| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling: Big Toomai heard him and grunted. "That thou shouldst never
be one of these hill buffaloes of trackers. That was what he
meant. Oh, you in front, what is blocking the way?"
An Assamese driver, two or three elephants ahead, turned round
angrily, crying: "Bring up Kala Nag, and knock this youngster of
mine into good behavior. Why should Petersen Sahib have chosen me
to go down with you donkeys of the rice fields? Lay your beast
alongside, Toomai, and let him prod with his tusks. By all the
Gods of the Hills, these new elephants are possessed, or else they
can smell their companions in the jungle." Kala Nag hit the new
elephant in the ribs and knocked the wind out of him, as Big
The Jungle Book |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Mistress Wilding by Rafael Sabatini: Mr. Wilding's indiscretion?"
"Your Grace has said it."
"`Slife! What an impudent rogue have we here!" cried the angry Duke,
who conceived that Richard was purposely dealing in effrontery. "Mr.
Trenchard, I do think we are wasting time. Be so good as to confound
them both with the truth of this matter."
"That letter," said Trenchard, "was delivered to them at the Hare and
Hounds, here at Taunton, by a gentleman who put up at the inn, and was
there joined by Mr. Westmacott and Sir Rowland Blake. They opened the
conversation with certain cant phrases very clearly intended as
passwords. Thus: the prisoners said to the messenger, as they seated
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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 Rewards and Fairies by Rudyard Kipling: 'But I'd ha' laid my own brother open at that pinch. Now we'll
twitch her down the hill a piece - she lies just about right - and get
her home by the low road. My team'll do it, Bunny; you bring the
tug along. Mind out!'
He spoke to the horses, who tightened the chains. The great log
half rolled over, and slowly drew itself out of sight downhill,
followed by the wood-gang and the timber-tug. In half a minute
there was nothing to see but the deserted hollow of the torn-up
dirt, the birch undergrowth still shaking, and the water draining
back into the hoof-prints.
'Ye heard him?' Simon Cheyneys asked. 'He cherished his
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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 Lesson of the Master by Henry James: be a great disgrace if you don't."
"It's very interesting to hear you speak of yourself; but I don't
know what you mean by your allusions to your having fallen off,"
Paul Overt observed with pardonable hypocrisy. He liked his
companion so much now that the fact of any decline of talent or of
care had ceased for the moment to be vivid to him.
"Don't say that - don't say that," St. George returned gravely, his
head resting on the top of the sofa-back and his eyes on the
ceiling. "You know perfectly what I mean. I haven't read twenty
pages of your book without seeing that you can't help it."
"You make me very miserable," Paul ecstatically breathed.
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