| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Emma McChesney & Co. by Edna Ferber: curious little pang. This was her boy, her baby, talking about
his baby and nurses. She had a sense of unreality. He turned to
her with shining eyes. "That's a stunning get-up, Blonde.
Honestly, you're a wiz, mother. Grace has told all her friends
that you're coming, and their mothers are going to call. But,
good Lord, you look like my younger sister, on the square you
do!"
The apartment reached, it seemed to Emma that she floated across
the walk and up the stairs, so eagerly did her heart cry out for
a glimpse of this little being who was flesh of her flesh.
Grace, a little pale but more beautiful than ever, met them at
Emma McChesney & Co. |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum: rock headforemost and was so crumpled up that his
round body looked more like a bouncing-ball than
the form of a man.
Betsy laughed merrily at the strange sight and
Polychrome echoed her laughter. But Ozga was
grave and wondering, while Queen Ann became
angry at seeing the chief officers of the Army of
Oogaboo bounding around in so undignified a
manner. She shouted to them to stop, but they
were unable to obey, even though they would
have been glad to do so. Finally, however, they
Tik-Tok of Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf: yet she would feel relieved when he went; yet she would see that he was
better treated tomorrow; yet he was admirable with her husband; yet his
manners certainly wanted improving; yet she liked his laugh--thinking
this, as she came downstairs, she noticed that she could now see the
moon itself through the staircase window--the yellow harvest moon--
and turned, and they saw her, standing above them on the stairs.
"That's my mother," thought Prue. Yes; Minta should look at her; Paul
Rayley should look at her. That is the thing itself, she felt, as if
there were only one person like that in the world; her mother. And,
from having been quite grown up, a moment before, talking with the
others, she became a child again, and what they had been doing was a
To the Lighthouse |
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 Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley: What a line we have traced! Long enough to go round the world if
it were straight. A line of holes out of which steam, and heat,
and cinders, and melted stones are rushing up, perpetually, in one
place and another. Now the holes in this line which are near each
other have certainly something to do with each other. For
instance, when the earth shook the other day round the volcanos of
Quito, it shook also round the volcanos of Peru, though they were
600 miles away. And there are many stories of earthquakes being
felt, or awful underground thunder heard, while volcanos were
breaking out hundreds of miles away. I will give you a very
curious instance of that.
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