| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells: roads of the place. In Sheen my companion suddenly com-
plained of faintness and thirst, and we decided to try one of
the houses.
The first house we entered, after a little difficulty with
the window, was a small semi-detached villa, and I found
nothing eatable left in the place but some mouldy
cheese. There was, however, water to drink; and I took a
hatchet, which promised to be useful in our next house-
breaking.
We then crossed to a place where the road turns towards
Mortlake. Here there stood a white house within a walled
War of the Worlds |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Call of the Wild by Jack London: their insular situation. But he had saved himself by not becoming
a mere pampered house-dog. Hunting and kindred outdoor delights
had kept down the fat and hardened his muscles; and to him, as to
the cold-tubbing races, the love of water had been a tonic and a
health preserver.
And this was the manner of dog Buck was in the fall of 1897, when
the Klondike strike dragged men from all the world into the frozen
North. But Buck did not read the newspapers, and he did not know
that Manuel, one of the gardener's helpers, was an undesirable
acquaintance. Manuel had one besetting sin. He loved to play
Chinese lottery. Also, in his gambling, he had one besetting
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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 The Wife, et al by Anton Chekhov: wife. I felt that I was leaving her in uncertainty. Going away, I
ought to have told that she was right, that I really was a bad
man.
When I turned away from the pump, I saw in the doorway the
station-master, of whom I had twice made complaints to his
superiors, turning up the collar of his coat, shrinking from the
wind and the snow. He came up to me, and putting two fingers to
the peak of his cap, told me with an expression of helpless
confusion, strained respectfulness, and hatred on his face, that
the train was twenty minutes late, and asked me would I not like
to wait in the warm?
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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 Enchanted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum: same expression of annoyance came over the two faces at the same moment.
When the prisoners entered, the pairs of captains and soldiers bowed
low to the two pairs of rulers, and the Ki exclaimed--both in the same
voice of surprise:
"Great Kika-koo! what have we here?"
"Most wonderful prisoners, your Highnesses," answered the captains.
"We found them at your cities' gates and brought them to you at once.
They are, as your Highnesses will see, each singular, and but half of
what he should be."
"'Tis so!" cried the double Ki, in loud voices, and slapping their
right thighs with their right palms at the same time. "Most
The Enchanted Island of Yew |
