Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-04-01
THE soRRrrsr HUMBUG YET.
A Young Man Sees His Future VIE
and the Date of His Anticipated
Marriage.

THE SORRIEST HUMBUG YET.
A Yousg Man Sees His Future wife
and the Date of His Anticipated
Marriage.
All ages have had their follies, but,
everything considered, the nineteenth Gen.
fury has a larger quota of commonplace
fools than any of its predecessors. The
people of our day would wither up and
drop away were it not for the sngared
hurnbug they swallow every hour of their
existence, and try to make themselves be-
lieve it reality. We are greater fools, in
fact, than our ancestors, for they were fools
because they knew no better, and We are
fools because we prefer to be. There is little
success attendant upon anything that has
not a spice of nonsense or humbug about
it. The newspaper that fails to devote two
columns TO the fool and one TO the wise
man, can no more succeed than the mer-
chant who fails TO advertise himself in the
largest letters and in the most conspicuous
places, whatever may be his capacity for
supplying his customers.
Inc SOFTleSL OF ali lOb dhOdt -
that perpetrated by unknown Madams and
quacks in the larger cities, who advertise
their powerof reading the stars and in them
deciphering the vicissitudes of the future
life of anybody who has fifty cents and
prepaid envelope, and, strange as it may
seem, fortunes mot of their applicants
have been realized from the appa-
rently plainest of all swindles. Par
ties thus advertising, usually promise to
send the portrait of the future wife or hus-
band of the person desiring Information,
and in order to supply the tremendous de-
mand, all the photograph galleries are
raked and scraped for the necessary pic
lures, and artists by this means rid them
selves of all bad jobs and work that is
never called for. Glad to get rid Of old
and worthless stock, picture-men sell the
photographs to the wizard, or sorceress, as
may be, for mere song, and they are then
forwarded to the fifty cent dupes through.
out the country.
The following is copy of document
received recently by young man of this
CITY. It was accompanied by the sickly
photograph of a pretty woman, whom, it
will be seen, he is TO marry on some hang
mans day of next year.
DEAR SIR: Your letter, with description,
is received. Enclosed you will find picture
of your future wife. Date of marriage,
Feb. %, 1869; position in lite, good dis
position, amiable; occupation, lawyers
daughter Respectfully yours,
MADAM
N. B.-Should you desire more informa-
ton than given above, | will, for an adj
ditional fifty cents, send you the name and
pOstofice address of the person Dame For
tune will favor yon with also the charac-
teristics, appearance and temperament
when and where you meet, and in what
manner you become acquainted also
whether yon live happily together, the
number of offspring, ETC., etc. 1t is, in
fact, your future destiny placed before you
on paper for the small sum of fifty cents.
Would here state that all letters received
are seen only by herself, and parties need
have no fears in giving a full and correct
description of themselves, as all commune
cations are considered strictly confidential.
Parties desiring the above information
must inclose fifty cents and prepaid en-
velope addressed to themselves, together
with full description of themselves, as my
correspondence is so.large that a registry
of former letters cannot be kept.
All communications should be addressed
TO -, etc.