rials upon which the sagacious conjurer had to work, we
need not feel surprised at his frequent success.

The conjurer in question had taken up his residence in the best inn
which the little town of Rathfillan afforded. Immediately after his
arrival he engaged the beadle, with bell in hand, to proclaim his
presence in the town, and the purport of his visit to that part of the
country. This was done through the medium of printed handbills, which
that officer read and distributed through the crowds who attended him.
The bill in question was as follows:

"To the inhabitants of Rathfillan and the adjacent neighborhood, the
following important communications are made:--

"Her Zander Vanderpluckem, the celebrated German conjurer, astrologist,
and doctor, who has had the honor of predicting the deaths of three
kings, five queens, twenty-one princesses, and seven princes, all of
royal blood, and in the best possible state of health at the time the
predictions were made, and to all of whom he had himself the honor
of being medical attendant and state physician, begs to announce his
arrival in this town. He is the seventh son of the great and renowned
conjurer, Herr Zander Vanderhoaxem, who made the stars tremble, and the
devil sweat himself to powder in a fit of repentance. His influence over
the stars and heavenly bodies is tremendous, and it is a well-known fact
throughout the universe that he has them in such a complete state of
terror and subjection, that a single comet dare not wag his tail unless
by his permission. He travels up and down the milky way one night in
every month, to see that the dairies of the sky are all right, and that
that celebrated path be properly lighted; brings down a pail of the milk
with him, which he churns into butyrus, an unguent so efficacious that
it cures all maladies under the sun, and many that never existed. It
can be had at five shillings a spoonful. He can make Ursa Major, or
the Great Bear, dance without a leader, and has taught Pisces, or the
Fishes, to live out of water--a prodigy never known or heard of before
since the creation of _terra firma_. Such is the power of the great and
celebrated Her Vanderpluckem over the stars and planets. But now to come
nearer home: he cures all patients of all complaints. No person asking
his assistance need ever be sick, unless when they happen to be unwell.
His insight into futurity is such that, whenever he looks far into it,
he is obliged to shu