Sadece LitRes`te okuyun

Kitap dosya olarak indirilemez ancak uygulamamız üzerinden veya online olarak web sitemizden okunabilir.

Kitabı oku: «The Myths and Fables of To-Day», sayfa 10

Yazı tipi:

XV
FORTUNE-TELLING, ASTROLOGY, AND PALMISTRY

 
“I asked her of the way, which she informed me;
Then craved my charity, and bade me hasten
To save a sister.” —Otway.
 

One noticeable thing about certain forms of superstition is their general acceptance by the public at large, like certain moral evils, which it is felt to be an almost hopeless task to do away with. Other good, easy souls choose to ignore the presence of fortune-tellers, astrologers, palmists among their daily haunts. As a matter of fact, however, fortune-telling, astrology, and palmistry have become so fully incorporated with the everyday life of all large communities as to excite very little comment from the common run of us.

It certainly would astonish some people if they knew to what an extent these methods of hoodwinking the credulous, or weak-minded, continue to flourish in our large cities, without the least attempt at concealment or disguise. One need only look about him to see the signs of these shrewd charlatans everywhere staring him in the face, or run his eye over the columns of the daily papers to be convinced how far superstition still lives and thrives in the chosen strongholds of modern thought and modern scepticism. At fairs and social gatherings fortune-telling and palmistry have come to be recognized features, either as a means of raising funds for some highly deserving object, of course, or for the sake of the amusement they afford, at the expense of those well-meaning souls who do not know how to say no. To be sure, it has come to be thoroughly understood that no benevolent object whatsoever has a chance of succeeding nowadays without some sort of nickel-in-the-slot attachment, by which the delusion of getting something for your money is so clumsily kept up.

At fairs, for instance, it is not necessary that the oracle of fortune should speak. Time is saved and modern progress illustrated and enforced by having printed cards ready at hand to be impartially distributed to all applicants on the principle of first come, first served. As the victim receives his card, he laughs nervously, fidgets around a few minutes, goes aside into some quiet corner and furtively reads, “Fortune will be more favorable to you in future than it has been.”

Unwittingly, perhaps, yet none the less, has he paid his tribute to superstition, thus thriftily turned to account.

The penny-in-the-slot machines, so often seen in public places, tell fortunes with mechanical precision, and in the main, impartially, evident care being taken not to render the oracle unpopular by giving out disagreeable or alarming predictions. True, they are just a trifle ambiguous, but does not that feature exactly correspond with the traditional idea of the ancient oracle, which was nothing if not ambiguous? Here is a sample, “You will not become very rich, but be assured you will never want for anything.”

Fortune-telling also is openly carried on at all popular summer resorts, with considerable profit to the dealer in prophecies, who is generally an Indian woman. She is much consulted by young women, “just for the fun of the thing.” Roving bands of gypsies continue to do a more or less thriving business in the country towns. Character is unfolded or the future foretold by the color of the eyes, the length or breadth of the finger nails or of the eyebrows.

Telling fortunes by means of tea grounds is often practised at social gatherings.

 
“For still, by some invisible tether
Scandal and tea are linked together.”
 

It is done in this way: When drinking off the tea, the grounds are made to adhere to the sides of the tea-cup, by swiftly twirling it round and round. The cup is then inverted, turned thrice and no more, after which the spell is completed, and the mistress of the revels proceeds to tell the fortunes of those present, with neatness and despatch.

Time has worked certain marked changes in the method of practising this equivocal trade. The modern fortune-teller no longer inhabits a grewsome cavern, reached by a winding path among overhanging rocks, and choked with dank weeds, or goes about muttering to herself in an unknown tongue, or is clothed in rags. Far from it. She either occupies luxurious apartments in the best business section, or in a genteel up-town hotel, or dwells in a fashionable quarter of the town, and dresses à la mode. Nor are her clients by any means exclusively drawn from among the lowly and ignorant, as might be supposed, but more often come from the middle class of society; and, though consultations are had in a private manner, those who ply this trade do so without fear or disguise.

Of the thousand and one matters submitted to the dictum of fortune-tellers, those relating to love affairs or money matters are by much the most numerous. On this head just a few selections, taken at hazard from the advertising columns of a morning newspaper, perhaps will afford the best idea of the nature of the questions most commonly addressed to these disposers and dispensers of fate. One reads, “Mrs Blank: consult her on all business, domestic or love affairs. Unites separated parties.” A shrewd offer that! The next, who styles himself “Doctor” is an astrologer. He invites you to send him your sex, with date and hour of birth; or a full description. All matters, he naïvely declares, are alike to him. For the trifling matter of one dollar he promises “a full reading” – presumably of your horoscope. The next, a trance and business medium, professes to be able to tell the “name of future husband or wife, and all affairs of life.” Still another, after setting forth her own abilities in glowing colors, warns a trusting public, after the manner of all quacks, to beware of imitators.

