| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Letters from England by Elizabeth Davis Bancroft: these round-topped pictures with rich gilding between.
Notwithstanding its vast size, the sofas and tables were so disposed
all over the apartment as to give it the most friendly, warm, and
social aspect.
Lady Braybrooke herself ushered me to my apartments, which were the
state rooms. First came Mr. Bancroft's dressing-room, where was a
blazing fire. Then came the bedroom, with the state bed of blue and
gold, covered with embroidery, and with the arms and coronet of
Howard de Walden. The walls were hung with crimson and white
damask, and the sofas and chairs also, and it was surrounded by
pictures, among others a full length of Queen Charlotte, just
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Elizabeth and her German Garden by Marie Annette Beauchamp: "Yes, of course, if they're good."
"And then what do _they_ wear?" <52>
"Why, the same as all the other angels, I suppose."
"Dwesses?"
She began to laugh, looking at me sideways as though she suspected me
of making jokes. "What a funny Mummy!" she said, evidently much amused.
She has a fat little laugh that is very infectious.
"I think," said I, gravely, "you had better go and play
with the other babies."
She did not answer, and sat still a moment watching the clouds.
I began writing again.
Elizabeth and her German Garden |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar by Edgar Rice Burroughs: the anger of Achmet Zek. So, as chance directed that he
should be the one to discover the body of the sentry
when the first alarm had been given following Achmet
Zek's discovery that Werper had outwitted him, the
crafty black had dragged the dead body to the interior
of a nearby tent, and himself resumed his station
before the doorway of the hut in which he still
believed the woman to be.
With the discovery of the Arab close behind him, the
Belgian hid in the foliage of a leafy bush. Here the
trail ran straight for a considerable distance, and
Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar |
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 Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde: chance you had better avail yourself of it, for I am going back to
Court almost immediately. I am a great favourite at Court; in
fact, the Prince and Princess were married yesterday in my honour.
Of course you know nothing of these matters, for you are a
provincial."
"There is no good talking to him," said a Dragon-fly, who was
sitting on the top of a large brown bulrush; "no good at all, for
he has gone away."
"Well, that is his loss, not mine," answered the Rocket. "I am not
going to stop talking to him merely because he pays no attention.
I like hearing myself talk. It is one of my greatest pleasures. I
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