| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Helen of Troy And Other Poems by Sara Teasdale: It was the wind I heard, that mocks at me,
The bitter wind that is more cruel than he;
It was the wind that knocked upon the door,
But he will never knock nor enter more.
Less than the Cloud to the Wind
Less than the cloud to the wind,
Less than the foam to the sea,
Less than the rose to the storm
Am I to thee.
More than the star to the night,
More than the rain to the lea,
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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 Young Forester by Zane Grey: like a board. It seemed dead; but after I had moved it a little the pain
came back, and it had apparently come to stay. We ate breakfast, and then
settled down to do nothing, or to wait for something to turn up. Buell sat
in the doorway, moodily watching the trail. Once he spoke, ordering the
Mexican to drive in the horses. I fancied from this that Buell might have
decided to break camp, but there was no move to pack.
The morning quiet was suddenly split by the stinging crack of a rifle and a
yell of agony.
Buell leaped to his feet, his ruddy face white.
"Greaser!" he exclaimed.
"Thet was about where Greaser cashed," relied Bill, coolly knocking the
The Young Forester |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Mansion by Henry van Dyke: be
identified and do good all around. You'll see the wisdom of it
in
the long run."
"I can see it already, sir, and the way you describe it looks
amazingly wise and prudent. In other words, we must cast our
bread on
the waters in large loaves, carried by sound ships marked with
the owner's name, so that the return freight will be sure to
come back to us."
The father laughed, but his eyes were frowning a little as if
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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 The Turn of the Screw by Henry James: under HER dictation"--with which I faced, over the pool again,
our infernal witness--"the easy and perfect way to meet it.
I've done my best, but I've lost you. Goodbye." For Mrs. Grose
I had an imperative, an almost frantic "Go, go!" before which,
in infinite distress, but mutely possessed of the little girl
and clearly convinced, in spite of her blindness, that something
awful had occurred and some collapse engulfed us, she retreated,
by the way we had come, as fast as she could move.
Of what first happened when I was left alone I had no subsequent memory.
I only knew that at the end of, I suppose, a quarter of an hour,
an odorous dampness and roughness, chilling and piercing
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