| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Another Study of Woman by Honore de Balzac: "It is necessary to have great taste," replied the Princesse de
Cadignan.
"And in France taste is more than cleverness," said the Russian.
"This woman's cleverness is the triumph of a purely plastic art,"
Blondet went on. "You will not know what she said, but you will be
fascinated. She will toss her head, or gently shrug her white
shoulders; she will gild an insignificant speech with a charming pout
and smile; or throw a Voltairean epigram into an 'Indeed!' an 'Ah!' a
'What then!' A jerk of her head will be her most pertinent form of
questioning; she will give meaning to the movement by which she twirls
a vinaigrette hanging to her finger by a ring. She gets an artificial
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Under the Red Robe by Stanley Weyman: say again that from the first hour of his entrance he sickened at
the work which he had in hand, the work which ill-fortune had
laid upon him. Still he pursued it. He had given his word; and
if there was one tradition of his race which this man had never
broken, it was that of fidelity to his side--to the man who paid
him. But he pursued it with only half his mind, in great misery,
if you will believe me; sometimes in agonies of shame.
Gradually, however, almost against his will, the drama worked
itself out before him, until he needed only one thing.
I looked at Mademoiselle, trembling. But her head was averted:
I could gather nothing from the outlines of her form; and I went
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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 Several Works by Edgar Allan Poe: seen in "Hernani". There were arabesque figures with
unsuited limbs and appointments. There were delirious fancies such
as the madman fashions. There were much of the beautiful, much of
the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and
not a little of that which might have excited disgust. To and fro
in the seven chambers there stalked, in fact, a multitude of
dreams. And these--the dreams--writhed in and about taking hue
from the rooms, and causing the wild music of the orchestra to seem
as the echo of their steps. And, anon, there strikes the ebony
clock which stands in the hall of the velvet. And then, for a
moment, all is still, and all is silent save the voice of the
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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 Case of the Golden Bullet by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: Muller nodded calmly. "It would have been nobler, perhaps, to
have warned his victim of his approach, but it might have all come
to nothing then. The other could have called for help, could have
barricaded himself in his room, one crime might have been prevented,
and another, more shameful one, would have gone unavenged."
"Another crime? Fellner a criminal?"
"To-morrow you shall know everything, my kind friend. And now, let
us make the trial. Please lock the door behind me as it was locked
then."
Muller left the room, taking the pistol with him. Bauer locked the
door. "Is this right?" he asked.
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