| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Underground City by Jules Verne: He explored its ponds in a skillfully-managed canoe.
He even went shooting, for numerous birds had been introduced
into the crypt--pintails, snipes, ducks, who fed on the fish
which swarmed in the deep waters. Harry's eyes seemed made
for the dark, just as a sailor's are made for distances.
But all this while Harry felt irresistibly animated by
the hope of finding the mysterious being whose intervention,
strictly speaking, had saved himself and his friends. Would
he succeed? He certainly would, if presentiments were to be trusted;
but certainly not, if he judged by the success which had as yet
attended his researches.
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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 Call of the Canyon by Zane Grey: "Dearest--I beg of you--don't break my heart," she implored.
"I love you, Carley," he answered, steadily, with piercing eyes on hers.
"Then come back--home--home with me."
"No. If you love me you will be my wife."
"Love you! Glenn, I worship you," she broke out, passionately. "But I could
not live here--I could not."
"Carley, did you ever read of the woman who said, 'Whither thou goest,
there will I go' . . ."
"Oh, don't be ruthless! Don't judge me. . . . I never dreamed of this. I
came West to take you back."
"My dear, it was a mistake," he said, gently, softening to her distress.
The Call of the Canyon |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle: diamond-shaped head and puffed neck of a loathsome serpent.
"It is a swamp adder!" cried Holmes; "the deadliest snake in
India. He has died within ten seconds of being bitten. Violence
does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls
into the pit which he digs for another. Let us thrust this
creature back into its den, and we can then remove Miss Stoner to
some place of shelter and let the county police know what has
happened."
As he spoke he drew the dog-whip swiftly from the dead man's lap,
and throwing the noose round the reptile's neck he drew it from
its horrid perch and, carrying it at arm's length, threw it into
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
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 McTeague by Frank Norris: touched her face every minute, and her mouth, and smelt her
hair and her breath--oh, you don't know anything about it.
I can't give you any idea. I don' know exactly myself; I
only know how I'm fixed. I--I--it's been done; it's too
late, there's no going back. Why, I can't think of anything
else night and day. It's everything. It's--it's--oh, it's
everything! I--I--why, Mark, it's everything--I can't
explain." He made a helpless movement with both hands.
Never had McTeague been so excited; never had he made so
long a speech. His arms moved in fierce, uncertain
gestures, his face flushed, his enormous jaws shut together
McTeague |
