| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens: noble captain and I, have planned for to-morrow a roaring
expedition, with good profit in it.'
'Again the Papists?' asked Dennis, rubbing his hands.
'Ay, against the Papists--against one of 'em at least, that some of
us, and I for one, owe a good heavy grudge to.'
'Not Muster Gashford's friend that he spoke to us about in my
house, eh?' said Dennis, brimfull of pleasant expectation.
'The same man,' said Hugh.
'That's your sort,' cried Mr Dennis, gaily shaking hands with him,
'that's the kind of game. Let's have revenges and injuries, and
all that, and we shall get on twice as fast. Now you talk,
Barnaby Rudge |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Timaeus by Plato: be right in undertaking so great and difficult a task. Remembering what I
said at first about probability, I will do my best to give as probable an
explanation as any other--or rather, more probable; and I will first go
back to the beginning and try to speak of each thing and of all. Once
more, then, at the commencement of my discourse, I call upon God, and beg
him to be our saviour out of a strange and unwonted enquiry, and to bring
us to the haven of probability. So now let us begin again.
This new beginning of our discussion of the universe requires a fuller
division than the former; for then we made two classes, now a third must be
revealed. The two sufficed for the former discussion: one, which we
assumed, was a pattern intelligible and always the same; and the second was
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Finished by H. Rider Haggard: "I mean, Baas, that I hope they are in heaven, because when last
I saw them they were both dead, and dead people must be either in
heaven or hell, and heaven, they say, is better than hell."
"_Dead!_ Where did you see them dead?"
"In that Black Kloof, Baas, some days after you left us and went
away. The old baboon man who is called Zikali gave us leave
through the witch-girl, Nombe, to go also. So the Baas Anscombe
set to work to inspan the horses, the Missie Heda helping him,
while I packed the things. When I had nearly finished Nombe
came, smiling like a cat that has caught two mice, and beckoned
to me to follow her. I went and saw the cart inspanned with 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 Men of Iron by Howard Pyle: thee," said Gascoyne.
As Myles had said, the climbing from roof to roof was a matter
easy enough to an active pair of lads like themselves; but when,
by-and-by, they reached the wall of the tower itself, they found
the hidden window much higher from the roof than they had judged
from below--perhaps ten or twelve feet--and it was, besides,
beyond the eaves and out of their reach.
Myles looked up and looked down. Above was the bushy thickness of
the ivy, the branches as thick as a woman's wrist, knotted and
intertwined; below was the stone pavement of a narrow inner court
between two of the stable buildings.
Men of Iron |
