The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Marriage Contract by Honore de Balzac: that Paul and Mathias had come to an understanding about her. Rage and
hatred sent the blood surging through her veins to her heart. The
worst had come.
After verifying that all the documents were duly signed and the
initials of the parties affixed to the bottom of the leaves, Maitre
Mathias looked from Paul to his mother-in-law, and seeing that his
client did not intend to speak of the diamonds, he said:--
"I do not suppose there can be any doubt about the transfer of the
diamonds, as you are now one family."
"It would be more regular if Madame Evangelista made them over now, as
Monsieur de Manerville has become responsible for the guardianship
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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 Altar of the Dead by Henry James: live more and more for their small ceremonial, and this at a time
when he himself had begun wearily to feel that, having set it in
motion, he might depart. When they had sat a while in the pale
parlour she got up - "This isn't my room: let us go into mine."
They had only to cross the narrow hall, as he found, to pass quite
into another air. When she had closed the door of the second room,
as she called it, he felt at last in real possession of her. The
place had the flush of life - it was expressive; its dark red walls
were articulate with memories and relics. These were simple things
- photographs and water-colours, scraps of writing framed and
ghosts of flowers embalmed; but a moment sufficed to show him they
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