St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-05-06

tlnuance and extent of this business or In.
dustry, or profession. is the best possible evil
dence that it has been, is and will continue to
be profitable No matter the place or the
language in which these advertisements APP
pear, all have striking similarity, and, as in
the spiritual medium business, women, all OF
whom call themselves ssMadam'' somebody,
appear to have monopoly of the trade, and
advertise their special qualifications for the
work in a most monotonous and business,
like way. I have before me a number of these
cards from different parts of the world, all of
which look as if they had been written by the
same hand. For example: Under the general
head of "Astrology," in leading Partisan
paper, read the following:
"The celebrated Madam A., the seventh
daughter of a seventh daughter, tells the past,
present and future with invariable accuracy.
Will show picture of future husband. Terms,
: to ladies' only, very moderate. Hours from
10 A. NJ. to 1OP.M. Ring second bell.''
The magic number seven seems to be po-
tent with these professional prophets, and in
the past, as in the present, they seem to
attach to the seventh daughter of seventh
daughter certain powers of prophecy that are
denied to children born in the usual order.
One might think the seventh daughter of
seventh daughter very rare person indeed;
but If we are to believe the advertisements
that appear in the papers, all the world over,
there are thousands of them, all blest with
the gift of prophecy, and all using that gift
for their own profit and, presumably, for the
enlightenment of their many clients.
In Great Britain and on the continent of Eu-
yt,ty Is
larly believed to attach to what is known as
"caul.'' This ''caul' is sort of animal
parchment, sometimes found over the face
and head of q newborn child. From time
immemorial belief has existed that child
born with this unusual attachment is par
ticularly blest and less liable to misfortune
than the rest of humanity. Not only does
the caul confer special favors on it's original
possessor, but it is supposed to carry with it
and convey to its owner the power of looking
into the future, and is an infallible protection
against shipwreck and disaster by flood
Formerly, if not at present, sea captains at
tached so much Importance to the possession
of a caul that they have been known to pay
large sums for one, believing that so long as
they had iton their ship no wreck could come
to it, and none of the crew could be lost by
drowning. Whenever an article becomes
marketable and there is for it an assured de-
mand, human ingenuity is sure to supple
ment the deficiencies of nature, like the
Yankee with his wooden nutmegs, and so
in many of the European ports the manu-
facture OF cauls, from the intestines of ami
mails, became regular business, and as there
was no means of discovering the deceit we
may be sure that these artificial cauls were
quite as effective as those produced in the
regular way.
Some Of the astrologers advertise the pos
session Of caul as an extra inducement to
their customers. One of these advertisements
reads as follows: .sThe old and world-re-
nowned Madam G. has in her possession
caul which was carried by Captain Cook in
his many voyages around the world, and to
its possession he attributed the success OF
his many expeditions. Madam G. cuts cards
with invariably success, and she counts
among her patrons tens of thousands of
people who live near the sea. or have friends
whose business is on or near the water.
Ladies and seafaring men only need apply
OF No. -"
But even more potent than the possession
of caul, or being the seventh daughter of
seventh daughter, are the peculiar prophetic
qualities which are believed to attach to the
descendants of gypsy monarch. By actual
count there are, in the prophecy business to-
day, more than three hundred gypsy queens,
who announce themselves as the daughters
of gypsy kings, fact which goes to prove
that gypsy kings are either very numerous
or very prolific. In this business the
gypsies have decided advantage over all
other races, though the negro voodoos run
them q good second. There is general
haaai that the possession of gypsy blood car