| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from An Inland Voyage by Robert Louis Stevenson: driven to rehabilitate adultery, no less, when they wish to show us
what a beautiful thing it is for a man and a woman to live for each
other.
One person in Maubeuge, however, showed me something more than his
outside. That was the driver of the hotel omnibus: a mean enough
looking little man, as well as I can remember; but with a spark of
something human in his soul. He had heard of our little journey,
and came to me at once in envious sympathy. How he longed to
travel! he told me. How he longed to be somewhere else, and see
the round world before he went into the grave! 'Here I am,' said
he. 'I drive to the station. Well. And then I drive back again
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Bride of Lammermoor by Walter Scott: sorry to report you otherwise."
"You shall have no reason, sir," said Ravenswood, alighting, and
putting himself into a posture of defence.
Their swords crossed, and the combat commenced with great spirit
on the part of Bucklaw, who was well accustomed to affairs of the
kind, and distinguished by address and dexterity at his weapon.
In the present case, however, he did not use his skill to
advantage; for, having lost temper at the cool and
contemptuous manner in which the Master of Ravenswood had long
refused, and at length granted, him satisfaction, and urged by
his impatience, he adopted the part of an assailant with
The Bride of Lammermoor |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Trooper Peter Halket of Mashonaland by Olive Schreiner: of his overcoat, and put on a little two-pointed cap his mother had made
for him, which fitted so close that only one lock of white hair hung out
over his forehead. He turned up the collar of his coat to shield his neck
and ears, and threw it open in front that the blaze of the fire might warm
him. He had known many nights colder than this when he had sat around the
camp fire with his comrades, talking of the niggers they had shot or the
kraals they had destroyed, or grumbling over their rations; but tonight the
chill seemed to creep into his very bones.
The darkness of the night above him, and the silence of the veld about him,
oppressed him. At times he even wished he might hear the cry of a jackal
or of some larger beast of prey in the distance; and he wished that the
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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: "That's a good idea," said the dragon, who
seemed to be getting sleepy again.
Kaliko went to the big gong and pounded on it
just as Ruggedo used to do; but no one answered
the summons.
"Of course not," said he, jumping up from the
throne, where he had seated himself. "That is my
call, and I am still the Royal Chamberlain, and
will be until I appoint another in my place."
So he ran out of the room and found Guph and
told him to answer the summons of the King's gong.
Tik-Tok of Oz |
