| 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: "Folks that can raise their feet don't appreciate what a blessing it
is," said Trot thoughtfully. "I never knew before what fun it is to
raise one foot, an' then another, any time you feel like it."
"There's lots o' things folks don't 'preciate," replied the
sailor-man. "If somethin' would 'most stop your breath, you'd think
breathin' easy was the finest thing in life. When a person's well, he
don't realize how jolly it is, but when he gets sick he 'members the
time he was well, an' wishes that time would come back. Most folks
forget to thank God for givin' 'em two good legs, till they lose one o'
'em, like I did; and then it's too late, 'cept to praise God for
leavin' one."
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 Pool of Blood in the Pastor's Study by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: secrets which the Police Department is bidden to hush up and leave
untouched. Muller is then taken off the case, and left idle for
a while if he persists in his opinion as to the true facts. And
at other times, Muller's own warm heart gets him into trouble. He
will track down his victim, driven by the power in his soul which
is stronger than all volition; but when he has this victim in the
net, he will sometimes discover him to be a much finer, better man
than the other individual, whose wrong at this particular criminal's
hand set in motion the machinery of justice. Several times that
has happened to Muller, and each time his heart got the better of
his professional instincts, of his practical common-sense, too,
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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 Wheels of Chance by H. G. Wells: the streets of a charming little holiday resort are like--"
"I don't care," she said. "I can go to the clergyman here."
"He's a charming man. Unmarried. And men are really more alike
than you think. And anyhow--"
"Well?"
"How CAN you explain the last two nights to anyone now? The
mischief is done, Jessie."
"You CUR," she said, and suddenly put her hand to her breast. He
thought she meant to faint, but she stood, with the colour gone
from her face.
"No," he said. "I love you."
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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 Gambara by Honore de Balzac: who gives just such a chorus to the devils in /Don Giovanni/."
By plying Gambara, meanwhile, with fresh libations, Andrea thus
strove, by his contradictoriness, to bring the musician back to a true
sense of music, by proving to him that his so-called mission was not
to try to regenerate an art beyond his powers, but to seek to express
himself in another form; namely, that of poetry.
"But, my dear Count, you have understood nothing of that stupendous
musical drama," said Gambara, airily, as standing in front of Andrea's
piano he struck the keys, listened to the tone, and then seated
himself, meditating for a few minutes as if to collect his ideas.
"To begin with, you must know," said he, "that an ear as practised as
Gambara |
