| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Maria, or the Wrongs of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft: * The manuscript is imperfect here. An episode seems
to have been intended, which was never committed to paper.
EDITOR. [Godwin's note]
CHAPTER 1O
"MY FATHER'S situation was now so distressing, that I prevailed on
my uncle to accompany me to visit him; and to lend me his assistance,
to prevent the whole property of the family from becoming the prey
of my brother's rapacity; for, to extricate himself out of present
difficulties, my father was totally regardless of futurity. I took
down with me some presents for my step-mother; it did not require
an effort for me to treat her with civility, or to forget the past.
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar by Edgar Rice Burroughs: senses of the Oparians. La commanded. She arranged
the order of march, she selected the camps, she set the
hour for halting and the hour for resuming and though
she was inexperienced in such matters, her native
intelligence was so far above that of the men or the
apes that she did better than they could have done.
She was a hard taskmaster, too, for she looked down
with loathing and contempt upon the misshapen creatures
amongst which cruel Fate had thrown her and to some
extent vented upon them her dissatisfaction and her
thwarted love. She made them build her a strong
Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain: which occupy a square. The population of the city is thirty thousand.
There are some large factories here, and manufacturing, of many sorts,
is done on a great scale.
La Grange and Canton are growing towns, but I missed Alexandria;
was told it was under water, but would come up to blow in the summer.
Keokuk was easily recognizable. I lived there in 1857--an extraordinary
year there in real-estate matters. The 'boom' was something wonderful.
Everybody bought, everybody sold--except widows and preachers;
they always hold on; and when the tide ebbs, they get left.
Anything in the semblance of a town lot, no matter how situated,
was salable, and at a figure which would still have been high if the ground
|
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: career until she had reached the city gates.
So, in less time than I can explain, the throne room was deserted by all
save the Scarecrow and his friends, and the Woggle-Bug heaved a deep sigh of
relief as he exclaimed:
"Thank goodness, we are saved!"
"For a time, yes;" answered the Tin Woodman. "But the enemy will soon
return, I fear."
"Let us bar all the entrances to the palace!" said the Scarecrow. "Then we
shall have time to think what is best to be done."
179
So all except Jack Pumpkinhead, who was still tied fast to the Saw-Horse,
The Marvelous Land of Oz |
