| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from An Historical Mystery by Honore de Balzac: Ambassadeurs," he added, bowing to the two diplomats, "will see that
in the element of profound intrigue the political men of the present
day are far behind the Machiavellis whom the waves of the popular will
lifted, in 1793, above the storm,--some of whom have 'found,' as the
old song says, 'a haven.' To be anything in France in these days a man
must have been tossed in those tempests."
"It seems to me," said the princess, smiling, "that from that point of
view the present state of things under your regime leaves nothing to
be desired."
A well-bred laugh went round the room, and even the prime minister
himself could not help smiling. The ambassadors seemed impatient for
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Mountains by Stewart Edward White: begin. In the very high land they are few, and to
be left to their own devices; but now we entered a
new sort of country.
Below Farewell Gap and the volcanic regions
one's surroundings change entirely. The meadows
become high flat valleys, often miles in extent; the
mountains--while registering big on the aneroid--
are so little elevated above the plateaus that a few
thousand feet is all of their apparent height; the
passes are low, the slopes easy, the trails good, the
rock outcrops few, the hills grown with forests to
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