| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Reminiscences of Tolstoy by Leo Tolstoy: I had not the smallest doubt of her complete ignorance of what was
going on. . . . I left the house with the pleasing consciousness
of a work well done--a work that was destined to have a
considerable historic consequence. I only felt some little twinge
within, certain qualms of conscience about the conspiratorial
character of the transaction.
But even this text of the will did not quite satisfy my
father's "friends and advisers"; it was redrafted for the fourth
and last time in July, 1910.
This last draft was written by my father himself in the
Limonovski Forest, two miles from the house, not far from Mr.
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum: path which the Flatheads used was some distance away.
"Here's a job for the Tin Woodman," said the
Scarecrow.
So the Tin Woodman, who was always glad to be of use,
set to work with his sharp, gleaming axe, which he
always carried, and in a surprisingly short time had
chopped away enough branches to permit them all to pass
easily through the trees.
Now the clear waters of the beautiful lake were
before them and by looking closely they could see the
outlines of the Great Dome of the sunken island, far
Glinda of Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas: "No, gentlemen, it seems to be the result of certain
propositions which Mazarin made last night to the
Parisians."
Athos and Aramis exchanged smiles; for they well knew what
those propositions were, to whom they had been made and who
had made them.
"And that house in which the plenipotentiaries are," asked
Athos, "belongs to ---- "
"To Monsieur de Chanleu, who commands your troops at
Charenton. I say your troops, for I presume that you
gentlemen are Frondeurs?"
Twenty Years After |
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 From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne: extend downward as far as the 28th parallel of the north latitude.
If you will cast your eye over this map, you will see that we have at
our disposal the whole of the southern portion of Texas and Florida."
It was finally agreed, then, that the Columbiad must be cast on
the soil of either Texas or Florida. The result, however, of
this decision was to create a rivalry entirely without precedent
between the different towns of these two States.
The 28th parallel, on reaching the American coast, traverses the
peninsula of Florida, dividing it into two nearly equal portions.
Then, plunging into the Gulf of Mexico, it subtends the arc
formed by the coast of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana;
From the Earth to the Moon |
