The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Phantasmagoria and Other Poems by Lewis Carroll: all risk of recognising the melody at all, at least from the too-
exciting transports which it might produce in a more concentrated
form. The process is termed "setting" by Composers, and any one,
that has ever experienced the emotion of being unexpectedly set
down in a heap of mortar, will recognise the truthfulness of this
happy phrase.
For truly, just as the genuine Epicure lingers lovingly over a
morsel of supreme Venison - whose every fibre seems to murmur
"Excelsior!" - yet swallows, ere returning to the toothsome dainty,
great mouthfuls of oatmeal-porridge and winkles: and just as the
perfect Connoisseur in Claret permits himself but one delicate sip,
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Beauty and The Beast by Bayard Taylor: "`But the alcohol!' exclaimed Hollins.
"`I could not distinguish any, either by taste or smell. I know
that chemical analysis is said to show it; but may not the alcohol
be created, somehow, during the analysis?'
"`Abel,' said Hollins, in a fresh burst of candor, `you will never
be a Reformer, until you possess some of the commonest elements of
knowledge.'
"The rest of us were much diverted: it was a pleasant relief to our
monotonous amiability.
"Abel, however, had a stubborn streak in his character. The next
day he sent Perkins Brown to Bridgeport for a dozen bottles of
|