| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Redheaded Outfield by Zane Grey: been able to mingle with the boys in their activity.
No one except his mother dreamed of the fire and
hunger and pain within his breast. His school-
mates called him ``Daddy.'' It was a name given
for his bent shoulders, his labored gait and his
thoughtful face, too old for his years. And no
one, not even his mother, guessed how that name
hurt Willie.
It was a source of growing unhappiness with
Willie that the Madden's Hill boys were always
beaten by the other teams of the town. He really
The Redheaded Outfield |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tarzan the Untamed by Edgar Rice Burroughs: keep you from the women!"
"You mean," asked the girl, "that the men will not harm
me?"
"Ago XXV made me his queen," said the old woman. "But
he had many other queens, nor were they all human. He was
not murdered for ten years after I came here. Then the next
king took me, and so it has been always. I am the oldest
queen now. Very few of their women live to a great age. Not
only are they constantly liable to assassination but, owing to
their subnormal mentalities, they are subject to periods of de-
pression during which they are very likely to destroy them-
Tarzan the Untamed |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum: "I am very anxious," she continued, "to liberate the Queen of Ev and
her children who are now ornaments and bric-a-brac in your Majesty's
palace, and to restore them to their people. Tell me, sir, how this
may be accomplished."
The king remained thoughtful for a moment, after which he asked:
"Are you willing to take a few chances and risks yourself, in order to
set free the people of Ev?"
"Yes, indeed!" answered Ozma, eagerly.
"Then," said the Nome King, "I will make you this offer: You shall go
alone and unattended into my palace and examine carefully all that the
rooms contain. Then you shall have permission to touch eleven
Ozma of Oz |
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 Under the Red Robe by Stanley Weyman: the meal, the two walked in the garden for an hour with Clon.
Mademoiselle came from this interview alone, and I was sure that
she had been weeping. Madame and the dark porter stayed outside
some time longer; then she, too, came in, and disappeared.
Clon did not return with her, and when I went into the garden
five minutes later, Louis also had vanished. Save for two women
who sat sewing at an upper window, the house seemed to be
deserted. Not a sound broke the afternoon stillness of room or
garden, and yet I felt that more was happening in this silence
than appeared on the surface. I begin to grow curious--
suspicious, and presently slipped out myself by way of the
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