| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Copy-Cat & Other Stories by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman: done something you ought to have done, and they
blame you all the time, when you don't deserve it,
and you let them, and they don't know it, and I
don't think myself that they know they tell whop-
pers; but they ought to know. Strikes me you are
just spoiling the whole lot, father thrown in, Annie.
You are a dear, just as they say, but you are too
much of a dear to be good for them."
Annie stared.
"You are letting that omelet burn," said Benny.
"Say, Annie, I will go out and turn that hay in
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Massimilla Doni by Honore de Balzac: from head to foot.
Emilio stood mute, seeing that the prima dona was smiling at him
through her tears.
"Your Highness does not know that the man who had me trained for the
stage--that the Duke--is Cataneo himself. And your friend Vendramini,
thinking to do you a service, let him this palace for a thousand
crowns, for the period of my season at the /Fenice/. Dear idol of my
heart!" she went on, taking his hand and drawing him towards her, "why
do you fly from one for whom many a man would run the risk of broken
bones? Love, you see, is always love. It is the same everywhere; it is
the sun of our souls; we can warm ourselves whenever it shines, and
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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 Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum: "The Scarecrow is probably the wisest man in all Oz," remarked the Tin
Woodman, when they had started upon their journey. "His brains are
plentiful and of excellent quality, and often he has told me things I
might never have thought of myself. I must say I rely a great deal
upon the Scarecrow's brains in this emergency."
The Tin Woodman rode on the front seat of the wagon, where Dorothy sat
between him and the Wizard.
"Has the Scarecrow heard of Ozma's trouble?" asked the Captain General.
"I do not know, sir," was the reply.
"When I was a private," said Omby Amby, "I was an excellent army, as I
fully proved in our war against the Nomes. But now there is not a
The Emerald City 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 Camille by Alexandre Dumas: connected with Marguerite. I went to my rooms to change my
clothes, and, as the weather was fine and it was still early, I
made my way to the Champs-Elysees. At the end of half an hour I
saw Marguerite's carriage, at some distance, coming from the
Rond-Point to the Place de la Concorde. She had repurchased her
horses, for the carriage was just as I was accustomed to see it,
but she was not in it. Scarcely had I noticed this fact, when
looking around me, I saw Marguerite on foot, accompanied by a
woman whom I had never seen.
As she passed me she turned pale, and a nervous smile tightened
about her lips. For my part, my heart beat violently in my
Camille |
