| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Lesser Bourgeoisie by Honore de Balzac: in a contract than to add them?"
The clerk made an affirmative sign.
"Then put in what you were told to write; later, if madame persists,
the clause can be stricken out."
The clerk bowed and left the room.
When the two sisters-in-law were alone together, Brigitte began.
"Ah ca!" she cried, "have you lost your head? What is this crotchet
you've taken into it?"
"It is not a crotchet; it is a fixed idea."
"Which you got from the Abbe Gondrin; you dare not deny that you went
to see him with Celeste."
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Book of Remarkable Criminals by H. B. Irving: Castaing, on the other hand, on October 10, 1822, had given a
stockbroker a sum of 66,000 francs to invest in securities; on
the 11th of the same month he had lent his mother 30,000 francs;
and on the 14th had given his mistress 4,000 francs. Of how this
large sum of money had come to Castaing at a time when he was
practically insolvent he gave various accounts. His final
version was that in the will destroyed by Auguste, Hippolyte
Ballet had left him an income for life equivalent to a capital of
100,000 francs, and that Auguste had given him that sum out of
respect for his brother's wishes. If that explanation were true,
it was certainly strange that shortly after his brother's death
A Book of Remarkable Criminals |
