| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Long Odds by H. Rider Haggard: runs, dropping down after each run. The danger was imminent, and the
case would not go in. At the moment I oddly enough thought of the
cartridge maker, whose name I will not mention, and earnestly hoped that
if the lion got _me_ some condign punishment would overtake _him._ It
would not go in, so I tried to pull it out. It would not come out
either, and my gun was useless if I could not shut it to use the other
barrel. I might as well have had no gun.
"Meanwhile I was walking backward, keeping my eye on the lioness, who
was creeping forward on her belly without a sound, but lashing her tail
and keeping her eye on me; and in it I saw that she was coming in a few
seconds more. I dashed my wrist and the palm of my hand against the
Long Odds |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Personal Record by Joseph Conrad: he cast a glance of kindly curiosity and a friendly gleam of big,
sound, shiny teeth toward the man and the boy sitting like dusty
tramps by the roadside, with a modest knapsack lying at their
feet. His white calves twinkled sturdily, the uncouth Swiss
guide with a surly mouth stalked like an unwilling bear at his
elbow; a small train of three mules followed in single file the
lead of this inspiring enthusiast. Two ladies rode past, one
behind the other, but from the way they sat I saw only their
calm, uniform backs, and the long ends of blue veils hanging
behind far down over their identical hat-brims. His two
daughters, surely. An industrious luggage-mule, with unstarched
A Personal Record |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Hated Son by Honore de Balzac: gravelled terrace, was shaded by a wooden gallery, around which
climbing plants were twining, and tossing in this month of May their
various blossoms into the very windows of the second floor. Without
being really vast, this garden seemed immense from the manner in which
its vistas were cut; points of view, cleverly contrived through the
rise and fall of the ground, married themselves, as it were, to those
of the valley, where the eye could rove at will. Following the
instincts of her thought, Gabrielle could either enter the solitude of
a narrow space, seeing naught but the thick green and the blue of the
sky above the tree-tops, or she could hover above a glorious prospect,
letting her eyes follow those many-shaded green lines, from the
|
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 Ballads by Robert Louis Stevenson: Delighting maids with his tongue, smiting men with his hand.
Famous he was in his youth; but before the midst of his life
Paused, and fashioned a song of farewell to glory and strife.
HOUSE OF MINE (IT WENT), HOUSE UPON THE SEA,
BELOV'D OF ALL MY FATHERS, MORE BELOV'D BY ME!
VALE OF THE STRONG HONOURA, DEEP RAVINE OF PAI,
AGAIN IN YOUR WOODY SUMMITS I HEAR THE TRADE-WIND CRY.
HOUSE OF MINE, IN YOUR WALLS, STRONG SOUNDS THE SEA,
OF ALL SOUNDS ON EARTH, DEAREST SOUND TO ME.
I HAVE HEARD THE APPLAUSE OF MEN, I HAVE HEARD IT ARISE AND DIE:
SWEETER NOW IN MY HOUSE I HEAR THE TRADE-WIND CRY.
Ballads |
