| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Enchanted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum: Not at once could they succeed, for the wall was strong and it would
take long to batter it down; and Nerle stood on top of the wall and
kicked over the ladders as fast as the soldiers of Twi set them up;
and the gray-bearded Ki stood in the garden holding two big flat boards
with which to whack the heads of any who might come through the tunnels.
But Prince Marvel realized that the perseverance of his foes might win
in the end, unless he took measures to defeat them effectually. So he
summoned swift messengers from among the Sound Elves, who are
accustomed to travel quickly, and they carried messages from him to
Wul-Takim, the King of the Reformed Thieves, and to King Terribus of
Spor, who had both promised him their assistance in case he needed it.
The Enchanted Island of Yew |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Two Brothers by Honore de Balzac: damask, the colonel laughed.
"What the devil do you want me to do there?" he cried. "The only
service the poor woman can render me is to die as soon as she can; she
would be rather a sorry figure at my marriage with Mademoiselle de
Soulanges. The less my family is seen, the better my position. You can
easily understand that I should like to bury the name of Bridau under
all the monuments in Pere-Lachaise. My brother irritates me by
bringing the name into publicity. You are too knowing not to see the
situation as I do. Look at it as if it were your own: if you were a
deputy, with a tongue like yours, you would be as much feared as
Chauvelin; you would be made Comte Bixiou, and director of the Beaux-
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