The Brunswick times. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 188?-1900, 1897-04-25
BLACK ART WIZARDS.
Crossing the Palm With Snver-Duv'
4 Always Plentiful.

such a relic of the superstition lovi.4g
past should continue to have so firm IL
hold upon mankind OF course belief in
the power of any favored human being
to foretell what is coming to pass, as a
general thing, has its devotees among
the ignorant, and yet even women of
superior education and refinement show
a leaning III this direction. This can be
laid to their youth and inexperience
| AS they grow older common sense out
strips superstition i'll the race, and they
look at things from more practical
| standpoint
Taking fortune tellers as class, they
| are most interesting study. Keen
readers of human nature, they have a
tremendous advantage over their cred
| ulous victims, who come into their
presence with the intention of believ-
ing. 1t is easy to judge'what the aver
age life of young miss has been, to
state that she has met with disappoint-
ment, hopes to go on journey, will
, meet a dark man who wants her, but
that he is not her fate; that light
haired suitor will appears whom she
will marry, etc. a.
There can be no question that these
wretched fortune tellers control the des-
TIMES of many young women, it may be
for good or evil. Having a firm belief
i'll the prophecy, the girl is apt to yield
her heart when her head might warn
her against such move. Generally the
seeress adds to the solemnity of her
apartment by means of sepulchral de-
vices, maps of hades ON the wall, stuff
ed toads, liz rds, and even snakes,
live owl that blinks at the light, and in
some cases human skull with can
die burning inside, the eye sockets glar-
ing with red isinglass. Such CHASTITY ac-
compartments are apt to send a thrill
of alarm over even the stoutest heart,
and it is for this very purpose they are
present, since they give the prophecies
an advantage which she is quick to
seize upon.
A few scOrn these accessories and rely
upon their reputation Some handle
cards; others read the lines OF the palm.
There can be no doubt about the power
of palmist to read of a past life which
leaves traces on the hands, but the fu-
ture is yelled from all mortal eyes by a
wise dispensation of Providence. Some
persons declare prophecies made in their
youth have come true. That may be so
i'll just so far as it lay in their power to
! carry out the decree by marriage and
such things, but seldom if ever does the
fortune promised at a certain time ma
terialize. That is beyond the power Of
the Seventh daughter of seventh
daughter, born in the veil, - to produce.
Probably the most famous as we'll as
the most picturesque figure among these
fortune tellers is the gypsy. Generally
she is old and wTinkled-indeed, the
uglier the better. Her nails are like the
talons of hawk, and when plump,
blushing damsel yields palm to her
inspection she feels that she is in the
presence OF an uncanny witch, to whom
satan has given the power of prophecy.
On the whole, it will be found that the
gypsy hits the past much better than
her imitatOrs in city walls, who supple
ment their work with such awe inspir-
ing surroundings. None of them will
open her lips until her palm has been
crossed with silver, and it may be noted
with suspicion that the larger the fee
the more favorable the decree of for
tune Well, as BarnUm declared again
and again, the dear public likes to be
humbuggcd.
The colored race is peculiarly sus-
ceptible toward belief in occult power
possessed by the favored few. They
wear all manner of charms, from the
foot of "a rabbit killed in graveyard at
midnight to the rattles of a snake over
which solemn incarnation has been
uttered Anything bordering on the su-
pernatural will scare the average negro
half to death. This is particularly the
case down south, where the race has
failed to secure the advantages of edu-
cation, for it is this accomplishment
that must finally sound the deathknell
of superstition. A belief in dreams and
blind obedience to the teachings of the
mysterious vooGoo are distinguishing
characteristics of the race They are
greatly impressed with ceremony, which
accounts for the eagerness with which
we'll to do northern colored men unite
with secret orders
After all, it is amazing to see how
this old spirit of superstition permeates
all ranks. Baseball players, with their
mascots, have become rank believers in
it, and many lay all their success or
poor playing to certain charms which
have turned up favorable or otherwise.
If one dipped deeply into this subject,
he would be alarmed for the sanity of
the world. There are some men, and
women, too, who notice this trend of
public weakness and set themselves like
SO many rocks in the stream, hoping to
break its force. These heroic gladiators
in the arena of public instruction form
Thirteen clubs, move and start upon
journeys OH Friday in order to ridicule
the old sailors belief in bad luck fol-
lowing such beginning of a cruise on
hangman's day.
Many men among US are fatalists, be-
lieving that our lives and destinies are
mapped out at the time we are born and
that we drift along at the mercy of the