ingularly inconsistent with their general
character. The story of the early prediction that she would become a
queen is given with an amusing simplicity and earnestness. The
prophecy is as follows:

"You will be married to a man of a fair complexion, destined to be the
husband of another of your family. The young lady whose place you are
called to fill, will not live long. A young Creole, whom you love,
does not cease to think of you; you will never marry him, and will
make vain attempts to save his life; but his end will be unhappy. Your
star promises you two marriages. Your first husband will be a man born
in Martinique, but he will reside in Europe and wear a sword; he will
enjoy some moments of good fortune. A sad legal proceeding will
separate you from him, and after many great troubles, which are to
befall the kingdom of the _Franks_, he will perish tragically, and
leave you a widow with two helpless children. Your second husband will
be of an olive complexion, of European birth; without fortune, yet he
will become famous; he will fill the world with his glory, and will
subject a great many nations to his power. You will then become an
_eminent woman_, and possess a supreme dignity; but many people will
forget your kindnesses. After having astonished the world, _you will
die miserable_. The country in which what I foretell must happen,
forms a part of _Celtic Gaul_; and more than once, in the midst of
your prosperity, you will regret the happy and peaceful life you led
in the colony. At the moment you shall quit it, (_but not forever_,) a
prodigy will appear in the air;--this will be the first harbinger of
your astonishing destiny."

Any fortune-teller might tell, and no doubt, if she thought it would
flatter, would tell, a beautiful young girl that her destiny was to be
a queen; but there is in this prediction a minuteness of detail, that
cannot be accounted for on the ground of accidental coincidence. It is
a brief history of her life. Unless we are prepared to believe that an
ignorant old mulatto woman was gifted by divine Providence with
supernatural power, constituted a second Witch of Endor, and able by
"examining the ball of Josephine's left thumb with great attention,"
to discover the minute particulars of her future life, we must
discredit the absurdity. A prediction believed sometimes effects its
own fulfillment; and Josephine, whose ambition seems to have been most
ardent, may have been inspired with