| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Amy Foster by Joseph Conrad: sionally a big ship, windbound or through stress
of weather, makes use of the anchoring ground a
mile and a half due north from you as you stand
at the back door of the "Ship Inn" in Brenzett.
A dilapidated windmill near by lifting its shattered
arms from a mound no loftier than a rubbish heap,
and a Martello tower squatting at the water's edge
half a mile to the south of the Coastguard cottages,
are familiar to the skippers of small craft. These
are the official seamarks for the patch of trust-
worthy bottom represented on the Admiralty charts
Amy Foster |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Four Arthurian Romances by Chretien DeTroyes: authority of this celebrated feudal dame was weighty, and widely
felt. The old city of Troyes, where she held her court, must be
set down large in any map of literary history. For it was there
that Chretien was led to write four romances which together form
the most complete expression we possess from a single author of
the ideals of French chivalry. These romances, written in
eight-syllable rhyming couplets, treat respectively of Erec and
Enide, Cliges, Yvain, and Lancelot. Another poem, "Perceval le
Gallois", was composed about 1175 for Philip, Count of Flanders,
to whom Chretien was attached during his last years. This last
poem is not included in the present translation because of its
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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 Records of a Family of Engineers by Robert Louis Stevenson: proceeded with their respective operations at the beacon and
railways, and were left on the rock during the whole day
without the necessity of having any communication with the
tender, the kitchen of the beacon-house being now fitted up.
It was to-day, also, that Peter Fortune - a most obliging and
well-known character in the Lighthouse service - was removed
from the tender to the beacon as cook and steward, with a
stock of provisions as ample as his limited store-room would
admit.
When as many stones were built as comprised this day's
work, the demand for mortar was proportionally increased, 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 The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela: out of his sleep, cuffing and belaboring him unmerci-
fully, and, after having bashed in his face, deprived him
of his place of vantage. The rest of the officers, moreover,
burst into hilarious mirth and holding their sides with
laughter begged the colonel to pardon the deserter. The
colonel, therefore, instead of sentencing him to be shot,
kicked his buttocks roundly for him and assigned him to
kitchen police.
This signal insult was destined to bear poisonous
fruit. Luis Cervantes determined to play turncoat; in-
deed, mentally, he had already changed sides. Did not
The Underdogs |
