| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter: sail.
They also took with them an
offering of three fat mice as a present
for Old Brown, and put them down
upon his door-step.
Then Twinkleberry and the other
little squirrels each made a low bow,
and said politely--
"Old Mr. Brown, will you
favour us with permission to
gather nuts upon your island?"
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Louis Lambert by Honore de Balzac: far removed from the stamp of his own nature, the easy attitude he
assumed, and his evident strength in proportion to his years, infused
a certain respect into the veriest scamps among us. For my part, I
kept near him, absorbed in studying him in silence.
Louis Lambert was slightly built, nearly five feet in height; his face
was tanned, and his hands were burnt brown by the sun, giving him an
appearance of manly vigor, which, in fact, he did not possess. Indeed,
two months after he came to the college, when studying in the
classroom had faded his vivid, so to speak, vegetable coloring, he
became as pale and white as a woman.
His head was unusually large. His hair, of a fine, bright black in
Louis Lambert |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Moon-Face and Other Stories by Jack London: said; and I confess the illustration was apt enough to make me well-nigh
convinced.
I visited Lloyd's laboratory a number of times after that, and found him
always deep in his search after the absolute black. His experiments covered
all sorts Of pigments, such as lamp-blacks, tars, carbonized vegetable
matters, soots of oils and fats, and the various carbonized animal substances.
"White light is composed of the seven primary colors," he argued to me. "But
it is itself, of itself, invisible. Only by being reflected from objects do it
and the objects become visible. But only that portion of it that is reflected
becomes visible. For instance, here is a blue tobacco-box. The white light
strikes against it, and, with one exception, all its component colors--violet,
|
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 Life in the Iron-Mills by Rebecca Davis: bottle. Tying on her bonnet, she blew out the candle.
"Lay ye down, Janey dear," she said, gently, covering her with
the old rags. "Hur can eat the potatoes, if hur's hungry.
"Where are ye goin', Deb? The rain's sharp."
"To the mill, with Hugh's supper."
"Let him bide till th' morn. Sit ye down."
"No, no,"--sharply pushing her off. "The boy'll starve."
She hurried from the cellar, while the child wearily coiled
herself up for sleep. The rain was falling heavily, as the
woman, pail in hand, emerged from the mouth of the alley, and
turned down the narrow street, that stretched out, long and
Life in the Iron-Mills |
