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What I am now going to relate may seem extraordinary; but with that I have nothing to do. I copy from my note-book, and I put all down there most faithfully, as it occurred.

I believe there are very few persons in London who have not heard of the painter Varley, and his astonishing predictions. Who is there, in going on to Kensington, that has not had his handsome house pointed out to him on the right-hand side, where all the magnates of the land resort, under pretext of looking at the painter's portfeuille of admirable sketches of landscapes, &c. ; but, in reality, to consult him on their destinies, and obtain from him their horoscopes, for which they pay, and very largely too, by a nominal price being put on his drawings, which are purchased, with the full understanding that their horoscope is to be sent in with them.

Mrs. Morton Moncton at first demurred to this desire of her husband, that Mr. Varley should look upon the face of her infant with his scientific eyes, unless she could be present, and hear all his observations; but this matter was soon put to rights by a bribe, that most efficient medium of communication and persuasion. A very handsome pearl ring was purchased and sent to the lady, on express condition, that little Master Morton Moncton was to spend an hour or two with the painter-astrologer, and his amateur papa in the drawing-room; there to be looked over, like a curious piece of mechanism, and all his future movements speculated on, with the greatest gravity and faith. As for myself, I could make no possible objection; and, to tell the honest truth, I liked the fun of the thing, and wished, as Dr. Johnson said, to see "what would come of it."

Accordingly, we went down stairs, Master Morton Moncton, junior, and Co., and found, in addition to the master of the house and his painter friend, the worthy old house-keeper, Mrs. Young, who wished to be present at the examination of the babe, and seemed quite at home in her former comfortable place by the fire-side. The gentlemen were just come out from the dinner-room, and were very intensely perusing two large pieces of paper lying on the table, with strange characters, figures, and circles traced upon them. I found they were two horoscopes of the infant, one calculated by the father, the other by Mr. Varley since his arrival; and as there appeared to be some slight variation in the calculations of the two, the gentlemen were trying to adjust them.

Mrs. Young placed her finger on her lip as I entered the room, to bespeak silence, seeing her master and his friend were engaged on a business of so much importance. Quietly, therefore, I sat down, and waited until they should be willing to notice my young charge, who was calmly sleeping on my lap.

And here let me observe, whilst they are so engaged, that I think there is a very erroneous estimate made of the rank a Monthly Nurse should hold in society, seeing that the office is generally held by women of low birth, and of prejudiced, ignorant, vulgar minds: by women who like to take a drop of spirits just as it comes from the distiller; or, in their language, "neat" who have a parcel of tawdry tales to tell, and circulate half the gossip in the neighbourhood. Now, this should not be. The office has degenerated since the time of the ancients, quite as much as that of the slayer of animals known by the name of the butcher,

who formerly was the priest; who prepared the sacrifice, and distributed the remainder of the flesh, not offered up, to the people.

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Assuredly she who first takes from the hands of nature a young child, a being new from God's creation, or, at any rate, new to this human sphere, is a priestess in every sense of the word; and though not ordained one by the bishop's authority and by laying on of hands, holds her title from a much higher dignity, if she enter upon her office with a pure heart, and a deep sense of its sacredness, its responsibility. I have taken this opportunity of saying this en passant, just to inform my readers of it whilst the gentlemen are talking of the "occultation of planets," and the partial shadow, or “penumbra," the moon sometimes casts upon our earth, when she comes between it and the sun; a circular shadow, I think they said, of about 4,900 miles in diameter, and which would be very fatal to be born under. I wish just to say, for the last time, that whatever they, the world, may think of a monthly nurse," from seeing that particular one in their mother's, aunt's, sister's, family, perchance their own, dressed in a little snug black silk or velvet bonnet, and a comfortable Norwich shawl, that I esteem myself at a much higher rate, and feel myself entitled, from birth, education, manners, and, more than all, my office, to sit down at the table of princes. Nay, more that if they, these said princes, were not good of their kind, "the Monthly Nurse" would not condescend to sit down to table with them! "Look here," said Mr. Morton Moncton, with much vehemence of manner, and stooping down with his spider-legs and attenuated form over the two papers lying on the table: "Look here, Varley either you or I must have committed some most egregious blunder! I have drawn the child's horoscope by the aid of this year's ephemeris,-so could not mistake."

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"Ephemeris!" repeated Mr. Varley, with much contempt: "an adept in astrology never wants an ephemeris: it may do very well to assist a Neophyte. I tell you that Jupiter is neither in trine nor sextile at the babe's birth. I wish he were, on your account, Morton. I know nothing of the little being himself. No; he is in quartile, and decidedly malign. I would stake my reputation on it that I am correct."

