| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum: you ever saw was so lean and bony and altogether plain looking as this
Hank, but Betsy loved him dearly because he was faithful and steady
and not nearly so stupid as most mules are considered to be. Betsy
had a saddle for Hank, and he declared she would ride on his back, an
arrangement approved by the Wizard because it left only four of the
party to ride on the seats of the Red Wagon--Dorothy and Button-Bright
and Trot and himself.
An old sailor man who had one wooden leg came to see them off and
suggested that they put a supply of food and blankets in the Red Wagon
inasmuch as they were uncertain how long they would be gone. This
sailor man was called Cap'n Bill. He was a former friend and comrade
The Lost Princess of Oz |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: which greatly strengthened the bad opinion Bessie and Miss Abbot
were disposed to entertain of me. The fact is, I was a trifle
beside myself; or rather OUT of myself, as the French would say: I
was conscious that a moment's mutiny had already rendered me liable
to strange penalties, and, like any other rebel slave, I felt
resolved, in my desperation, to go all lengths.
"Hold her arms, Miss Abbot: she's like a mad cat."
"For shame! for shame!" cried the lady's-maid. "What shocking
conduct, Miss Eyre, to strike a young gentleman, your benefactress's
son! Your young master."
"Master! How is he my master? Am I a servant?"
Jane Eyre |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Another Study of Woman by Honore de Balzac: criticism and crisp anecdotes lead on from one to the next. All eyes
are listening, a gesture asks a question, and an expressive look gives
the answer. In short, and in a word, everything is wit and mind.
The phenomenon of speech, which, when duly studied and well handled,
is the power of the actor and the story-teller, had never so
completely bewitched me. Nor was I alone under the influence of its
spell; we all spent a delightful evening. The conversation had drifted
into anecdote, and brought out in its rushing course some curious
confessions, several portraits, and a thousand follies, which make
this enchanting improvisation impossible to record; still, by setting
these things down in all their natural freshness and abruptness, their
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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 Marie by H. Rider Haggard: any rate, has always been a good and God-fearing man--consent to work
such a crime upon his daughter's husband, though he does dislike him?"
"My father is not what he was, Allan," said Marie. "Sometimes I think
that his brain has gone."
"He did not speak like a man whose brain has gone this afternoon," I
replied. "But let us suppose that this tale is true, what is it that
you wish me to do?"
"Allan, I wish you to dress up in my clothes and get away to a
hiding-place which Hans and the vrouw know, leaving me here instead of
you."
"Why, Marie?" I said. "Then you might get yoursTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsaoTsa 
Marie |
