| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Enchanted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum: The three girls began to wander aimlessly through the castle; for not
only were they invisible to others, but also to themselves and to one
another, and they knew not what to do nor which way to turn.
24. The Enchanted Mirrors
Presently Prince Marvel and his party arrived and paused before the
doors of the castle, where the Red Rogue stood bowing to them with
mock politeness and with an evil grin showing on his red face.
"I come to demand the release of the Lady Seseley and her companions!"
Prince Marvel announced, in a bold voice. "And I also intend to call
you to account for the murder of Baron Merd."
"You must be at the wrong castle," answered the Red One, "for I have
The Enchanted Island of Yew |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau by Honore de Balzac: monuments which make all buildings in their neighborhood seem paltry.
The church of Saint-Louis is among the most imposing edifices in
Paris, and the approach to it through this long gallery is at once
sombre and romantic. The great hall of the Pas Perdus, on the
contrary, presents at the other end of the gallery a broad space of
light; it is impossible to forget that the history of France is linked
to those walls. The stairway should therefore be imposing in
character; and, in point of act, it is neither dwarfed nor crushed by
the architectural splendors on either side of it. Possibly the mind is
sobered by a glimpse, caught through the rich gratings, of the Place
du Palais-de-Justice, where so many sentences have been executed. The
Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from A Drama on the Seashore by Honore de Balzac: sensation; and it exhausted me."
"Oh! let us talk, let us talk," she said, after a long pause. "I
understand it. No orator was ever more terrible. I think," she
continued, presently, "that I perceive the causes of the harmonies
which surround us. This landscape, which has but three marked colors,
--the brilliant yellow of the sands, the blue of the sky, the even
green of the sea,--is grand without being savage; it is immense, yet
not a desert; it is monotonous, but it does not weary; it has only
three elements, and yet it is varied."
"Women alone know how to render such impressions," I said. "You would
be the despair of a poet, dear soul that I divine so well!"
|
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 Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson: yourself, then," said he angrily. "for it's good Gaelic. But the
point is this. My scout reports all clear in the south, and the
question is, have ye the strength to go?"
I saw cards on the table, but no gold; only a heap of little
written papers, and these all on Cluny's side. Alan, besides,
had an odd look, like a man not very well content; and I began to
have a strong misgiving.
"I do not know if I am as well as I should be," said I, looking
at Alan; "but the little money we have has a long way to carry
us."
Alan took his under-lip into his mouth, and looked upon the
Kidnapped |
