hether the budding beauties of maidenhood are inconsistent with
the orgies of witchcraft; whether there be an irreconcilable
antagonism between youth and loveliness, and the unknown
mysteries of the black art, is a vexed question of some interest.
Can't a woman be supposed to indulge in a little devilment before
her hair turns grey, and her teeth fall out? and is it impossible
for her to have reliable and trustworthy dealings with Old
Scratch until she is wrinkled and withered?

That's what I want to know.

And I am very naturally urged to the inquiry by the observation
that every professional witch in New York calls herself a
"Madame." There is not a "Miss" or a "Mademoiselle," in the whole
batch. They all make a pretence of being widows, or wives at the
very least, as if a certain amount of matrimonial tribulation was
indispensable to their accomplishment in the arts of sorcery and
magic. The only exception to this rule is found in the person of
a female calling herself "The Gipsy Girl," who is otherwheres
mentioned, and in _her_ case the several agencies of nature, rum,
and small-pox have made her so strikingly ugly that old age could
not add a single other trait of repulsiveness to her excruciating
features.

Now this is all a sad mistake. Let some young and undeniably
pretty girl go into the business, and she'd soon get a run of
exclusive customers who would stand any price and pay without
grumbling. If the original Satan should refuse to recognise her
eligibility, and should decline to furnish her with the requisite
quantity of diabolic knowledge to set her up in business, she
could easily find an opposition devil who would provide her stock
in trade, and possibly at something less than the usual rates.
I'll be bound that Lucifer doesn't monopolize the whole trade in
witchcraft, and pocket all the profits himself; for if some of
the numerous clerks in his employ haven't yet learned the trick
of stealing the stock and selling it at a reduced price, then the
young gentlemen of our earthly mercantile houses are a good deal
up-to-snuffer than the virtuous demons of Mr. Satan's establishment.
This last-named dealer generally demands the soul of the contracting
party in return for the powers and privileges conferred; and in
very many cases he must get decidedly the worst of the bargain,
for some of his precious adopted children never had soul enough
to pay for the ink to sign it away with; but there is no doubt,
i