| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Black Dwarf by Walter Scott: hope of the Knight of Langley-dale?"
"You speak like a madman," said Ellieslaw; "do you not see how
many are absent?"
"And what of that?" said Mareschal. "Did you not know before,
that one-half of the world are better talkers than doers? For my
part, I am much encouraged by seeing at least two-thirds of our
friends true to the rendezvous, though I suspect one-half of
these came to secure the dinner in case of the worst."
"There is no news from the coast which can amount to certainty of
the King's arrival," said another of the company, in that tone of
subdued and tremulous whisper which implies a failure of
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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 Bickerstaff-Partridge Papers by Jonathan Swift: grant the latter; for he did not die till night, as appears by
the printed account of his death, in a letter to a lord; and
whether he is since revived I leave the world to judge. This
indeed is perfect cavilling, and I am ashamed to dwell any longer
upon it.
Fourthly, I will appeal to Mr. Partridge himself, whether it be
probable I could have been so indiscreet, to begin my predictions
with the only falsehood that ever was pretended to be in them;
and this in an affair at home, where I had so many opportunities
to be exact; and must have given such advantages against me to a
person of Mr. Partridge's wit and learning, who, if he could
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