Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1883-05-27
MEMS sUPERsTITIoNs.
Signs by Which Many People asgu-
late Their Lives.
AN AsTRoL0eERs STRANGE STORY
Catering to credullty-The Supposed Virtue
in Beans and Rusty Nails-Sign
Seekers-A Thousand
Dollar Guess.
Neu York Tcle0rdm.

uptown restaurant this morning: ode
numbers which were a-mentioning to
Chawles were not 4-l1-14. OATS
regular moke's gig, sab. It's what you
mought call de coon's gig. In pint o.
fact, sab, it's de old time niggah gig,
an it's only de ole time, low down col
ored man dat'll play it,"
George Augustus was very earnest,
very emphatic; yet he spoke in whis-
pers, while CHANGING nervously to right
and left, as though fearful of being
overhead.
"De numbers 1 were a mentionin,'
sah," he continued, while pretending
to fill the writer's cup from an empty
coffee pot, twas l7-35-40. You see,
sab, dat once week / has sort of
prediction for dem numbers-dat is to
say, eff ketch sight OBJ cat on fence
afo' come to my work."
$50 you believe in signs, do you"
ayes, sab, and so does nine men
outen ten, cherry time. Dere never was
gambler dat didn't; and gambler has
mo- reason TO- it dan any other man
'septin,' perhaps, politician"
Then, you saw a cat on fence yes
terday?".
~ did, sab, and the consequences
was played l7-35,i0 TO- five dollars,
an win it,
A Cat on Fence.
"You are no doubt ready to risk your
money at any time on the apparation
of cat on fence"
"Yes, sab; we cannot help it, sab.
It's human nature. COlored people
| leastways, the most o. dem-governs
dere lives by signs; and / know good
many white folks what does the same
Why, sab, was once awaiting on
dat Mr.. Drinks what won S5O,0OO, mo
| or less, at faro. Dat man, sab, wOuldn't
set down to game o. kpards widout he
had hoss.chestnut in his pocket, and
| cannot help finkin' dat he must a
had one with him when he had dat
streak O. luck. An old partner OBJ his
wouldn't neber play faro on chewsday,
| and had kuowed him to STAN ober a
table from Monday night outwell de
| las stroke OBJ midnight befO' he would
kiver a kyard. 1 knOwed q man oncet
by de name Ob Rogers what always
| played wifi his left han, an he was a
lucky man. But once, up on Broad
way somewhere, he sot down after
takln' too much creechur comfort and
| in less'n a hour he los 5000. He'd
been u playin' wifi his right ham, /
tell, sab, dis hyer superstition, so to
| speak, is like good many contagious
diseases--sOmetimes gently always
pooty kitchin when you come in con-
track wifi 'em. About"
At this point George Augustus was in-
terrupttd by a sharp call from the head
waiter, and with a disappointed look
upon his face, he withdrew, breathing
| the hope that the writer would meet
him again and near most remarkable
story.
With an AsrOiOger.
A few minutes after his early break
fast the reporter was seated in the COM
| Portable parlor Of an elderly citizen,
who once served the credulous public
as an astrelger. White-haired, grey
bearded, the air of IA man of cOun-
| tries" he had been evidently cut out
| tor Il career in life which suavity of
manner, quickness of perception, a
| knowledge of human nature and ready
| wit were certain TO make successful.
II am no longer an astrologer for.the
world at large" said he i'll answer to
| his visitors question; "but am still
| a believer in the science, and study it
| with more care and devotion than ever
| before. Yes, when | was in business
was brought in contact with all kinds
of curious people. Most OF my custo-
mers were ignorant, of course-that is,
ignorant of the wonders, the beautiful
| wonders, of astrology."
"But, Doctor, your customers were
| guided by superstition, were they not?"
almost without exception. Nine out
| of ten were men and women who wanted
| information i'm regard to the future of
stocks, the possibilities of speculation,
the choice of horse, the selection of
numbers in the lottery, the days on
which to meet the "tigern in his
"jungle." Some wanted charms, some
wanted love-philters; but nearly all
wanted to know how to have luck"
"Did any of them consult you in re-
gard to signs"
"Many of Them" said the doctor,
laughing. "And | could tell you some
very funny things about that class.
You see, when set up as star reader,
| | had no thought to become charlatan.
I had studied Bellantius, Pirovanus,
Sextus Empiricus, Sir Christopher
Held0n and all the other great masters,
and the more studied the better | was
satisfied that there was virtue i'll the
sun, moon and stars, and that the pri-
mary causes of all human actions were
to be found in the heavenly bodies.
But soon discovered that the calCula-
ton of nativities would not keep me in
bread, so instead Ofturning away i'll dis
gust from the superstitious fools who
came to me for signs and lucky num-
beers catered to them. See the result"
said the doctor, with sweep of the
hand that covered art treasures, costly
carpets and hangings and rare objects
of rcrfu in silver, gold and bronze.
The Sign.Seekers.
tone night about twelve years ago."
he continued, al was called upon by a
man whom l had never seen before,
but whom | came to know very well
afterward as one of the keeneSt,
shrewdest judges OF human ma
ture ever met. You have often heard
of him, perhaps have written about
him. He was a gambler. When he
died he left behind him great many
dollars of other mems money. He told
me he wanted his nativity cast. / cal
| culated 1t for him. and in few days he
came again, received a full explanation
of the mystic figures and paid me $40
more than i had charged. We had a
! glass of wire together, and over our
| cigars-we sat just where you and sit
now-he turned to me suddenly and
said, doctor, lam professional gam
bier. DO you believe there is anything
| in signs"
81 knew 1 was dealing with long
headed man, yet thought would take
risk. The signs believe in said 1,
are the signs Of the zodiac, the signs,
portents and omens revealed In the
movements and positions of the stars.
For example, believe that if you sit
down to play and you find that you
have left your pocket piece at home
| you will have bad luck
"You should have seen that man
jump, Pocket piece! BY GeorgeI How