| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Nada the Lily by H. Rider Haggard: long, and it seemed to Galazi that many of the men had slipped away
also, as though they smelt some danger from afar.
"Ah, Deathgrip," said Galazi aloud to the wild brute at his side,
"changed is the Wolf King my brother, all changed because of a woman's
kiss. Now he hunts no more, no more shall Groan-Maker be aloft; it is
a woman's kiss he craves, not the touch of your rough tongue, it is a
woman's hand he holds, not the smooth haft of horn, he, who of all
men, was the fiercest and the first; for this last shame has overtaken
him. Surely Chaka was a great king though an evil, and he showed his
greatness when he forbade marriage to the warriors, marriage that
makes the heart soft and turns blood to water."
Nada the Lily |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Court Life in China by Isaac Taylor Headland: ladies in their most graceful and dignified courtesies were
constantly bending as other guests were announced, while the
gentlemen, with low bows and each shaking his own hands, received
their friends. The clothes of the men, though of a more sombre
hue, were richer in texture than those of the women. Heavy silks
and satins, embroidered with dragons in gold thread, indicated
that this one was a member of the imperial clan, while others
equally rich were worn by the other gentlemen, each embroidered
with the insignia of his rank. Hats adorned with red tassels,
peacock feathers in jade holders, and the button denoting the
rank of the wearer, were worn by all, as it would be a breach of
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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 Amazing Interlude by Mary Roberts Rinehart: Later on Sara Lee was to find her little house growing famous, besieged
by anxious soldiers who besought her efforts, so that she used enormous
numbers of stamps and a great deal of effort. But that was later on.
And when that time came she turned to the work as a refuge from her
thoughts. For days were coming when Sara Lee did not want to think.
But like all big things the little house made a humble beginning. A mere
handful of men, daring the gibes of their comrades, stopped in that first
night the door stood open, with its invitation of firelight and candles.
But these few went away with a strange story - of a beautiful American,
and hot soup, and even a cigarette apiece. That had been Henri's
contribution, the cigarettes. And soon the fame of the little house went
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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 Pool in the Desert by Sara Jeanette Duncan: be sure of seeing her at all. . .
She went back to the very first of it; she seemed herself intensely
interested in the facts; and there is no use in pretending that,
while she talked, the moral consideration was at all present with me
either; it wasn't. Her extremity was the thing that absorbed us;
she even, in tender thoughtfulness, diagnosed it from its definite
beautiful beginning.
'It was there, in my heart, when I woke one morning, exquisite and
strange, the assurance of a gift. How had it come there, while I
slept? I assure you when I closed my eyes it did not exist for me.
. .Yes, of course, I had seen him, but only somewhere at dinner. .
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