The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13
USE OF CARDS IN
 FORTUNE TELLING Methods 0fSome Famous New
 York SeerS GERMAN PACK USED By East Side Woman-Meanng of the Cards-Prophesles Less Influenced By the Cards Than By oper-
 ator's Intuition.
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
 There are three great systems of divina- tion-palmistry, astrology and cards. The first is the easiest because the inquirer always has his or her palm handy and no skill is needed in combining the con hicting meanings of different signs. As trology is the most difficult because of the intricate calculations necessary in order to determine the houses in which the inquirers fortune is cast. The cards are the happy medium and probably the most popular of all systems of fortune telling.
 Why cards?" many persons ask when you propose to tell their fortunes by such means. What have cards to do with it and why should they be supposed to pos sess any occult power?''
 Those who regard cards as having been invented for the purpose of playing games and simply perverted to such base uses as fortune telling put the cart before the horse. Cards were invented for for tune telling and for centuries probably were used for nothing else It is the
 
 So far as is known the present system 1 of court cards and pps is an elaboration of the emblematic picture cards which l were used before the fourteenth century by the gypsies, and were brought to Europe by the Saracens. The original cards. used exclusively for sorcery were called naibis. It is remarkable that all i the great people of history seem to have preferred cards to astrology or palmistry i when it came to reading the book of fate.
 The earliest work that pretends to put the science of fortune telling by cards in order Is ''Le Sorti," by Francesca Mar colni, printed in Venice in 1540 The au- thor speaks of the art as if it were something of long standing and we'll known to everyone. The only cards used in his system were the kings, queens, and jacks and the ten, nine, eight, seven and deuce of diamonds.
 According to the father of modern for tune telling, Eitela, 32 cards is the prop CT number, and they should be single heads. because a court card standing on It's head has very different meaning from one standing firmly on it's feet.
 There are many cheap books on fortune telling that give the meanings of the various cards, but they do not agree by any means. There was famous woman fortune teller on the East Side who for many years foretold the fortunes of New. York's 400, well as the Inisfortunes of many of it's 100000.
 f The writer has in his possession the original pack of German fortune telling cards which this woman brought from Europe They are totally unlike ordinary playing cards, and the meanings of fIn1aa r.y1.f .f1L. ,-f,,f1 script, are widely at variance with those found in modern books of cartomancy.
 For the benefit of those who may wish to amuse themselves and their friends by telling fortunes here are the matters which the various cards in the S2 pack are supposed to represent. The first given applies when the card is right side up the second when it is reversed.
 Hearts-A. The house. a friends visit K liberal man; disappointment. e. Mild hammered woman crossed in love- J. Gay bachelor; escapades. 1o Happi- ness; anxiety. g. Joy and wishes grati- fled; chagrin. 8. Pleasant company; un- profitable acquaintances. T. Pleasant thoughts; be on your guard
 Clubs-A- Joy, money good news; of short duration. K. Frank man, fond of learning disappointments. e. Gentle and pleasing woman inclined to jealousy. J.
 
 Success; be careful in business affairs 9. Unexpected gains of legacy; trihing present 8. dark person will bring us good bad food. T. Invitation to some place of amusement; unsatisfactory.
 Diamonds-A letter; cards. K. Man of fair complexion; not true to us. Q. A false woman; dangerous as friend. J. Unfaithful friend cause of mischief 10. Money. g. Annoyance. 8. Marriage late in life. 7. Success in lotteries or gambling, small amounts.
 Spades-A. Pleasure; grief or bad news. K. Ambitious man; lawsuits. Q. Gay widow; fiirt. J. bad man; Injury. 10. Trouble. g. Disappointment in every thing. 8. Bad news; money after death. '. Family troubles; quarrels and separa- ton.
 Any one who has studied the matter carefully and has watched the methods of various fortune tellers must have ar rived at the conclusion that the cards themselves have comparatively little to do with the advice or warnings given by the operator who reads them. Any one who has consulted a ski1ful profess sional palmist and studied his manner must admit that he uses the palm before him more as means of inducing auto- hypotism than as a key to the history of the individual that consults him.
 There Is something of much the same character III all ITSt-cldSS fortune tellerS, by which Is meant all those who can spin an interesting story and still stay within 90 degrees of the truth. There is a wom- an on the West Side today who has given up fortune telling since she got re- 1igion but who consented to read the cards for the writer just to show how 1t was done.
 She is a person of very ordinary educa- ton, belonging to the working classes. narrow minded, soft hearted and gull lible as any of her former clients The cards once shuffled and cut and her mind bent to it's task of reading the mes sage that they were supposed to convey, she was different person.
 Her language was not the same. Her grammar was almost perfect; her words were well chosen; the figures of speech that illustrated the generalities of her story were clear cut. Upon closing the eyes and simply listening to her it was hard to believe that the woman who was telling the fortune was the woman who had been telling about her family troubles half an hour before
 Asked how she did 1t she confessed that she did not know. Tt comes to when