Wherein the Month, and Day of the Month, are set down, the Persons named, and the great Actions and Events of next Year particularly related as they will come to pass
Written to prevent the People of England from being farther imposed on by vulgar Almanack-Makers
By ISAAC BICKERSTAFF, Esq.1
HAVING long considered the gross Abuse of Astrology in this Kingdom; upon debating the Matter with my self, I could not possibly lay the Fault upon the Art, but upon those gross Impostors, who set up to be the Artists. I know several learned Men have contended that the whole is a Cheat; that it is absurd and ridiculous to imagine, the Stars can have any Influence at all upon human Actions, Thoughts, or Inclinations: And whoever hath not bent his Studies that Way, may be excused for thinking so, when he sees in how wretched a Manner this noble Art is treated, by a few mean illiterate Traders between us and the Stars; who import a yearly Stock of Nonsense, Lies, Folly, and Impertinence, which they offer to the World as genuine from the Planets; although they descend from no greater a Height than their own Brains.
I INTEND, in a short Time, to publish a large and rational Defence of this Art; and therefore, shall say no more in its Justification at present, than that it hath been in all Ages defended by many learned Men; and among the rest, by Socrates himself; whom I look upon as undoubtedly the wisest of uninspired Mortals: To which if we add, that those who have condemned this Art, although otherwise learned, having been such as either did not apply their Studies this Way; or at least did not succeed in their Applications; their Testimony will not be of much Weight to its Disadvantage, since they are liable to the common Objection of condemning what they did not understand.
NOR am I at all offended, or think it an Injury to the Art, when I see the common Dealers in it, the Students in Astrology, the Philomaths, and the rest of that Tribe, treated by wise Men with the utmost Scorn and Contempt: But I rather wonder, when I observe Gentlemen in the Country, rich enough to serve the Nation in Parliament, poring in Partrige’s Almanack, to find out the Events of the Year at Home and Abroad; not daring to propose a Hunting-Match, until Gadbury, or he, hath fixed the Weather.2
I WILL allow either of the Two I have mentioned, or any other of the Fraternity, to be not only Astrologers, but Conjurers too, if I do not produce an Hundred Instances in all their Almanacks, to convince any reasonable Man, that they do not so much as understand Grammar and Syntax; that they are not able to spell any Word out of the usual Road; nor even in their Prefaces to write common Sense, or intelligible English. Then, for their Observations and Predictions, they are such as will equally suit any Age, or Country in the World. This Month a certain great Person will be threatned with Death, or Sickness. This the News-Paper will tell them; for there we find at the End of the Year, that no Month passes without the Death of some Person of Note; and it would be hard if it should be otherwise, when there are at least two Thousand Persons of Note in this Kingdom, many of them old; and the Almanack-maker has the Liberty of chusing the sickliest Season of the Year where he may fix his Prediction. Again, This Month an eminent Clergyman will be preferred; of which there may be some Hundreds, Half of them with one Foot in the Grave. Then, Such a Planet in such a House shews great Machinations, Plots and Conspiracies, that may in Time be brought to Light: After which, if we hear of any Discovery, the Astrologer gets the Honour; if not, his Prediction still stands good. And at last, God preserve King William from all his open and Secret Enemies, Amen. When if the King should happen to have died, the Astrologer plainly foretold it; otherwise, it passeth but for the pious Ejaculation of a loyal Subject: Although it unluckily happened in some of their Almanacks, that poor King William was prayed for many Months after he was dead; because it fell out that he died about the Beginning of the Year.
