| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A House of Pomegranates by Oscar Wilde: rejected thee. Receive thy child now.' But the beggar-woman
answered him not a word.
And he reached out his hands, and clasped the white feet of the
leper, and said to him: 'Thrice did I give thee of my mercy. Bid
my mother speak to me once.' But the leper answered him not a
word.
And he sobbed again and said: 'Mother, my suffering is greater
than I can bear. Give me thy forgiveness, and let me go back to
the forest.' And the beggar-woman put her hand on his head, and
said to him, 'Rise,' and the leper put his hand on his head, and
said to him, 'Rise,' also.
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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 Pool of Blood in the Pastor's Study by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: fault - if I may call it such - that is that he has a mistress who
is known to be mercenary and hard-hearted. She lives in a
neighbouring village."
"For five years, you say? And how long has Cardillac been here?"
"Cardiliac? He has been here for almost three years."
"For almost three years, and is it not almost three years - "
Muller interrupted himself. "Are we quite alone? Is no one
listening?" The doctor nodded, greatly surprised, and the detective
continued almost in a whisper, "and it is just about three years now
that there have been committed, at intervals, three terrible crimes
notable from the cleverness with which they were carried out, and
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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 Hermione's Little Group of Serious Thinkers by Don Marquis: vibrating from it.
I got it at a bargain, too.
I call her -- the picture, you know -- after an an-
cestress of mine who came to this country in the
old Colonial days.
With William the Conqueror, you know -- or
maybe it was William Penn. But it couldn't have
been William Penn, could it? For she went to New
Jersey -- Orange, N.J. Was it William of Orange?
More than likely . . .
Anyhow, I call the picture after her -- Lady Cla-
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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 Maitre Cornelius by Honore de Balzac: cloisters.
With the rapidity of lightning the abductor carried the countess into
an open chapel and seated her behind the confessional on a wooden
bench. By the light of the tapers burning before the saint to whom the
chapel was dedicated, they looked at each other for a moment in
silence, clasping hands, and amazed at their own audacity. The
countess had not the cruel courage to reproach the young man for the
boldness to which they owed this perilous and only instant of
happiness.
"Will you fly with me into the adjoining States?" said the young man,
eagerly. "Two English horses are awaiting us close by, able to do
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