| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Blue Flower by Henry van Dyke: the water-fall in the River of Rocks. The spray cooled his
face. He saw the fish rising along the pool, and a stag
feeding among the lily-pads.
"I don't know how to thank you, Mr. Wilson," said he at
last, when the elder man stopped talking. "You have certainly
treated me most generously. The only question is, whether--
But to-morrow night, I think, with your consent, I will speak
to your daughter. To-night I am going down to the store;
there is a good deal of work to do on the books."
But when Luke came to the store, he did not go in. He
walked along the street till he came to the river.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Democracy In America, Volume 1 by Alexis de Toqueville: acquired by treaty, to the east and west of the Mississippi,
230,000,000 of acres. In 1808 the Osages gave up 48,000,000
acres for an annual payment of $1,000. In 1818 the Quapaws
yielded up 29,000,000 acres for $4,000. They reserved for
themselves a territory of 1,000,000 acres for a hunting-ground.
A solemn oath was taken that it should be respected: but before
long it was invaded like the rest. Mr. Bell, in his Report of the
Committee on Indian Affairs, February 24, 1830, has these words:
- "To pay an Indian tribe what their ancient hunting-grounds are
worth to them, after the game is fled or destroyed, as a mode of
appropriating wild lands claimed by Indians, has been found more
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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 Lucile by Owen Meredith: To save for the love of an innocent wife
All that such love deserved in the heart and the life
Of the man to whose heart and whose life you alone
Can with safety confide the pure trust of your own."
She turn'd to Matilda, and lightly laid on her
Her soft quiet hand . . .
"'Tis, O lady, the honor
Which that man has confided to you, that, in spite
Of his friend, I now trust I may yet save to-night--
Save for both of you, lady! for yours I revere;
Duc de Luvois, what say you?--my place is not here?"
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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 Grimm's Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm: in her bed and listened. Meantime the thieves were frightened, and ran
off a little way; but at last they plucked up their hearts, and said,
'The little urchin is only trying to make fools of us.' So they came
back and whispered softly to him, saying, 'Now let us have no more of
your roguish jokes; but throw us out some of the money.' Then Tom
called out as loud as he could, 'Very well! hold your hands! here it
comes.'
The cook heard this quite plain, so she sprang out of bed, and ran to
open the door. The thieves ran off as if a wolf was at their tails:
and the maid, having groped about and found nothing, went away for a
light. By the time she came back, Tom had slipped off into the barn;
Grimm's Fairy Tales |
