| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Jungle Tales of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: beyond had come down to drink, the carnivora with bold
and fearless majesty, the herbivora timorous, hesitating,
fearful.
Numa, the lion, was hungry, he was very hungry, and so he
was quite silent now. On his way to the drinking place
he had moaned often and roared not a little; but as he
neared the spot where he would lie in wait for Bara,
the deer, or Horta, the boar, or some other of the many
luscious-fleshed creatures who came hither to drink,
he was silent. It was a grim, a terrible silence,
shot through with yellow-green light of ferocious eyes,
The Jungle Tales of Tarzan |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Royalty Restored/London Under Charles II by J. Fitzgerald Molloy: seeking shelter from sun-rays in green glades and leafy groves,
their majesties, surrounded by their brilliant court, chased
bright hours away in frolic and pleasantry from noon till night.
Then revelry, gaining new life, began once more, when courtly
figures danced graceful measures to sounds of mirthful strains,
under the lustre of innumerable lights.
For a while it seemed as if a brave prospect of happiness was in
store for the young queen. Her love for her husband, her delight
in his affection, her pride in his accomplishments, together with
her simplicity, innocence, and naivete, completely won his heart.
These claims to his affection were, moreover, strengthened by the
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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 Merry Men by Robert Louis Stevenson: beyond a statue's. I took off my hat to her in passing, and her
face puckered with suspicion as swiftly and lightly as a pool
ruffles in the breeze; but she paid no heed to my courtesy. I went
forth on my customary walk a trifle daunted, her idol-like
impassivity haunting me; and when I returned, although she was
still in much the same posture, I was half surprised to see that
she had moved as far as the next pillar, following the sunshine.
This time, however, she addressed me with some trivial salutation,
civilly enough conceived, and uttered in the same deep-chested, and
yet indistinct and lisping tones, that had already baffled the
utmost niceness of my hearing from her son. I answered rather at 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 Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde: what to do with it. It is very much in my way at home, and it is
in such bad repair that I could not get anything for it if I sold
it. I will certainly take care not to give away anything again.
One always suffers for being generous.'"
"Well?" said the Water-rat, after a long pause.
"Well, that is the end," said the Linnet.
"But what became of the Miller?" asked the Water-rat.
"Oh! I really don't know," replied the Linnet; "and I am sure that
I don't care."
"It is quite evident then that you have no sympathy in your
nature," said the Water-rat.
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