| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Moran of the Lady Letty by Frank Norris: The brown sweater wiped a thin mustache in the hollow of his palm,
and wiped that palm upon his trouser leg.
"Yessir," he continued, once more facing the Marquesas head-dress.
"Yessir, they're queer game down there."
"In the Marquesas Islands, you mean?" said Wilbur.
"Yessir, they're queer game. When they ain't tattoin' theirselves
with Scripture tex's they git from the missionaries, they're
pullin' out the hairs all over their bodies with two clam-shells.
Hair by hair, y' understan'?"
"Pull'n out 'er hair?" said Wilbur, wondering what was the matter
with his tongue.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson: said; I go there only to grow old and die; but when you come, you
will see it is a fair place for the purpose.
Flaubert has not turned up; I hope he will soon; I knew of him only
through Maxime Descamps. - With kindest messages to yourself and
all of yours, I remain,
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON.
CHAPTER XI - LIFE IN SAMOA, NOVEMBER 1890-DECEMBER 1892
Letter: TO E. L BURLINGAME
VAILIMA, APIA, SAMOA, NOV. 7, 1890.
I WISH you to add to the words at the end of the prologue; they
run, I think, thus, 'And this is the yarn of Loudon Dodd'; add,
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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 Falk by Joseph Conrad: rise and fall in a workmanlike manner. And then
the four cottage windows of the Diana came into
view retreating swiftly down the river. The sashes
were up, and one of the white calico curtains was
fluttered straight out like a streamer above the agi-
tated water of the wake.
To be thus tricked out of one's turn was an un-
heard of occurrence. In my agent's office, where I
went to complain at once, they protested with apol-
ogies they couldn't understand how the mistake
arose: but Schomberg when I dropped in later to get
Falk |
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 Odyssey by Homer: by them in baskets, and pages crowned the bowls with drink;
and they stretched forth their hands upon the good cheer
spread before them. Now when the wooers had put from them
the desire of meat and drink, they minded them of other
things, even of the song and dance: for these are the crown
of the feast. And a henchman placed a beauteous lyre in the
hands of Phemius, who was minstrel to the wooers despite
his will. Yea and as he touched the lyre he lifted up his
voice in sweet songs.{*}
{* Or, according to the ordinary interpretation of [Greek]:
So he touched the chords in prelude to his sweet singing.}
The Odyssey |
