| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: for me to carry him away, there being no guard over him in the
country; and as I was not going to Moscow, but to Archangel, and
that I went in the retinue of a caravan, by which I was not obliged
to lie in the stationary towns in the desert, but could encamp
every night where I would, we might easily pass uninterrupted to
Archangel, where I would immediately secure him on board an English
ship, and carry him safe along with me; and as to his subsistence
and other particulars, it should be my care till he could better
supply himself.
He heard me very attentively, and looked earnestly on me all the
while I spoke; nay, I could see in his very face that what I said
Robinson Crusoe |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Chita: A Memory of Last Island by Lafcadio Hearn: that direction; and she wanted to know what it was. The white
could only be seen from one point, behind the furthest house,
where the ground was high. "Never go there," said Carmen; "there
is a Dead Man there,--will bite you!" And yet, one day, while
Carmen was unusually busy, Chita went there.
In the early days of the settlement, a Spanish fisherman had
died; and his comrades had built him a little tomb with the
surplus of the same bricks and other material brought down the
bayou for the construction of Viosca's cottages. But no one,
except perhaps some wandering duck hunter, had approached the
sepulchre for years. High weeds and grasses wrestled together
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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 Dark Lady of the Sonnets by George Bernard Shaw: oh, my royal mistress, AM I a flatterer?
ELIZABETH. I absolve you as to that. You are far too plain a dealer
to please me. _[He rises gratefully]._
THE DARK LADY. Madam: he is flattering you even as he speaks.
ELIZABETH. _[a terrible flash in her eye]_ Ha! Is it so?
SHAKESPEAR. Madam: she is jealous; and, heaven help me! not without
reason. Oh, you say you are a merciful prince; but that was cruel of
you, that hiding of your royal dignity when you found me here. For
how can I ever be content with this black-haired, black-eyed,
black-avised devil again now that I have looked upon real beauty and
real majesty?
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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 Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum: of the rarest and fairest Roses grown."
"I believe it," said Betsy, admiring the pretty
blossoms.
"But only Roses are allowed here," continued a
delicate Tea Rose, bending her brows in a frown;
"therefore you must go away before the Royal
Gardener finds you and casts you back into the
sea."
"Oh! Is there a Royal Gardener, then?" inquired
Betsy.
"To be sure.
Tik-Tok of Oz |
