“Unquestionably; but you should have, made a judicious selection—­and that was because you were in no hurry—­and indeed you need not be; you have plenty of time before you.  Still, there is much blame attached to you—­you have defrauded society of its rights.  Why, now, you might have been the proud mother of a son or daughter at least five years old by this time, if it had not been for your own obduracy—­excuse me.”

Up went the skeleton fan again with a wonderfully modest if not an offended simper at the notion of such an insinuation; but, said she in her heart, this is the most gentlemanly conjurer that ever told a fortune; quite a delightful old gentleman; he is really charming; I wish I had met him twenty years ago.”

“Well, sir,” she replied, “I see there is no use in denying—­especially to you, who seem to know everything—­the truth of the facts you have stated.  There was one gentleman in particular whom I rejected—­that is, conditionally—­rather harshly; and do you know, he took the scarlet-fever soon afterwards and died of a broken-heart.”

“Go on, madam,” said he; “make a clean breast of it—­so shall you enable me to compare the future with the past, and state your coming fortunes more distinctly.”

“Another gentleman, sir—­a country squire—­owes, I fear, his death to my severity; he was a hard drinker, but I gave him a month to reform—­which sentence he took so much to heart that he broke his neck in a fox-chase from mere despair.  A third individual—­a very handsome young man—­of whom I must confess I was a little jealous about his flirting with another young lady—­felt such remorse that he absolutely ran away with and married her.  I know, of course, I am accountable for all these calamities; but it cannot be helped now—­my conscience must bear it.”

“You should not look back upon these things with too much remorse,” replied the conjurer; “forget them—­bear a more relenting heart; make some man happy, and marry.  Have you no person at present in your eye with whom you could share your charms and your fortune?”

“O, sir, you are complimentary.”

“Not at all, madam; speak to me candidly, as you perceive I do to you.”

“Well, then,” she replied, “there is a young gentleman with whom I should wish to enter into a—­a domestic—­that is—­a matrimonial connection.”

“Pray what age is he?”

“Indeed, he is but young, scarce nineteen; but then he is very wild, and I—­I—­have—­indeed I am of too kind a heart, sir.  I have supplied his extravagance—­for so I must call it—­poor boy—­but cannot exactly get him to accept a legitimate right over me—­I fear he is attached elsewhere—­but you know he is young, sir, and. not come to his ripe judgment yet.  I read your handbill, sir; and if you could furnish me with a—­something—­ahem—­that might enable me to gain, or rather to restore his affections—­for I think he was fond of me some few months ago—­I would not grudge whatever the payment might be.”