TO mention no more of their impertinent Predictions: What have we to do with their Advertisements about Pills, and Drink for the Venereal Disease, or their mutual Quarrels in Verse and Prose of Whig and Tory? wherewith the Stars have little to do.3
HAVING long observed and lamented these, and a hundred other Abuses of this Art, too tedious to repeat, I resolved to proceed in a new Way; which I doubt not will be to the general Satisfaction of the Kingdom. I can this Year produce but a Specimen of what I design for the future, having employed most Part of my Time in adjusting and correcting the Calculations I made for some Years past; because I would offer nothing to the World of which I am not as fully satisfied as that I am now alive. For these two last Years I have not failed in above one or two Particulars, and those of no very great Moment. I exactly foretold the Miscarriage at Toulon, with all its Particulars; and the Loss of Admiral Shovel;4 although I was mistaken as to the Day, placing that Accident about thirty six Hours sooner than it happened; but upon reviewing my Schemes, I quickly found the Cause of that Error. I likewise foretold the Battle at Almanza to the very Day and Hour, with the Loss on both Sides, and the Consequences thereof.5 All which I shewed to some Friends many Months before they happened; that is, I gave them Papers sealed up, to open at such a Time, after which they were at liberty to read them; and there they found my Predictions true in every Article, except one or two, very minute.
AS for the few following Predictions I now offer the World, I forbore to publish them, till I had perused the several Almanacks for the Year we are now entered upon: I found them all in the usual Strain, and I beg the Reader will compare their Manner with mine. And here I make bold to tell the World, that I lay the whole Credit of my Art upon the Truth of these Predictions; and I will be content that Partrige, and the rest of his Clan, may hoot me for a Cheat and Impostor, if I fail in any single Particular of Moment. I believe any Man who reads this Paper, will look upon me to be at least a Person of as much Honesty and Understanding, as a common Maker of Almanacks. I do not lurk in the Dark; I am not wholly unknown in the World; I have set my Name at length, to be a Mark of Infamy to Mankind, if they shall find I deceive them.
IN one point I must desire to be forgiven, that I talk more sparingly of Home Affairs. As it would be Imprudence to discover Secrets of State, so it might be dangerous to my Person: But in smaller Matters, and such as are not of publick Consequence, I shall be very free: And the Truth of my Conjectures will as much appear from these as the other. As for the most signal Events abroad in France, Flanders, Italy and Spain, I shall make no Scruple to predict them in plain Terms: Some of them are of Importance, and I hope I shall seldom mistake the Day they will happen: Therefore, I think good to inform the Reader, that I all along make use of the Old Stile observed in England, which I desire he will compare with that of the News-Papers, at the Time they relate the Actions I mention.6
I MUST add one Word more: I know it hath been the Opinion of several learned Persons, who think well enough of the true Art of Astrology, That the Stars do only incline, and not force, the Actions or Wills of Men: And therefore, however I may proceed by right Rules, yet I cannot in Prudence so confidently assure that the Events will follow exactly as I predict them.
I HOPE I have maturely considered this Objection, which in some Cases is of no little Weight. For Example: A Man may, by the Influence of an over-ruling Planet, be disposed or inclined to Lust, Rage, or Avarice; and yet by the Force of Reason overcome that evil Influence: And this was the Case of Socrates. But the great Events of the World usually depending upon Numbers of Men, it cannot be expected they should all unite to cross their Inclinations, from pursuing a general Design, wherein they unanimously agree. Besides, the Influence of the Stars reacheth to many Actions and Events, which are not any way in the Power of Reason; as Sickness, Death, and what we commonly call Accidents; with many more needless to repeat.
BUT now it is Time to proceed to my Predictions, which I have begun to calculate from the Time that the Sun enters into Aries. And this I take to be properly the Beginning of the natural Year.7 I pursue them to the Time that he enters Libra, or somewhat more, which is the busy Period of the Year. The Remainder I have not yet adjusted upon Account of several Impediments needless here to mention. Besides, I must remind the Reader again, that this is but a Specimen of what I design in succeeding Years to treat more at large, if I may have Liberty and Encouragement.
MY first Prediction is but a Trifle; yet I will mention it, to shew how ignorant those sottish Pretenders to Astrology are in their own Concerns: It relates to Partrige the Almanack-Maker. I have consulted the Star of his Nativity by my own Rules, and find he will infallibly die upon the 29th of March next, about eleven at Night, of a raging Fever: Therefore I advise him to consider of it, and settle his Affairs in Time.
