| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens: bruited abroad, they had come there purposely to drag him out and
kill him in the street; or it might be that they were the rioters,
and, in pursuance of an old design, had come to sack the prison.
But in either case he had no belief or hope that they would spare
him. Every shout they raised, and every sound they made, was a
blow upon his heart. As the attack went on, he grew more wild and
frantic in his terror: tried to pull away the bars that guarded the
chimney and prevented him from climbing up: called loudly on the
turnkeys to cluster round the cell and save him from the fury of
the rabble; or put him in some dungeon underground, no matter of
what depth, how dark it was, or loathsome, or beset with rats and
Barnaby Rudge |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Red Seal by Natalie Sumner Lincoln: "Pardon me," he apologized. "I was struck by the handkerchief's
appearance."
Mrs. Brewster turned it over. "In what way is the handkerchief
unique?" she asked, laughing.
"Because Jimmie Turnbull crushed amyl nitrite capsules in its mate
just before he died," explained Kent quietly. "Detective Ferguson
claims that Jimmie unintentionally broke more than one capsule in
the handkerchief, was overcome by the powerful fumes and died."
"But the inquest proved that Jimmie was killed by a dose of
aconitine poison," she reminded him, as she tucked the handkerchief
up her sleeve.
The Red Seal |
