| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll: two or three of them. `The great art of riding, as I was saying,
is--to keep your balance properly. Like this, you know--'
He let go the bridle, and stretched out both his arms to show
Alice what he meant, and this time he fell flat on his back,
right under the horse's feet.
`Plenty of practice!' he went on repeating, all the time that
Alice was getting him on his feet again. `Plenty of practice!'
`It's too ridiculous!' cried Alice, losing all her patience this time.
`You ought to have a wooden horse on wheels, that you ought!'
`Does that kind go smoothly?' the Knight asked in a tone of
great interest, clasping his arms round the horse's neck as he
Through the Looking-Glass |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Grimm's Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm: said the other; 'you only want a grindstone; the rest will come of
itself. Here is one that is but little the worse for wear: I would not
ask more than the value of your goose for it--will you buy?' 'How can
you ask?' said Hans; 'I should be the happiest man in the world, if I
could have money whenever I put my hand in my pocket: what could I
want more? there's the goose.' 'Now,' said the grinder, as he gave him
a common rough stone that lay by his side, 'this is a most capital
stone; do but work it well enough, and you can make an old nail cut
with it.'
Hans took the stone, and went his way with a light heart: his eyes
sparkled for joy, and he said to himself, 'Surely I must have been
Grimm's Fairy Tales |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Mistress Wilding by Rafael Sabatini: faces of the musketeers, suffused by a dull red glow, sprang for a
moment out of the grey mass, to fade once more into the general
greyness at the word, "Cock your matches!"
"Guard your pans!" came a second later the captain's voice, and then:
"Present!"
There was a stir and rattle, and the dark, indistinct figure standing
on the lip of the ditch was covered by the eight muskets. To the eyes
of the firing-party he was no more than a blurred shadowy form, showing
a little darker than the encompassing dark grey.
"Give fire!"
On the word Mr. Wilding lost the delicate, precarious balance he had
|
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 Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne: pretend to have ever seen him anywhere else. His sole pastimes
were reading the papers and playing whist. He often won at this game,
which, as a silent one, harmonised with his nature; but his winnings
never went into his purse, being reserved as a fund for his charities.
Mr. Fogg played, not to win, but for the sake of playing.
The game was in his eyes a contest, a struggle with a difficulty,
yet a motionless, unwearying struggle, congenial to his tastes.
Phileas Fogg was not known to have either wife or children,
which may happen to the most honest people; either relatives
or near friends, which is certainly more unusual. He lived alone
in his house in Saville Row, whither none penetrated. A single
Around the World in 80 Days |
