| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from 'Twixt Land & Sea by Joseph Conrad: could do, I don't know. For all I can tell, he might have imagined
himself irresistible, or have taken Freya for what she was not, on
account of her lively, assured, unconstrained manner. But there it
is. He was after that girl. Nelson could see it well enough.
Only he preferred to ignore it. He did not want to be told of it.
"All I want is to live in peace and quietness with the Dutch
authorities," he mumbled shamefacedly.
He was incurable. I was sorry for him, and I really think Miss
Freya was sorry for her father, too. She restrained herself for
his sake, and as everything she did she did it simply,
unaffectedly, and even good humouredly. No small effort that,
 'Twixt Land & Sea |
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 Chronicles of the Canongate by Walter Scott: bacon.
On the memorable occasion I am speaking of I lost my breakfast,
sheerly from obeying the commands of a respectable-looking old
lady, who once required me to ring the bell, and another time to
help the tea-kettle. I have some reason to think she was
literally an OLD-STAGER, who laughed in her sleeve at my
complaisance; so that I have sworn in my secret soul revenge upon
her sex, and all such errant damsels of whatever age and degree
whom I may encounter in my travels. I mean all this without the
least ill-will to my friend the contractor, who, I think, has
approached as near as any one is like to do towards accomplishing
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