| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Men of Iron by Howard Pyle: then he sat down on the side of his cot.
Presently that happened for which he was waiting; two of the
younger squires started to bring the bachelors' morning supply of
water. As they crossed the room Myles called to them in a loud
voice--a little uneven, perhaps: "Stop! We draw no more water for
any one in this house, saving only for ourselves. Set ye down
those buckets, and go back to your places!"
The two lads stopped, half turned, and then stood still, holding
the three buckets undecidedly.
In a moment all was uproar and confusion, for by this time every
one of the lads had arisen, some sitting on the edge of their
Men of Iron |
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 Glaucus/The Wonders of the Shore by Charles Kingsley: tube, about three inches long, standing up out of the sand. I do
not mean the tubes of the Terebella, so common in all sands, which
are somewhat flexible, and have their upper end fringed with a
ragged ring of sandy arms: those I speak of are straight and
stiff, and ending in a point upward. Draw them out of the sand -
they will offer some resistance - and put them into a vase of
water; you will see the worm inside expand two delicate golden
combs, just like old-fashioned back-hair combs, of a metallic
lustre, which will astonish you. With these combs the worm seems
to burrow head downward into the sand; but whether he always
remains in that attitude I cannot say. His name is Pectinaria
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