| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Heart of the West by O. Henry: And to-day he caps the vortex. I get a bunch of flowers from him, and
on 'em is pinned a note. Now, Mr. Pratt, you know a lady when you see
her; and you know how I stand in Rosa society. Do you think for a
moment that I'd skip out to the woods with a man along with a jug of
wine and a loaf of bread, and go singing and cavorting up and down
under the trees with him? I take a little claret with my meals, but
I'm not in the habit of packing a jug of it into the brush and raising
Cain in any such style as that. And of course he'd bring his book of
verses along, too. He said so. Let him go on his scandalous picnics
alone! Or let him take his Ruby Ott with him. I reckon she wouldn't
kick unless it was on account of there being too much bread along. And
Heart of the West |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: who have taken the voluntary pilgrimage down this cruel river
since the beginning of time, only to fall into the ferocious
clutches of the terrible creatures that to-day assailed us.
"There is an ancient legend that once a red man returned
from the banks of the Lost Sea of Korus, returned from the
Valley Dor, back through the mysterious River Iss, and the
legend has it that he narrated a fearful blasphemy of horrid
brutes that inhabited a valley of wondrous loveliness,
brutes that pounced upon each Barsoomian as he terminated
his pilgrimage and devoured him upon the banks of the Lost
Sea where he had looked to find love and peace and happiness;
The Gods of Mars |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs: "You are mad, man. It cannot be."
"It is, though. It was I who stole it, not knowing either its
value or to whom it belonged. I saw the sailors bury it, and,
ape-like, I had to dig it up and bury it again elsewhere. When
D'Arnot told me what it was and what it meant to you I returned
to the jungle and recovered it. It had caused so much
crime and suffering and sorrow that D'Arnot thought it best
not to attempt to bring the treasure itself on here, as had
been my intention, so I have brought a letter of credit instead.
"Here it is, Professor Porter," and Tarzan drew an envelope
from his pocket and handed it to the astonished professor,
Tarzan of the Apes |
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 A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain: Don't you know what a map is? There, there, never
mind, don't explain, I hate explanations; they fog a
thing up so that you can't tell anything about it. Run
along, dear; good-day; show her the way, Clarence."
Oh, well, it was reasonably plain, now, why these
donkeys didn't prospect these liars for details. It
may be that this girl had a fact in her somewhere, but
I don't believe you could have sluiced it out with a
hydraulic; nor got it with the earlier forms of blasting,
even; it was a case for dynamite. Why, she was a
perfect ass; and yet the king and his knights had
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court |
