pparently
strove to mitigate, in some degree, the sting of her predictions
by an increased softness of manner, which was only a more
cat-like demeanor than ever. She spoke as follows--the cold eye
growing more cruel, and the wicked smile more treacherous every
instant. First, however, came this guileful question, which was
but a declaration of war under a flag of truce:

"You do not want me to flatter you, do you? You want me to tell
you exactly what I see in the cards, do you not?" The customer
stated that he was able to bear at least the recital of his
future adversity, even if, when the reality came, he should be
utterly smashed; whereupon she proceeded:

"I see here a great disappointment; you will be disappointed in
business, and the disappointment will be very bitter and hard to
bear--but that is not all, nor the worst, by any means. I see a
burial--it may be only a death of one of your dearest friends, or
some near relative, such as your sister, but I see that you
yourself are weak in the chest and lungs; you are impulsive,
proud, ambitious, and quick-tempered, which last quality tends
much to aggravate any diseases of the chest, and I fear that the
burial may be your own. Your disease is serious, you cannot live
long, I think--I do not think you will live a year--in fact, there
is the strongest probability that you will die before nine
months. I think you will certainly die before nine months, but if
you survive, it will only be after a most severe and painful
illness, in the course of which you will undergo the extreme of
human suffering. I see that you love a light-complexioned lady,
but her friends object to her marriage with you, and are doing
all they can to prevent it. A dark-complexioned man is trying to
get her away from you; you must beware of him or he will do you
great injury, for he has both the will and the power; he has
already deceived and injured you, and will do so again even more
deeply than he has yet. I see a journey, trouble, and misfortune,
grief, sorrow, heavy loss, and heaviness of heart. I again tell
you that you will die before nine months; but if you chance to
survive, it will only be to encounter perpetual crosses and
misfortunes. I might, if I was disposed to flatter you and give
you false hopes, tell you that you will be lucky, fortunate in
business, that you will get the lady, and I might promise you all
sorts of good luck, but I don't want to flatter you; it would be
much mor