| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Ebb-Tide by Stevenson & Osbourne: them that he came to shore upon the beach in front of
Attwater's. There he sat down, and looked forth into a world
without any of the lights of hope. The poor diving dress of
self-conceit was sadly tattered! With the fairy tale of suicide,
of a refuge always open to him, he had hitherto beguiled and
supported himself in the trials of life; and behold! that also
was only a fairy tale, that also was folk-lore. With the
consequences of his acts he saw himself implacably confronted for
the duration of life: stretched upon a cross, and nailed there
with the iron bolts of his own cowardice. He had no tears; he
told himself no stories. His disgust with himself was so complete
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Voice of the City by O. Henry: fight against 'em all the way down the line from the
manager who wants us to try his new motor-car to the
bill-posters who want to call us by our front names.
"And the men we have to meet after the show are
the worst of all. The stage-door kind, and the man-
ager's friends who take us to supper and show their
diamonds and talk about seeing 'Dan' and 'Dave'
and 'Charlie' for us. They're beasts, and I hate 'em.
"I tell you, Lynn, it's the girls like us on the stage
that ought to be pitied. It's girls from good homes
that are honestly ambitious and work hard to rise in
The Voice of the City |
