| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Selected Writings of Guy De Maupassant by Guy De Maupassant: fellow pulled out a bream, Oh! I never saw such a large one
before, never! And then my wife began to talk aloud, as if she
were thinking, and you can see her trickery. She said: 'That is
what one might call stolen fish, seeing that we baited the place
ourselves. At any rate, they ought to give us back the money we
have spent on bait.'
"Then the fat woman in the cotton dress said in turn: 'Do you
mean to call us thieves, Madame?' And they began to explain, and
then they came to words. Oh! Lord! those creatures know some good
ones. They shouted so loud, that our two witnesses, who were on
the other bank, began to call out by way of a joke: 'Less noise
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Bab:A Sub-Deb, Mary Roberts Rinehart by Mary Roberts Rinehart: walked away.
It was too silly, after everything that had happened, to dance the
next dance with Willie Graham, who is still in knickerbockers, and
a full head shorter than I am. But that's the way with a Party for
the school crowd, as I've said before. They ask all ages, from
perambulaters up, and of course the little boys all want to dance
with the older girls. It is deadly stupid.
But H seemed to be having a good time. He danced a lot with Jane,
who is a wreched dancer, with no sense of time whatever. Jane is not
pretty, but she has nice eyes, and I am not afraid, second couzin
once removed or no second couzin once removed, to say she used them.
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Domestic Peace by Honore de Balzac: of so many vivid passions, of all these lovers' quarrels, these
pleasing revenges, these cruel favors, these flaming glances, of all
this ardent life diffused around them, only made them feel their
impotence more keenly.
At last the Baron had found a seat by Madame de Soulanges. His eyes
stole a long look at her neck, as fresh as dew and as fragrant as
field flowers. He admired close at hand the beauty which had amazed
him from afar. He could see a small, well-shod foot, and measure with
his eye a slender and graceful shape. At that time women wore their
sash tied close under the bosom, in imitation of Greek statues, a
pitiless fashion for those whose bust was faulty. As he cast furtive
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The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from Intentions by Oscar Wilde: There is, however, something dramatic in the fact that this heavy
punishment was inflicted on him for what, if we remember his fatal
influence on the prose of modern journalism, was certainly not the
worst of all his sins.
While he was in gaol, Dickens, Macready, and Hablot Browne came
across him by chance. They had been going over the prisons of
London, searching for artistic effects, and in Newgate they
suddenly caught sight of Wainewright. He met them with a defiant
stare, Forster tells us, but Macready was 'horrified to recognise a
man familiarly known to him in former years, and at whose table he
had dined.'
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