| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Domestic Peace by Honore de Balzac: making himself agreeable to the dowagers, and so from one to another,
and from compliment to compliment, he at last reached the empty space
next the stranger. At the risk of catching on to the gryphons and
chimaeras of the huge candelabrum, he stood there, braving the glare
and dropping of the wax candles, to Martial's extreme annoyance.
The Colonel, far too tactful to speak suddenly to the little blue lady
on his right, began by saying to a plain woman who was seated on the
left:
"This is a splendid ball, madame! What luxury! What life! On my word,
every woman here is pretty! You are not dancing--because you do not
care for it, no doubt."
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Pathology of Lying, Etc. by William and Mary Healy: this would count against her and, indeed, wrote letters of
apology repeatedly for her misconduct.
``Let me come and tell you all. The time has come when things
must stop, therefore I feel that I must talk to someone. I have
lived a lie from the day I was born until now.''
After these letters she went on making false statements which
could readily be checked up. Nothing is any more curious in
Gertrude's case than the anomaly of her telling several of us who
tried to help her that up to the time of the given interview she
had not thoroughly realized how bad it was to lie, and how she
now felt keenly that she must cease, while perhaps at the end of
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