| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley: Salvation Yeo started in his turn, and turned deadly pale.
"Who sung that?" he asked quickly.
"The little maid here. She's coming on nicely in her English,"
said Amyas.
"The little maid?" said Yeo, turning paler still. "Why do you go
about to scare an old servant, by talking of little maids, Captain
Amyas? Well," he said aloud to himself, "as I am a sinful saint,
if I hadn't seen where the voice came from, I could have sworn it
was her; just as we taught her to sing it by the river there, I and
William Penberthy of Marazion, my good comrade. The Lord have
mercy on me!"
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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 Divine Comedy (translated by H.F. Cary) by Dante Alighieri: Cry out "O blessed Virgin!" as a dame
In the sharp pangs of childbed; and "How poor
Thou wast," it added, "witness that low roof
Where thou didst lay thy sacred burden down.
O good Fabricius! thou didst virtue choose
With poverty, before great wealth with vice."
The words so pleas'd me, that desire to know
The spirit, from whose lip they seem'd to come,
Did draw me onward. Yet it spake the gift
Of Nicholas, which on the maidens he
Bounteous bestow'd, to save their youthful prime
The Divine Comedy (translated by H.F. Cary) |
