| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Complete Angler by Izaak Walton: could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did "; and so,
if I might be judge, God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent
recreation than angling.
I'll tell you, scholar; when I sat last on this primrose-bank, and looked
down these meadows, I thought of them as Charles the emperor did of
the city of Florence: " That they were too pleasant to be looked on, but
only on holy-days ". As I then sat on this very grass, I turned my present
thoughts into verse: 'twas a Wish, which I'll repeat to you:-
The Angler's wish.
I in these flowery meads would be:
These crystal streams should solace me;
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tom Grogan by F. Hopkinson Smith: rail, against the wall. They were waiting for McGaw, who had not
been seen since the afternoon.
The president was in his accustomed place. The five gentlemen of
leisure, the veterinary surgeon, and the other trustees occupied
their several chairs. The roll had been called, and every man had
answered to his name. The occasion being one of much importance,
a full board was required.
As the minute-hand neared the hour of nine Dempsey became uneasy.
He started every time a new-comer mounted the stairs. Where was
McGaw? No one had seen him since he swallowed the tumblerful of
whiskey and disappeared from O'Leary's, a few hours before.
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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 A Lover's Complaint by William Shakespeare: Love to myself, and to no love beside.
'But woe is me! too early I attended
A youthful suit (it was to gain my grace)
Of one by nature's outwards so commended,
That maiden's eyes stuck over all his face:
Love lack'd a dwelling and made him her place;
And when in his fair parts she did abide,
She was new lodg'd and newly deified.
'His browny locks did hang in crooked curls;
And every light occasion of the wind
Upon his lips their silken parcels hurls.
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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 U. S. Project Trinity Report by Carl Maag and Steve Rohrer: about 325 was reached the week before the detonation (2; 12).
On 7 May 1945 at 0437 hours, 200 LASL scientists and technicians
exploded 100 tons of conventional high explosives at the test site.
The explosives were stacked on top of a 20-foot tower and contained
tubes of radioactive solution to simulate, at a low level of activity,
the radioactive products expected from a nuclear explosion. The test
produced a bright sphere which spread out in an oval form. A column
of smoke and debris rose as high as 15,000 feet before drifting
eastward. The explosion left a shallow crater 1.5 meters deep and 9
meters wide. Monitoring in the area revealed a level of radioactivity
low enough to allow workers to spend several hours in the area (3;
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