| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Master Key by L. Frank Baum: native made a rush toward him the boy drew the electric tube from his
pocket, pointed it at the foe, and pressed the button. The fellow
sank to the earth without even a groan, and lay still.
Then another black entered, followed by the fat chief. When they saw
Rob at liberty, and their comrade lying apparently dead, the chief
cried out in surprise, using some expressive words in his own language.
"If it's just the same to you, old chap," said Rob, coolly, "I won't
be eaten to-day. You can make a pie of that fellow on the ground."
"No! We eat you," cried the chief, angrily. "You cut rope, but no
get away; no boat!"
"I don't need a boat, thank you," said the boy; and then, as the other
The Master Key |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Bride of Lammermoor by Walter Scott: the hut of the deceased and the village, and the age and
infirmities of three old women who came from thence, in military
phrase, to relieve guard upon the body of the defunct. On any
other occasion the speed of these reverend sibyls would have been
much more moderate, for the first was eighty years of age and
upwards, the second was paralytic, and the third lame of a leg
from some accident. But the burial duties rendered to the
deceased are, to the Scottish peasant of either sex, a labour of
love. I know not whether it is from the temper of the people,
grave and enthusiastic as it certainly is, or from the
recollection of the ancient Catholic opinions, when the funeral
The Bride of Lammermoor |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Night and Day by Virginia Woolf: looking up dates in the 'Dictionary of National Biography.'"
"And forgetting your purse," Ralph added.
At this she smiled, but in another moment her smile faded, either
because of his words or of the way in which he spoke them. She was
capable of forgetting things. He saw that. But what more did he see?
Was he not looking at something she had never shown to anybody? Was it
not something so profound that the notion of his seeing it almost
shocked her? Her smile faded, and for a moment she seemed upon the
point of speaking, but looking at him in silence, with a look that
seemed to ask what she could not put into words, she turned and bade
him good night.
|
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 Underdogs by Mariano Azuela: eh?" Demetrio asked.
"That's right," the workman answered. "Beyond the
corral there's a house, then another corral, then there's
a store."
Demetrio scratched his head, thoughtfully. This time
his decision was immediate.
"Can you get hold of a crowbar or something like that
to make a hole through the wall?"
"Yes, we'll get anything you want, but . . ."
"But what? Where can we get a crowbar?"
"Everything is right there. But it all belongs to the
The Underdogs |