As an indication to what extent these forms of superstition flourish, it would be vastly interesting to know just how many persons there are in the United States, for instance, who get their living by such means. Enough, perhaps, has been said to open the eyes of even the most sceptical on this point. We may add that the modern applicant for foreknowledge is not satisfied with the obscure generalizations of the ancient oracles. He or she demands a full and explicit answer, and will be satisfied with nothing less.

Moll Pitcher, of Lynn, who practised her art in the early part of the century, was the most famous, as she was by far the most successful, fortune-teller of her day. In fact, her reputation was world-wide, it having been carried to every port and clime by the masters and sailors, who never failed to consult her about the luck of the voyage. Her supposed knowledge of the future was also much drawn upon by the highly respectable owners themselves, who, however, possibly through deference to some secret qualms, generally made their visits at night, sometimes in disguise.27 Indeed, stories little short of marvellous are told of this cunning woman’s skill at divination, or luck at guessing, according as one may choose to look at the matter. Besides being the subject of the poet Whittier’s least-known verses, a long forgotten play was written with Moll Pitcher as its heroine, after the manner of Meg Merrilies, in Sir Walter Scott’s “Guy Mannering.”

From the earliest to the latest times, the astrologers have always claimed for their methods of divination the consideration due to established principles or incontrovertible facts. The court astrologer was once quite as much consulted as the court physician. Though fallen from this high estate, and even placed under the ban of the law as a vagabond and charlatan, the astrologer still continues to ply his trade among us with more or less success; and, unless we greatly err, the craft even has an organ, called not too appropriately, “The Sphinx,” as the Sphinx has never been known to speak, even in riddles.

Palmistry is the name now given to fortune-telling by means of the hand alone. Formerly there was no such distinction. After looking her client over, the fortune-teller of other days always based her predictions upon a careful scrutiny of the hand. Some careless hit-or-miss reference to the past, at first, such as “you have seen trouble,” usually preceded the unravelling of the future. The disciples of palmistry now claim for it something like what was earlier claimed for phrenology and physiognomy. Every one knows that palmistry openly thrives in all large communities as a means of livelihood. How many practise it in private, no one can pretend to say, but the number is certainly very large. It is a further fact that some surprising guesses at character now and then occur, but we must hold to the opinion that they are still only guesses, nothing more.

FOOTNOTES

Transcriber’s Notes

Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.

Frequent use of dialect and archaic spelling retained.

Simple typographical errors were corrected. Occasional unmatched quotation marks were retained.

Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained.

Page 19: the closing quotation mark after “lost his head.” has no matching opening mark.

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYTHS AND FABLES OF TO-DAY***

******* This file should be named 44177-h.txt or 44177-h.zip *******

This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:

http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/1/7/44177

Updated editions will replace the previous one-the old editions will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given away-you may do practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.

*** START: FULL LICENSE ***

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works

1. A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1. B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1. C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.

1. D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United States.

1. E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1. E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

1. E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1. E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1. E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.

1. E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg-tm License.

1. E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1. E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1. E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided that

○You pay a royalty fee of 20 % of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."

○You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm works.

○You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work.

○You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.

1. E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1. F.

1. F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.

1. F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES – Except for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1. F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND – If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1. F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1. F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1. F.6. INDEMNITY – You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm

Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.

The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

For additional contact information:

Dr. Gregory B. Newby

Chief Executive and Director gbnewby@pglaf.org

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works.

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.

Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org

This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.

27.For more about her, see “New England Legends and Folk-Lore.”
Yaş sınırı:
12+
Litres'teki yayın tarihi:
11 ağustos 2017
Hacim:
180 s. 1 illüstrasyon
Telif hakkı:
Public Domain
Metin
Ortalama puan 0, 0 oylamaya göre
Metin
Ortalama puan 0, 0 oylamaya göre
Metin
Ortalama puan 0, 0 oylamaya göre
Metin
Ortalama puan 0, 0 oylamaya göre
Metin
Ortalama puan 0, 0 oylamaya göre
Metin
Ortalama puan 0, 0 oylamaya göre
Metin
Ortalama puan 0, 0 oylamaya göre