| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tarzan the Untamed by Edgar Rice Burroughs: the plateau, a narrow gorge, the bottom of which appeared
comparatively level and sand covered.
In the brief instant in which he must reach a decision, the
safest plan seemed to attempt a landing in the gorge, and this
he did, but not without considerable damage to the plane and
a severe shaking-up for himself and his passenger.
Fortunately neither of them was injured but their condition
seemed indeed a hopeless one. It was a grave question as to
whether the man could repair his plane and continue the jour-
ney, and it seemed equally questionable as to their ability
either to proceed on foot to the coast or retrace their way to
Tarzan the Untamed |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Mayflower Compact: King, Defender of the Faith, &c.
Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of
the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country,
a Voyage to plant the first colony in the Northerne Parts
of Virginia; doe, by these Presents, solemnly and mutually
in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and
combine ourselves together into a civill Body Politick,
for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance
of the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue hereof do enact,
constitute, and frame, such just and equall Laws, Ordinances,
Acts, Constitutions, and Offices, from time to time,
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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 Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells: that defeats me, makes me dissatisfied, challenges me to further effort.
Sometimes I rise above my level, sometimes I fall below it; but always
I fall short of the things I dream. The human shape I can get now,
almost with ease, so that it is lithe and graceful, or thick and strong;
but often there is trouble with the hands and the claws,--painful things,
that I dare not shape too freely. But it is in the subtle grafting
and reshaping one must needs do to the brain that my trouble lies.
The intelligence is often oddly low, with unaccountable blank ends,
unexpected gaps. And least satisfactory of all is something that I
cannot touch, somewhere--I cannot determine where--in the seat
of the emotions. Cravings, instincts, desires that harm humanity,
The Island of Doctor Moreau |
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 Man in Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart: on the opposite seat.
Upper left-hand waist-coat, two lead pencils and a fountain pen;
lower right waist-coat, match-box and a small stamp book; right-hand
pocket coat, pair of gray suede gloves, new, size seven and a half;
left-hand pocket, gun-metal cigarette case studded with pearls,
half-full of Egyptian cigarettes. The trousers pockets contained a
gold penknife, a small amount of money in bills and change, and a
handkerchief with the initial "S" on it.
Further search through the coat discovered a card-case with cards
bearing the name Henry Pinckney Sullivan, and a leather flask with
gold mountings, filled with what seemed to be very fair whisky, and
The Man in Lower Ten |
