| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Lay Morals by Robert Louis Stevenson: the sudden stopping of the mail had jolted you. In such
circumstances a man may miss, ay, even with a blunder-buss,
and no blame attach to his marksmanship.' . . .
THE YOUNG CHEVALIER
PROLOGUE - THE WINE-SELLER'S WIFE
THERE was a wine-seller's shop, as you went down to the river
in the city of the Anti-popes. There a man was served with
good wine of the country and plain country fare; and the
place being clean and quiet, with a prospect on the river,
certain gentlemen who dwelt in that city in attendance on a
great personage made it a practice (when they had any silver
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin: and the difficulty of placing the draining-sleds so as not to encumber
too much the passage; but I am still of opinion that the former,
requiring the dust to be swept up and carry'd away before the shops
are open, is very practicable in the summer, when the days are long;
for, in walking thro' the Strand and Fleet-street one morning at
seven o'clock, I observ'd there was not one shop open, tho' it had
been daylight and the sun up above three hours; the inhabitants
of London chusing voluntarily to live much by candle-light,
and sleep by sunshine, and yet often complain, a little absurdly,
of the duty on candles and the high price of tallow.
Some may think these trifling matters not worth minding or relating;
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Travels of Sir John Mandeville by Sir John Mandeville: Ascopards, and they be folk full of all evil conditions. And they
have none houses, but tents, that they make of skins of beasts, as
of camels and of other beasts that they eat; and there beneath
these they couch them and dwell in place where they may find water,
as on the Red Sea or elsewhere: for in that desert is full great
default of water, and often-time it falleth that where men find
water at one time in a place it faileth another time; and for that
skill they make none habitations there. These folk that I speak
of, they till not the land, and they labour nought; for they eat no
bread, but if it be any that dwell nigh a good town, that go
thither and eat bread sometime. And they roast their flesh and
|
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 Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy: that ye know nothing of--and that's travelled a'most from
the North Pole."
Christopher Coney was silenced, and as he could get no
public sympathy, he mumbled his feelings to himself: "Be
dazed, if I loved my country half as well as the young
feller do, I'd live by claning my neighbour's pigsties afore
I'd go away! For my part I've no more love for my country
than I have for Botany Bay!"
"Come," said Longways; "let the young man draw onward with
his ballet, or we shall be here all night."
"That's all of it," said the singer apologetically.
The Mayor of Casterbridge |
