| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from An Inland Voyage by Robert Louis Stevenson: in which he spoke of his political beliefs were, in our eyes,
suited to religious beliefs. And VICE VERSA.
Nothing could be more characteristic of the two countries.
Politics are the religion of France; as Nanty Ewart would have
said, 'A d-d bad religion'; while we, at home, keep most of our
bitterness for little differences about a hymn-book, or a Hebrew
word which perhaps neither of the parties can translate. And
perhaps the misconception is typical of many others that may never
be cleared up: not only between people of different race, but
between those of different sex.
As for our friend's martyrdom, he was a Communist, or perhaps only
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum: ape, but suddenly the form, with its back to him,
seemed to straighten up and blot out the cupboard of
drawers. The ape had changed to the form of a woman,
dressed in the pretty Gillikin costume, and when she
turned around he saw that it was a young woman, whose
face was quite attractive.
"Do you like me better this way?" Reera inquired with
a smile.
"You look better," he said calmly, "but I'm not sure
I like you any better."
She laughed, saying: "During the heat of the day I
Glinda of Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Unconscious Comedians by Honore de Balzac: "Pooh! nonsense!"
"Malibran kept up on brandy--but it killed her in the end. Another
thing! You have seen the ballet, and you'll now see it defiling past
you in its every-day clothes, without knowing that the face of your
lawsuit depends on a pair of those legs."
"My lawsuit!"
"See, cousin, here comes what is called a marcheuse."
Leon pointed to one of those handsome creatures who at twenty-five
years of age have lived sixty, and whose beauty is so real and so sure
of being cultivated that they make no display of it. She was tall, and
walked well, with the arrogant look of a dandy; her toilet was
|
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 Land that Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs: the ship, carrying with it fragments of steel and wood and
dismembered human bodies, rose a column of water hundreds of feet
into the air.
The silence which followed the detonation of the exploding torpedo
was almost equally horrifying. It lasted for perhaps two seconds,
to be followed by the screams and moans of the wounded, the cursing
of the men and the hoarse commands of the ship's officers. They were
splendid--they and their crew. Never before had I been so proud of
my nationality as I was that moment. In all the chaos which followed
the torpedoing of the liner no officer or member of the crew lost his
head or showed in the slightest any degree of panic or fear.
The Land that Time Forgot |
