| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Lock and Key Library by Julian Hawthorne, Ed.: said that he would stay outside and hold my horse, so I dismounted
and ran up alone.
The room seemed in no way changed. A mere stone shell, littered
with fragments of wood and mortar. There was the rough wooden
block on which Alan used to sit while he first frightened us with
bogey-stories, and then calmed our excited nerves by rapid sallies
of wild nonsense. There was the plank from behind which, erected
as a barrier across the doorway, he would defend the castle against
our united assault, pelting us with fir-cones and sods of earth.
This and many a bygone scene thronged on me as I stood there, and
the room filled again with the memories of childish mirth. And
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Kenilworth by Walter Scott: "It could scarcely be my nephew," said Giles Gosling, "for he had
not the courage of a hen-partridge for aught but mischief."
"Oh, many a man finds courage in the wars," replied the stranger.
"It may be," said the landlord; "but I would have thought our
Mike more likely to lose the little he had."
"The Michael Lambourne whom I knew," continued the traveller,
"was a likely fellow--went always gay and well attired, and had a
hawk's eye after a pretty wench."
"Our Michael," replied the host, "had the look of a dog with a
bottle at its tail, and wore a coat, every rag of which was
bidding good-day to the rest."
Kenilworth |
