| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Montezuma's Daughter by H. Rider Haggard: followed. At length he ceased with a sigh, and turning to me said:
'Draw near to this sinner, brother, and speak with her before it is
too late.'
* Lest such cruelty should seem impossible and unprecedented, the
writer may mention that in the museum of the city of Mexico, he has
seen the desiccated body of a young woman, which was found immured
in the walls of a religious building. With it is the body of an
infant. Although the exact cause of her execution remains a matter
of conjecture, there can be no doubt as to the manner of her death,
for in addition to other evidences, the marks of the rope with
which her limbs were bound in life are still distinctly visible.
 Montezuma's Daughter |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Facino Cane by Honore de Balzac: carry. There was no reason for hesitation; he agreed. Vessels were
about to sail for the Levant. All possible precautions were taken.
Bianca furthered the schemes which I suggested to my accomplice. It
was arranged that Bianca should only rejoin us in Smyrna for fear of
exciting suspicion. In a single night the hole was enlarged, and we
dropped down into the Secret Treasury of Venice.
"What a night that was! Four great casks full of gold stood there. In
the outer room silver pieces were piled in heaps, leaving a gangway
between by which to cross the chamber. Banks of silver coins
surrounded the walls to the height of five feet.
"I thought the jailer would go mad. He sang and laughed and danced and
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