| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Europeans by Henry James: Madame Munster looked at him again; and then, smiling:
"And I have certainly had time, since I got here, to ask myself
why I came. However, I never ask myself idle questions.
Here I am, and it seems to me you ought only to thank me."
"When you go away you will see the difficulties I shall put in your path."
"You mean to put difficulties in my path?" she asked,
rearranging the rosebud in her corsage.
"The greatest of all--that of having been so agreeable"--
"That I shall be unable to depart? Don't be too sure.
I have left some very agreeable people over there."
"Ah," said Acton, "but it was to come here, where I am!"
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Trooper Peter Halket of Mashonaland by Olive Schreiner: generally fancy women that age; they like slips of girls. But I set my
heart on her the day I saw her. She belonged to the chap I was with. He
got her up north. There was a devil of a row about his getting her, too;
she'd got a nigger husband and two children; didn't want to leave them, or
some nonsense of that sort: you know what these niggers are? Well, I tried
to get the other fellow to let me have her, but the devil a bit he would.
I'd only got the other girl, and I didn't much fancy her; she was only a
child. Well, I went down Umtali way and got a lot of liquor and stuff, and
when I got back to camp I found them clean dried out. They hadn't had a
drop of liquor in camp for ten days, and the rainy season coming on and no
knowing when they'd get any. Well, I'd a vatje of Old Dop as high as that-
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