| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe: in regard to the dwelling which he tenanted, and whence, for many
years, he had never ventured forth--in regard to an influence
whose supposititious force was conveyed in terms too shadowy here
to be re-stated--an influence which some peculiarities in the
mere form and substance of his family mansion, had, by
dint of long sufferance, he said, obtained over his spirit--an
effect which the physique of the grey walls and turrets, and
of the dim tarn into which they all looked down, had, at length,
brought about upon the morale of his existence.
He admitted, however, although with hesitation, that much of
the peculiar gloom which thus afflicted him could be traced to a
 The Fall of the House of Usher |
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 An Unsocial Socialist by George Bernard Shaw: is not a commonplace either in my experience or in my opinion."
The physician held up his head as he spoke, in protest against
any assumption that his sympathies had been blunted by his
profession.
"Did she suffer?"
"For some hours, yes. We were able to do a little to alleviate
her pain--poor thing!" He almost forgot Trefusis as he added the
apostrophe.
"Hours of pain! Can you conceive any good purpose that those
hours may have served?"
The physician shook his head, leaving it doubtful whether he
|