| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Child of Storm by H. Rider Haggard: Saduko like me? When he speaks my name, does he feel it here?" and she
pointed to her throat.
"I am sure I do not know what he feels in his throat," Panda replied
testily, "but I feel that mine is dry. Well, as no one says anything,
the matter is settled. To-morrow Saduko shall give the umqoliso [the Ox
of the Girl], that makes marriage--if he has not got one here I will
lend it to him, and you can take the new, big hut that I have built in
the outer kraal to dwell in for the present. There will be a dance, if
you wish it; if not, I do not care, for I have no wish for ceremony just
now, who am too troubled with great matters. Now I am going to sleep."
Then sinking from his stool on to his knees, Panda crawled through the
Child of Storm |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton: racked by the neglect of a housemaid, who for two days forgot to
feed the parrot committed to her care. On the third day, Mrs.
Manstey, in spite of her gouty hand, had just penned a letter,
beginning: "Madam, it is now three days since your parrot has
been fed," when the forgetful maid appeared at the window with a
cup of seed in her hand.
But in Mrs. Manstey's more meditative moods it was the narrowing
perspective of far-off yards which pleased her best. She loved,
at twilight, when the distant brown-stone spire seemed melting in
the fluid yellow of the west, to lose herself in vague memories
of a trip to Europe, made years ago, and now reduced in her
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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 An Old Maid by Honore de Balzac: ridicule forbade her to marry a very young one.
In the provinces, families marry their sons early to escape the
conscription. In addition to all this, she was obstinately determined
not to marry a soldier: she did not intend to take a man and then give
him up to the Emperor; she wanted him for herself alone. With these
views, she found it therefore impossible, from 1804 to 1815, to enter
the lists with young girls who were rivalling each other for suitable
matches.
Besides her predilection for the nobility, Mademoiselle Cormon had
another and very excusable mania: that of being loved for herself. You
could hardly believe the lengths to which this desire led her. She
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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 The Shadow Line by Joseph Conrad: infernal stimulant exciting and consuming at the
same time.
It's the only period of my life in which I at-
tempted to keep a diary. No, not the only one.
Years later, in conditions of moral isolation, I did
put down on paper the thoughts and events of a
score of days. But this was the first time. I don't
remember how it came about or how the pocket-
book and the pencil came into my hands. It's in-
conceivable that I should have looked for them on
purpose. I suppose they saved me from the crazy
The Shadow Line |
