| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner: winter. Henceforth bare-headed must your master go. Good-bye, good-bye,
old hat!"
At the end of this affecting appeal the German rose. He went to the box at
the foot of his bed; out of it he took a black hat, which had evidently
been seldom worn and carefully preserved.
"It's not exactly what you may have been accustomed to," he said nervously,
putting it down beside the battered chimneypot, "but it might be of some
use--a protection to the head, you know."
"My friend," said Bonaparte, "you are not following my advice; you are
allowing yourself to be reproached on my account. Do not make yourself
unhappy. No; I shall go bare-headed."
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Mrs. Warren's Profession by George Bernard Shaw: as I like. Er--what is Mr Praed's social position?
MRS WARREN. Oh, he's all right: he's an architect. What an old
stick-in-the-mud you are, Sam!
FRANK. Yes, it's all right, gov'nor. He built that place down
in Wales for the Duke. Caernarvon Castle they call it. You must
have heard of it. [He winks with lightning smartness at Mrs
Warren, and regards his father blandly].
REV. S. Oh, in that case, of course we shall only be too happy.
I suppose he knows the Duke personally.
FRANK. Oh, ever so intimately! We can stick him in Georgina's
old room.
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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 A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde: thought of us. There was no reason, according to your views of
life, why you should have remembered us at all. Your meeting us
was a mere accident, a horrible accident. Forget it. Don't come
now, and rob me of . . . of all I have in the whole world. You are
so rich in other things. Leave me the little vineyard of my life;
leave me the walled-in garden and the well of water; the ewe-lamb
God sent me, in pity or in wrath, oh! leave me that. George, don't
take Gerald from me.
LORD ILLINGWORTH. Rachel, at the present moment you are not
necessary to Gerald's career; I am. There is nothing more to be
said on the subject.
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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 Vendetta by Honore de Balzac: exciting, a look, a word of tenderness, sufficed to pacify their angry
souls, and often they were never so near to a kiss as when they were
threatening each other vehemently.
Nevertheless, for the last five years, Ginevra, grown wiser than her
father, avoided such scenes. Her faithfulness, her devotion, the love
which filled her every thought, and her admirable good sense had got
the better of her temper. And yet, for all that, a very great evil had
resulted from her training; Ginevra lived with her father and mother
on the footing of an equality which is always dangerous.
Piombo and his wife, persons without education, had allowed Ginevra to
study as she pleased. Following her caprices as a young girl, she had
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