| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from A Drama on the Seashore by Honore de Balzac: me.'
"Cambremer turned white and said,--
"'Such language to your mother increases your crime. Come, to the
point! Will you swear?'
"'Yes.'
"'Then,' Pierre said, 'was there upon your gold piece the little cross
which the sardine merchant who paid it to me scratched on ours?'
"Jacques broke down and wept.
"'Enough,' said Pierre. 'I shall not speak to you of the crimes you
have committed before this. I do not choose that a Cambremer should
die on a scaffold. Say your prayers and make haste. A priest is coming
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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 An Episode Under the Terror by Honore de Balzac: were celebrating an anniversary service for the dead whose body lay
elsewhere. Under the disjointed laths and tiles, four Christians were
holding a funeral service without a coffin, and putting up prayers to
God for the soul of a King of France. No devotion could be purer than
this. It was a wonderful act of faith achieved without an
afterthought. Surely in the sight of God it was like the cup of cold
water which counterbalances the loftiest virtues. The prayers put up
by two feeble nuns and a priest represented the whole Monarchy, and
possibly at the same time, the Revolution found expression in the
stranger, for the remorse in his face was so great that it was
impossible not to think that he was fulfilling the vows of a boundless
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