| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart: Then we opened the door into the hall, where, crowded on the
upper landing of the stairs, the maids, white-faced and
trembling, were peering down, headed by Liddy. I was greeted by
a series of low screams and questions, and I tried to quiet them.
Gertrude had dropped on a chair and sat there limp and shivering.
I went at once across the hall to Halsey's room and knocked; then
I pushed the door open. It was empty; the bed had not been
occupied!
"He must be in Mr. Bailey's room," I said excitedly, and followed
by Liddy, we went there. Like Halsey's, it had not been
occupied! Gertrude was on her feet now, but she leaned against
The Circular Staircase |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Case of the Golden Bullet by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: his pack, divested himself of his beard and his wig and washed the
wrinkles from his face with a handful of snow from the wayside. A
quarter of an hour later, Detective Muller entered the railway
station of the city, burdened with a large grip. He took a seat
in the night express which rolled out from the station a few moments
later.
As he was alone in his compartment, Muller gave way to his
excitement, sometimes even murmuring half-aloud the thoughts that
rushed through his brain. "Yes, I am convinced of it, but can I
find the proofs?" the words came again and again, and in spite of
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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 House of Mirth by Edith Wharton: "You have found something belonging to me?" she asked, extending
her hand.
Mrs. Haffen drew back. "Well, if it comes to that, I guess it's
mine as much as anybody's," she returned.
Lily looked at her perplexedly. She was sure, now, that her
visitor's manner conveyed a threat; but, expert as she was in
certain directions, there was nothing in her experience to
prepare her for the exact significance of the present scene. She
felt, however, that it must be ended as promptly as possible.
"I don't understand; if this parcel is not mine, why have you
asked for me?"
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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 Options by O. Henry: off down here and buy a little sheep-ranch where the hand of man is
seldom heard. It was the slickest hide-out I ever see,' says the
captain.
"So one of the men goes to the shearing-pen and hunts up the other
herder, a Mexican they call John Sallies, and he saddles Ogden's
horse, and the sheriffs all ride tip close around him with their guns
in hand, ready to take their prisoner to town.
"Before starting, Ogden puts the ranch in John Sallies' hands and
gives him orders about the shearing and where to graze the sheep, just
as if he intended to be back in a few days. And a couple of hours
afterward one Percival Saint Clair, an ex-sheep-herder of the Rancho
Options |
