The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The American by Henry James: keep house in my best gown."
"Never mind your gown," said Newman, cheerfully. "You shall
have a better gown than that."
Mrs. Bread stared solemnly and then stretched her hands over her lustreless
satin skirt, as if the perilous side of her situation were defining itself.
"Oh, sir, I am fond of my own clothes," she murmured.
"I hope you have left those wicked people, at any rate," said Newman.
"Well, sir, here I am!" said Mrs. Bread. "That's all I can tell you.
Here I sit, poor Catherine Bread. It's a strange place for me to be.
I don't know myself; I never supposed I was so bold. But indeed, sir,
I have gone as far as my own strength will bear me."
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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: Toward five o'clock our expedition halted at the Wildon farm, where
the tenants warmly welcomed their landlord. The farmer assured us
that nothing notable had happened about the Great Eyrie for some
time. We supped at a common table with all the people of the farm;
and our sleep that night was sound and wholly untroubled by
premonitions of the future.
On the morrow, before break of day, we set out for the ascent of the
mountain. The height of the Great Eyrie scarce exceeds five thousand
feet. A modest altitude, often surpassed in this section of the
Alleghanies. As we were already more than three thousand feet above
sea level, the fatigue of the ascent could not be great. A few hours
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