| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Light of Western Stars by Zane Grey: after that Gene trailed up to the crags an' found us. Gene had
stopped drinkin', he'd changed wonderful, was fine an' dandy. It
was then he began to pester the life out of me to make me marry
Bonita. I was happy, so was she, an' I was some scared of
spoilin' it. Bonita had been a little flirt, an' I was afraid
she'd get shy of a halter, so I bucked against Gene. But I was
all locoed, as it turned out. Gene would come up occasionally,
packin' supplies for us, an' always he'd get after me to do the
right thing by Bonita. Gene's so dog-gone hard to buck against!
I had to give in, an' I asked Bonita to marry me. Well, she
wouldn't at first--said she wasn't good enough for me. But I saw
The Light of Western Stars |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Astoria by Washington Irving: of the Sioux, as, from all accounts, he apprehended difficulties
in passing through the country of that nation. He felt the
necessity, also, of having a greater number of hunters, not
merely to keep up a supply of provisions throughout their long
and arduous expedition, but also as a protection and defense, in
case of Indian hostilities. For such service the Canadian
voyageurs were little to be depended upon, fighting not being a
part of their profession. The proper kind of men were American
hunters, experienced in savage life and savage warfare, and
possessed of the true game spirit of the west.
Leaving, therefore, the encampment in charge of the other
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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 Alcibiades I by Plato: rowers?
ALCIBIADES: No; they are not.
SOCRATES: That would be the office of the pilot?
ALCIBIADES: Yes.
SOCRATES: But, perhaps you mean that they rule over flute-players, who
lead the singers and use the services of the dancers?
ALCIBIADES: Certainly not.
SOCRATES: That would be the business of the teacher of the chorus?
ALCIBIADES: Yes.
SOCRATES: Then what is the meaning of being able to rule over men who use
other men?
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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 Moon-Face and Other Stories by Jack London: wherefore his tearful wife and daughters shook their heads, and wherefore he
but waxed the more violent, and the gardener and the coachman tightened the
straps by another hole.
Nor, while Paul Tichlorne was thus successfully mastering the problem of
invisibility, was Lloyd Inwood a whit behind. I went over in answer to a
message of his to come and see how he was getting on. Now his laboratory
occupied an isolated situation in the midst of his vast grounds. It was built
in a pleasant little glade, surrounded on all sides by a dense forest growth,
and was to be gained by way of a winding and erratic path. But I have
travelled that path so often as to know every foot of it, and conceive my
surprise when I came upon the glade and found no laboratory. The quaint shed
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