| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Nada the Lily by H. Rider Haggard: assegai--broke in two, leaving nothing but a little bit of stick in my
hand. And the other one was upon me. Then in the darkness I saw a
light. I fell on to my hands and knees and flung myself over sideways.
My body struck the legs of the man who was about to stab me, lifting
his feet from beneath him. Down he came heavily. Before he had touched
the ground I was off it. His spear had fallen from his hand. I
stooped, seized it, and as he rose I stabbed him through the back. It
was all done in the shake of a leaf, my father; in the shake of a leaf
he also was dead. Then I ran, for I had no stomach for the other two;
my valour was gone.
About a hundred paces from me Baleka was staggering along with her
Nada the Lily |
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 Emma McChesney & Co. by Edna Ferber: the happiness of their future life together.
Emma had said that there would be no rude awakenings for them, no
startling shocks.
"There isn't a thing we don't know about each other," she had
said. "We each know the other's weaknesses and strength. I
hate the way you gnaw your mustache when you're troubled, and I
think the fuss you make when the waiter pours your coffee without
first having given you sugar and cream is the most absurd thing
I've ever seen. But, then, I know how it annoys you to see me
sitting with one slipper dangling from my toe, when I'm
particularly comfortable and snug. You know how I like my eggs,
Emma McChesney & Co. |
