| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Letters from England by Elizabeth Davis Bancroft: and went over to Keswick to breakfast. From thence we went to
Borrowdale, by the side of Derwentwater, and afterward to Ulswater
and home by the fine pass of Kirkstone. On my return, I found the
Duke and Duchess of Argyle had been to see us.
The time of closing the despatch bag has come and I must hurry over
my delight at the scenery of the lakes. I could have spent a month
there, much to my mind. We arrived home on Monday and early next
morning came Mr. Davis and Mr. Corcoran. They went to see the
Parliament prorogued in person by the Queen.
LETTER: To Mr. and Mrs. I.P.D.
LONDON, December 14, 1848
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Whirligigs by O. Henry: or fall. Then she whipped off her long tan cloak and
tossed it across the arm of the policeman who still stood
officially among them.
Miss Carroll had gone to supper well cloaked, but
in the costume of the tropic wood nymph. A skirt of
fern leaves touched her knee; she was like a humming-
bird -- green and golden and purple.
And then she danced a fluttering, fantastic dance, so
agile and light and mazy in her steps that the other three
members of the Carroll Comedy Company broke into
applause at the art of it.
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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 The Koran: HA MIM, AIN SIN QAF. Thus does God, the mighty, the wise, inspire
thee and those before thee.
His is what is in the heavens and what is in the earth, and He is
the high, the mighty!
The heavens well-nigh cleave asunder from above them; and the angels
celebrate the praises of their Lord, and ask forgiveness for those who
are on the earth. Ay, verily, God, He is the forgiving and merciful!
but those who take beside Him patrons, God watches over them, and thou
hast not charge over them.
Thus have we revealed an Arabic Koran, that thou mayest warn the
Mother of cities and all around it; and warn them of a day of
The Koran |
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 An Historical Mystery by Honore de Balzac: thinking of these advantages the elder of the twins, the Marquis de
Simeuse, would sacrifice himself to give Laurence to his brother, who,
according to the old laws, was poor and without a title. But would the
younger brother deprive the elder of the happiness of having Laurence
for a wife? At a distance, this strife of love and generosity might do
no harm,--in fact, so long as the brothers were facing danger the
chances of war might end the difficulty; but what would be the result
of this reunion? When Marie-Paul and Paul-Marie reached the age when
passions rise to their greatest height could they share, as now, the
looks and words and attentions of their cousin? must there not
inevitably arise a jealousy between them the consequences of which
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