The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Witch, et. al by Anton Chekhov: the mechanic, or the clerk, or the huntsman, but the devil in
their form! Ah! You'd better think of that!"
"Why, you are stupid, Savely," said his wife, looking at him
compassionately. "When father was alive and living here, all
sorts of people used to come to him to be cured of the ague: from
the village, and the hamlets, and the Armenian settlement. They
came almost every day, and no one called them devils. But if
anyone once a year comes in bad weather to warm himself, you
wonder at it, you silly, and take all sorts of notions into your
head at once."
His wife's logic touched Savely. He stood with his bare feet wide
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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 Amy Foster by Joseph Conrad: at first, the maniac made a great deal of noise in
the lodge. Mrs. Smith was screaming upstairs,
where she had locked herself in her bedroom; but
Amy Foster sobbed piteously at the kitchen door,
wringing her hands and muttering, 'Don't!
don't!' I daresay Smith had a rough time of it
that evening with one noise and another, and this
insane, disturbing voice crying obstinately through
the door only added to his irritation. He couldn't
possibly have connected this troublesome lunatic
with the sinking of a ship in Eastbay, of which
 Amy Foster |