| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Poems by Bronte Sisters: I wait in hope--I wait in solemn fear,
The oracle of God--the sole--true God--to hear.
MEMENTOS.
Arranging long-locked drawers and shelves
Of cabinets, shut up for years,
What a strange task we've set ourselves!
How still the lonely room appears!
How strange this mass of ancient treasures,
Mementos of past pains and pleasures;
These volumes, clasped with costly stone,
With print all faded, gilding gone;
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Prince Otto by Robert Louis Stevenson: I have to thank you, besides, for some philosophy, of which I stood
in need. I trust I do not see you for the last time; and in the
meanwhile, as a memento of our strange acquaintance, let me offer
you these verses on which I was but now engaged. I am so little of
a poet, and was so ill inspired by prison bars, that they have some
claim to be at least a curiosity.'
The Colonel's countenance lighted as he took the paper; the silver
spectacles were hurriedly replaced. 'Ha!' he said, 'Alexandrines,
the tragic metre. I shall cherish this, your Highness, like a
relic; no more suitable offering, although I say it, could be made.
"DIEUX DE L'IMMENSE PLAINE ET DES VASTES FORETS." Very good,' he
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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 Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War by Frederick A. Talbot: each complete in itself, and each containing a small balloon
inflated with hydrogen. It was sub-division as practised in
connection with vessels ploughing the water applied to aerial
craft, the purpose being somewhat the same. As a ship of the
seas will keep afloat so long as a certain number of its
subdivisions remain watertight, so would the Zeppelin keep aloft
if a certain number of the gas compartments retained their
charges of hydrogen. There were no fewer than seventeen of these
gas-balloons arranged in a single line within the envelope.
Beneath the hull and extending the full length of the latter was
a passage which not only served as a corridor for communication
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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 A Heap O' Livin' by Edgar A. Guest: An' how'd you get that awful bump
Above your eye? My, what a lump!
An' who spilled jelly on your shirt?
An' where'd you ever find the dirt
That's on your hands? And my! Oh, my!
I guess those eyes have had a cry,
They look so red. What was it, pray?
What has been happening here to-day?
An' then he drops his coat an' hat
Upon a chair, an' says: "What's that?
Who knocked that engine on its back
A Heap O' Livin' |
