The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1881-12-03
Cur Oliu.
From Hmper's Magazine for December.
Mother shipton's Prophecies.

There has recently come under my own
personal observation evidence OF the eX-
treme anxiety of the common people to verl-
fly any alleged extraordinary phenomenon,
Fifteen years ago one Chas. Hindley, while
editing certain old and worthless pamphlets
that were hawked about London two hun
dred years ago, much as ZadkiePs Almanac
is now, conceived the sorry notion OF pub
fishing the ''Prophecies of Mother Shipton"
certain prophecies Of his own forging.
These fictitious utterances were embodied
in that kind of runic doggerel which pre-
walls in the Roxborough Ballads, and they
represent the old female 'astrologer" Mo-
ther ShiptOn (who was born about the year
1889 as predicting:
Carriages without horses shall go,
Around the world thoughts shall fly
In the twinkling of an eye
Iron in the water shall float
As easy as wooden boat,
Gold shall be found, and found
In land that's not now known,
Fire and water shall more wonders do,
England shall at last admit Jew.
"a house of glass shall come topass
In England-but alas
War will follow with the work,
In the land of the pagan and Turk;
And state and state in fierce strife
Will seek each others life,
But when the North shall divide the South.
An eagle shall build in the lions mouth.
"The world then to an end shall come
In eighteen hundred and eighty-one''
The illusions in this doggerel to steam, the
telegraph, iron ships, California, Disraeli
the American war (going on while Hind
ley was writing), and even the Crystal Pal
ace, at once attracted the attention of anti
quarians. A correspondence occurred in
Notes and Queries (Series w., VOL IL }
and in the end Hindley's confession of the
forgery was made and published But the
Chinese proverb was verified, that the royal
chariot and postilliOns cannot Overtake the
word once escaped. These fictitious utter
ances obtained wide circulation and belief
among the class which is not accustomed tC
read Notes and Queries, and unfortunately
among these appears to be some person
authorized to write in a respectable London
journal In the Globe newspaper Of Feb
ruary II, 1877, portions of the forged pre-
dictions were printed as being very wonder
ful, and still more wonderful, they were
said to have been ''published in 144S, I. e..
before the introduction of printing! The
allusion to the war in Turkey-the only hit
really-attracted attention, and the imme
diate result was that the prophecies were
printed on card, price two pence, now sole
in vast numbers throughout the length anC
breadth of the land. On the windows o.
hundreds of newspaper and candy shops il
London one reads, ''Read Mother Shipton''
Wonderful Prophecies !" Having invested
his two pence, one possesses a coarse piece
of pasteboard, five inches by three, on which
are the lines already quoted, and more of
similar kind, under the following heading
''Mother Shiptons Prophecies! Havin!
recently been discovered in the British Mu
scum, written in an old manuscript work
A. D. 1449, and portions have been publish
ed in the Globe newspaper of February II
1877. This wonderful woman lived till sh
was of extraordinary age. She died at CHI
ton, in Yorkshire, from which is taken the fo
lowing epitaph, copied from stone monu
ment:
"EInra lyas she who never ly'd