| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum: friends who are so curious that they are constantly discovering new and
extraordinary places and inhabitants.
One of the most frequent discoverers of these hidden places in Oz is
a little Kansas girl named Dorothy, who is Ozma's dearest friend and
lives in luxurious rooms in the Royal Palace. Dorothy is, indeed, a
Princess of Oz, but she does not like to be called a princess, and
because she is simple and sweet and does not pretend to be anything
but an ordinary little girl, she is called just "Dorothy" by everybody
and is the most popular person, next to Ozma, in all the Land of Oz.
One morning Dorothy crossed the hall of the palace and knocked on
the door of another girl named Trot, also a guest and friend of Ozma.
The Magic of Oz |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg by Mark Twain: worded--to wit:
"'I do not require that the first half of the remark which was made
to me by my benefactor shall be quoted with exactness, for it was
not striking, and could be forgotten; but its closing fifteen words
are quite striking, and I think easily rememberable; unless THESE
shall be accurately reproduced, let the applicant be regarded as an
impostor. My benefactor began by saying he seldom gave advice to
anyone, but that it always bore the hallmark of high value when he
did give it. Then he said this--and it has never faded from my
memory: 'YOU ARE FAR FROM BEING A BAD MAN- ''"
Fifty Voices. "That settles it--the money's Wilson's! Wilson!
The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Tom Grogan by F. Hopkinson Smith: round hand in the big, strong, horny palm that had held the
life-line the night of the wreck.
The song-sparrow clung to the swaying top of a mullein-stalk near
by, and poured out a strong, swelling, joyous song that well-nigh
split its throat.
When Tom called Jennie, half an hour later, she and Carl were
still talking across the fence.
X
CULLY WINS BY A NECK
About this time the labor element in the village and vicinity was
startled by an advertisement in the Rockville "Daily News," signed
|
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 Letters of Two Brides by Honore de Balzac: thousand francs. I will account, as to a practical sister, for every
penny of this.
I put a million in the Three per Cents when they were at fifty, and so
I have got an income for myself of sixty thousand francs, instead of
the thirty thousand which the property yielded. Then, only think what
my life was. Six months of the year in the country, renewing leases,
listening to the grumbles of the farmers, who pay when it pleases
them, and getting as bored as a sportsman in wet weather. There was
produce to sell, and I always sold it at a loss. Then, in Paris, my
house represented a rental of ten thousand francs; I had to invest my
money at the notaries; I was kept waiting for the interest, and could
|
