| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Lock and Key Library by Julian Hawthorne, Ed.: the walls, to see if there were any concealed door. I could find
no trace of one,--not even a seam in the dull-brown paper with
which the room was hung. How, then, had the THING, whatever it
was, which had so scared him, obtained ingress except though my own
chamber?
I returned to my room, shut and locked the door that opened upon
the interior one, and stood on the hearth, expectant and prepared.
I now perceived that the dog had slunk into an angle of the wall,
and was pressing himself close against it, as if literally striving
to force his way into it. I approached the animal and spoke to it;
the poor brute was evidently beside itself with terror. It showed
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Emma McChesney & Co. by Edna Ferber: "Coming or going?"
"Going," replied Emma McChesney.
"Clean up this--this Bonez Areez, too?"
"Absolutely."
"Did, huh?"
Meyers stood a moment panting, his little eyes glaring into her
calm ones.
"Well, I beat you in Bahia, anyway." he boasted.
Emma McChesney snapped her fingers blithely.
"Bah, for Bahia!" She took a step or two up the gangplank, and
turned. "Good-by, Ed. And good luck. I can recommend the
Emma McChesney & Co. |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy: more to do with mind than body, and she walked about her sitting-
room in something of a hopeful mood. Mrs. Melbury had told her as
soon as she arrived that her husband had returned from London. He
had gone out, she said, to see a patient, as she supposed, and he
must soon be back, since he had had no dinner or tea. Grace would
not allow her mind to harbor any suspicion of his whereabouts, and
her step-mother said nothing of Mrs. Charmond's rumored sorrows
and plans of departure.
So the young wife sat by the fire, waiting silently. She had left
Hintock in a turmoil of feeling after the revelation of Mrs.
Charmond, and had intended not to be at home when her husband
The Woodlanders |
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 Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy: It occurred to Marty that she might take hold behind this carriage
and so keep along with it, to save herself the mortification of
being overtaken and picked up for pity's sake by the coming pair.
Accordingly, as the carriage drew abreast of her in climbing the
long ascent, she walked close to the wheels, the rays of the
nearest lamp penetrating her very pores. She had only just
dropped behind when the carriage stopped, and to her surprise the
coachman asked her, over his shoulder, if she would ride. What
made the question more surprising was that it came in obedience to
an order from the interior of the vehicle.
Marty gladly assented, for she was weary, very weary, after
The Woodlanders |
