| 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: wandering--trying to remember what the service was that he had done
Goodson.
The couple lay awake the most of the night, Mary happy and busy,
Edward busy, but not so happy. Mary was planning what she would do
with the money. Edward was trying to recall that service. At first
his conscience was sore on account of the lie he had told Mary--if
it was a lie. After much reflection--suppose it WAS a lie? What
then? Was it such a great matter? Aren't we always ACTING lies?
Then why not tell them? Look at Mary--look what she had done.
While he was hurrying off on his honest errand, what was she doing?
Lamenting because the papers hadn't been destroyed and the money
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 Wyoming by William MacLeod Raine: two hours the busy scenes of cutting out, roping and branding,
Helen wheeled her car and started down the canyon on their
return.
Now, a herd of wild cattle is uncertain as an April day's
behavior. Under the influence of the tame valley cattle among
which they are driven, after a little milling around, the whole
bunch may gentle almost immediately, or, on the other hand, it
may break through and go crashing away on a wild stampede at a
moment's notice. Every experienced cowman knows enough to expect
the unexpected.
At Bronco Mesa the round-up had proceeded with unusual facility.
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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 The Hidden Masterpiece by Honore de Balzac: me. I--I see her!" he cried. "She is wondrously beautiful!"
At this moment Poussin heard the weeping of Gillette as she stood,
forgotten, in a corner.
"What troubles thee, my darling?" asked the painter, becoming once
more a lover.
"Kill me!" she answered. "I should be infamous if I still loved thee,
for I despise thee. I admire thee; but thou hast filled me with
horror. I love, and yet already I hate thee."
While Poussin listened to Gillette, Frenhofer drew a green curtain
before his Catherine, with the grave composure of a jeweller locking
his drawers when he thinks that thieves are near him. He cast at the
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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 Sons of the Soil by Honore de Balzac: Jean to respect his morning sleep and that of Hagar, whose room was
directly behind his.
So, on the following morning, about half past six, Madame Rigou, who
herself took care of the poultry-yard with some assistance from Jean,
knocked timidly at her husband's door.
"Monsieur Rigou," she said, "you told me to wake you."
The tones of that voice, the attitude of the woman, her frightened air
as she obeyed an order the execution of which might be ill-received,
showed the utter self-abnegation in which the poor creature lived, and
the affection she still bore to her petty tyrant.
"Very good," replied Rigou.
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