| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield: this charming girl in the mirror, in her black hat trimmed with gold
daisies, and a long black velvet ribbon. Never had she imagined she could
look like that. Is mother right? she thought. And now she hoped her
mother was right. Am I being extravagant? Perhaps it was extravagant.
Just for a moment she had another glimpse of that poor woman and those
little children, and the body being carried into the house. But it all
seemed blurred, unreal, like a picture in the newspaper. I'll remember it
again after the party's over, she decided. And somehow that seemed quite
the best plan...
Lunch was over by half-past one. By half-past two they were all ready for
the fray. The green-coated band had arrived and was established in a
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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 Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells: At last I roused myself from my inaction, and turning seaward walked
straight into the water. The water was very shallow at first.
I was thirty yards out before the waves reached to my waist.
Dimly I could see the intertidal creatures darting away from
my feet.
"What are you doing, man?" cried Montgomery.
I turned, standing waist deep, and stared at them.
Montgomery stood panting at the margin of the water. His face
was bright-red with exertion, his long flaxen hair blown about
his head, and his dropping nether lip showed his irregular teeth.
Moreau was just coming up, his face pale and firm, and the dog at his
 The Island of Doctor Moreau |