| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Chinese Boy and Girl by Isaac Taylor Headland: which they had received from Europeans, but played only
those which Chi had learned upon the street before he
entered school. This was repeated day after day, until we
had gathered a large collection of their most common, and
consequently their best, games, the number of which was
an indication of the richness of the play life of Chinese boys.
Another peculiarly interesting fact was the leadership of
Chi. The Chinese boy, like the Chinese man is a genuine
democrat and is ready to follow the one who knows what he
is about and is competent to take the lead, with little regard
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Mountains by Stewart Edward White: with its pungent odor and with the calls of its quail.
The crannies of the rocks, the stretches of wide loose
shale, the crumbling bottom earth offered to the
eye the dessicated beauties of creamy yucca, of yerba
buena, of the gaudy red paint-brushes, the Spanish
bayonet; and to the nostrils the hot dry perfumes of
the semi-arid lands. The air was tepid; the sun hot.
A sing-song of bees and locusts and strange insects
lulled the mind. The ponies plodded on cheerfully.
We expanded and basked and slung our legs over
the pommels of our saddles and were glad we had come.
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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 Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare: Moun. Who set this auncient quarrell new abroach?
Speake Nephew, were you by, when it began:
Ben. Heere were the seruants of your aduersarie,
And yours close fighting ere I did approach,
I drew to part them, in the instant came
The fiery Tibalt, with his sword prepar'd,
Which as he breath'd defiance to my eares,
He swong about his head, and cut the windes,
Who nothing hurt withall, hist him in scorne.
While we were enterchanging thrusts and blowes,
Came more and more, and fought on part and part,
Romeo and Juliet |
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 Tales of Unrest by Joseph Conrad: children do in the dark; and they had the same, not altogether
unpleasant, sense of danger which one half suspects to be imaginary.
They chatted persistently in familiar tones. "Our station is prettily
situated," said one. The other assented with enthusiasm, enlarging
volubly on the beauties of the situation. Then they passed near the
grave. "Poor devil!" said Kayerts. "He died of fever, didn't he?"
muttered Carlier, stopping short. "Why," retorted Kayerts, with
indignation, "I've been told that the fellow exposed himself
recklessly to the sun. The climate here, everybody says, is not at all
worse than at home, as long as you keep out of the sun. Do you hear
that, Carlier? I am chief here, and my orders are that you should not
Tales of Unrest |
