| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Finished by H. Rider Haggard: doubled up and collapsed.
All this while Colonel Durnford had been behaving as a British
officer should do. Scorning to attempt flight, whenever I looked
round I caught sight of his tall form, easy to recognize by the
long fair moustaches and his arm in a sling, moving to and fro
encouraging us to stand firm and die like men. Then suddenly I
saw a Kaffir, who carried a big old smooth-bore gun, aim at him
from a distance of about twenty yards, and fire. He went down,
as I believe dead, and that was the end of a very gallant officer
and gentleman whose military memory has in my opinion been most
unjustly attacked. The real blame for that disaster does not
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy: He was short, bony, had very prominent cheek bones, a sallow
complexion, thin lips and beautiful, greenish eyes, rather far
apart. He wore an old wadded coat, top-boots and goloshes, and
was carrying two pots of milk and two round boxes made of birch
bark, which he placed in front of Rintzeva. He bowed to
Nekhludoff, bending only his neck, and with his eyes fixed on
him. Then, having reluctantly given him his damp hand to shake,
he began to take out the provisions.
Both these political prisoners were of the people; the first was
Nabatoff, a peasant; the second, Markel Kondratieff, a factory
hand. Markel did not come among the revolutionists till he was
Resurrection |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from An Episode Under the Terror by Honore de Balzac: oath, and escaped the massacres at the Carmelites by a miracle----"
"HOSANNA!" Sister Agathe exclaimed eagerly, interrupting the stranger,
while she watched him with curious eyes.
"That is not the name, I think," he said.
"But, monsieur," Sister Marthe broke in quickly, "we have no priest
here, and----"
"In that case you should be more careful and on your guard," he
answered gently, stretching out his hand for a breviary that lay on
the table. "I do not think that you know Latin, and----"
He stopped; for, at the sight of the great emotion in the faces of the
two poor nuns, he was afraid that he had gone too far. They were
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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 Enoch Arden, &c. by Alfred Tennyson: Baby says, like little birdie,
Let me rise and fly away.
Baby, sleep a little longer,
Till the little limbs are stronger.
If she sleeps a little longer,
Baby too shall fly away.
`She sleeps: let us too, let all evil, sleep.
He also sleeps--another sleep than ours.
He can do no more wrong: forgive him, dear,
And I shall sleep the sounder!'
Then the man,
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