THE Month of APRIL will be observable for the Death of many great Persons. On the 4th will die the Cardinal de Noailles, Archbishop of Paris: On the 11th the young Prince of Asturias, Son to the Duke of Anjou:8 On the 14th a great Peer of this Realm will die at his Country-House: On the 19th an old Layman of great Fame for Learning: And on the 23d an eminent Goldsmith in Lombard Street. I could mention others, both at home and abroad, if I did not consider such Events of very little Use or Instruction to the Reader, or to the World.
AS to publick Affairs: On the 7th of this Month, there will be an Insurrection in Dauphine, occasioned by the Oppressions of the People; which will not be quieted some Months.9
ON the 15th will be a violent Storm on the South-East Coast of France; which will destroy many of their Ships, and some in the very Harbour.
THE 19th will be famous for the Revolt of a whole Province or Kingdom, excepting one City; by which the Affairs of a certain Prince in the Alliance will take a better Face.
MAY, against common Conjectures, will be no very busy Month in Europe, but very signal for the Death of the Dauphin, which will happen on the 7th, after a short Fit of Sickness, and grievous Torments with the Strangury. He dies less lamented by the Court than the Kingdom.10
ON the 9th a Mareschal of France will break his Leg by a Fall from his Horse. I have not been able to discover whether he will then die or not.
ON the 11th will begin a most important Siege, which the Eyes of all Europe will be upon: I cannot be more particular; for in relating Affairs that so nearly concern the Confederates, and consequently this Kingdom, I am forced to confine my self, for several Reasons very obvious to the Reader.
ON the 15th News will arrive of a very surprizing Event, than which nothing could be more unexpected.
ON the 19th, three Noble Ladies of this Kingdom, will, against all Expectation, prove with Child, to the great Joy of their Husbands.
ON the 23d, a famous Buffoon of the Play-House will die a ridiculous Death, suitable to his Vocation.
JUNE. This Month will be distinguished at home, by the utter dispersing of those ridiculous deluded Enthusiasts, commonly called the Prophets; occasioned chiefly by seeing the Time come, when many of their Prophecies were to be fulfilled; and then finding themselves deceived by contrary Events.11 It is indeed to be admired how any Deceiver can be so weak to foretel Things near at hand, when a very few Months must of Necessity discover the Imposture to all the World: In this Point less prudent than common Almanack-Makers, who are so wise to wander in Generals, talk dubiously, and leave to the Reader the Business of interpreting.
ON the 1st of this Month a French General will be killed by a random Shot of a Cannon-Ball.
ON the 6th a Fire will break out in the Suburbs of Paris, which will destroy above a thousand Houses; and seems to be the Foreboding of what will happen, to the Surprize of all Europe, about the End of the following Month.
ON the 10th a great Battle will be fought, which will begin at four of the Clock in the Afternoon, and last till nine at Night with great Obstinacy, but no very decisive Event. I shall not name the Place, for the Reasons aforesaid; but the Commanders on each left Wing will be killed. —— I see Bonfires and hear the Noise of Guns for a Victory.
ON the 14th there will be a false Report of the French King’s Death.
ON the 20th Cardinal Portocarero will die of a Dissentery, with great Suspicion of Poison; but the Report of his Intention to revolt to King Charles will prove false.12
JULY. The 6th of this Month a certain General will, by a glorious Action, recover the Reputation he lost by former Misfortunes.
ON the 12th a great Commander will die a Prisoner in the Hands of his Enemies.
ON the 14th a shameful Discovery will be made of a French Jesuit giving Poison to a great Foreign General; and when he is put to the Torture, will make wonderful Discoveries.
IN short, this will prove a Month of great Action, if I might have Liberty to relate the Particulars.
AT home, the Death of an old famous Senator will happen on the 15th at his Country-House, worn with Age and Diseases.
