| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tom Grogan by F. Hopkinson Smith: presence, even men like Rowan. For some moments his Honor bent
over the desk and carefully examined the signed contract spread
out before him; then he pushed it back, and glanced about the
room.
"Is Mr. Crane, the bondsman, present?"
"Mr. Crane has gone West, sir," said Babcock, rising. "I
represent Mrs. Grogan in this matter."
"Did Mr. Crane sign this bond knowing that Mrs. Grogan would haul
the stone?"
"He did; and I can add that all her checks, receipts, and
correspondence are signed in the same way, and have been for
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Child of Storm by H. Rider Haggard: I write it--I weep as Umbelazi wept.
CHAPTER XIV
UMBEZI AND THE BLOOD ROYAL
After this I think that some of the Usutu came up, for it seemed to me
that I heard Saduko say:
"Touch not Macumazahn or his servant. They are my prisoners. He who
harms them dies, with all his House."
So they put me, fainting, on my horse, and Scowl they carried away upon
a shield.
When I came to I found myself in a little cave, or rather beneath some
overhanging rocks, at the side of a kopje, and with me Scowl, who had
Child of Storm |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Bride of Lammermoor by Walter Scott: conversation turn upon the accommodation and refreshment which
the castle afforded, he thought it time to burst into the room in
the manner announced in the last chapter.
"Willawins!--willawins! Such a misfortune to befa' the house of
Ravenswood, and I to live to see it."
"What is the matter, Caleb?" said his master, somewhat alarmed
in his turn; "has any part of the castle fallen?"
"Castle fa'an! na, but the sute's fa'an, and the thunner's come
right down the kitchen-lum, and the things are a' lying here
awa', there awa', like the Laird o' Hotchpotch's lands; and wi'
brave guests of honour and quality to entertain (a low bow here
The Bride of Lammermoor |
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 Schoolmistress and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov: under the feet; the earth, the roofs, the trees, the seats on the
boulevard, everything was soft, white, young, and this made the
houses look quite different from the day before; the street
lamps burned more brightly, the air was more transparent, the
carriages rumbled with a deeper note, and with the fresh, light,
frosty air a feeling stirred in the soul akin to the white,
youthful, feathery snow. "Against my will an unknown force,"
hummed the medical student in his agreeable tenor, "has led me to
these mournful shores."
"Behold the mill . . ." the artist seconded him, "in ruins now. .
. ."
The Schoolmistress and Other Stories |
