| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Underground City by Jules Verne: of former days, they would have plundered the unfortunate vessel, had it
not been for Jack Ryan and his friends. Anyhow, so far it is evident,
and here is the mouth of the den. As to its occupants, the question is--
Are they here still?"
"I say yes; because Nell trembles when we mention them--
yes, because Nell will not, or dare not, speak about them,"
answered Harry in a tone of decision.
Harry was surely in the right. Had these mysterious denizens
of the pit abandoned it, or ceased to visit the spot, what reason
could the girl have had for keeping silence?
James Starr could not rest till he had penetrated this mystery.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Venus and Adonis by William Shakespeare: For my sick heart commands mine eyes to watch. 584
Tell me, Love's master, shall we meet to-morrow
Say, shall we? shall we? wilt thou make the match?'
He tells her, no; to-morrow he intends
To hunt the boar with certain of his friends. 588
'The boar!' quoth she; whereat a sudden pale,
Like lawn being spread upon the blushing rose,
Usurps her cheeks, she trembles at his tale,
And on his neck her yoking arms she throws: 592
She sinketh down, still hanging by his neck,
He on her belly falls, she on her back.
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: that it was for you, for your happiness I was working. I wanted
to be rich; I wanted to get away from here. I wanted to see
white men bowing low before the power of your beauty and your
wealth. Old as I am I wished to seek a strange land, a
civilisation to which I am a stranger, so as to find a new life
in the contemplation of your high fortunes, of your triumphs, of
your happiness. For that I bore patiently the burden of work, of
disappointment, of humiliation amongst these savages here, and I
had it all nearly in my grasp."
He looked at his daughter's attentive face and jumped to his feet
upsetting the chair.
Almayer's Folly |
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 Wife, et al by Anton Chekhov: " 'It is Pavel Konstantinovitch,' answered the maid or the nurs
e.
"Anna Alexyevna would come out to me with an anxious face, and
would ask every time:
" 'Why is it so long since you have been? Has anything happened?'
"Her eyes, the elegant refined hand she gave me, her indoor
dress, the way she did her hair, her voice, her step, always
produced the same impression on me of something new and
extraordinary in my life, and very important. We talked together
for hours, were silent, thinking each our own thoughts, or she
played for hours to me on the piano. If there were no one at home
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