Nevertheless she was glad that, when she
|
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 Dust by Mr. And Mrs. Haldeman-Julius: seated solemnly in the midst of a circle of corncob dolls, his
throat contracted with an extraordinary tightness.
"You really are a rose--a lovely, sweet brown Rose of Sharon," he
had exclaimed, forgetting his wife's presence and not stopping to
think how strange the words must sound on his lips. "If you'll
give me a kiss, I'll let you ride on old Jettie."
The child scrambled to her feet and, seated on his broad
shoulder, granted the demand for toll. Her aunt's eyes filled.
This was the first time she had ever heard Martin ask for
something as sentimental as a kiss. She was thoroughly ashamed of
herself for it--it was really too absurd!--but she felt jealousy,
|