order that the accuracy of
his calculations might not be called in question. A similar story is
related of Cardan by Dr. Young (Sidrophel Vapulans), on the authority of
Gassendi, who, however, says only that either Cardan starved himself,
or, being confident in his art, took the predicted day for a fatal one,
and by his fears made it so. Gassendi adds that while Cardan pretended
to describe the fates of his children in his voluminous commentaries, he
all the while never suspected, from the rules of his great art, that his
dearest son would be condemned in the flower of his youth to be beheaded
on a scaffold, by an executioner of justice, for destroying his own wife
by poison.

Horary astrology relates to particular questions, and is a comparatively
easy branch of the science. The art of casting nativities requires many
years of study; but horary astrology 'may be well understood,' says
Lilly, 'in less than a quarter of a year.' 'If a proposition of any
nature,' he adds, 'be made to any individual, about the result of which
he is anxious, and therefore uncertain whether to accede to it or not,
let him but note the hour and minute when it was _first_ made, and erect
a figure of the heavens, and his doubts will be instantly resolved. He
may thus in five minutes learn whether the affair will succeed or not:
and consequently whether it is prudent to accept the offer made or not.
If he examine the sign on the first house of the figure, the planet
therein, or the planet ruling the sign, _will exactly describe the party
making the offer_, both in person and character, and this may at once
convince the enquirer for truth of the reality of the principles of the
science. Moreover, the descending sign, etc., _will describe his own
person and character_--a farther proof of the truth of the science.'

There is one feature of horary astrology which is probably almost as
ancient as any portion of the science, yet which remains even to the
present day, and will probably remain for many years to come. I refer to
the influence which the planets were supposed to exert on the
successive hours of every day--a belief from which the division of time
into weeks of seven days unquestionably had its origin--though we may
concede that the subdivision of the lunar month into four equal parts
was also considered in selecting this convenient measure of time. Every
hour had its planet. Now dividing twenty-four by seven, we get three and
three over;