| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Ancient Regime by Charles Kingsley: that special power. The faculty of making a horse carry him no more
makes a man a good man, than the faculties of making money, making
speeches, making books, or making a noise about public abuses. And
of all ruffians, the worst, if history is to be trusted, is the
ruffian on a horse; to whose brutality of mind is superadded the
brute power of his beast. A ruffian on a horse--what is there that
he will not ride over, and ride on, careless and proud of his own
shame? When the ancient chivalry of France descended to that level,
or rather delegated their functions to mercenaries of that level--
when the knightly hosts who fought before Jerusalem allowed
themselves to be superseded by the dragoons and dragonnades of Louis
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe: He told me that he had begun to take it out for me; and now,
perhaps, if Miss Feely would be good enough to speak bout it
to Missis, she would feel like goin' on with it, was it as Mas'r
St. Clare's wish."
"I'll speak for you, Tom, and do my best," said Miss Ophelia;
"but, if it depends on Mrs. St. Clare, I can't hope much for
you;--nevertheless, I will try."
This incident occurred a few days after that of Rosa, while
Miss Ophelia was busied in preparations to return north.
Seriously reflecting within herself, she considered that perhaps
she had shown too hasty a warmth of language in her former
Uncle Tom's Cabin |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain: the equals of some which I have seen in the Mississippi Valley.
I may not have seen the Alps do their best, of course,
and if they can beat the Mississippi, I don't wish to.
On this up trip I saw a little towhead (infant island) half a
mile long, which had been formed during the past nineteen years.
Since there was so much time to spare that nineteen years
of it could be devoted to the construction of a mere towhead,
where was the use, originally, in rushing this whole globe through
in six days? It is likely that if more time had been taken,
in the first place, the world would have been made right, and this
ceaseless improving and repairing would not be necessary now.
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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 A Princess of Parms by Edgar Rice Burroughs: from. As a matter of fact, the new-laid egg is but little larger
than an ordinary goose egg, and as it does not commence to
grow until subjected to the light of the sun the chieftains
have little difficulty in transporting several hundreds of them
at one time from the storage vaults to the incubators.
Shortly after the incident of the Warhoon eggs we halted
to rest the animals, and it was during this halt that the
second of the day's interesting episodes occurred. I was
engaged in changing my riding cloths from one of my thoats
to the other, for I divided the day's work between them,
when Zad approached me, and without a word struck my
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