| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from La Grenadiere by Honore de Balzac: and the officer on his side had taken a liking to the lad, whose eyes
sparkled with energy. Louis, hungering for tales of adventure, and
eager for information, used to follow in the lieutenant's wake for the
chance of a chat with him. It so happened that the sailor had a friend
and comrade in the colonel of a regiment of infantry, struck off the
rolls like himself; and young Louis-Gaston had a chance of learning
what life was like in camp or on board a man-of-war. Of course, he
plied the veterans with questions; and when he had made up his mind to
the hardships of their rough callings, he asked his mother's leave to
take country walks by way of amusement. Mme. Willemsens was beyond
measure glad that he should ask; the boy's astonished masters had told
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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 King of the Golden River by John Ruskin: rolling-pin, and hit his head against the wall as he tumbled into
the corner. And so there they lay, all three.
Then the old gentleman spun himself round with velocity in
the opposite direction, continued to spin until his long cloak was
all wound neatly about him, clapped his cap on his head, very much
on one side (for it could not stand upright without going through
the ceiling), gave an additional twist to his corkscrew mustaches,
and replied with perfect coolness: "Gentlemen, I wish you a very
good morning. At twelve o'clock tonight I'll call again; after
such a refusal of hospitality as I have just experienced, you will
not be surprised if that visit is the last I ever pay you."
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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 American Notes by Rudyard Kipling: publishers and an already ruined market with attempts to write
"because everybody writes something these days."
My hosts were working, or had worked for their daily bread with
pen or paint, and their talk for the most part was of the
shop--shoppy--that is to say, delightful. They extended a large
hand of welcome, and were as brethren, and I did homage to the
owl and listened to their talk. An Indian club about
Christmas-time will yield, if properly worked, an abundant
harvest of queer tales; but at a gathering of Americans from the
uttermost ends of their own continent, the tales are larger,
thicker, more spinous, and even more azure than any Indian
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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 Master of the World by Jules Verne: one had seen him.
The sidewalk in front of our offices had probably not been once
vacant during the entire night. From sunset to sunrise, there had
always been people, busy, anxious, or curious, passing before our
door. It is true, however, that even then, the bearer of the letter
might easily have slipped by unseen and dropped the letter in the
box. The night had been so dark, you could scarcely see from one side
of the street to the other.
I have said that this letter appeared in facsimile in all the
newspapers to which the government communicated it. Perhaps one would
naturally imagine that the first comment of the public would be,
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