| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Rinkitink In Oz by L. Frank Baum: obeyed, being helpless.
"Very good," said King Kaliko, nodding approval, for
like all the nomes he loved treasures of gold and
jewels. "But who are the prisoners you have brought
here, and why do you place them in my charge instead of
guarding them, yourself? They seem gentle enough, I'm
sure."
"The prisoners," returned King Gos, "are the King and
Queen of Pingaree, a small island north of here. They
are very evil people and came to our islands of Regos
and Coregos to conquer them and slay our poor people.
Rinkitink In Oz |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Twelve Stories and a Dream by H. G. Wells: Ten. Eleven. Twelve. There is something very impressive to me
in that slow beating of the hours. Time--space; what mysteries
they are! What mysteries. . . . It's time for us to be moving.
Stand up!"
And then kindly, but firmly, he induced Mr. Ledbetter to sling the
dressing bag over his back by a string across his chest, to shoulder
the trunk, and, overruling a gasping protest, to take the Gladstone
bag in his disengaged hand. So encumbered, Mr. Ledbetter struggled
perilously downstairs. The stout gentleman followed with an overcoat,
the hatbox, and the revolver, making derogatory remarks about Mr.
Ledbetter's strength, and assisting him at the turnings of the stairs.
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Extracts From Adam's Diary by Mark Twain: harm does it do? Says it makes her shudder. I wonder why. I have
always done it--always liked the plunge, and the excitement, and
the coolness. I supposed it was what the Falls were for. They
have no other use that I can see, and they must have been made for
something. She says they were only made for scenery--like the
rhinoceros and the mastodon.
I went over the Falls in a barrel--not satisfactory to her. Went
over in a tub--still not satisfactory. Swam the Whirlpool and the
Rapids in a fig-leaf suit. It got much damaged. Hence, tedious
complaints about my extravagance. I am too much hampered here.
What I need is change of scene.
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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 Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln by Helen Nicolay: his own word for it that no success of his after life gave him
nearly as much satisfaction. On April 21, two days after the call
for volunteers had been printed, the company was organized. A
week later it was mustered into service, becoming part of the
Fourth Illinois Mounted Volunteers, and started at once for the
hostile frontier.
Lincoln's soldiering lasted about three months. He was in no
battle, but there was plenty of "roughing it," and occasionally
real hardship, as when the men were obliged to go for three days
without food. The volunteers had not enlisted for any definite
length of time, and seeing no prospect of fighting, they soon
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