| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Commission in Lunacy by Honore de Balzac: which commanded respect a little too decidedly. His aquiline nose bent
at the tip from left to right, a slight crookedness which was not
devoid of grace; his blue eyes, his high forehead, prominent enough at
the brows to form a thick ridge that checked the light and shaded his
eyes, all indicated a spirit of rectitude, capable of perseverance and
perfect loyalty, while it gave a singular look to his countenance.
This penthouse forehead might, in fact, hint at a touch of madness,
and his thick-knitted eyebrows added to the apparent eccentricity. He
had the white well-kept hands of a gentleman; his foot was high and
narrow. His hesitating speech--not merely as to his pronunciation,
which was that of a stammerer, but also in the expression of his
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tales of the Klondyke by Jack London: That's all. They're off now, and a good half hour ago."
"Where? Down river and without me? And he an Indian!"
"There's no accounting for taste, you know, especially in a
woman."
"But how do I stand in this deal? I've lost four thousand
dollars' worth of dogs and a tidy bit of a woman, and nothing to
show for it. Except you," he added as an afterthought, "and cheap
you are at the price."
Freda shrugged her shoulders.
"You might as well get ready. I'm going out to borrow a couple of
teams of dogs, and we'll start in as many hours."
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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 Vailima Prayers & Sabbath Morn by Robert Louis Stevenson: death, loss, and disappointment as it were straws upon the tide of
life.
FOR THE FAMILY
AID us, if it be thy will, in our concerns. Have mercy on this
land and innocent people. Help them who this day contend in
disappointment with their frailties. Bless our family, bless our
forest house, bless our island helpers. Thou who hast made for us
this place of ease and hope, accept and inflame our gratitude; help
us to repay, in service one to another, the debt of thine unmerited
benefits and mercies, so that, when the period of our stewardship
draws to a conclusion, when the windows begin to be darkened, when
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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 New Arabian Nights by Robert Louis Stevenson: We were admitted to the pavilion by Clara, and I was surprised by
the completeness and security of the defences. A barricade of
great strength, and yet easy to displace, supported the door
against Any violence from without; and the shutters of the dining-
room, into which I was led directly, and which was feebly
illuminated by a lamp, were even more elaborately fortified. The
panels were strengthened by bars and cross-bars; and these, in
their turn, were kept in position by a system of braces and struts,
some abutting on the floor, some on the roof, and others, in fine,
against the opposite wall of the apartment. It was at once a solid
and well-designed piece of carpentry; and I did not seek to conceal
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