| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie: "It bears on it in this way, is it not a fact that Mrs.
Vandemeyer committed a young relative of hers to your charge?"
Julius leaned forward eagerly.
"That is the case," said the doctor quietly.
"Under the name of----?"
"Janet Vandemeyer. I understood her to be a niece of Mrs.
Vandemeyer's."
"And she came to you?"
"As far as I can remember in June or July of 1915."
"Was she a mental case?"
"She is perfectly sane, if that is what you mean. I understood
Secret Adversary |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas: name of Rosa Barlaensis, that is to say, hers and mine
combined.
"So may God grant me mercy, and to her health and long life!
"Cornelius van Baerle."
The prisoner then, giving the Bible to Rosa, said, --
"Read."
"Alas!" she answered, "I have already told you I cannot
read."
Cornelius then read to Rosa the testament that he had just
made.
The agony of the poor girl almost overpowered her.
The Black Tulip |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde: art you don't know how to live - you don't even know that. You
love the beauty that you can see and touch and handle, the beauty
that you can destroy, and do destroy, but of the unseen beauty of
life, of the unseen beauty of a higher life, you know nothing. You
have lost life's secret. Oh, your English society seems to me
shallow, selfish, foolish. It has blinded its eyes, and stopped
its ears. It lies like a leper in purple. It sits like a dead
thing smeared with gold. It is all wrong, all wrong.
LADY STUTFIELD. I don't think one should know of these things. It
is not very, very nice, is it?
LADY HUNSTANTON. My dear Miss Worsley, I thought you liked English
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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 White Moll by Frank L. Packard: feet and borne onward by some swift and remorseless current, whether
she would or no.
The Pug, in his curious whisper, was talking to her: "Pinkie knows
de way in. We don't want any row in dere, on account of Charlie.
We ain't fer puttin' his place on de rough, an' gettin' him raided
by de bulls. Charlie's all to de good. See? Well, dat's wot 'd
likely happen if me an' Pinkie busts in on Pete an' Marny widout
sendin' in our visitin'-cards first, polite-like. Dey would pull
deir guns, an' though we'd get de coin just de same, dere'd be hell
to pay fer Charlie, an' de whole place 'd go up in fireworks right
off de bat. Well, dis is where youse come in. Youse are de
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