| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tales and Fantasies by Robert Louis Stevenson: the production.
'Understand me,' continued Van Tromp; 'I am a man of the
world. And yet - once an artist always an artist. All of a
sudden a thought takes me in the street; I become its prey:
it's like a pretty woman; no use to struggle; I must - dash
it off.'
'I see,' said Dick.
'Yes,' pursued the painter; 'it all comes easily, easily to
me; it is not my business; it's a pleasure. Life is my
business - life - this great city, Paris - Paris after dark -
its lights, its gardens, its odd corners. Aha!' he cried,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Miracle Mongers and Their Methods by Harry Houdini: various positions, he would bend his body
backward till his head pointed toward the floor, and
in that position push a nail through a one-inch
board held perpendicularly in a metal frame.
I saw no chance for trickery in Le Roy's act.
Another nail act was that of Alexander
Weyer, who, either by superior strength or by
a peculiar knack, could hold a nail between
the middle fingers of his right hand with the
head against the palm, and drive it through
a one-inch board. But since this act did not
 Miracle Mongers and Their Methods |