| 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: Nome King was all to blame in the matter. But, in any case, he must
be made to liberate the prisoners."
"My uncle Evoldo was a very wicked man," declared the Princess
Langwidere. "If he had drowned himself before he sold his family, no
one would have cared. But he sold them to the powerful Nome King in
exchange for a long life, and afterward destroyed the life by jumping
into the sea."
"Then," said Ozma, "he did not get the long life, and the Nome King
must give up the prisoners. Where are they confined?"
"No one knows, exactly," replied the Princess. "For the king, whose
name is Roquat of the Rocks, owns a splendid palace underneath the
Ozma of Oz |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Brother of Daphne by Dornford Yates: "I heard you bother the ham."
"Before that?"
"Something about a mask, was it?"
"Give me back my hair," she demanded.
"No, no," I said hastily, "not that! I won't ask again."
"Promise."
"I promise."
When I had finished the plaiting, I tied the ends with a piece
of ribbon which she produced, kissed them, and sat down in the
grass at her feet.
We had oceans of time, for the fete did not begin till two. But
The Brother of Daphne |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum: a twinkle in his eye that seemed pleasant.
"Oh yes," she replied; "I can tell you. But it isn't this road at all."
"No?"
"You cross the ten-acre lot, follow the lane to the highway, go north
to the five branches, and take--let me see--"
"To be sure, miss; see as far as Butterfield, if you like," said the
shaggy man.
"You take the branch next the willow stump, I b'lieve; or else the
branch by the gopher holes; or else--"
"Won't any of 'em do, miss?"
"'Course not, Shaggy Man. You must take the right road to get
The Road to 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 The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad: as his blood-red sunrises. They were followed by gray days under
the cover of high, motionless clouds that looked as if carved in a
slab of ash-coloured marble. And each mean starved sunset left us
calling with imprecations upon the West Wind even in its most
veiled misty mood to wake up and give us our liberty, if only to
rush on and dash the heads of our ships against the very walls of
our unapproachable home.
XXIX.
In the atmosphere of the Easterly weather, as pellucid as a piece
of crystal and refracting like a prism, we could see the appalling
numbers of our helpless company, even to those who in more normal
The Mirror of the Sea |
