| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Touchstone by Edith Wharton: as to what a man can easily do. It would not have been easy for
me."
Glennard's anger vented itself in the words uppermost in his
thought. "It may, then, interest you to hear that my wife DOES
know about the letters--has known for some months. . . ."
"Ah," said the other, slowly. Glennard saw that, in his blind
clutch at a weapon, he had seized the one most apt to wound.
Flamel's muscles were under control, but his face showed the
undefinable change produced by the slow infiltration of poison.
Every implication that the words contained had reached its mark;
but Glennard felt that their obvious intention was lost in the
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Ballads by Robert Louis Stevenson: THE sheets were frozen hard, and they cut the naked hand;
The decks were like a slide, where a seaman scarce could stand;
The wind was a nor'wester, blowing squally off the sea;
And cliffs and spouting breakers were the only things a-lee.
They heard the surf a-roaring before the break of day;
But 'twas only with the peep of light we saw how ill we lay.
We tumbled every hand on deck instanter, with a shout,
And we gave her the maintops'l, and stood by to go about.
All day we tacked and tacked between the South Head and the North;
All day we hauled the frozen sheets, and got no further forth;
All day as cold as charity, in bitter pain and dread,
Ballads |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from An Unsocial Socialist by George Bernard Shaw: mourning coach, and three dripping hats were seen over the hedge.
Smilash sat on the box of the coach, beside the driver. When it
stopped, he alighted, re-entered the chalet without speaking,
came out with the umbrella, spread it above Miss Wilson's head,
and said:
"Now, if your ladyship will come with me, I will see you dry into
the stray, and then I'll bring your honored nieces one by one."
"I shall come last," said Miss Wilson, irritated by his
assumption that the party was a family one. "Gertrude, you had
better go first."
"Allow me," said Fairholme, stepping forward, and attempting 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: I then gave him a talking-to, saying that he had been a great
disapointment, as I thought one should rise to the Country's Call
and not wait until actualy needed, even when an only son.
He made no defence, but said in a serious tone:
"You see, it's like this. I am not sure of myself, Bab. I don't
want to enlist because others of the Male Sex, as you would say,
are enlisting and I'm ashamed not to. And I don't want to enlist
just to wear a Unaform and get away from business. I don't take it
as lightly as all that."
"Have you no Patriotism?" I demanded. "Can you repeat unmoved the
celabrated lines:
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