| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Chita: A Memory of Last Island by Lafcadio Hearn: morning, Sparicio rang Dr. La Brierre's night-bell. He had
fifty dollars in his pocket, and a letter to deliver. He was to
earn another fifty dollars--deposited in Feliu's hands,--by
bringing the Doctor to Viosca's Point. He had risked his life
for that money,--and was terribly in earnest.
Julien descended in his under-clothing, and opened the letter by
the light of the hall lamp. It enclosed a check for a larger fee
than he had ever before received, and contained an urgent request
that he would at once accompany Sparicio to Viosca's Point,--as
the sender was in hourly danger of death. The letter, penned in
a long, quavering hand, was signed,--"Henry Edwards."
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Mrs. Warren's Profession by George Bernard Shaw: of acceptance as being a representation of what people with blood
in them think or do on such occasions." Thus am I crushed
between the upper millstone of the Mr Redford, who thinks me a
libertine, and the nether popular critic, who thinks me a prude.
Critics of all grades and ages, middle-aged fathers of families
no less than ardent young enthusiasts, are equally indignant with
me. They revile me as lacking in passion, in feeling, in
manhood. Some of them even sum the matter up by denying me any
dramatic power: a melancholy betrayal of what dramatic power has
come to mean on our stage under the Censorship! Can I be
expected to refrain from laughing at the spectacle of a number of
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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 Phaedrus by Plato: earthly namesake, and instead of being awed at the sight of her, he is
given over to pleasure, and like a brutish beast he rushes on to enjoy and
beget; he consorts with wantonness, and is not afraid or ashamed of
pursuing pleasure in violation of nature. But he whose initiation is
recent, and who has been the spectator of many glories in the other world,
is amazed when he sees any one having a godlike face or form, which is the
expression of divine beauty; and at first a shudder runs through him, and
again the old awe steals over him; then looking upon the face of his
beloved as of a god he reverences him, and if he were not afraid of being
thought a downright madman, he would sacrifice to his beloved as to the
image of a god; then while he gazes on him there is a sort of reaction, and
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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 Lemorne Versus Huell by Elizabeth Drew Stoddard: were in advance of it before the walk, and I waited there for
William to drive up. When he did so, I saw by the oscillatory
motion of his head, though his arms and whiphand were perfectly
correct, that he was inebriated. It was his first occasion of
meeting fellow-coachmen in full dress, and the occasion had proved
too much for him. My hand, however, was on the coach door, when I
heard Mr. Uxbridge say, at my elbow,
"It is not safe for you."
"Oh, Sir, it is in the programme that I ride home from the
concert." And I prepared to step in.
"I shall sit on the box, then."
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