| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Reef by Edith Wharton: motionless; then she turned to her companion with a quick
patter of questions. He gathered from them that she had
been less interested in following the general drift of the
play than in observing the details of its interpretation.
Every gesture and inflection of the great actress's had been
marked and analyzed; and Darrow felt a secret gratification
in being appealed to as an authority on the histrionic art.
His interest in it had hitherto been merely that of the
cultivated young man curious of all forms of artistic
expression; but in reply to her questions he found things to
say about it which evidently struck his listener as
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell: Soon after I left the stable there was a steeplechase, and he determined
to ride. Though the groom told him she was a little strained,
and was not fit for the race, he did not believe it,
and on the day of the race urged Ginger to keep up with the foremost riders.
With her high spirit, she strained herself to the utmost;
she came in with the first three horses, but her wind was touched,
besides which he was too heavy for her, and her back was strained.
"And so," she said, "here we are, ruined in the prime of our
youth and strength, you by a drunkard, and I by a fool; it is very hard."
We both felt in ourselves that we were not what we had been. However,
that did not spoil the pleasure we had in each other's company;
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