| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Montezuma's Daughter by H. Rider Haggard: me up the hatchway, 'are waiting to put a stop to our conversation.
Have you any message that I can deliver for you? If so, out with
it, for time is short and that hold must be cleared by daybreak.'
'I have no message to give you from myself, though I have a message
for you, de Garcia,' I answered. 'But before I tell it, let me say
a word. You seem to have won, wicked murderer as you are, but
perhaps the game is not yet played. Your fears may still come
true. I am dead, but my vengeance may yet live on, for I leave it
to the Hand in which I should have left it at first. You may live
some years longer, but do you think that you shall escape? One day
you will die as surely as I must die to-night, and what then, de
Montezuma's Daughter |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum: sorry to escape the relationship." Then he added, hesitatingly, as he turned
to
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Glinda: "I might try it for awhile,-just to see how it seems, you know. But
if I don't like being a girl you must promise to change me into a boy
again."
"Really," said the Sorceress, "that is beyond my magic. I never deal in
transformations, for they are not honest, and no respectable sorceress likes
to make things appear to be what they are not. Only unscrupulous witches use
the art, and therefore I must ask Mombi to effect your release from her
charm, and restore you to your proper form. It will be the last opportunity
The Marvelous Land of Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from La Grande Breteche by Honore de Balzac: " 'One moment!' said he, holding up his hand as though to gain
silence. 'Allow me, monsieur, allow me! I am informed that you
sometimes go to walk in the garden of la Grande Breteche.'
" 'Yes, monsieur.'
" 'One moment!' said he, repeating his gesture. 'That constitutes a
misdemeanor. Monsieur, as executor under the will of the late Comtesse
de Merret, I come in her name to beg you to discontinue the practice.
One moment! I am not a Turk, and do not wish to make a crime of it.
And besides, you are free to be ignorant of the circumstances which
compel me to leave the finest mansion in Vendome to fall into ruin.
Nevertheless, monsieur, you must be a man of education, and you should
La Grande Breteche |
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 A Kidnapped Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum: The moon shone big and white in the sky, and the snow lay crisp and
sparkling on the ground as Santa Claus cracked his whip and sped away
out of the Valley into the great world beyond. The roomy sleigh was
packed full with huge sacks of toys, and as the reindeer dashed onward
our jolly old Santa laughed and whistled and sang for very joy. For
in all his merry life this was the one day in the year when he was
happiest--the day he lovingly bestowed the treasures of his workshop
upon the little children.
It would be a busy night for him, he well knew. As he whistled and
shouted and cracked his whip again, he reviewed in mind all the towns
and cities and farmhouses where he was expected, and figured that he
A Kidnapped Santa Claus |
