New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-01-22
THE WITCHES OF NEW YORK.

Thee ursophistcated persons who believe that
Wrchcraft in America is mere historical "Reminiscences;
that broomstick locomotion is lost AT; that Astrolo
w. in its mystic sense, is longer prscticed; that
Palmistry, and Geomancy, and Bbiomancy, aud the
otherscientfc mysteries Of the Black Art are IN
brown 10 now-a-day Yankees, are laborng under
charitable deluson. Il IL true that amateur Witch
craft has gone somewhat out Of fashion, and sptefd
old ladies no longer sell Themselves to the Devil for
thu purpose merely Of prematurey enjoying his defect
able .ociety in the social midnight orge; or for the
Characteristic qualification of intcting unseen vicious
piIchts upon their younger ard prettier neigh6ors
Coniuration has been utilized, and the Almighty
Dolar" now enters into every cabalishc calculation
and is an Ingredient in every hell BROTH The mod
em witch has vulgar tastes, requires her dinners
Ike ordinary mortals and is never so absorbed IN her
incanatODs as TO be nsensble TO the attractions OF
coned beef and cabbage. The Romance Of SOrcery
does not exist in these days when the inevitable dol
lar is demanded in advance.
The name has been modified into "fortune-tellng,
but we cannot discover that the practices thereof have
lost any Of their tabled power. Who ehai say that the
,oruneteler of Grand, Broome or Orchard street can
rot transform her.elf at will into the traditional black
cat" or does not regsle herself occasionally With an
aIial excursion a broomstick7 No one, to our
knowledge, has lately witnessed the feline metamor-
phans or has encountered one Of the females on
her Eastwood steed; but there is reason to believe
that the sorcere.ses Of Gotham possess great fao
ties Of uansmigraton and locomotion did ever tn
pers.cued females Of Salem. But though they mayoc
casionally indulge in these copgenal recfeatcns mos
Of their tine occupied in strict attention to business,
for which they advertise largely in the newspapers
ataff..n Aadf naa
"As,ro ogical" advertisements, have smiled at tn
preentousptss and turned their critical noses at tn
e1tcrable English therein displayed, the while ndulg
lpg in kird of nnoeent wonder as to whether these
transparent nets ever catch any gul. They read that
these wonderful able tell past and future
eyeIts" TO for4see coming trouble and misfortune,
which they are willing by their magic power to stsve
of-for consideration; that they tell lucky numbers
in lotteries and that they will antee happy mari
sces and large assortment Of children ~ every one
who is win to disburse a dollar for the uDgranmat
cal promise Of such equvOcal bliss. These ma,terof
fact readers Of have doubt quered sometimes
in vogue purposeless sort Of way, if there really are
people in our city who put trust in = charms and
love powders ard who have faith II the prophetic
infalhbty of pack of greasy pla! ngcsrds. II any
one is persistenly skepucs on this point lie had better
investigate for himself; meanwhile we assure him and
the pubic that there hundreds OF people 10 our
good City of New.York who actually believe that the
ruling powers Of heaven and earth have revealed the
programme of fuiurity, to be retsiled at fifty Gems
dose to these snuffy, ignorant old wemen who the
eyes and nose of our reporters be credable w.t.
ntsses live, for the most part in state Of chronic per-
sona dizziness viii h nothing less damp than second
oeuge can remove even mitigate.
II may open the ewes Of these innocent queIi.ts 70
the vulgar popularity Of the wiChcra Of 1867 10 hear
that the nineteen she prophets who advertise in the
newspapers of this city visited every week by an
eve1ag. of sixteen hundred persons, of whom prob
ably thIec.quarters place implicit confidence II the
miserable stun they hear and pay for.
Ii may open stiI wider their wondering optics TO
learn that although part Of these visitors are x
Iorant servants, unfortunate glIls OF tae town, OF
wesk-minded, imbecile young men, stu there are
among them not fe influential professional men, aud
many merchants OF good cred; and repu'e, VITO pen
odcaly consul. these women aud actually are gov
en ed 10y their advice in business matters Of great mo-
mt,t l. i also often the case that ladies OF wealth
ard social position, who are we presume. otherwise
cscreet, are td by curiosity Other motives 10 en,e
these places ior the puTpos, Of having her fortunes
told. When these ladie> afe informed OF he TIA
character Of tee hous.s they nave thus penetrated and
TIE real business Of many o! the whose fortune
tell but - intercept the pablo gaze from
it, We pIesume that 10 OF them ~ comprs-
mise her reputation by another Wit.
People who know any thing about the sab ec WI
be s0pn,o 10 hear thai most OF these hUmbug s0rcer
tsses are now, have been IL youthful and aIao
tive days, women Of the town, and that Of their
present dens vile assgpaton houses; Or Lat
number OF them arc protested abOu.onistS who 10 as
much perhaps in The way OF chld-murdeT Others
whose lanes have been more prominently before The
world nor viii they be sstonished 10 hear that these
cbaste sibys have understood partnership with the
keepers OF houses Of prostitution, and tho. the oppoc
uIites for lucrative playing into each other hands
constant. Indeed the greater part of these female
fortune. ttlers are but doing then allotted work u
scheme by which this city the wholesale seduction Of
gncrant, uplehearted gTs, m the lower walks of life,
has been thoroughly sysiemauzed. The foTtaneelers
the only one Of the organization whose operations may
be Known 10 the pubic the other Wc!ksIs-the mas.