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


case OF artificial cauls to supply the sailors,
am inclined to think that the gypsy race are
recruited from the ranks of outsiders
who are willing to pose as the daughters of
gypsy kings for the sake of the revenue there
is in it. What seduction there is in the fol-
lowing: Queen Hester, the only true and
genuine gypsy princess in the city, in order
to meet the wants of her increasing patrons,
has moved to number - on street,
AS palmist, Queen Hester is unrivaled by
any person living or dead. She tells the past
without questions, maps out the future,
gives the names Of winning horses
in races and the lucky numbers in
lotteries. For fifty cents extra she will
show the picture Of the man you are td
marry" 1t will be seen from these ADVERTISE
ments that the different nationalities have
varying methods Of divination. The gypsieG
believe in palmistry, and while reading the
hand they watch the face, and being excellent
students of human nature they say things
that startle their simple clients and add i'm
mensely to the belief in themselves, and SO to
their revenue.
The Irish practice method of divination
almost peculiar to themselves, known as soup
tossing" This consists in putting some tea
leaves in cup and pouring hot water over
it, after the Chinese method of making that
beverage. After these are saturated, the for
tune teller economically drains of the liquid,
leaving enough in the cup to float the leaves.
The Irish fortune telIers are invariably old
women; indeed, with the Celtic race, age ap-
pears to be essential to full possession of the
prophetic gift. The bag circles the cup
around threa times to the right, then three
times to the left, so difrusing the leaves over
the sides of the vessel; this done, she dex-
terously turns the cup bottom up, letting
whatever liquid there may be in the cup
drain into saucer; after minute or two.
during which perfect silence is maintained,
she lifts the cup and, from the arrangement
OF the leaves, she reads the past, present and
future of her client. If there is a long streak
of tea leaves, it means a journey by
land; if there is large open space to
which none of the leaves adhere, it sig
mites long journey by water; where the
leaves are jumbied together in mass, it in
variably indicates trouble, and where they
take a circular form with an open space in
the center it is ring, and sure sign of an
approaching wedding. One of these profess
sional prophets, a Celt we may be sure, from
the name as well as from the method en-
ployed, advertises as follows: "Madam Null
doom, of No. 20 - street. is the champion
cup tosser of the world. She has never had
rival, and she is sure none will ever appear
to dispute pre-eminence with her in her
chosen field. She uses a tea called Buds Of
Heavenly Flowers picked by the fingers Of
the mandarins' daughters, from which she
gets the most marvellous results. She never
makes a mistake. Her terms are low. II
you are in trouble or distress, through love
or business call on her at once and have
your mind set at rest"
I have said that women have q monopoly
of the professional prophecy business There
is one department, however, which men
stand pre-eminent; that is in what one adj
vertiser calls ''The Magical Mathematical
Field of Pure Astrology.' '.Astro.ogy'' is
generic name applied to the profession as a
whole, but by reason of its supposed knowl-
edge of the higher mathematics and the fact
that most of the women who exercise this
calling have only imperfect knowledge of the
one language which they speak, the depart
ment OF astrology proper is given over wholly
to men. The astrological method of divina-
ton is as old as history, and, while it is not
so generally believed in nor its professors
so well paid as they were two hundred
years ago, yet the professors of astrology,
where they understand the business, make
great deal of money, and have among their
patrons people of intelligence, who look down
with contempt on palmists, cup tossers, card
cutters, seventh daughters of seventh daugh-
tiers, and even sneer at the professors of the
magic caul. The methods of the astrologer
are, and always have been, such as to appeal
powerfully to the credulity of the ignorant.
He is popularity supposed to know all about
the stars, not only from an astronomical
standpoint, but also to be able to read their
occult influences on the human race. The
astrologist may be said to be the Calvinist of
the professional prophets. Given the hour,
day and year of birth, he calculates or casts
the horoscope of a person, proves the infiu-
ences that direct his life and show that he
is really the creature of an memorable fate,
from which no effort of his own can free him,
The astrologer is necessarily fatalist; hope
is eliminated from his methods and respon-
sibility is cast to the winds. ALI he can do is
to show the good or the bad influences that
control the life and fortunes of the subject.
The modern astrologists however, in order
to supply the needs of the market, take care
that there's more good awaiting their clients
than evil. Like the popular story in the
popular melodrama, the popular fortune
teller, no matter what troubles he or she NAV
forecast, must in the end reward virtue and
punish vice.
There are number of negro voodoos in
New York, principally men, and, as might
be expected, their methods differ very
greatly from those that are popular and
potent with other races. They believe in
charms, the casting of spells, the power to
bewitch or bedevil others, and their ability
to separate or unite lovers. The purpose of
the voodoo is not SO much to foretell what
will happen as, through certain occult infu-
ences, to compel things to happen. By means
of incantations, and charms compounded of
blood, calcined spiders and toads' tongues,
and such ingredients as the witches of Mac
beth threw into the cauldron, they can pro-
duce any result their clients want It might
be supposed that the patrons of these VOC
doc doctors would be the most ignorant peo-
pie OF their own color, but such is not the
case. One of these men, known as Doctor
Ross, clears it is said, over twenty thousand
dollars a year. His clients are among the
most fashionable women in New York, and it
is not unusual to see carriages with arms
blazoned on them, and liveried coachmen,
drawn up before the dusty, dingy little shop
in which he manufactures his charms and
back of which is his private consulting room.
In addition to all these, there are in the
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