indefinite, and applicable as much to the king of France or Spain as
to Charles I., or to any king in the future, since no definite time is
stated. Furthermore, Lilly distinctly states, "What King, Prince, Duke,
or the like, I really affirm I perfectly know not"--which last, at
least, was a most truthful statement. The same ingenuity that made "Gen.
Monk" the "dreadful dead man," could easily make such a prediction apply
to the execution of Charles I. Such a definite statement that, on such
and such a day a certain number of years in the future, the monarch of
England would be beheaded--such an exact statement can scarcely be found
in any of the works on astrology. It should be borne in mind, also, that
Lilly was of the Cromwell party and opposed to the king.

After the death of Charles I., Lilly admitted that the monarch had
given him a thousand pounds to cast his horoscope. "I advised him," says
Lilly, "to proceed eastwards; he went west, and all the world knows
the result." It is an unfortunate thing for the cause of astrology that
Lilly failed to mention this until after the downfall of the monarch.
In fact, the sudden death, or decline in power, of any monarch, even
to-day, brings out the perennial post-mortem predictions of astrologers.

We see how Lilly, an opponent of the king, made his so-called prophecy
of the disaster of the king and his army. At the same time another
celebrated astrologer and rival of Lilly, George Wharton, also made
some predictions about the outcome of the eventful march from Oxford.
Wharton, unlike Lilly, was a follower of the king's party, but that, of
course, should have had no influence in his "scientific" reading of the
stars. Wharton's predictions are much less verbose than Lilly's, much
more explicit, and, incidentally, much more incorrect in this particular
instance. "The Moon Lady of the 12," he wrote, "and moving betwixt the
8 degree, 34 min., and 21 degree, 26 min. of Aquarius, gives us to
understand that His Majesty shall receive much contentment by certain
Messages brought him from foreign parts; and that he shall receive some
sudden and unexpected supply of... by the means of some that assimilate
the condition of his Enemies: And withal this comfort; that His Majesty
shall be exceeding successful in Besieging Towns, Castles, or Forts, and
in persuing the enemy.

"Mars his Sextile to the Sun, Lord of the Ascendant (which happeneth the
18 day of May) will encourage our Soldie