| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Second Home by Honore de Balzac: funeral train.
The heat of the weather was so great, and the gentleman was so absent-
minded, that he had taken off his hat and forgotten to put it on again
as he went down the squalid street. Caroline could see the stern look
given to his countenance by the way the hair was brushed from his
forehead. The strong impression, devoid of charm, made on the girl by
this man's appearance was totally unlike any sensation produced by the
other passengers who used the street; for the first time in her life
she was moved to pity for some one else than herself and her mother;
she made no reply to the absurd conjectures that supplied material for
the old woman's provoking volubility, and drew her long needle in
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Wyoming by William MacLeod Raine: surrender, despite the sharp spurs roweling its bloody sides.
"Ah, my beauty. You've had enough, have you?" demanded the cruel,
triumphant voice of the rider. "You would try that game, would
you? I'll teach you."
"Stop spurring that horse, you bully."
The man stopped, in sheer amazement at this apparition which had
leaped out of the ground almost at his feet. His wary glance
circled the hills to make sure she was alone.
"Ce'tainly, ma'am. We're sure delighted to meet up with you.
Ain't we, Two-step?"
For himself, he spoke the simple truth. He lived in his
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