| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum: like a door on hinges, and revealed a small dark chamber just inside.
"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy, shrinking back as far as the narrow
path would let her.
For, standing within the narrow chamber of rock, was the form of a
man--or, at least, it seemed like a man, in the dim light. He was
only about as tall as Dorothy herself, and his body was round as a
ball and made out of burnished copper. Also his head and limbs were
copper, and these were jointed or hinged to his body in a peculiar
way, with metal caps over the joints, like the armor worn by knights
in days of old. He stood perfectly still, and where the light struck
upon his form it glittered as if made of pure gold.
Ozma of Oz |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Muse of the Department by Honore de Balzac: a few words from Beranger, /Calypso ne pouvait se consoler du depart
d'Ulysse/ (the first words of /Telemaque/) written by George Sand,
Scribe's famous lines on the Umbrella, a sentence from Charles Nodier,
an outline of distance by Jules Dupre, the signature of David
d'Angers, and three notes written by Hector Berlioz. Monsieur de
Clagny, during a visit to Paris, added a song by Lacenaire--a much
coveted autograph, two lines from Fieschi, and an extremely short note
from Napoleon, which were pasted on to pages of the album. Then
Monsieur Gravier, in the course of a tour, had persuaded Mademoiselle
Mars to write her name on this album, with Mademoiselles Georges,
Taglioni, and Grisi, and some distinguished actors, such as Frederick
The Muse of the Department |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Jungle Tales of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: He sniffed the bole of the tree, and with his keen eyes
he sought to find upon the bark some sign of the way
the quarry had taken. It was slow work and all the time,
Tarzan knew, the bull of the alien tribe was forging
steadily away from them--gaining precious minutes that might
carry him to safety before they could catch up with him.
First along one fork he went, and then another, applying every
test that his wonderful junglecraft was cognizant of;
but again and again he was baffled, for the scent had been
washed away by the heavy downpour, in every exposed place.
For a half hour Tarzan and Taug searched, until at last,
The Jungle Tales of Tarzan |
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 Astoria by Washington Irving: wafted steadily up the stream by a strong southeaster.
Their encampments at night were often pleasant and picturesque:
on some beautiful bank, beneath spreading trees, which afforded
them shelter and fuel. The tents were pitched, the fires made,
and the meals prepared by the voyageurs, and many a story was
told, and joke passed, and song sung round the evening fire. All,
however, were asleep at an early hour. Some under the tents,
others wrapped in blankets before the fire, or beneath the trees;
and some few in the boats and canoes.
On the 28th, they breakfasted on one of the islands which lie at
the mouth of the Nebraska or Platte River - the largest tributary
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