| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Legend of Montrose by Walter Scott: flea's leap to the voyages and marches he had made on a slighter
occasion."
With this purpose he left the Highlands, and came with his sister
as far as Gandercleugh, on his way to Glasgow, to take a passage
to Canada. But winter was now set in, and as he thought it
advisable to wait for a spring passage, when the St. Lawrence
should be open, he settled among us for the few months of his
stay in Britain. As we said before, the respectable old man met
with deference and attention from all ranks of society; and when
spring returned, he was so satisfied with his quarters, that he
did not renew the purpose of his voyage. Janet was afraid of the
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson: lateness of the sunset light) I gave no heed to it, and pushed on
across the decks, running between the seas, catching at ropes,
and only saved from going overboard by one of the hands on deck,
who had been always kind to me.
The round-house, for which I was bound, and where I was now to
sleep and serve, stood some six feet above the decks, and
considering the size of the brig, was of good dimensions. Inside
were a fixed table and bench, and two berths, one for the captain
and the other for the two mates, turn and turn about. It was all
fitted with lockers from top to bottom, so as to stow away the
officers' belongings and a part of the ship's stores; there was a
Kidnapped |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Tales and Fantasies by Robert Louis Stevenson: agony of Richard.
And, in the meantime, Van Tromp ran on interminably.
'I never forget a friend,' said he, 'nor yet an enemy: of the
latter, I never had but two - myself and the public; and I
fancy I have had my vengeance pretty freely out of both.' He
chuckled. 'But those days are done. Van Tromp is no more.
He was a man who had successes; I believe you knew I had
successes - to which we shall refer no farther,' pulling down
his neckcloth with a smile. 'That man exists no more: by an
exercise of will I have destroyed him. There is something
like it in the poets. First, a brilliant and conspicuous
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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 A Prince of Bohemia by Honore de Balzac: serve to warn young girls of the perils of lingering where fancies,
more charming than chastened, come thickly from the first; on the rosy
flowery unguarded slopes, where trespasses ripen into errors full of
equivocal effervescence, into too palpitating issues. The anecdote
puts La Palferine's genius before you in all its vivacity and
completeness. He realizes Pascal's /entre-deux/, he comprehends the
whole scale between tenderness and pitilessness, and, like
Epaminondas, he is equally great in extremes. And not merely so, his
epigram stamps the epoch; the /accoucheur/ is a modern innovation. All
the refinements of modern civilization are summed up in the phrase. It
is monumental."
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