| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Passion in the Desert by Honore de Balzac: troopers who are surprised at nothing, who find matter for laughter in
the contortions of a dying comrade, who bury or plunder him quite
light-heartedly, who stand intrepidly in the way of bullets;--in fact,
one of those men who waste no time in deliberation, and would not
hesitate to make friends with the devil himself. After looking very
attentively at the proprietor of the menagerie getting out of his box,
my companion pursed up his lips with an air of mockery and contempt,
with that peculiar and expressive twist which superior people assume
to show they are not taken in. Then, when I was expatiating on the
courage of M. Martin, he smiled, shook his head knowingly, and said,
'Well known.'
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tarzan the Untamed by Edgar Rice Burroughs: man who came in the machine and who had escaped from
Numabo's village might fall into Usanga's hands and then
indeed would he be able to learn how to fly. It was in this hope
that Usanga spent so much time in the vicinity of the plane,
reasoning as he did that eventually the white man would
return in search of it.
And at last he was rewarded, for upon this very day after
he had quit the machine and entered the jungle with his war-
riors, he heard voices to the north and when he and his men
had hidden in the dense foliage upon either side of the trail,
Usanga was presently filled with elation by the appearance of
Tarzan the Untamed |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Child of Storm by H. Rider Haggard: "Macumazahn, your spirit has written on this stone that you should
beware of Mameena, since she is more dangerous than any buffalo. If you
are wise you will not go out hunting with Umbezi, although it is true
that hunt will not cost you your life. There, away, Stone, and take
your writings with you!" and as he spoke he jerked his arm and I heard
something whiz past my face.
Next he spat out the black stone and examined it in similar fashion.
"Your expedition will be successful, Son of Matiwane," he said.
"Together with Macumazahn you will win many cattle at the cost of sundry
lives. But for the rest--well, you did not ask me of it, did you?
Also, I have told you something of that story before to-day. Away,
Child of Storm |
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 Tattine by Ruth Ogden [Mrs. Charles W. Ide]: beautifully with grandma herself as well. She loved everything about her, and
wished it need not be so very long till she could be a grandma herself, have
white hair and wear snowy caps atop of it, and kerchiefs around her neck, and
use gold eye-glasses and a knitting-basket. Grandma Luty, you see, was one of
the dear, old-fashioned grandmothers. There are not many of them nowadays.
Most of them seem to like to dress so you cannot tell a grandmother from just
an ordinary everyday mother. If you have a grandmother--a nice old one, I
mean--see if you cannot get her into the cap and kerchief, and then show her
how lovely she looks in them. But what I was going to tell you was that
Grandma Luty's visit was all a joy to Tattine, and so when, just at daylight
one morning, the setter puppies in their kennel at the back of the house
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