| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Unconscious Comedians by Honore de Balzac: lived, Bixiou, who meditated a trick upon the distrustful provincial,
had scarcely finished teaching him his role; but Gazonal was quick, as
we shall see, to take a hint.
The three friends went up to the second floor of a rather handsome
house, and found Madame Jenny Cadine just finishing dinner, for she
played that night in an afterpiece at the Gymnase. Having presented
Gazonal to this great power, Leon and Bixiou, in order to leave them
alone together, made the excuse of looking at a piece of furniture in
another room; but before leaving, Bixiou had whispered in the
actress's ear: "He is Leon's cousin, a manufacturer, enormously rich;
he wants to win a suit before the Council of State against his
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Profits of Religion by Upton Sinclair: form a pretty complete revelation. From first to last we see in
him an ardent, uncompromising, incorruptible idealist. His ideals
are narrow, and his devotion to them fanatical; but it is devoid,
if not of egoism, at any rate of self-interest and self-seeking.
As he shrank from applying the money entrusted him to ends of
personal luxury, so also he shrank from making his ideas and
convictions subserve any personal ambition or vanity.
The Menace
There are, of course, many people in America who will not rest
idle while their country falls into the condition of Spain. There
are anti-Catholic propaganda societies, which send out lecturers
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum: the hope of getting home, and the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman were
glad to be of use to her. As for the Lion, he sniffed the fresh air
with delight and whisked his tail from side to side in pure joy at
being in the country again, while Toto ran around them and chased
the moths and butterflies, barking merrily all the time.
"City life does not agree with me at all," remarked the Lion,
as they walked along at a brisk pace. "I have lost much flesh
since I lived there, and now I am anxious for a chance to show the
other beasts how courageous I have grown."
They now turned and took a last look at the Emerald City.
All they could see was a mass of towers and steeples behind the
The Wizard of 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 Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery: Anne was sitting on the yellow chair by the window
gazing mournfully out into the garden. Very small and
unhappy she looked, and Matthew's heart smote him.
He softly closed the door and tiptoed over to her.
"Anne," he whispered, as if afraid of being overheard,
"how are you making it, Anne?"
Anne smiled wanly.
"Pretty well. I imagine a good deal, and that helps to
pass the time. Of course, it's rather lonesome. But then,
I may as well get used to that."
Anne smiled again, bravely facing the long years of
Anne of Green Gables |
