Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1876-10-19

Sault to murder and attempt to rob.
In his pockets were found number
of burglars tools.-San Francisco
Chronicle.
Mother Shipton's Prophecies
Nothing but Modern For
geries.
| THE newspapers that are reproduce
ing the wonderful prophecies now cur
rent and ascribed to Mother ShiptOn,
are simply the victims of cunning i'm
posters. many of whom in this century
have been playing upon the credulity
of the people. There was veritable
Mother ShiptOn who lived in England
several centuries ago, and who uttered
various prophecies, some in prose and
some in dOggerel verse, which attracted
much attention, The predictions were
mostly vague, or of such general
character that in almost every genera
ton, not to say every year, some
events would be found to fit them.
But the more definite prophecies, sup
posed to be fulfilled in the use of steam
on land and sea, the invention of the
electric telegraph, balloons, tunnels
through the mountains and under the
sea, diving suits, the use of iron ships,
the fresh discoveries of gold, winding
up with the prediction that the earth
shall come to an end in 1881, are all
very modern forgeries. Take the fol-
lowing, which we clip from the Bos-
ton Journal of a few days since:
| A REMARKABLE PROPHECY.-The
following, which is known as "Mother
| Symptoms Prophecy" was first pub
lished in 1888, and republished in 1641.
1t will be noticed that all the events
| predicted in it, except that mentioned
in the last two lines-Which is still in
| the future-have already come to pass:
! Carriages without horses shall go,
And accidents fill the world with wo.
! Around the world thoughts shall fly
In the twinkling of an eye.
Wafer shall yet more wonders do;
Now strange, yet shall be true.
The world upside down shall be,
| And gold be found at root of tree.
| Through hills shall ride,
And no horse ass be at his side.
| Under water men shall walk:
| Shall ride, shall sleep, shall talk.
| In the air men shall be seen,
In white, in black, in green.
| Iron in the water shall float,
| AS easy as a wooden boat.
| Gold shall be found and shown
In a land that's not now known.
| Fire and water shall wonders do,
/ England shall at last admit Jew.
| The world to an end shall come
| In eighteen hundred and eighty-one.
| The substance of the above is first
found in what purported to be fac
sina5ze reprint of the 1641 edition of
Mother Shipton, /" edited by edwin
| Pearson" and published at London
few years ago. 1t has, however, been
! still further modernized since it's then
late issue, to include a hit at one of
England's statesmen. The line which
now reads:
| England shall at last admit Jew,
read in the reprint we have cited
England shall at last admit foe
In the eighth line, "no horse or ass
has been extended at the expense of
the meter to make it more pointed by
the addition Of the two words in ital-
les; and the two lines
Water shall yet more wonders do
| Now strange yet shall be true,
| have been added by a poet who wrote
| very lame hand indeed if this was
| his best.
The use of the word Carriages" as
| applied to a wheeled vehicle, totally
unknown to the times of 1448, when
the prophecy was dated, was sufficient
| to put any thoughtful critic on his
guard, and few sensible men admitted
| the genuineness of the remarkable"
prophecy. A comparison of the re-
print with an old edition of Mother
Shipton showed that about a dozen OF
the most clever pieces in the latter
book were new. After spirited dis
cussion of their merits, Mr.. Charles
Hindley, of Brighton, came before the
public in a letter and acknowledged
that the entire piece we have quoted
above, and some ten others, more or less
striking, contained in his reprint OF
1862, were pure inventions of his own,
composed to make the issue a success |
full business adventure The whole of
this remarkable prophecy" there
fore, which notes all the modern dis |
coyeries and proposes to wind up all |
mundane affairs in 1881, was first |
wrought, with many others of like |
character, out of the brains of Mr.. |
Hindley in 1862.
Before closing, we may notice an |