| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Some Reminiscences by Joseph Conrad: This appeal was an unlucky inspiration. In crowding clumsily to
the window to see whether he was speaking the truth, the fellows
overturned the little writing-table. As it fell over a chink of
loose coin was heard. "There's money in that thing," cried the
blacksmith. In a moment the top of the delicate piece of
furniture was smashed and there lay exposed in a drawer eighty
half-imperials. Gold coin was a rare sight in Russia even at
that time; it put the peasants beside themselves. "There must be
more of that in the house and we shall have it," yelled the ex-
soldier blacksmith. "This is war time." The others were already
shouting out of the window urging the crowd to come back and
Some Reminiscences |
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 From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne: the question at present was simply that of sending a projectile
up to the moon, every one must see that that involved the
commencement of a series of experiments. All must hope that
some day America would penetrate the deepest secrets of that
mysterious orb; and some even seemed to fear lest its conquest
should not sensibly derange the equilibrium of Europe.
The project once under discussion, not a single paragraph
suggested a doubt of its realization. All the papers,
pamphlets, reports-- all the journals published by the
scientific, literary, and religious societies enlarged upon its
advantages; and the Society of Natural History of Boston, the
From the Earth to the Moon |
