The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tales of the Klondyke by Jack London: stillness. The land seemed bound under the unreality of the
unknown, wrapped in the brooding mystery of great spaces.
Perhaps it was this which made Mrs. Sayther nervous; for she
changed her position constantly, now to look up the river, now
down, or to scan the gloomy shores for the half-hidden mouths of
back channels. After an hour or so the boatmen were sent ashore
to pitch camp for the night, but Pierre remained with his mistress
to watch.
"Ah! him come thees tam," he whispered, after a long silence, his
gaze bent up the river to the head of the island.
A canoe, with a paddle flashing on either side, was slipping down
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Michael Strogoff by Jules Verne: she had been crouching, had run to the carriage, taken one
of Michael's revolvers, and, advancing resolutely towards
the bear, had fired close to it.
The animal, slightly wounded in the shoulder, turned
on the girl, who rushed for protection behind the tarantass,
but then, seeing that the horse was attempting to break its
traces, and knowing that if it did so, and the others were
not recovered, their journey could not be continued, with
the most perfect coolness she again approached the bear,
and, as it raised its paws to strike her down, gave it the
contents of the second barrel.
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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 Twilight Land by Howard Pyle: and not so much as a crust of bread was brought to stay his
stomach.
By-and-by the clock struck twelve, and then the two who sat upon
the throne arose. The beautiful lady took the magician by the
hand, and, turning to those who stood around, said, in a loud
voice, "Behold him who alone is worthy to possess the jewel of
jewels! Unto him do I give it, and with it all power of powers!"
Thereon she opened a golden casket that stood beside her, and
brought thence a little crystal ball, about as big as a pigeon's
egg, in which was something that glistened like a spark of fire.
The magician took the crystal ball and thrust it into his bosom;
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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 Weir of Hermiston by Robert Louis Stevenson: plucked her gaze home again like a tame bird who should have meditated
flight. Possibilities crowded on her; she hung over the future and grew
dizzy; the image of this young man, slim, graceful, dark, with the
inscrutable half-smile, attracted and repelled her like a chasm. "I
wonder, will I have met my fate?" she thought, and her heart swelled.
Torrance was got some way into his first exposition, positing a deep
layer of texts as he went along, laying the foundations of his
discourse, which was to deal with a nice point in divinity, before
Archie suffered his eyes to wander. They fell first of all on Clem,
looking insupportably prosperous, and patronising Torrance with the
favour of a modified attention, as of one who was used to better things
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