The Washington herald., 1916-01-23

bevy Of women who finally came to under
itual there was mixed a considerable por-
ton Of the purely mundane.
For several years eastern society ala
fits utmost to forget that It had ever been
interested in the things that take place
behind the veil Of the future, that It had
once believed in palmistry and fortune
telling as exact sciences, and that II had
reposed as much conhdence In takers in
these subjects as it had in accepted found
ers of religions.
With the recurring fsds Of the sea-
sons society finally did manage to pour
enough ointment upon its injured feelings
to soothe and cure them. Cheiro, the
Infinite with a capital and the Future
with capital F were submerged in the
fads Of the hour.
But New York society, like everything
else, moves in cycles. II leaves one
thing only long enough to be interested
in another, and as sure as fate returns
to what 1t has apparently dropped for
good.
And this is what has happened In th.
present season. Instead Of there being
one Cheiro abroad in New York. there
are dozen Of them. They are English
men, Frenchmen, Russians, Moors, Turks
East Indians, Americans-in fact any
one OF any nationality who can throw a
veil Of mystery about himself and has
sufficient means to make the veil of suf-
hciently expensive material
For 1t is no cheap soothsayer, pslmist
or charlatan who can win the creduIity
and the gold eagles OF present day New
York. New York, especially its wealthy
feminine side, is more than eager to take
peek into the future, to have its. palm
read, to have its good and bad fortunes
foretold, provided IT can be done in an
atmosphere Of incense and myrrh. purple
and gold, mystery and exclusiveness.
The demand for this sort Of thing has
brought forth some picturesque back
grounds for those who are raking in the
shekels. 1t is no longer the gypsy tent
and the ugly old witch who reads the
palm, the stars or the cards
Gorgeous Hindu temples, dark and
mysterious, and sweet with the perfume
Of burning incense, with the fortune
tellers wrapped in glittering robes and
sparkling gems are the new order. Not
in the wealthy residence districts are
these temples and sanctums to be found
In most cases they have been tucked
away on side streets in the business and
particularly in the shopping districts,
where they can be Of easy access to the
women who can make a shopping trip an
excuse.
Their exteriors in all cases belle or at
least serve as foil to the luxuriousness
of their interiors. Never, for obvious
reasons, do the outsides of these ram
shackle buildings indicate what is going
on inside.
And the soothsayers themselves are
never seen on the streets Of the city nor
even at the windows of their temples
Neither the sunshine nor the fresh air Ia
beneficial to their attenuated closks of
mystery or their profits.
They sit within their dimly lighted and
heavily perfumed temples on richly
carved pedestsls, pale and lifeless as
idols In pagan temple, and only come
to life when their palms are crossed with
gold coin. =. -,
Many Of these readers of the future
are women and they pour a great deal of
nonsense into the ears OF their young
lose both their heads and their hearts to
them. At times some OF these seers and
seeresses deign to. play their roles at the
homes of patronesses who are wealthy
enough to make il worth their while.
The men who have given seances al
several OF these affairs have held the at
tention of the guests, mostly women, as
by magic, and seem to have the ability
there are those who are inclined to be-
Iieve that 1t is only passing fad and
that society win once more come to its
senses about such things as it did once
before.