| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay: sitting apart, his face buried in his hands.
It was at this moment that the door was burst open violently, and a
stranger, unannounced, half leaped, half strode a few yards into the
room, and then stopped. None of Faull's friends had ever seen him
before. He was a thick, shortish man, with surprising muscular
development and a head far too large in proportion to his body. His
beardless yellow face indicated, as a first impression, a mixture of
sagacity, brutality, and humour.
"Aha-i, gentlemen!" he called out loudly. His voice was piercing,
and oddly disagreeable to the ear. "So we have a little visitor
here."
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Letters of Two Brides by Honore de Balzac: forgotten; but, from what I have seen, I have no doubt he will
remember me when he has need of me. He is a very attractive man in
spite of his fifty years. His figure is youthful; he is well made,
fair, and extremely graceful in his movements. He has a diplomatic
face, at once dumb and expressive; his nose is long and slender, and
he has brown eyes.
What a handsome pair! Strange thoughts assail me as it becomes plain
to me that these two, so perfectly matched in birth, wealth, and
mental superiority, live entirely apart, and have nothing in common
but their name. The show of unity is only for the world.
The cream of the Court and diplomatic circles were here last night.
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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 Letters from England by Elizabeth Davis Bancroft: visits take all my time. No one goes out in a carriage till after
two, as the servants dine at one, and in the morning early the
footman is employed in the house. A coachman never leaves his box
here, and a footman is indispensable on all occasions. No visit can
be paid till three; and this gives me very little time in these
short days. Everything here is inflexible as the laws of the Medes
and Persians, and though I am called "Mistress" even by old Cates
with his grey hair and black coat, I cannot make one of them do
anything, except BY the person and AT the time which English custom
prescribes. They are brought up to fill certain situations, and
fill them perfectly, but cannot or will not vary.
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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 The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain: The sarcasm bit, but Wilson kept himself under control,
and said without passion:
"I don't practice, it is true. It is true that I have never had a case,
and have had to earn a poor living for twenty years as an expert
accountant in a town where I can't get a hold of a set of books to
untangle as often as I should like. But it is also true that I did
myself well for the practice of the law. By the time I was your age,
Tom, I had chosen a profession, and was soon competent to enter upon it."
Tom winced. "I never got a chance to try my hand at it, and I may
never get a chance; and yet if I ever do get it, I shall be found ready,
for I have kept up my law studies all these years."
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