| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne: All eyes were directed toward the person who spoke. He was a
little dried-up man, of an active figure, with an American
"goatee" beard. Profiting by the different movements in the crowd,
he had managed by degrees to gain the front row of spectators.
There, with arms crossed and stern gaze, he watched the hero of
the meeting. After having put his question he remained silent,
and appeared to take no notice of the thousands of looks directed
toward himself, nor of the murmur of disapprobation excited by
his words. Meeting at first with no reply, he repeated his
question with marked emphasis, adding, "We are here to talk about
the _moon_ and not about the _earth_."
From the Earth to the Moon |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell: but I found that I was not my own master, and that when the craving came on
it was hard work to say `no'. I saw that one of us must knock under,
the drink devil or Jerry Barker, and I said that it should not be
Jerry Barker, God helping me; but it was a struggle,
and I wanted all the help I could get, for till I tried to break the habit
I did not know how strong it was; but then Polly took such pains
that I should have good food, and when the craving came on I used to get
a cup of coffee, or some peppermint, or read a bit in my book,
and that was a help to me; sometimes I had to say over and over to myself,
`Give up the drink or lose your soul! Give up the drink
or break Polly's heart!' But thanks be to God, and my dear wife,
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Pierre Grassou by Honore de Balzac: and the painter, who had the audacity to call pere Vervelle witty.
This flattery brought the family on the double-quick to the heart of
the artist; he gave a drawing to the daughter, and a sketch to the
mother.
"What! for nothing?" they said.
Pierre Grassou could not help smiling.
"You shouldn't give away your pictures in that way; they are money,"
said old Vervelle.
At the third sitting pere Vervelle mentioned a fine gallery of
pictures which he had in his country-house at Ville d'Avray--Rubens,
Gerard Douw, Mieris, Terburg, Rembrandt, Titian, Paul Potter, etc.
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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 The Exiles by Honore de Balzac: Dame, would have been enough to bring the stranger's mind to earth
again, to have made the youth drop from the celestial heights to which
his soul had soared on the wings of rapture.
And then the old man heard with dismay a groan mingling with the sound
of a heavy fall--the fall, as his experienced ear assured him, of a
dead body. He hastened into Godefroid's room, and saw him lying in a
heap with a long rope tight round his neck, the end meandering over
the floor.
When he had untied it, the poor lad opened his eyes.
"Where am I?" he asked, with a hopeful gleam.
"In your own room," said the elder man, looking with surprise at
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