| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg by Mark Twain: and read also the first eight words of the note."
"Second the motion!"
It was put and carried--uproariously. Then poor old Richards got
up, and his wife rose and stood at his side. Her head was bent
down, so that none might see that she was crying. Her husband gave
her his arm, and so supporting her, he began to speak in a quavering
voice:
"My friends, you have known us two--Mary and me--all our lives, and
I think you have liked us and respected us--"
The Chair interrupted him:
"Allow me. It is quite true--that which you are saying, Mr.
The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne: particles of a halo in the air about his head? So etherealised
by spirit as he was, and so apotheosised by worshipping admirers,
did his footsteps, in the procession, really tread upon the dust
of earth?
As the ranks of military men and civil fathers moved onward, all
eyes were turned towards the point where the minister was seen to
approach among them. The shout died into a murmur, as one
portion of the crowd after another obtained a glimpse of him.
How feeble and pale he looked, amid all his triumph! The energy
-- or say, rather, the inspiration which had held him up, until
The Scarlet Letter |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from King Henry VI by William Shakespeare: [Exit.]
SCENE IV. Camp of the Duke of York in Anjou.
[Enter York, Warwick, and others.]
YORK.
Bring forth that sorceress condemn'd to burn.
[Enter La Pucelle, guarded, and a Shepherd.]
SHEPHERD.
Ah, Joan, this kills thy father's heart outright!
Have I sought every country far and near,
And now it is my chance to find thee out,
Must I behold thy timeless cruel death?
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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 The Riverman by Stewart Edward White: comprehending her embarrassment, twisted his antagonist about, and,
before he could recover his equilibrium sufficiently to offer
resistance, propelled him rapidly to the open door, the passengers
hastily making way for them.
"Now, my friend," said Orde, releasing his hold on the other's
collar, "don't do such things any more. They aren't nice."
Trivial as the incident was, it served to draw Orde to the
particular notice of an elderly man leaning against the rear rail.
He was a very well-groomed man, dressed in garments whose fit was
evidently the product of the highest art, well buttoned up, well
brushed, well cared for in every way. In his buttonhole he wore a
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