| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Rezanov by Gertrude Atherton: I was conveyed thither in the pleasure barge of the
Prince of Fisi. There was place for sixty oarsmen,
but as one of the few tokens of respect, I was en-
abled to record for the comfort of the mighty sov-
ereign whose representative I was, the barge was
towed by a long line of boats, decorated with flags,
the voices of the rowers rising and falling in meas-
ured cadence as they announced to all Japan the
honor about to be conferred upon her. I sat on a
chair of state in the central compartment of the
barge, and quite alone; my suite standing on a
Rezanov |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Mrs. Warren's Profession by George Bernard Shaw: difficulty being taken by the Mr Redford. If he attempted it
there would be a revolt in which he would be swept away in spite
of my singlehanded efforts to defend him. A complete tapu is
politically impossible. A complete toleration is equally
impossible to Mr Redford, because his occupation would be gone if
there were no tapu to enforce. He is therefore compelled to
maintain the present compromise of a partial tapu, applied, to
the best of his judgement, with a careful respect to persons and
to public opinion. And a very sensible English solution of the
difficulty, too, most readers will say. I should not dispute it
if dramatic poets really were what English public opinion
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Astoria by Washington Irving: asked so high a price for it as to be beyond the funds of the
travellers, so they had to content themselves with dog's flesh.
They had by this time, however, come to consider it very choice
food, superior to horse flesh, and the minutes of the expedition
speak rather exultingly now and then, of their having made a
famous "repast," where this viand happened to be unusually
plenty.
They again learnt tidings of some of the scattered members of the
expedition, supposed to be M'Kenzie, M'Lellan, and their men, who
had preceded them down the river, and had overturned one of their
canoes, by which they lost many articles. All these floating
|
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 Tattine by Ruth Ogden [Mrs. Charles W. Ide]: were Betsy's puppies for a certainty. There had been no doubt of that from the
first glimpse Rudolph gained of them in their dark little hole under the
porch. But the next morning came and then what do you suppose happened? A very
weak little puppy cry came from under the porch. Another puppy, that was what
it meant, and Joseph was very much out of patience, for the trench had been
filled up and the foundation-stones carefully replaced.
"Rudolph ought to have made sure how many there were," he said rather
growlily.
"But, Joseph, this puppy cry comes from another place way over here, it seems
to me," and Tattine ran to a spot on the porch several yards from that under
which the others had been found. "I believe it must have been a cleverer
|
