| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Emma by Jane Austen: about the kingdom, is even carried wrong--and not one in a million,
I suppose, actually lost! And when one considers the variety
of hands, and of bad hands too, that are to be deciphered,
it increases the wonder."
"The clerks grow expert from habit.--They must begin with some
quickness of sight and hand, and exercise improves them. If you
want any farther explanation," continued he, smiling, "they are
paid for it. That is the key to a great deal of capacity.
The public pays and must be served well."
The varieties of handwriting were farther talked of, and the usual
observations made.
Emma |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Schoolmistress and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov: priest's land and they could not cross it, in another Ivan Ionov
had bought a plot from the landowner and had dug a ditch round
it. They kept having to turn back.
They reached Nizhneye Gorodistche. Near the tavern on the
dung-strewn earth, where the snow was still lying, there stood
wagons that had brought great bottles of crude sulphuric acid.
There were a great many people in the tavern, all drivers, and
there was a smell of vodka, tobacco, and sheepskins. There was a
loud noise of conversation and the banging of the swing-door.
Through the wall, without ceasing for a moment, came the sound of
a concertina being played in the shop. Marya Vassilyevna
The Schoolmistress and Other Stories |
