| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum: is his home now.
MANHOOD
1. The Laughing Valley
When Claus came the Valley was empty save for the grass, the brook,
the wildflowers, the bees and the butterflies. If he would make his
home here and live after the fashion of men he must have a house.
This puzzled him at first, but while he stood smiling in the sunshine
he suddenly found beside him old Nelko, the servant of the Master
Woodsman. Nelko bore an ax, strong and broad, with blade that gleamed
like burnished silver. This he placed in the young man's hand, then
disappeared without a word.
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Astoria by Washington Irving: for Boat-Building.- An Exploring Party.- A Party of Trappers
Detached.- Two Snake Visitors.- Their Report Concerning the
River. - Confirmed by the Exploring Party. - Mad River
Abandoned.- Arrival at Henry's Fort.- Detachment of Robinson,
Hoback, and Rezner to Trap.- Mr. Miller Resolves to Accompany
Them.- Their Departure.
0N the banks of Mad River Mr. Hunt held a consultation with the
other partners as to their future movements. The wild and
impetuous current of the river rendered him doubtful whether it
might not abound with impediments lower down, sufficient to
render the navigation of it slow and perilous, if not
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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 Grimm's Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm: and by the wall stood seven little beds. As she was very hungry, she
picked a little piece of each loaf and drank a very little wine out of
each glass; and after that she thought she would lie down and rest. So
she tried all the little beds; but one was too long, and another was
too short, till at last the seventh suited her: and there she laid
herself down and went to sleep.
By and by in came the masters of the cottage. Now they were seven
little dwarfs, that lived among the mountains, and dug and searched
for gold. They lighted up their seven lamps, and saw at once that all
was not right. The first said, 'Who has been sitting on my stool?' The
second, 'Who has been eating off my plate?' The third, 'Who has been
Grimm's Fairy Tales |
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 Albert Savarus by Honore de Balzac: a lovely place! I should be broken-hearted at seeing that fine piece
of the great de Watteville's work destroyed."
"The devil!" thought Amedee, as he left the house. "The heiress is not
such a fool as her mother thinks her."
Monsieur de Chavoncourt is a Royalist, of the famous 221. Hence, from
the day after the revolution of July, he always preached the salutary
doctrine of taking the oaths and resisting the present order of
things, after the pattern of the Tories against the Whigs in England.
This doctrine was not acceptable to the Legitimists, who, in their
defeat, had the wit to divide in their opinions, and to trust to the
force of inertia and to Providence. Monsieur de Chavoncourt was not
Albert Savarus |
