| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Prince of Bohemia by Honore de Balzac: life. Every day adds another thread to the strong, irresistible,
intangible web, which enmeshes the most delicate fancies, takes
captive every most transient mood, and binding them together, holds a
man captive hand and foot, heart and head.
"Tullia knew Cursy well; she knew every weak point in his armor, knew
also how to heal his wounds.
"A passion of this kind is inscrutable for any observer, even for a
man who prides himself, as I do, on a certain expertness. It is
everywhere unfathomable; the dark depths in it are darker than in any
other mystery; the colors confused even in the highest lights.
"Cursy was an old playwright, jaded by the life of the theatrical
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Bunner Sisters by Edith Wharton: dress-maker's anecdotes; but every nerve in her was aware of
Evelina's enjoyment, and she was determined that no weariness of
hers should curtail it. Yet even her heroism shrank from the
significant glances which Miss Mellins presently began to cast at
the couple in front of them: Ann Eliza could bear to connive at
Evelina's bliss, but not to acknowledge it to others.
At length Evelina's feet also failed her, and she turned to
suggest that they ought to be going home. Her flushed face had
grown pale with fatigue, but her eyes were radiant.
The return lived in Ann Eliza's memory with the persistence of
an evil dream. The horse-cars were packed with the returning
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