| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Bronte Sisters: poor trembling soul was hurried away to everlasting torment? it
would drive me mad. But, thank God, I have hope - not only from a
vague dependence on the possibility that penitence and pardon might
have reached him at the last, but from the blessed confidence that,
through whatever purging fires the erring spirit may be doomed to
pass - whatever fate awaits it - still it is not lost, and God, who
hateth nothing that He hath made, will bless it in the end!
His body will be consigned on Thursday to that dark grave he so
much dreaded; but the coffin must be closed as soon as possible.
If you will attend the funeral, come quickly, for I need help.
HELEN HUNTINGDON.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne: they stopped for a quarter of an hour at Green River station.
Snow had fallen abundantly during the night, but, being mixed with rain,
it had half melted, and did not interrupt their progress. The bad weather,
however, annoyed Passepartout; for the accumulation of snow, by blocking
the wheels of the cars, would certainly have been fatal to Mr. Fogg's tour.
"What an idea!" he said to himself. "Why did my master make
this journey in winter? Couldn't he have waited for the good
season to increase his chances?"
While the worthy Frenchman was absorbed in the state of the sky
and the depression of the temperature, Aouda was experiencing
fears from a totally different cause.
Around the World in 80 Days |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Massimilla Doni by Honore de Balzac: the lagoon from Mestre to Venice, between the lines of stakes painted
with Austrian colors, which mark out the channel for gondolas as
conceded by the custom-house. As he watched Massimilla's gondola,
navigated by men in livery, and cutting through the water a few yards
in front, poor Emilio, with only an old gondolier who had been his
father's servant in the days when Venice was still a living city,
could not repress the bitter reflections suggested to him by the
assumption of his title.
"What a mockery of fortune! A prince--with fifteen hundred francs a
year! Master of one of the finest palaces in the world, and unable to
sell the statues, stairs, paintings, sculpture, which an Austrian
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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 Research Magnificent by H. G. Wells: are. . . . At last I've been able to break silence and tell
you. . . ."
He stopped with something like a sob and stood regarding the dusky
mystery of her face. She stood quite still, she was just a
beautiful outline in the twilight, her face was an indistinctness
under the black shadow of her hair, with eyes that were two patches
of darkness.
He looked at his watch, lifting it close to his face to see the
time. His voice changed. "Well--if you provoke a man enough, you
see he makes speeches. Let it be a lesson to you, Amanda. Here we
are talking instead of going to our dinners. The car has been
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