BUT that which will make this Month memorable to all Posterity, is the Death of the French King Lewis the Fourteenth, after a Week’s Sickness at Marli; which will happen on the 29th, about six a-Clock in the Evening. It seems to be an Effect of the Gout in his Stomach, followed by a Flux. And in three Days after, Monsieur Chamillard will follow his Master, dying suddenly of an Apoplexy.
IN this Month likewise an Ambassador will die in London; but I cannot assign the Day.
AUGUST. The Affairs of France will seem to suffer no Change for a while under the Duke of Burgundy’s Administration.13 But the Genius that animated the whole Machine being gone, will be the Cause of mighty Turns and Revolutions in the following Year. The new King makes yet little Change either in the Army or the Ministry; but the Libels against his Grandfather, that fly about his very Court, give him Uneasiness.
I SEE an Express in mighty Haste, with Joy and Wonder in his Looks, arriving by the Break of Day, on the 26th of this Month, having travelled in three Days a prodigious Journey by Land and Sea. In the Evening I hear Bells and Guns, and see the Blazing of a Thousand Bonfires.
A YOUNG Admiral, of noble Birth, does likewise this Month gain immortal Honour, by a great Atchievement.
THE Affairs of Poland are this Month entirely settled: Augustus resigns his Pretensions, which he had again taken up for some Time; Stanislaus is peaceably possessed of the Throne; and the King of Sweden declares for the Emperor.14
I CANNOT omit one particular Accident here at home; that near the End of this Month much Mischief will be done at Bartholomew Fair, by the Fall of a Booth.
SEPTEMBER. This Month begins with a very surprizing Fit of frosty Weather, which will last near twelve Days.
THE Pope having long languished last Month, the Swellings in his Legs breaking, and the Flesh mortifying, will die on the 11th Instant: And in three Weeks Time, after a mighty Contest, be succeeded by a Cardinal of the Imperial Faction, but Native of Tuscany, who is now about Sixty-One Years old.15
THE French Army acts now wholly on the Defensive, strongly fortified in their Trenches; and the young French King sends Overtures for a Treaty of Peace, by the Duke of Mantua; which because it is a Matter of State that concerns us here at home, I shall speak no farther of it.
I SHALL add but one Prediction more, and that in mystical Terms, which shall be included in a Verse out of Virgil.
Alter erit jam Tethys, & altera quæ vehat Argo,
Delectos Heroas.16
UPON the 25th Day of this Month, the fulfilling of this Prediction will be manifest to every Body.
THIS is the farthest I have proceeded in my Calculations for the present Year. I do not pretend that these are all the great Events which will happen in this Period, but that those I have set down will infallibly come to pass. It may, perhaps, still be objected, why I have not spoke more particularly of Affairs at home, or of the Success of our Armies abroad; which I might, and could very largely have done. But those in Power have wisely discouraged Men from meddling in publick Concerns; and I was resolved, by no Means, to give the least Offence. This I will venture to say; that it will be a glorious Campaign for the Allies; wherein the English Forces, both by Sea and Land, will have their full Share of Honour: That Her Majesty Queen ANNE will continue in Health and Prosperity: And that no ill Accident will arrive to any in the chief Ministry.
AS to the particular Events I have mentioned, the Readers may judge by the fulfilling of them, whether I am of the Level with common Astrologers; who, with an old paultry Cant, and a few Pot-hooks for Planets to amuse the Vulgar, have, in my Opinion, too long been suffered to abuse the World. But an honest Physician ought not to be despised, because there are such Things as Mountebanks. I hope I have some Share of Reputation, which I would not willingly forfeit for a Frolick or Humour: And I believe no Gentleman, who reads this Paper, will look upon it to be of the same Cast or Mold with the common Scribbles that are every Day hawked about. My Fortune hath placed me above the little Regard of writing for a few Pence, which I neither value nor want: Therefore, let not wise Men too hastily condemn this Essay, intended for a good Design, to cultivate and improve an antient Art, long in Disgrace by having fallen into mean unskilful Hands. A little Time will determine whether I have deceived others, or my self; and I think it is no very unreasonable Request, that Men would please to suspend their Judgments till then. I was once of the Opinion with those who despise all Predictions from the Stars, till in the Year 1686, a Man of Quality shewed me, written in his Album, that the most learned Astronomer, Captain Hally, assured him, He would never believe any thing of the Stars Influence, if there were not a great Revolution in England in the Year 1688.17 Since that Time I began to have other Thoughts; and after Eighteen Years diligent Study and Application, I think I have no Reason to repent of my Pains. I shall detain the Reader no longer than to let him know, that the Account I design to give of next Year’s Events, shall take in the principal Affairs that happen in Europe: And if I be denied the Liberty of offering it to my own Country, I shall appeal to the learned World by publishing it in Latin, and giving Order to have it printed in Holland.18
BEING AN ACCOUNT OF THE Death of Mr. Partrige, the Almanack-maker, upon the 29th Inst.
