| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from At the Sign of the Cat & Racket by Honore de Balzac: in broad day to work by lamp-light? There, get along; if he were not
so grossly immoral, he would be fit to shut up in a lunatic asylum.
Consult Monsieur Loraux, the priest at Saint Sulpice, ask his opinion
about it all, and he will tell you that your husband, does not behave
like a Christian."
"Oh, mother, can you believe----?"
"Yes, I do believe. You loved him, and you can see none of these
things. But I can remember in the early days after your marriage. I
met him in the Champs-Elysees. He was on horseback. Well, at one
minute he was galloping as hard as he could tear, and then pulled up
to a walk. I said to myself at that moment, 'There is a man devoid of
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Emma McChesney & Co. by Edna Ferber: hall and away, with never a backward glance at her gasping and
outraged mother.
Emma McChesney Buck took Lily Bernstein's soft cheek between
thumb and forefinger and pinched it ever so fondly.
"I knew you'd do it, Judy O'Grady," she said.
"Judy O'Who?"
"O'Grady--a lady famous in history."
"Oh, now, quit your kiddin', Mrs. Buck!" said Lily Bernstein.
VII
AN ETUDE FOR EMMA
If you listen long enough, and earnestly enough, and with ear
Emma McChesney & Co. |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Duchess of Padua by Oscar Wilde: I will not kill this man.
MORANZONE
Why are you here,
If not to kill him, then?
GUIDO
Lord Moranzone,
I purpose to ascend to the Duke's chamber,
And as he lies asleep lay on his breast
The dagger and this writing; when he awakes
Then he will know who held him in his power
And slew him not: this is the noblest vengeance
|
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 Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum: dreadful things as BUGS."
"But you eat the chickens that eat the bugs," retorted the yellow hen,
with an odd cackle. "So you are just as bad as we chickens are."
This made Dorothy thoughtful. What Billina said was true enough, and
it almost took away her appetite for breakfast. As for the yellow
hen, she continued to peck away at the sand busily, and seemed quite
contented with her bill-of-fare.
Finally, down near the water's edge, Billina stuck her bill deep into
the sand, and then drew back and shivered.
"Ow!" she cried. "I struck metal, that time, and it nearly broke
my beak."
Ozma of Oz |