"Good God, Varley!" interrupted the father, raising himself up to his extreme height, and looking the other gentleman full in his face: "If this calculation of yours is right (let me look again at the House of Life),-yes, if you are correct, the child will be burnt to death before his tenth year!" "To be sure he will, if he is not long before that

time," said Mr. Varley, without the smallest emotion. If you were to keep him at the bottom of the sea, Fire, his implacable foe, must reach him, and destroy him on or before that period.”

"What is the use, then, of taking any account about him?" enquired the father, just glancing round to look upon the infant, who was calmly sleeping on my knees, perfectly unconscious of his impending fate; but I saw poor Mrs. Young put the corner of her white muslin apron up to her eyes, and look upon the table with a most piteous glance.

"It is your duty, Morton," said his friend emphatically, placing his hand upon the arm of the other, "not to let these consultations of ours interfere in the least with your cares of this unfortunate child of yours, as his father. It were better for you not to read the stars concerning his destiny, if it makes you careless respecting him."

"What nonsense you talk, Varley," exclaimed the other. What use would it be to instruct and make a prodigy of that poor thing, as I could do, no doubt, by instructing him myself, if all his attainments, and himself into the bargain, are pre-ordained to be swallowed up-actually devoured-by fire, before he can bring them to any good account?"And Mr. Moncton sat down most disconsolately, and began to beat upon the ground the tattoo of a certain old gentleman who shall be nameless. For my part, I felt indignant, and longed to throw both their horoscopes, as they called them, into the fire, and give them, the calculators of them, a good singeing besides for their folly.

"How stands the fourth House, or House of Relations, Varley?" demanded Mr. Moncton, at length, very doggedly.

Bad, very bad," said the inexorable astrologer. "Nothing can
Then the eighth House: only look, Morton, at the House

look worse.

of Death."

I suppose we shall all suffer on account of this young salamander,' murmured out the affectionate parent, looking with no very pleasing expression of eye towards the place where I was sitting. 'I expect we shall all be burnt to ashes on account of him."

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"How can that be?" argued his phlegmatic friend, "when you know your own horoscope bids you beware of water?'"'

"True," answered Mr. Moncton, brightening up a little ; " and twice have I narrowly escaped from being drowned already; once when a school-boy, and the second time in the Bay of Naples, where a boat was upset in which I sat, and I was taken out insensible."

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Beware of the third time, Morton," solemnly warned the apathetic painter, fixing his eyes, for the first time, on mine, with a most peculiar expression, and then scanning over my features, as regardless of my notice of him as if I had been carved out of stone. People, when looked at so intensely, as I was, must do something; either toss their heads, or blush and look down, or give a smile of some sort of expression or other. I did the last, it seems, and with some slight sign of ridicule mixed up with it; for the painter-astrologer came up close behind me, and whispered, in no very gentle tones, in my ear, If you have any thing valuable, Madam, that you would wish to save, send it out of this house, or it will be in danger of being destroyed by fire."

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"My own life, sir, is very valuable," I answered coolly enough; "at least it is so to myself, and a few others besides. Is it advisable that I should remove my own person this very night?"

"O no; certainly not," said Mr. V— ;" you could not with any propriety leave Mrs. Moncton as she is; but" and he paused.

"I'll lay my life on it, that you are in error," vociferated Mr. Moncton, who had been working at his horoscope again, "I learned to calculate by yourself, Varley, and I am assured that I am right. Shall we have a fire lighted up in the observatory, and rectify any little mistake that may have crept in, by the planets themselves? It seems as if it would be a very clear night. Let us burn both these horoscopes, and see if we can make a better one."

"Agreed," replied Mr. Varley, who had resumed his observation of my features: "have the goodness, madam, to tell me the precise day and hour at which you were born-”

"I have no objection," answered I, smiling, "but if you should find me a salamander too! what can be said then?

"That we shall have the house burnt down to the ground this very night," groaned out the master of it. "Have the goodness though to inform my friend, if you please, of the hour of your birth."

I did so accordingly; and when I had to the best of my knowledge acquainted him, I saw astonishment and dismay spread over the features of both gentlemen.

"This is a strange coincidence," at length exclaimed Mr. Varley: why you are born, madam, under the same malignant influences as the young thing there lying in your lap! You have had, if I do not mistake, one or two narrow escapes already; but you are not yet safe. You have a scar there on your left hand; that was occasioned by fire, I imagine?" I absolutely started; for when I was a child I had set fire to my frock, and in endeavouring to extinguish the flames had severely burnt my hand. "You were about six years old, when this accident happened," continued Mr. Varley; "but this has not been the only one; you must have been in great danger from that destructive element at me see-yes-when you were about seven-and-twenty.

