| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain: and dead. Many women visited Aunt Polly and Mrs.
Thatcher and tried to comfort them. They cried
with them, too, and that was still better than words.
All the tedious night the town waited for news; but
when the morning dawned at last, all the word that
came was, "Send more candles -- and send food." Mrs.
Thatcher was almost crazed; and Aunt Polly, also.
Judge Thatcher sent messages of hope and encourage-
ment from the cave, but they conveyed no real cheer.
The old Welshman came home toward daylight,
spattered with candle-grease, smeared with clay, and
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Betty Zane by Zane Grey: He said this in a hard, bitter tone, deeply hurt that she would not accept
even a little kindness from him. He looked away from her and waited. Presently
a soft, half-smothered sob came from Betty and it expressed such utter
wretchedness that his heart melted. After all she was only a child. He turned
to see the tears running down her cheeks, and with a suppressed imprecation
upon the wilfulness of young women in general, and this one in particular, he
stepped forward and before she could offer any resistance, he had taken her up
in his arms, goldenrod and all, and had started off at a rapid walk toward the
fort.
Betty cried out in angry surprise, struggled violently for a moment, and then,
as suddenly, lay quietly in his arms. His anger changed to self-reproach as he
Betty Zane |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Lemorne Versus Huell by Elizabeth Drew Stoddard: "It is so easy to dress without."
This was all the conversation we had together during the evening,
except when she introduced some acquaintance to fulfill her
matronizing duties. As I was no dancer I was left alone most of the
time, and amused myself by gliding from window to window along the
wall, that it might not be observed that I was a fixed flower.
Still I suffered the annoyance of being stared at by wandering
squads of young gentlemen, the "curled darlings" of the ball-room.
I borrowed Mrs. Bliss's fan in one of her visits for a protection.
With that, and the embrasure of a remote window where I finally
stationed myself, I hoped to escape further notice. The music of
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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 Four Arthurian Romances by Chretien DeTroyes: your arms and arm yourselves! The traitors are upon us."
Through all the camp they run to arms, and hastily strive to
equip themselves in the urgent need; but not a single one of them
left his place until they were all comfortably armed and mounted
upon their steeds. While they are arming themselves, the
attacking forces are eager for battle and press forward, hoping
to catch them off their guard and find them disarmed. They bring
up from different directions the five companies into which they
had divided their troops: some hug the woods, others follow the
river, the third company deploys upon the plain, while the fourth
enters a valley, and the fifth proceeds beside a rocky cliff.
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