| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Bronte Sisters: the hope that I cherish, the fancy that lights me on my lonely way.
It may be only an ignis fatuus, after all, but it can do no harm to
follow it with my eyes and rejoice in its lustre, as long as it
does not lure me from the path I ought to keep; and I think it will
not, for I have thought deeply on my aunt's advice, and I see
clearly, now, the folly of throwing myself away on one that is
unworthy of all the love I have to give, and incapable of
responding to the best and deepest feelings of my inmost heart - so
clearly, that even if I should see him again, and if he should
remember me and love me still (which, alas! is too little probable,
considering how he is situated, and by whom surrounded), and if he
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas: a second to lose, for a second lost will perhaps save them.
They must die -- die all together -- killed at one stroke by
the thunder of men in default of God's. They must disappear,
broken, scattered, annihilated. I will run, then, till my
legs no longer serve, till my heart bursts in my bosom but I
will arrive before they do."
Mordaunt proceeded at a rapid pace to the nearest cavalry
barracks, about a quarter of a league distant. He made that
quarter of a league in four or five minutes. Arrived at the
barracks he made himself known, took the best horse in the
stables, mounted and gained the high road. A quarter of an
Twenty Years After |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Master of the World by Jules Verne: Its distance from the mountain chain rapidly increased. Despite all
the efforts of the aeronaut, the citizens of Morganton saw the
balloon disappear on the wrong horizon. Later, they learned that it
had landed in the neighborhood of Raleigh, the capital of North
Carolina.
This attempt having failed, it was agreed that it should be tried
again under better conditions. Indeed, fresh rumblings were heard
from the mountain, accompanied by heavy clouds and wavering
glimmerings of light at night. Folk began to realize that the Great
Eyrie was a serious and perhaps imminent source of danger. Yes, the
entire country lay under the threat of some seismic or volcanic
|
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 Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum: "Come back!" shouted the boy, again.
And the Gump obeyed, slowly and gracefully waving its four wings in the air
until the Thing had settled once more upon the roof and become still.
200 Full page line-art drawing.
201 In the Jackdaw's Nest
"This," said the Gump, in a squeaky voice not at all proportioned to the
size of its great body, "is the most novel experience I ever heard of. The
last thing I remember distinctly is walking through the forest and hearing a
loud noise. Something probably killed me then, and it certainly ought to
have been the end of me. Yet here I am, alive again, with four monstrous
wings and a body which I venture to say would make any respectable animal or
The Marvelous Land of Oz |
