| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Astoria by Washington Irving: Mr. Hunt and his companions were more and more sensible how much
it would be in the power of this sullen and daring vagabond Rose,
to do them mischief, when they should become entangled in the
defiles of the mountains, with the passes of which they were
wholly unacquainted, and which were infested by his freebooting
friends, the Crows. There, should he succeed in seducing some of
the party into his plans, he might carry off the best horses and
effects, throw himself among his savage allies, and set all
pursuit at defiance. Mr. Hunt resolved, therefore, to frustrate
the knave, divert him, by management, from his plans, and make it
sufficiently advantageous for him to remain honest.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Lair of the White Worm by Bram Stoker: he was satisfied to wait till the most advantageous time for his
final experiment.
In the meantime, affairs had been going quietly at Mercy Farm.
Lilla, of course, felt lonely in the absence of her cousin, but the
even tenor of life went on for her as for others. After the first
shock of parting was over, things went back to their accustomed
routine. In one respect, however, there was a marked difference.
So long as home conditions had remained unchanged, Lilla was content
to put ambition far from her, and to settle down to the life which
had been hers as long as she could remember. But Mimi's marriage
set her thinking; naturally, she came to the conclusion that she too
Lair of the White Worm |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories by Alice Dunbar: slipped on the wet boards, and in another instant would have
fallen over into the water below. The tall fisherman caught her
in his arms and set her on her feet.
"Mademoiselle must be very careful," he said in the softest and
most correct French. "The tide is in and the water very rough.
It would be very difficult to swim out there to-night."
Annette murmured confused thanks, which were supplemented by
Philip's hearty tones. She was silent until they reached the
pavilion at the end of the pier. The semi-darkness was
unrelieved by lantern or light. The strong wind wafted the
strains from a couple of mandolins, a guitar, and a tenor voice
The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories |
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 I Have A Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr.: sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of
liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the
pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So
let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let
freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
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