| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from When a Man Marries by Mary Roberts Rinehart: Well, we went over every inch of that basement, until I knew
every crack in the flooring, every spot on the cement. And Bella
was nasty, and said that she had never seen that part of the
house in such condition, and that if I had acted like a sane
person and put her out, when she had no business there at all,
she would have had her freedom and her bracelet, and that if we
were playing a joke on her (as if we felt like joking!) we would
please give her the bracelet and let her go and die in a corner;
she felt very queer.
At half-past four o'clock we gave up.
"It's gone," I said. "I don't believe you wore it here. No one
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Lock and Key Library by Julian Hawthorne, Ed.: suppose all this, which is, after all, more than fair supposition
can grant, guess the effect of the continuance of these scenes on
your senses alone. A time will come, and soon, when, from mere
habit, you will echo the scream of every delirious wretch that
harbors near you; then you will pause, clasp your hands on your
throbbing head, and listen with horrible anxiety whether the scream
proceeded from YOU or THEM. The time will come, when, from the
want of occupation, the listless and horrible vacancy of your
hours, you will feel as anxious to hear those shrieks, as you were
at first terrified to hear them,--when you will watch for the
ravings of your next neighbor, as you would for a scene on the
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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 The Pool of Blood in the Pastor's Study by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: shame! Do not belittle yourself. This man here is not worthy of
your knife, the hangman will look after him."
Varna raised his loose-jointed frame and looked about with
glistening eyes and trembling lips. His mind was completely
darkened once more. "I must kill him - I must have his
blood - there is no one to see me," he murmured. "I am a
hangman too - he has made a hangman of me," and again he bent
with uplifted hand over the man who had utilised his terrible
misfortune to make a criminal of him. But two of the waiting
attendants seized his arms and threw him back on the floor, while
the other two carded Gyuri out. Both unfortunates were soon
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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 Pocket Diary Found in the Snow by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: the wind held it out straight, he saw it at once. He loosened it
carefully from the thorny twigs. A delicate and rather unusual
perfume wafted up to his face. There was more of the odour on the
little cloth than is commonly used by people of good taste. And
yet this handkerchief was far too fine and delicate in texture to
belong to the sort of people who habitually passed along this
street. It must have something to do with the mysterious carriage.
It was still quite dry, and in spite of the fact that the wind had
been playing with it, it had been but slightly torn. It could
therefore have been in that position for a short time only. At
the nearest lantern Muller saw that the monogram on the handkerchief
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