| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Under the Andes by Rex Stout: But the innumerable echoes of the cavern walls made it
impossible to judge of distance by sound. We tried it over and
over; sometimes it seemed that we were only a few feet apart,
sometimes a mile or more.
Then Harry spoke in a whisper, and his voice appeared to be
directly in my ear. Never have I seen a night so completely black
as that cavern; we had had several hours, presumably, for our eyes
to adjust themselves to the phenomenon; but when I held my hand but
six inches in front of my face I could not get even the faintest
suggestion of its outline.
"This is useless," I declared finally. "We must experiment.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Lady Susan by Jane Austen: been all closeted together. What can be done? At any rate, I hope he will
plague his wife more than ever. With anxious wishes,
Yours faithfully,
ALICIA.
XXXIII
LADY SUSAN TO MRS. JOHNSON
Upper Seymour Street.
This eclaircissement is rather provoking. How unlucky that you should
have been from home! I thought myself sure of you at seven! I am undismayed
however. Do not torment yourself with fears on my account; depend on it, I
can make my story good with Reginald. Mainwaring is just gone; he brought
Lady Susan |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli: who desired to obtain half the state of Lombardy by his intervention.
I will not blame the course taken by the king, because, wishing to get
a foothold in Italy, and having no friends there--seeing rather that
every door was shut to him owing to the conduct of Charles--he was
forced to accept those friendships which he could get, and he would
have succeeded very quickly in his design if in other matters he had
not made some mistakes. The king, however, having acquired Lombardy,
regained at once the authority which Charles had lost: Genoa yielded;
the Florentines became his friends; the Marquess of Mantua, the Duke
of Ferrara, the Bentivogli, my lady of Forli, the Lords of Faenza, of
Pesaro, of Rimini, of Camerino, of Piombino, the Lucchese, the Pisans,
The Prince |
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 Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson: youth of excellent disposition and brave bearing. For your
estates, ye will never see them till the world shall change again;
so long as Lancaster hath the strong hand, so long shall Sir Daniel
enjoy them for his own. For my ward, it is another matter; I had
promised her before to a gentleman, a kinsman of my house, one
Hamley; the promise is old - "
"Ay, my lord, and now Sir Daniel hath promised her to my Lord
Shoreby," interrupted Dick. "And his promise, for all it is but
young, is still the likelier to be made good."
"'Tis the plain truth," returned his lordship. "And considering,
moreover, that I am your prisoner, upon no better composition than
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