| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy: previous night still sat heavy upon her.
'I saw you from my window, Harry,' she said timidly.
'The dew will make your feet wet,' he observed, as one deaf.
'I don't mind it.'
'There is danger in getting wet feet.'
'Yes...Harry, what is the matter?'
'Oh, nothing. Shall I resume the serious conversation I had with
you last night? No, perhaps not; perhaps I had better not.'
'Oh, I cannot tell! How wretched it all is! Ah, I wish you were
your own dear self again, and had kissed me when I came up! Why
didn't you ask me for one? why don't you now?'
A Pair of Blue Eyes |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Father Goriot by Honore de Balzac: one's envy, it was not even suspected that he was rich till the
peril of being rich was over, and all his intelligence was
concentrated, not on political, but on commercial speculations.
Goriot was an authority second to none on all questions relating
to corn, flour, and "middlings"; and the production, storage, and
quality of grain. He could estimate the yield of the harvest, and
foresee market prices; he bought his cereals in Sicily, and
imported Russian wheat. Any one who had heard him hold forth on
the regulations that control the importation and exportation of
grain, who had seen his grasp of the subject, his clear insight
into the principles involved, his appreciation of weak points in
Father Goriot |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Land of Footprints by Stewart Edward White: circumstances any of the good lion men-Tarleton, Lord Delamere,
the Hills, and others-would have extricated themselves unharmed.
This does not mean that accidents may not happen. Rifles jam, but
generally because of flurried manipulation! One may unexpectedly
meet the lion at too close quarters; a foot may slip, or a
cartridge prove defective. So may one fall downstairs or bump
one's head in the dark. Sufficient forethought and alertness and
readiness would go far in either case to prevent bad results.
The wounded beast, of course, offers the most interesting problem
to the lion hunter. If it sees the hunter, it is likely to charge
him at once. If hit while making off, however, it is more apt to
|
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 Nada the Lily by H. Rider Haggard: far to the right, and as he stumbled he let drop his great shield full
in the way of Jikiza's feet. Then it came about that Jikiza, rushing
on blindly, caught his feet in the shield and fell headlong to earth.
Umslopogaas saw, and swooped on him like an eagle to a dove. Before
men could so much as think, he had seized the axe Groan-Maker, and
with a blow of the steel he held had severed the thong of leather
which bound it to the wrist of Jikiza, and sprung back, holding the
great axe aloft, and casting down his own weapon upon the ground. Now,
the watchers saw all the cunning of his fight, and those of them who
hated Jikiza shouted aloud. But others were silent.
Slowly Jikiza gathered himself from the ground, wondering if he were
Nada the Lily |
