| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Country Doctor by Honore de Balzac: our provisions; everybody began to betray him, just as the Red Man had
foretold. The rattle-pates in Paris, who had kept quiet ever since the
Imperial Guard had been established, think that HE is dead, and hatch
a conspiracy. They set to work in the Home Office to overturn the
Emperor. These things come to his knowledge and worry him; he says to
us at parting, 'Good-bye, children; keep to your posts, I will come
back again.'
"Bah! Those generals of his lose their heads at once; for when he was
away, it was not like the same thing. The marshals fall out among
themselves, and make blunders, as was only natural, for Napoleon in
his kindness had fed them on gold till they had grown as fat as
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Faraday as a Discoverer by John Tyndall: runs through those investigations. The mind of the philosopher
dwells amid those agencies which underlie the visible phenomena of
Induction and Conduction; and he tries by the strong light of his
imagination to see the very molecules of his dielectrics. It would,
however, be easy to criticise these researches, easy to show the
looseness, and sometimes the inaccuracy, of the phraseology
employed; but this critical spirit will get little good out of
Faraday. Rather let those who ponder his works seek to realise the
object he set before him, not permitting his occasional vagueness to
interfere with their appreciation of his speculations. We may see
the ripples, and eddies, and vortices of a flowing stream, without
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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 Pierre Grassou by Honore de Balzac: the grounds on the nankeen-colored paths, all raked as they should be
for the steps of so great a man. The trees themselves looked brushed
and combed, and the lawns had just been mown. The pure country air
wafted to the nostrils a most enticing smell of cooking. All things
about the mansion seemed to say:
"We have a great artist among us."
Little old Vervelle himself rolled like an apple through his park, the
daughter meandered like an eel, the mother followed with dignified
step. These three beings never let go for one moment of Pierre Grassou
for seven hours. After dinner, the length of which equalled its
magnificence, Monsieur and Madame Vervelle reached the moment of 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 The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum: bag hanging from a limb of the tree. She grasped the black bag in her
glass teeth, and although it was rather heavy for so small an animal,
managed to get it free and to carry it safely down to the ground.
Then she looked around for the Wizard and seeing him seated upon the
stump she hid the black bag among some leaves and then went over to
where the Wizard sat.
"I forgot to tell you," said the Glass Cat, "that Trot and Cap'n
Bill are in trouble, and I came here to hunt you up and get you to go
and rescue them."
"Good gracious, Cat! Why didn't you tell me before?" exclaimed the Wizard.
"For the reason that I found so much excitement here that I forgot
The Magic of Oz |
