Ancient Elemental Forces

A passage in a Sherlock Holmes story reminds us of a passage in a Dominic Flandry novel. In Conan Doyle's "The Five Orange Pips," wind screams and rain beats windows in London to such an extent that Watson is forced to:

"...recognize the presence of those great elemental forces which shriek at mankind through the bars of his civilization, like untamed beasts in a cage."

-Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Five Orange Pips" IN The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes IN Arthur Conan Doyle: 3 Books In 1 (Mumbai, 2007), pp. 103-124 AT p. 104.

And when we read that:

"...the wind cried and sobbed like a child in the chimney." (ibid.)

- we remember how often the wind plays such a role in Poul Anderson's works.

However, the passage in a Flandry novel is one in which the Pacific Ocean conveys the sense of ancient forces biding their time. We find that we have quoted this passage more than once, here. Indeed, we have also compared it with similar passages in works by several other authors including even another Conan Doyle passage, the one that incidentally mentions the contents of a British barrow - which I first encountered in "Time Patrol."

Now maybe I can get back to rereading Sherlock Holmes?