| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Kwaidan by Lafcadio Hearn: the congratulations of many noble persons, and wedding gifts beyond
counting.
Some days later Akinosuke was again summoned to the throne-room. On this
occasion he was received even more graciously than before; and the King
said to him:--
In the southwestern part of Our dominion there is an island called Raishu.
We have now appointed you Governor of that island. You will find the people
loyal and docile; but their laws have not yet been brought into proper
accord with the laws of Tokoyo; and their customs have not been properly
regulated. We entrust you with the duty of improving their social condition
as far as may be possible; and We desire that you shall rule them with
Kwaidan |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Beauty and The Beast by Bayard Taylor: and whirled over the side; she instinctively held her breath, felt
a shock, felt herself swallowed up in an awful, fathomless
coldness, and then found herself floating below the huge towering
hull which slowly drifted away.
In another moment there was one at her side. "Lay your hand on my
shoulder," he said; and when she did so, swam for the raft, which
they soon reached. While she supported herself by one of the
planks he so arranged and bound together the pieces of timber that
in a short time they could climb upon them and rest, not much
washed by the waves. The ship drifted further and further, casting
a faint, though awful, glare over the sea, until the light was
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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 The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling: But we must tell one tale at a time. Father and Mother Wolf
died, and Mowgli rolled a big boulder against the mouth of their
cave, and cried the Death Song over them; Baloo grew very old
and stiff, and even Bagheera, whose nerves were steel and whose
muscles were iron, was a shade slower on the kill than he had
been. Akela turned from gray to milky white with pure age;
his ribs stuck out, and he walked as though he had been made
of wood, and Mowgli killed for him. But the young wolves,
the children of the disbanded Seeonee Pack, throve and
increased, and when there were about forty of them, masterless,
full-voiced, clean-footed five-year-olds, Akela told them that
The Second Jungle Book |
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 Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs: addition, he determined to hasten out to the point of land at the
north of the harbor's mouth and obtain a nearer view of the
boat, as well as to learn, if possible, the direction of its flight.
Swinging through the trees with great speed, he reached
the point only a moment after the ship had passed out of the
harbor, so that he obtained an excellent view of the wonders
of this strange, floating house.
There were some twenty men running hither and thither
about the deck, pulling and hauling on ropes.
A light land breeze was blowing, and the ship had been
worked through the harbor's mouth under scant sail, but now that
Tarzan of the Apes |
