| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Sons of the Soil by Honore de Balzac: populations only realized with what untold disasters they are
threatened in case they let the cockchafers and the caterpillars get
the upper hand, they would pay more attention than they do to
municipal regulations.
Holland came near perishing; its dikes were undermined by the teredo,
and science is unable to discover the insect from which that mollusk
derives, just as science still remains ignorant of the metamorphoses
of the cochineal. The ergot, or spur, of rye is apparently a
population of insects where the genius of science has been able, so
far, to discover only one slight movement. Thus, while awaiting the
harvest and gleaning, fifty old women imitated the borer at the feet
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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 The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum: girdle set with beautiful tin nuggets. Each tin nugget will be
surrounded by a circle of emeralds, just to set it off to good advantage.
The clasp of the girdle will be pure tin! Won't that be fine?"
"I'm sure she'll like it," said Dorothy. "Do you know what I can
give her?"
"I haven't the slightest idea, Dorothy. It took me three months to
think of my own present for Ozma."
The girl walked thoughtfully around to the back of the palace, and
presently came upon the famous Scarecrow of Oz, who has having two of
the palace servants stuff his legs with fresh straw.
"What are you going to give Ozma on her birthday?" asked Dorothy.
The Magic of Oz |
