The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-06-14
The Real Side Of War
Rah speaks Her Mind Freely in Regard to It--A Dip INTO
the Future and What it Revealed.

np11I dCIleS, anu ~
10 : have been fred with a dlrectneSS
,bo+ killed. some of our brave men. |
bono va will win, but | do not believe III
war an a firm believer in that Simple
Int old story which WAS probably sung
in vour grand-mother's childhood on
"Jeannette and Jeannot,' and l conSlo-
or that .Jeannette solved all the diplomat
10 questions of the day when she sdiu III
that slightly mournful ditty:
eff | were Il Queen of France or better
Pope Of Rome.
I'd have no fighting men ABROAD, 10
weeping maids at home.
All the world should be at peace, IL
kings must show their might
Let those who make the quarrels be the
only ones to fight"
That line is the height of diplomacy
and wisdom. and following it, peace ana
happiness will result, and 1t took a Wo-
man to think it all out.
One business has gained Il great mum
her of customers because of the war.
| do not mean the manufacturing OF sol
diers' Clothes. although | suppose there
has been an increase in that. nor DO
mean the blowing of glass bottles nto
flask shapes. though unless there was Il
rood stock on hand there was probabl!
considerable lone in that line. but what
| do mean is the fancy for fortune tell
ers. Naturally if your young mans gone
to the war YOU want to know what his
fate's going to be and whether he is to
he made a general or admiral or If the
unfortunate fate of Danny Deevcr IS to
be his. or. if one hasn't Il young man
who has gone to fight. then 1T Is inter-
esting to know if one Is likely to Get
one in time to do battle. In these days
of excitement the average woman IS
great IN paying visits to tie fortune
teller.
Talk about the 'divinity that doth
hedge about Il king" 1t is nothing to
that which surrounds the lady who can
look into the future. The house in which
the fortune-telling young lady 10th ahidc
has not an air of elegance. The window
shades look as if they had been closed
for years, and the dust Of centuries rests
upon them. The door was opened in an
Swer to n timid ring of the bell, for !
confess to having been frightened out Of
my senses by what in the South is com
monty called "a moke'-that is Il very
light darby girl. This II was arraycd
in purple velveteen, cut low in he neck,
and around her coffee colored throat she
wore Il necklace that looked as if it were
composed of the teeth of small babies.
Her hands were manicured to such n de
gree that the nails glittcred in Il way that
drew your eyes to them, whether Won
wanted it or not. She was Il dignitird
'moke." She said. when ] had the cour-
age to inquire as to the lady who peepcd
into the future, that de madam Will
receive you alls presently"
We "alIs' wen into Il parlor that was
cold n, 81 yraI11t onI which hnI N RriIr-
sells carpet of the vintage of the early
tifties. when two roses covered an entire
room. The marble topped center table
was made to look lively by Il coffin-like
arrangement in black ebony. sacred to
the memory of somebody and encirciad
by those diabolical things. wax lilies.
The pictures on the walls We're evidently
ancestors, and if ] were to drop dead
this very minute ] should be willing to
declare that one old ancestor, a rather
forbidding looking gentleman, winked at
me. as much as to say: "Ha. ha, We
have got YOU" Then the "moke' en-
tered and cheerfully said: "You alIs fol
low me- and we followed in Indian file.
BY every law of suitability the fortune
teller should nave been tall and grace
full and stately: yet. %grievous as it
sounds. she was not merely ''inclined to
eIlDoIE point. Out WIS TAT. distinctly
fat. She wore q black velvet gown. cut
low in the neck. and a long gold chain
that hung over what the dressmakcr
calls the corSage. and on it depended
and swayed to and fro Il ; by , orna-
ment that was. ] think. a very young
mummy. To increase our fear of her
the room was hung in black cloth. with
white muslin skulls and crossboneS as q
sort of frieZe. 1t CAV me the creepS.
We stood i'll fear and trembling. The
"child of destiny" for that was what
she called herself. ~wriggled into a large
armchair that was on Il daiS. with n
pack of cards in one hand and a wand
in the other. She waved it in the air
and said in a lovely theatrical manner.
"Approach. fair maiden" AS two of us
were married and two of us were wild
ows. the invitation was n little difficult
to understand, but the bravest of the lot
approached her and didn't get much for
freshness, as she was told that she
would marry a dark man who would
beat her and that she would have one
child, a son, who would wear a crown.
that the aforesaid brutal husband would
be hung. making her Il lovely widow be
fore she was %. As she was % on her
last birthday and has been Il widow six
years, her future did not seem to tit
quite as well as one might have re
ferred. but then she had paid her money.
and she had got a crowned son. The
fortune teller said. as does the hero in
a melOdrama on the BOwery, alas. It's
true" and No. | backed out.
The next dip into the future was tax n
by Il young married woman who owns
two of the loveliest twins that ever cried
for Il woody dog. and she heard that she
would never marry. but would lead a
life devoted to charity and leave a large
fortune to be utilized by ladies who had
seen better days. In a grewsome way
the child of destiny" told me that n
handsome husband was coming over the
sea to me, that his wealth would 10
great and that | would be the joyful
mother of thirteen sons, each a genius in
his way.
That in his way" struck me as very
funny. for out of the thirteen in prospect
one might have Il genius for picking
pockets, another for embezzlinC and an
other for making patent medicines, while
the ability of the last of the lot might
show itself in writing up prize fights for