| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Book of Remarkable Criminals by H. B. Irving: their relations. At the inquest after her husband's murder, Mrs.
Dyson had been questioned by the coroner about these letters.
She denied that she had ever written to Peace; in fact, she said,
she "never did write." It was stated that Dyson himself had seen
the letters, and declared them to be forgeries written by Peace
or members of his family for the purpose of annoyance. Neverthe-
less, before the Sheffield magistrate Mr. Clegg thought it his
duty to cross-examine Mrs. Dyson closely as to their authorship.
He asked her to write out a passage from one of them: "You
can give me something as a keepsake if you like, but I don't like
to be covetous, and to take them from your wife and daughter.
 A Book of Remarkable Criminals |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from When a Man Marries by Mary Roberts Rinehart: disconcerting gaze, "do you know that I have just grasped the
situation? There was such a noise that I did not hear your name,
and I am only realizing now that you are my hostess! I don't know
why I got the impression that this was a bachelor establishment,
but I did. Odd, wasn't it?"
I positively couldn't look away from him. My features seemed
frozen, and my eyes were glued to his. As for telling him the
truth--well, my tongue refused to move. I intended to tell him
during dinner if I had an opportunity; I honestly did. But the
more I looked at him and saw how candid his eyes were, and how
stern his mouth might be, the more I shivered at the plunge. And,
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