| 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: "Certain."
"In what part?"
"In the east wing."
"Can you tell me when these intrusions occurred, and what the
purpose seemed to be? Was it robbery?"
"No," I said decidedly. "As to time, once on Friday night a
week ago, again the following night, when Arnold Armstrong was
murdered, and again last Friday night."
The doctor looked serious. He seemed to be debating some
question in his mind, and to reach a decision.
"Miss Innes," he said, "I am in a peculiar position; I
The Circular Staircase |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Dreams & Dust by Don Marquis: the root!"
The hoarse frog croaks and the stark owl hoots
Of a mystery moored in the cypress roots.
Was it love turned hate? Was it friend turned foe?
Only the frogs and the gray owl know,
For the white moon shrouded her face in a mist
At the spurt of a pistol, red and bright--
At the sound of a shriek that stabbed the night--
And the little reeds were frightened and whist;
But always the eddies whimper and choke,
And the frogs would tell if they could, for they
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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 Alkahest by Honore de Balzac: solitude that the notary was obliged not only to confirm the rumor of
the disasters, but to give her further particulars, which were now
well known throughout the town. He told her that it was probably that
her husband owed considerable sums of money to the house which
furnished him with chemicals. That house, after making inquiries as to
the fortune and credit of Monsieur Claes, accepted all his orders and
sent the supplies without hesitation, notwithstanding the heavy sums
of money which became due. Madame Claes requested Pierquin to obtain
the bill for all the chemicals that had been furnished to her husband.
Two months later, Messieurs Protez and Chiffreville, manufacturers of
chemical products, sent in a schedule of accounts rendered, which
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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 Man in Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart: And so, while he hunted the key in the debris at the bottom of the
shaft, I quieted his prisoners with the assurance that the lock had
slipped, and that they would be free as lords as soon as we could
find the janitor with a pass-key. Stuart went down finally and
discovered Blobs, with the key in his pocket, telling the engineer
how he had tried to save me from arrest and failed. When Stuart
came up he was almost cheerful, but Blobs did not appear again that
day.
Simultaneous with the finding of the key came Hotchkiss, and we went
in together. I shook hands with two men who, with Hotchkiss, made
a not very animated group. The taller one, an oldish man, lean and
The Man in Lower Ten |
