| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Voice of the City by O. Henry: to meet the landlord's agent on rent day and nego-
tiate for the ingredients of a daily Irish stew they
called it success. Often the stew lacked both meat
and potatoes. Sometimes it became as bad as con-
somme' with music.
In this mouldy old house Katy waxed plump and
pert and wholesome and as beautiful and freckled as
a tiger lily. She was the good fairy who was guilty
of placing the damp clean towels and cracked pitchers
of freshly laundered Croton in the lodgers' rooms.
You are informed (by virtue of the privileges of
The Voice of the City |
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 Cousin Pons by Honore de Balzac: he called at their houses, he had not succeeded in seeing them once in
three years--(it is a fact, however, that Schmucke had always thought
fit to call on these great ladies at ten o'clock in the morning!)--
still, his pension was paid quarterly through the medium of
solicitors.
"Und yet, dey are hearts of gold," he concluded. "Dey are my liddle
Saint Cecilias, sharming vimmen, Montame de Bordentuere, Montame de
Fantenesse, und Montame du Dilet. Gif I see dem at all, it is at die
Jambs Elusees, und dey do not see me . . . yet dey are ver' fond of
me, und I might go to dine mit dem, und dey vould be ver' bleased to
see me; und I might go to deir country-houses, but I vould much rader
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