In a Letter to a Person of Honour
Written in the Year 1708
My LORD,
IN Obedience to your Lordship’s Commands, as well as to satisfy my own Curiosity, I have for some Days past enquired constantly after Partrige the Almanack-maker; of whom it was foretold in Mr. Bickerstaff’s Predictions, published about a Month ago, that he should die the 29th Instant, about Eleven at Night, of a raging Fever. I had some Sort of Knowledge of him when I was employed in the Revenue; because he used every Year to present me with his Almanack, as he did other Gentlemen upon the score of some little Gratuity we gave him. I saw him accidentally once or twice about ten Days before he died; and observed he began very much to droop and languish, although I hear his Friends did not seem to apprehend him in any Danger. About two or three Days ago he grew ill; was confined first to his Chamber, and in a few Hours after to his Bed; where Dr. Case and Mrs. Kirleus were sent for to visit, and to prescribe to him.1 Upon this Intelligence I sent thrice every Day one Servant or other to enquire after his Health; and Yesterday about four in the Afternoon, Word was brought me that he was past Hopes: Upon which I prevailed with my self to go and see him; partly out of Commiseration, and, I confess, partly out of Curiosity. He knew me very well, seemed surprized at my Condescension, and made me Compliments upon it as well as he could in the Condition he was. The People about him said, he had been for some Time delirious; but when I saw him, he had his Understanding as well as ever I knew, and spoke strong and hearty, without any seeming Uneasiness or Constraint. After I had told him I was sorry to see him in those melancholy Circumstances, and said some other Civilities, suitable to the Occasion; I desired him to tell me freely and ingenuously whether the Predictions Mr. Bickerstaff had published relating to his Death, had not too much affected and worked on his Imagination. He confessed he often had it in his Head, but never with much Apprehension till about a Fortnight before; since which Time it had the perpetual Possession of his Mind and Thoughts, and he did verily believe was the true natural Cause of his present Distemper: For, said he, I am thoroughly persuaded, and I think I have very good Reasons, that Mr. Bickerstaff spoke altogether by guess, and knew no more what will happen this Year than I did my self. I told him his Discourse surprized me; and I would be glad he were in a State of Health to be able to tell me what Reason he had to be convinced of Mr. Bickerstaff ’s Ignorance. He replied, I am a poor ignorant Fellow, bred to a mean Trade;2 yet I have Sense enough to know, that all Pretences of foretelling by Astrology are Deceits, for this manifest Reason, because the Wise and Learned, who can only judge whether there be any Truth in this Science, do all unanimously agree to laugh at and despise it; and none but the poor ignorant Vulgar give it any Credit, and that only upon the Word of such silly Wretches as I and my Fellows, who can hardly write or read. I then asked him, why he had not calculated his own Nativity, to see whether it agreed with Bickerstaff ’s Predictions? At which he shook his Head, and said, O! Sir, this is no Time for jesting, but for repenting those Fooleries, as I do now from the very Bottom of my Heart. By what I can gather from you, said I, the Observations and Predictions you printed with your Almanacks were meer Impositions upon the People. He replied, if it were otherwise, I should have the less to answer for. We have a common Form for all those Things: As to foretelling the Weather, we never meddle with that, but leave it to the Printer, who takes it out of any old Almanack as he thinks fit: The rest was my own Invention to make my Almanack sell, having a Wife to maintain, and no other Way to get my Bread; for mending old Shoes is a poor Livelihood: And (added he, sighing) I wish I may not have done more Mischief by my Physick than my Astrology; although I had some good Receipts from my Grandmother, and my own Compositions were such, as I thought could at least do no Hurt.
