| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley: DOASYOUWOULDBEDONEBY came too. Whereat all the little children
began dancing and clapping their hands, and Tom danced too with all
his might.
And as for the pretty lady, I cannot tell you what the colour of
her hair was, or, of her eyes: no more could Tom; for, when any
one looks at her, all they can think of is, that she has the
sweetest, kindest, tenderest, funniest, merriest face they ever
saw, or want to see. But Tom saw that she was a very tall woman,
as tall as her sister: but instead of being gnarly and horny, and
scaly, and prickly, like her, she was the most nice, soft, fat,
smooth, pussy, cuddly, delicious creature who ever nursed a baby;
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens: smiling, 'how cruel of you to run upstairs to bed! Come down to
breakfast, madcap, and come down lightly, or you'll wake your
mother. She must be tired, I am sure--I am.'
Keeping these latter words to himself, and returning his
daughter's nod, he was passing into the workshop, with the smile
she had awakened still beaming on his face, when he just caught
sight of his 'prentice's brown paper cap ducking down to avoid
observation, and shrinking from the window back to its former
place, which the wearer no sooner reached than he began to hammer
lustily.
'Listening again, Simon!' said Gabriel to himself. 'That's bad.
Barnaby Rudge |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Old Indian Legends by Zitkala-Sa: lost it all! Why did I not know the muskrat would run through the
water? He swims faster than I could ever run! That is what he has
done. He has laughed at me for carrying a weight on my back while
he shot hither like an arrow!"
Crying thus to himself, Iktomi stepped to the water's brink.
He stooped forward with a hand on each bent knee and peeped far
into the deep water.
"There!" he exclaimed, "I see you, my friend, sitting with
your ankles wound around my little pot of fish! My friend, I am
hungry. Give me a bone!"
"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed the water-man, the muskrat. The sound
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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 Lemorne Versus Huell by Elizabeth Drew Stoddard: were my dresses?--had I a black silk? she asked. I had no black
silk, and thought one would be unnecessary for hot weather.
"Who ever heard of a girl of twenty-four having no black silk!
You have slimsy muslins, I dare say?"
"Yes."
"And you like them?"
"For present wear."
That afternoon she sent Mrs. Roll out, who returned with a
splendid heavy silk for me, which Aunt Eliza said should be made
before Saturday, and it was. I went to a fashionable dress-maker of
her recommending, and on Friday it came home, beautifully made and
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