| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates by Howard Pyle: desperation.
A great vessel that they had taken with the town of Maracaibo was
converted into a fire ship, manned with logs of wood in montera
caps and sailor jackets, and filled with brimstone, pitch, and
palm leaves soaked in oil. Then out of the lake the pirates
sailed to meet the Spaniards, the fire ship leading the way, and
bearing down directly upon the admiral's vessel. At the helm
stood volunteers, the most desperate and the bravest of all the
pirate gang, and at the ports stood the logs of wood in montera
caps. So they came up with the admiral, and grappled with his
ship in spite of the thunder of all his great guns, and then the
Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner: they themselves allowed, I had the best memory of any boy in the school,
and could repeat whole books from beginning to end. You know how cruelly
father always used me, calling me a noodle and a milksop, just because he
couldn't understand my fine nature. You know how he has made a farmer of
me instead of a minister, as I ought to have been; you know it all, Jemima;
and how I have borne it all, not as a woman, who whines for every touch,
but as a man should--in silence.
"But there are things, there is a thing, which the soul longs to pour forth
into a kindred ear.
"Dear sister, have you ever known what it is to keep wanting and wanting
and wanting to kiss some one's mouth, and you may not; to touch some one's
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Koran: who remember God standing and sitting or lying on their sides, and
reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth. 'O Lord! thou
hast not created this in vain. We celebrate Thy praise; then keep us
from the torment of the fire! Lord! verily, whomsoever Thou hast
made to enter the fire, Thou hast disgraced him; and the unjust
shall have none to help them.
'Lord! verily, we heard a crier calling to the faith, "Believe in
your Lord," and we did believe. Lord! forgive us our sins and cover
our offences, and let us die with the righteous. Lord! and bring us
what Thou hast promised us by Thy apostles, and disgrace us not upon
the resurrection day; for, verily, Thou dost not break Thy
The Koran |
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 Master Key by L. Frank Baum: a fairy tale at all.
Perhaps one, perhaps two--perhaps several of the Demon's devices will
be, by that time, in popular use.
Who knows?
1. Rob's Workshop
When Rob became interested in electricity his clear-headed father
considered the boy's fancy to be instructive as well as amusing; so he
heartily encouraged his son, and Rob never lacked batteries, motors or
supplies of any sort that his experiments might require.
He fitted up the little back room in the attic as his workshop, and
from thence a net-work of wires soon ran throughout the house. Not
The Master Key |
