| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Foolish Virgin by Thomas Dixon: been used up from her bank account in New York. She is
determined to go to her father in Kentucky. I'll have
a talk with her, bring her over to the bungalow, show
her through it on the pretext of its model construction
and then you can tell her that you built it with your
own hands for her and the baby. You might be loafing
around the place about that time."
Jim's hand was suddenly lifted.
"I got ye, Doc, I got ye! I'll be there--all day."
"Don't let her see you until I give the signal."
"Caution's my name."
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Weir of Hermiston by Robert Louis Stevenson: and made him welcome at his house, and appreciated his talents, such as
they were, with all his usual generosity. The Ettrick Shepherd was his
sworn crony; they would meet, drink to excess, roar out their lyrics in
each other's faces, and quarrel and make it up again till bedtime. And
besides these recognitions, almost to be called official, Dandie was
made welcome for the sake of his gift through the farmhouses of several
contiguous dales, and was thus exposed to manifold temptations which he
rather sought than fled. He had figured on the stool of repentance, for
once fulfilling to the letter the tradition of his hero and model. His
humorous verses to Mr. Torrance on that occasion - "Kenspeckle here my
lane I stand" - unfortunately too indelicate for further citation, ran
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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 Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum: that the reason she's lost is because somebody has stolen her away."
"Only wicked people steal," said Ojo. "Do you know of any wicked
people in Oz, Dorothy?"
"No," she replied.
"They're here, though," cried Scraps, dancing up to them and then
circling around the group. "Ozma's stolen; someone in Oz stole her;
only wicked people steal; so someone in Oz is wicked!"
There was no denying the truth of this statement. The faces of all of
them were now solemn and sorrowful. "One thing is sure," said
Button-Bright after a time, "if Ozma has been stolen, someone ought to
find her and punish the thief."
The Lost Princess of 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 Massimilla Doni by Honore de Balzac: "The unison of two voices, or of a voice and a violin,--the instrument
which has tones most nearly resembling those of the human voice,"
replied Cataneo. "This perfect concord bears us on to the very heart
of life, on the tide of elements which can resuscitate rapture and
carry man up to the centre of the luminous sphere where his mind can
command the whole universe. You still need a /thema/, Capraja, but the
pure element is enough for me. You need that the current should flow
through the myriad canals of the machine to fall in dazzling cascades,
while I am content with the pure tranquil pool. My eye gazes across a
lake without a ripple. I can embrace the infinite."
"Speak no more, Cataneo," said Capraja, haughtily. "What! Do you fail
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