| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Complete Angler by Izaak Walton: your claret well with salt, cloves, and mace, and the rinds of oranges
and lemons. That done, cover your pot and set it on a quick fire till it be
sufficiently boiled. Then take out the Carp; and lay it, with the broth,
into the dish; and pour upon it a quarter of a pound of the best fresh
butter, melted, and beaten with half a dozen spoonfuls of the broth, the
yolks of two or three eggs, and some of the herbs shred: garnish your
dish with lemons, and so serve it up. And much good do you! Dr. T.
The fourth day-continued
On the Bream
Chapter X
Piscator
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott: many grateful hearts, who owed their joy and life to her.
Meanwhile, over hill and dale went Thistledown, and for a time was
kind and gentle to every living thing. He missed sadly the little
friend who had left her happy home to watch over him, but he was
too proud to own his fault, and so went on, hoping she would find him.
One day he fell asleep, and when he woke the sun had set, and the dew
began to fall; the flower-cups were closed, and he had nowhere to go,
till a friendly little bee, belated by his heavy load of honey, bid
the weary Fairy come with him.
"Help me to bear my honey home, and you can stay with us tonight,"
he kindly said.
Flower Fables |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Damnation of Theron Ware by Harold Frederic: accompanied Theron down the stairway, the two men parted.
CHAPTER XIII
Though time lagged in passing with a slowness which seemed
born of studied insolence, there did arrive at last a day
which had something definitive about it to Theron's
disturbed and restless mind. It was a Thursday, and the
prayer-meeting to be held that evening would be the last
before the Quarterly Conference, now only four days off.
For some reason, the young minister found himself dwelling
upon this fact, and investing it with importance.
But yesterday the Quarterly Conference had seemed a long
The Damnation of Theron Ware |
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 Firm of Nucingen by Honore de Balzac: "You apparently take us for Matifats multiplied by half-a-dozen
bottles of champagne."
"We are just coming to it," returned Bixiou. "You have followed the
course of all the rivulets which make up that forty thousand livres a
year which so many people envy. By this time Rastignac held the
threads of all these lives in his hand."
"Desroches, the Matifats, Beaudenord, the d'Aldriggers, d'Aiglemont?"
"Yes, and a hundred others," assented Bixiou.
"Oh, come now, how?" cried Finot. "I know a few things, but I cannot
see a glimpse of an answer to this riddle."
"Blondet has roughly given you the account of Nucingen's first two
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