The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-06-12
MOTHER SYMPTOMS PROPHECY.

The newspapers which are reproduc-
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 yeritable Mother Ship
ton who lived in England several CEN
turies ago, and who uttered various
prophecies, some in prose and some in
doggerel verse, that attracted much
attention. The predictions were most
ly vague or of such q general character
that in almost every generation, not to
say every year some event would be
found to fit them. But the most def
mite prophecies, supposed to be fulfilled
in the use of steam on land and sea,
the invention of the electric telegraph,
balloons, tunnels through the noun
tains 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 following as instance of the
same and compiled from book which
is known as fMother shipton's Pro-
phecies,'' first published in Ass, repub-
lished in 1641 and again in 1861 1t
will be noticed that all the events pre-
dicted 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 woe,
Around the world thoughts shall fly
In the twinkling ofan eye.
+ Water shall yet more wonders dc;
Now strange, yet shall yet be true.
The world upside down shall be,
And gold be found at root of tree
Through hills men shall ride,
And no horse or ass be at his side.
Under water men shall walk:
Shall ride, shall read, shall talk.
In the air men shall be seen,
In white, in black, in green.
Iron in the water shall noat,
AS easy as wooden boat.
Gold shall be found and shown
In n land that's not now known.
Fire and water shall wonders do
England will at last admit Jew.
The world to an end will come,
In eighteen hundred ana elShty-one.
The substance of the above is first
found in what purported to be a fac SIM
lie reprint of the 1641 edition Of Moth
er Shipton sedited," by edwin Pear
son" and published at London a few
years ago. 1t has, however, been still
further modernized, its then late issue,
to include hit at one of the English
statesmen.
England shall at last admit Je,p,'
as we read it in the reprint we have al
ready cited, it is as follows:
England shall at last admit n foe"
Presumably the Jew-in reality the
German-the Prince of Wales?-in the
eighth line observe this now and closely,
"no horse on dSs'' has been extended at
the expense of the metre to make it
more pointed, by the addition Of the two
words in italics; and the two lines
water shall yet more wonders do,
Now strange, yet shall be true
have been added by q poet who wrote
very lame hand indeed, if this were his
best.
If we transcend to our cyclopedia,
and we do, we find that the use OF the
word Carriages" as applied to a
"wheeled vehicle'' was totally unknown
at the time of 144S, when the prophecy
was dated, and was sufficient to put any
thoughtful man on his guard, but SELL
sible men admitted the genuineness OF
the remarkable prophecy. A COM
parison of the reprint with an older
edition of Mother Shipton, showed that
about dozen of the most clever
pieces in the later book were new. After
spirited discussion of their merits,
Mr.. Charles Hindley, of Brighton, came
before the public in letter, and ac-
knowledged 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, to make the issue Il successful
business adventure.
The whole of this remarkable pro-
phecy! therefore, which notes all the
modern discoveries and proposes To
wind up all mundane affairs in 1881
was wrought, with many Of like char
acter, out of the brains of Mr.. Hind
| lev in 1862. No one can Justify this
style of literary forgery.