| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Droll Stories, V. 1 by Honore de Balzac: it well; for thou shalt be all a cardinal, even when to redden thy
hood I shed all my heart's blood." And with her trembling hands all
joyously she filled with Greek wine the golden cup, brought by the
Bishop of Coire, and presented it to her sweetheart, whom she served
upon her knee, she whose slipper princes found more to their taste
than that of the pope.
But he gazed at her in silence, with his eye so lustrous with love,
that she said to him, trembling with joy " Ah! be quiet, little one.
Let us have supper."
THE VENIAL SIN
HOW THE GOOD MAN BRUYN TOOK A WIFE.
 Droll Stories, V. 1 |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: converse so, without being uneasy to one another." I liked this
part of his discourse very well, and it began to put me in mind of
my priest that I had left in the Brazils; but Father Simon did not
come up to his character by a great deal; for though this friar had
no appearance of a criminal levity in him, yet he had not that fund
of Christian zeal, strict piety, and sincere affection to religion
that my other good ecclesiastic had.
But to leave him a little, though he never left us, nor solicited
us to go with him; we had something else before us at first, for we
had all this while our ship and our merchandise to dispose of, and
we began to be very doubtful what we should do, for we were now in
 Robinson Crusoe |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from 1492 by Mary Johntson: altarpiece for the Church of Saint Dominic. You and the
King, Madam, I thought were in Granada. Not finding him
in his own lodging, I made bold to come here. Then at
once! before I could hasten away, you returned!''
The true nature of this Queen was to think no evil. Her
countenance remained mild. He had done valiant service,
and she was sisterly-minded toward the greater part of the
world. Now she said with serenity, ``There is no fault,
Don Enrique. Stay with us now that you are here.''
Bowing deeply, he joined a brother-in-arms, Don Miguel
de Silva. His squire stood in the shadow behind him, but
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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 Virginibus Puerisque by Robert Louis Stevenson: Neil Gow, to sit for which the old fiddler walked daily
through the streets of Edinburgh arm in arm with the Duke of
Athole. There was good Harry Erskine, with his satirical nose
and upper lip, and his mouth just open for a witticism to pop
out; Hutton the geologist, in quakerish raiment, and looking
altogether trim and narrow, and as if he cared more about
fossils than young ladies; full-blown John Robieson, in
hyperbolical red dressing-gown, and, every inch of him, a fine
old man of the world; Constable the publisher, upright beside
a table, and bearing a corporation with commercial dignity;
Lord Bannatyne hearing a cause, if ever anybody heard a cause
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