| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Atheist's Mass by Honore de Balzac: diligent student of human nature will admit Desplein's exorbitant
pretensions, and believe--as he himself believed--that he might
have been no less great as a minister than he was as a surgeon.
Among the riddles which Desplein's life presents to many of his
contemporaries, we have chosen one of the most interesting,
because the answer is to be found at the end of the narrative,
and will avenge him for some foolish charges.
Of all the students in Desplein's hospital, Horace Bianchon was
one of those to whom he most warmly attached himself. Before
being a house surgeon at the Hotel-Dieu, Horace Bianchon had been
a medical student lodging in a squalid boarding house in the
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Paz by Honore de Balzac: of which mankind is proud; it is rare to find true Love existing where
contempt is felt. Thaddeus was suffering from the wounds his own hand
had given him. The trial of his former life, when he lived beside his
mistress, unknown, unappreciated, but generously working for her, was
better than this. Yes, he wanted the reward of his virtue, her
respect, and he had lost it. He grew thin and yellow, and so ill with
constant low fever that during the month of January he was obliged to
keep his bed, though he refused to see a doctor. Comte Adam became
very uneasy about him; but the countess had the cruelty to remark:
"Let him alone; don't you see it is only some Olympian trouble?" This
remark, being repeated to Thaddeus, gave him the courage of despair;
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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 The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum: off the stand, while the Yellow Hen could easily reach over and take
her food from her tray upon the table. At other places sat the Hungry
Tiger, the Cowardly Lion, the Saw-Horse, the Rubber Bear, the Fox King
and the Donkey King; they made quite a company of animals.
At the lower end of the great room was another table, at which sat the
Ryls and Knooks who had come with Santa Claus, the wooden soldiers who
had come with the Queen of Merryland, and the Hilanders and Lolanders
who had come with John Dough. Here were also seated the officers of
the royal palace and of Ozma's army.
The splendid costumes of those at the three tables made a gorgeous and
glittering display that no one present was ever likely to forget;
The Road to Oz |
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 Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs: beautiful wooded shore opposite the mouth of what appeared
to be a land-locked harbor.
Black Michael sent a small boat filled with men to sound
the entrance in an effort to determine if the Fuwalda
could be safely worked through the entrance.
In about an hour they returned and reported deep water
through the passage as well as far into the little basin.
Before dark the barkentine lay peacefully at anchor upon
the bosom of the still, mirror-like surface of the harbor.
The surrounding shores were beautiful with semitropical
verdure, while in the distance the country rose from the
Tarzan of the Apes |
