| 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: alien from the courtesies of one who is receiving honoured
guests.
Caleb came; and not the paleness of the fair stranger at the
first approach of the thunder, nor the paleness of any other
person, in any other circumstances whatever, equalled that which
overcame the thin cheeks of the disconsolate seneschal when he
beheld this accession of guests to the castle, and reflected that
the dinner hour was fast approaching. "Is he daft?" he muttered
to himself;--"is he clean daft a'thegither, to bring lords and
leddies, and a host of folk behint them, and twal o'clock
chappit?" Then approaching the Master, he craved pardon for
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 Heroes by Charles Kingsley: one a horse, another a shawl, or a ring, or a sword; and
those who had nothing better brought a basket of grapes, or
of game; but Perseus brought nothing, for he had nothing to
bring, being but a poor sailor-lad.
He was ashamed, however, to go into the king's presence
without his gift; and he was too proud to ask Dictys to lend
him one. So he stood at the door sorrowfully, watching the
rich men go in; and his face grew very red as they pointed at
him, and smiled, and whispered, 'What has that foundling to
give?'
Now this was what Polydectes wanted; and as soon as he heard
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