dle an old
and wealthy gentleman out of seventeen hundred dollars, and the
"Queen of the Seven Mysteries" was dispossessed by a constable
for non-payment of rent; and these untoward circumstances may
have acted as a "modest quencher" on the then growing disposition
to indulge in fantastic and romantic appellations.

At this present time "The Gipsy Girl" enjoys almost a monopoly of
this sort of thing, and she is by no means constant to one name,
but sometimes announces herself as "The Gipsy Woman," "The Gipsy
Palmist," and "The Gipsy Wonder," as her whim changes.

This woman has not been in New York years enough to become
complicated in as many rascalities as some of her elder sisters
in the mystic arts, but her surroundings are of a nature to
indicate that she has not been backward in her American education
on these points. She has not been remarkably successful in making
money, as a witch; not having been educated among the strumpets
and gamblers of the city she lacked that extensive acquaintance
on going into business, that had secured for her rivals in trade
such immediate success. Her fondness for gin has also proved a
serious bar to her rapid advancement, and has given not a few of
her customers the idea that she is not so eminently trustworthy
as one having the control of the destinies of others should be.
In fact, she loves her enemy, the bottle, to that extent, that
she has many times permitted her devotion to it to interfere
seriously with her business, leading her to disappoint customers.
The quality of her sober predictions is about the same as that of
others in the same profession, but her intoxicated foretellings
are deserving of a chapter to themselves, and they shall have it,
for from force of peculiar circumstances, which will be
explained hereafter, the Cash Customer made three visits to this
celebrated woman. Her first address was 207 3d Avenue, between
Eighteenth and Nineteenth Streets.

The Gipsy Girl! How romantically suggestive was this feminine
phrase to the fancy of an enthusiastic reporter. Was it then,
indeed, permitted that he should know Meg Merrilees in private
life? His heart danced at the poetic possibility, and his heels
would have extemporized a vigorous hornpipe but that his
saltatory ardor was quenched by the depressing sturdiness of
cow-hide boots. With the most pleasing anticipations he perused
the subjoined advertisement again and again, and looked to the
happy future with a j