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"Merciful God!" cried I, completely thrown off my guard: "it was then that I lost - -"And, woman as I am, in spite of all my assumed firmness, I burst into a flood of tears. What had I not lost by fire, or the consequences of it, when I was seven-and-twenty years of age! I sobbed aloud.

It is very seldom indeed that I allow my feelings thus to master me; when they do, they resemble a stream that has been dammed up and suddenly breaks down the barriers-a violent rush, a torrent, succeeds, carrying all before it. Both the gentlemen appeared struck, and both attempted some words of consolation. I waived my hands to them to desist, and they understood me-Consolation! and from them, I became still more impatient at the very thought of it!

Poor Mrs. Young! she took a better way with me, for she merely rose from her chair, and taking the infant from my lap, she said, with infinite simplicity and pathos, "It will do you good! It will relieve your heart! Do not strive to restrain your tears! You will be better soon! God bless you, you have had your sorrows, I see, as well as myself!"

As soon as I could command myself sufficiently to speak, I looked up, and trying to smile, (but it was but a wretched November attempt at sunshine,) I asked Mr. Varley to explain to me what he meant by calculating a horoscope? I said this merely to say something; not that I cared a pin about the matter, but that I felt ashamed of myself, for having been so suddenly overpowered.

"I will go and see that all is right in the observatory," said Mr. Morton Moncton, "all the apparatus in order, whilst you, Varley, explain to Mrs. Griffiths the meaning of a horoscope." And away he walked upon his spindle shanks, looking for all the world like an ostrich, both in shape and physiognomy.

"Will you have the goodness just to see if Mrs. Moncton still sleeps," said I to Mrs. Young," and fetch me when she awakens."

"I will sit down by the bedside," said Mrs, Young, "and watch her till you come. Shall I take the infant with me?"

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By no means," said Mr. Varley, answering for me," we shall want them both presently, up in the observatory; I am curious to ascertain some certain phenomena by-and-bye. Come, I will try to amuse you, madam, in the mean time, and am really sorry I have discomposed you, and yet I am not sorry either; it will afford me a highly scientific treat-establish a very important fact;-in short, madam, I am sorry that you have suffered, but am glad that I have so glorious an opportunity. Come, let me draw-you a horoscope," and he pulled a small table near to the place where I was sitting, placed the candles on it, drew out a pair of compasses, and helped himself to a sheet of drawing paper that lay in the table-drawer.

"Let me describe a circle or sphere," said Mr. Varley, suiting the action to the word, " by the bye, I should tell you who was the inventor of this diagram;-it was a Mr. Horrox, a man of extreme genius, who lived somewhere near Liverpool, many years ago: had he lived twenty years longer, what might he not have discovered! It was he who predicted, nay, even saw the passage of Venus over the sun's disk, and discovered also the parallax and distance of the sun and planets."

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Indeed!" said I, my thoughts running away into far more interesting matters, for the image of the dead had been conjured up, and stood in bold relief before my mental eye; "Indeed!" I repeated, "he must have been a young man of very great talents-almost a Newton."

"Madam," said Mr. Varley, with great solemnity, "this Mr. Horrox discovered the new theory of lunar motion, which Newton himself made the ground-work of his astronomy: but to return; you know, of course, that Leo is the sun's house, and Cancer that of the moon.

'I knew it not before now," answered I, trying to be cheerful, and affecting an hilarity at that moment foreign to my heart, "Is it their 'House of Call' as the different Trades' Unions say? Or does the sun wholly reside in Leo, and the moon in Cancer?"

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"Pshaw! said Mr. Varley, looking up impatiently into my face; but he read a sorrow there that seemed to touch his heart;-“ I know all about it," muttered he to himself, “but I must touch that wound no more."

"Well, Sir," said I, "and what is the meaning of this circle that you have drawn?"

"I must divide it into four equal parts first," said he, "and then I will inform you there-this makes the horizontal line; this the meridional one; thus making four quadrants or quarters, of the visible heavens— do you observe ?"

Quite well," I answered, "and now for the meaning of it all"This is to represent the whole celestial globe or sphere; that is all that can be visible to us on this side the earth. Now I draw two interior circles of equal distances from the first, and this is the skeleton of a horoscope, which of course must be filled in by the heavenly bodies, as they happen to be placed at a child's birth. See, there are twelve divisions in this figure-count them-they are called the Twelve Houses.Stay, I will put their names down on paper for you, since I owe you some little atonement for the pain I have given you.' And the kind

hearted Mr. Varley wrote as follows:

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