| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum: chance to escape is to leave here instantly."
This startled little Betsy, but the Shaggy Man
merely waved the Magnet toward the Gardener, who,
seeing it, rushed forward and threw himself at
Shaggy's feet, murmuring in honeyed words:
"Oh, you lovely, lovely man! How fond I am of
you! Every shag and bobtail that decorates you is
dear to me--all I have is yours! But for goodness'
sake get out of here before you die the death."
"I'm not going to die," declared Shaggy Man.
"You must. It's the Law," exclaimed the
Tik-Tok of Oz |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Prince of Bohemia by Honore de Balzac: complete, body and soul; in her, in short, La Palferine awakened the
one passion of her life; while for him Claudine was only a most
charming mistress. The Devil himself, a most potent magician
certainly, with all hell at his back, could never have changed the
natures of these two unequal fires. I dare affirm that Claudine not
unfrequently bored Charles Edward.
" 'Stale fish and the woman you do not love are only fit to fling out
of the window after three days,' he used to say.
"In Bohemia there is little secrecy observed over these affairs. La
Palferine used to talk a good deal of Claudine; but, at the same time,
none of us saw her, nor so much as knew her name. For us Claudine was
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from A Heap O' Livin' by Edgar A. Guest: To come to glad, contented days,
And shares the common hoping.
The sound of martial fife and drum
Is born of happiness to come.
Yet happiness is always here
Had we the eyes to see it;
No breast but holds a fund of cheer
Had man the will to free it.
'Tis there upon the mountain top,
Or in the widow's notion shop,
'Tis found in homes of sorrow;
A Heap O' Livin' |
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 Shadow Line by Joseph Conrad: eyes; while Ransome and I, the only two com-
pletely untouched, went amongst them assiduously
distributing quinine. It was a double fight. The
adverse weather held us in front and the disease
pressed on our rear. I must say that the men were
very good. The constant toil of trimming yards
they faced willingly. But all spring was out of
their limbs, and as I looked at them from the poop
I could not keep from my mind the dreadful im-
pression that they were moving in poisoned air.
Down below, in his cabin, Mr. Burns had ad-
The Shadow Line |
