| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Pool of Blood in the Pastor's Study by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: on this mystery.
"Well, then, sir, we might just as well sit down and wait for the
detective's arrival," said the judge.
"You are waiting for some one besides the doctor?" asked the local
magistrate timidly.
"Yes, His Grace telegraphed to Budapest," answered the district
judge, looking at his watch. "And if the train is on time, the man
we are waiting for ought to be here in an hour. You sent the
carriage to the station, didn't you? Is the driver reliable?"
"Yes, sir, he is a dependable man," said the old housekeeper.
Dr. Orszay entered the room just then and the Count introduced him
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Albert Savarus by Honore de Balzac: interrupting her reflections. "Monsieur de Soulas is in the drawing-
room, and he observed your attitude, which certainly betrays more
thoughtfulness than is due at your age."
"Then, is Monsieur de Soulas a foe to thought?" asked Rosalie.
"Then you were thinking?" said Madame de Watteville.
"Why, yes, mamma."
"Why, no! you were not thinking. You were staring at that lawyer's
window with an attention that is neither becoming, nor decent, and
which Monsieur de Soulas, of all men, ought never to have observed."
"Why?" said Rosalie.
"It is time," said the Baroness, "that you should know what our
Albert Savarus |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Prufrock/Other Observations by T. S. Eliot: That cross and cross across her brain.
The reminiscence comes
Of sunless dry geraniums
And dust in crevices,
Smells of chestnuts in the streets,
And female smells in shuttered rooms,
And cigarettes in corridors
And cocktail smells in bars."
The lamp said,
"Four o’clock,
Here is the number on the door.
Prufrock/Other Observations |
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 Underdogs by Mariano Azuela: for the soldiers' horses which had been hidden in the
sierra.
Suddenly Quail, who had been walking ahead, shrieked.
He had caught sight of his companions swinging from
the branches of a mesquite. There could be no doubt of
their identity; Serapio and Antonio they certainly were.
Anastasio Montanez prayed brokenly.
"Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy
name. Thy kingdom come..."
"Amen," his men answered in low tones, their heads
bowed, their hats upon their breasts. . . .
The Underdogs |
