| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Lady Baltimore by Owen Wister: seems."
But John and his Uncle Marston had between them given me my beginning,
and, as I sat sippmg my punch, I ceased to hear the anecdotes which
followed. I sat sipping and smoking, and was presently aware of the
deepening silence of the night, and of John no longer at the table, but
by the window, looking out into the forest, and muttering once more, "Oh,
the times, the times!"
"It's always a triangle," I began.
He turned round from his window. "Triangle?" He looked at my glass of
punch, and then at me. "Go easy with the Bombo," he repeated.
"Bombo?" I echoed. "You call this Bombo? You don't know how remarkable
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe: made him stand and straighten himself, bend his back, and perform
various evolutions to show his muscles; and then passed on to the
next, and put him through the same trial. Walking up last to the
boy, he felt of his arms, straightened his hands, and looked at
his fingers, and made him jump, to show his agility.
"He an't gwine to be sold widout me!" said the old woman, with
passionate eagerness; "he and I goes in a lot together; I 's rail
strong yet, Mas'r and can do heaps o' work,--heaps on it, Mas'r."
"On plantation?" said Haley, with a contemptuous glance.
"Likely story!" and, as if satisfied with his examination, he walked
out and looked, and stood with his hands in his pocket, his cigar
Uncle Tom's Cabin |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Muse of the Department by Honore de Balzac: pittance, stood with his arms folded, looking at him with strange
meaning. Conversation between them was brief, and the warder never
began it. The Chevalier was therefore greatly surprised when the man
said to him: 'Of course, monsieur, you know your own business when you
insist on being always called Monsieur Lebrun, or citizen Lebrun. It
is no concern of mine; ascertaining your name is no part of my duty.
It is all the same to me whether you call yourself Peter or Paul. If
every man minds his own business, the cows will not stray. At the same
time, /I/ know,' said he, with a wink, 'that you are Monsieur Charles-
Felix-Theodore, Chevalier de Beauvoir, and cousin to Madame la
Duchesse de Maille.--Heh?' he added after a short silence, during
The Muse of the Department |
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 Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum: how strong other people are. Why, once I knew a man in Philadelphi'
who could bend iron bars with just his hands!"
"But mercy me, it's no trick to bend iron bars," said His Majesty.
"Tell me, could this man crush a block of stone with his bare hands?"
"No one could do that," declared the boy.
"If I had a block of stone, I'd show you," said the Czarover, looking
around the room. "Ah, here is my throne. The back is too high,
anyhow, so I'll just break off a piece of that." He rose to his feet
and tottered in an uncertain way around the throne. Then he took hold
of the back and broke off a piece of marble over a foot thick.
"This," said he, coming back to his seat, "is very solid marble and
The Lost Princess of Oz |
