The Sun.
London, England, 1829-10-06 00:00:00

FORTUNE-TELLING IN FRANCE•

The vulgar in France are as credulous as the
vulgar in England, and fortune-telling appears
lucrative an occupation on their side of the Chan'
nel as on ours. The Gazette des Tribuflaus
contains an account of the tricks which one °i
the French fortune-tellers was playing in the
neighbourhood of Versailles, until she drew ler'
herself the animadversion of the police.
A woman of the name of Belisson is imbtlej
with the maxim--

" Les sots, depuis Adam, scat en majorite." r
Acting upon this principle, she has made a Of
through the villages in the neighbourhood ai
Versailles, for the purpose of discovering and
duping those who are the most sick, the inc)is
credulous, and the most in love. The fallo
of Chernelle, living in the village of Montero
was the first on which she essayed her art. She
learnt that the wife of Chernelle was very 'I„"
and that her husband and her mother were lr
dined to make any sacrifice to restore her IQ
health. She went to her house and requested t°
speak with her. " I can cure you," said she'
" a spell has been cast upon you. I will dirt
cover who it is that has cast it upon
you—
I must first know the cause." She then P,r°,4'
ceeded as our wise women in England were
to proceed formerly in similar cases ; and hali*
obtained a bottle, carried it away, but not eillPt%;
for the purposes of examination. Before she Went
she demanded of the sick woman five five-fOl,
;
pieces, nine sous for the purpose of marking a oh'
days' devotion, nine francs to get nine days' deo,'
tion performed, an ell of calico, a small pot of ho'Y
water, and some salt. Having got all this, al'
went away and did not return for some days/
The condition of the sick woman did not
prove in the mean time. The fortune-tellerr
consequence, demanded of her dupe fresh object:
of value, and obtained a new chemise, 311 e.
counterpane, a silver watch, and a silver thilphle'
ie
She went away again, and on her third visit s'of
declared that her charm was on the point a
working, but that she wanted a hundred frsll't
in four hours, because in five hours she could°l
for six hundred francs prevent the sick wale
from dying. At this demand the eyes of I
sick woman's mother began to open, and she to
fused to borrow the sum demanded, for she
no more than a single five-franc piece in her Fere
session. The fortune-teller then approached
dying woman, and by the idea of her approach
ing death prevailed upon her to get up and
borrow 100 francs of her neighbours. Thellii‘
happy woman got out of bed in consequencet;
and staggering to her neighbours, obtained 1,
francs, by begging 10 francs from one acquai''J'
ante, 15 from another, and so on, as if she h 3
been begging for her life. She gave the moge,r.i
so obtained to the woman Bellison, as also hei
last five-franc piece. She then returned to
from which she has not yet risen. The
of Chernelle never set eyes again upon the'
plunderer, till they saw her in the custody of the
police.
A pretty girl, of the name of Celestine J
ail;
come, was also the dupe of her artifices.
said with great naivete that a young GerrO:
whom she adored, had returned to his of
e
country, from which it was not likely that
would soon come back to France. "
prisoner," said she, " promised to restore hill' t`,
my eyes, but declared that she must have morel
to, do it. I had no money, but I gave her firsts
shawl, and then a ring, with which she was °ll
touch the holy sacrament, in order that it rnig'!,
hereafter serve me as a wedding ring."
young damsel saw nothing more of her 510,!.e
and ring. Her mother was also anxious for the
return of this young man, and had conjured the
fortune-teller to bring him back quickly, beta he
he had forgotten to pay her a sum which
owed her.
A handsome soldier, a serjeant in the 6r,sl
regiment of Swiss Guards, lost a good rosin
sum of money. He believed it to have Vic
stolen from him, and he wished to discover 01:0
thief. Belisson, this clever consoler of stile
afflicted, obtains an interview with him.
offers to discover to him the thief. She °s'ii'e
wants five pieces of silver, and in three daY5 in
promises that she will make the thief appe2r
the glass of the room where they are sitting;
The serjeant has no money, but he goes tei
friend to borrow some. " You are a f°""
says his friend, " the woman is laughing at yecLie9
The serjeant persists in his request, and five pietbe
of silver of different values are placed ii' the
hands of the enchantress, who returns °not
day appointed. But the serjeant has gone to
with his battalion, and has given full poweirs to
another serjeant along with his former friell'ilie
witness the appearance of the thief, whose °the
and address they are requested to take. It'ved
presence of these new faces, the prisoner ow of
that her charm would not work. The plecesd
silver must be of the largest dimensions
must all be equal. She must therefore ilvisg
five five-franc pieces. The friend of our S'hot
serjeant would not agree to this sacrifice, vey
his brother serjeant demands it, and the 1001
is placed in her hands. Nothing. more is he
of the fortune-teller. re'
For these three frauds the prisoner was Ivo
hended—and this was her defence—" use' 'r
d thei
compulsion to the individuals who place I 101
money or their goods in my hands•
bring
gd
btlaicakt isniaicscseesssc;otaiillcdi clurkeneswickthpaetrnsolaosss,esa:iti I
they But no good, at least do no harm." pot
" ," said the President, " you have e
caused masses to be said." " That is trreriti
replied the woman, " I was going to say t'r •
when I was apprehended. The fault of t,bee,l''
not being said rests with the officers of justice,
—(Laur;hter.) t (01
The 'Court sentenced her to imprisomen
five years.

BIRTHS.
On the Sd inst. the lady of the Rev. D. H. 3104' of

a daughter. of
e ldi
On ti.e 3,1 inst. at Fiehbourne, Chichester, th
E. S. Gooch, Esq. of a daughter. J
oft
• lir°
On the Ist inst. at Deal, the lady of Sir
of a son. 11"
On the 2d inst. at Lower Clapt‘n, the lady of P.
bury, Esq. of a son.
id 0f the
On the 30th ult. at Gladwins, Essex, the Iv/
R.
Rev. T. C. Glyn, of a daughter. il°l/'
At 13areilly, East Indies, the lady of the
Forbes, of a son.

MARRIED. 11.1
On the 3d inst. Captain H. N. Smith, 0. t •
a I
Engineers, to Sarah Margaret, eldest daughter of
pin, Esq. of liocklitle Grange, Bedfordshire. troggsreni
On the bth inst. W. Burchell, Esq. of Red 14° Soq• -
to Sophia Agnes, eldest daughter of G. Kilgo's6
Wosurn-place.

DIED. f gr. A'
On the 3d inst. Winifred, the beloved wife °
Rymer, of N,s,au.stleet, Sho. vliogi
Oa the 4th inst. Matilda,o fifth daughter of gr. OM
Hammersmith.
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