I HAD some other Discourse with him, which now I cannot call to Mind; and I fear I have already tired your Lordship. I shall only add one Circumstance, That on his Death-Bed he declared himself a Nonconformist, and had a fanatick Preacher to be his spiritual Guide. After half an Hour’s Conversation, I took my Leave, being almost stifled by the Closeness of the Room. I imagined he could not hold out long; and therefore withdrew to a little Coffee-House hard by, leaving a Servant at the House with Orders to come immediately, and tell me, as near as he could, the Minute when Partrige should expire, which was not above two Hours after; when looking upon my Watch, I found it to be above five Minutes after Seven: By which it is clear, that Mr. Bickerstaff was mistaken almost four Hours in his Calculation. In the other Circumstances he was exact enough. But whether he hath not been the Cause of this poor Man’s Death, as well as the Predictor, may be very reasonably disputed. However, it must be confessed, the Matter is odd enough, whether we should endeavour to account for it by Chance or the Effect of Imagination: For my own Part, although I believe no Man hath less Faith in these Matters; yet I shall wait with some Impatience, and not without Expectation, the fulfilling of Mr. Bickerstaff’s second Prediction, that the Cardinal de Noailles is to die upon the 4th of April; and if that should be verified as exactly as this of poor Partrige, I must own, I should be wholly surprized, and at a Loss, and infallibly expect the Accomplishment of all the rest.
AGAINST What is objected to him by Mr. Partrige, in his Almanack for the present Year 1709
By the said ISAAC BICKERSTAFF, Esq.
Written in the Year 1709
MR. Partrige hath been lately pleased to treat me after a very rough Manner, in that which is called His Almanack for the present Year: Such Usage is very undecent from one Gentleman to another, and doth not at all contribute to the Discovery of Truth, which ought to be the great End in all Disputes of the Learned.1 To call a Man Fool and Villain, and impudent Fellow, only for differing from him in a Point meerly speculative, is, in my humble Opinion, a very improper Stile for a Person of his Education. I appeal to the learned World, whether in my last Year’s Predictions, I gave him the least Provocation for such unworthy Treatment. Philosophers have differed in all Ages, but the discreetest among them have always differed as became Philosophers. Scurrility and Passion, in a Controversy among Scholars, is just so much of nothing to the Purpose; and, at best, a tacit Confession of a weak Cause. My Concern is not so much for my own Reputation, as that of the Republick of Letters, which Mr. Partrige hath endeavoured to wound through my Sides. If Men of publick Spirit must be superciliously treated for their ingenious Attempts, how will true useful Knowledge be ever advanced? I wish Mr. Partrige knew the Thoughts which foreign Universities have conceived of his ungenerous Proceedings with me; but I am too tender of his Reputation to publish them to the World. That Spirit of Envy and Pride, which blasts so many rising Genius’s in our Nation, is yet unknown among Professors abroad: The Necessity of justifying my self, will excuse my Vanity, when I tell the Reader, that I have near an Hundred honorary Letters from several Parts of Europe (some as far as Muscovy) in Praise of my Performance. Besides several others, which, as I have been credibly informed, were opened in the Post-Office and never sent me. It is true, the Inquisition in Portugal was pleased to burn my Predictions, and condemn the Author and Readers of them;2 but, I hope, at the same Time, it will be considered in how deplorable a State Learning lies at present in that Kingdom: And with the profoundest Veneration for crowned Heads, I will presume to add, that it a little concerned his Majesty of Portugal, to interpose his Authority in Behalf of a Scholar and a Gentleman, the Subject of a Nation with which he is now in so strict an Alliance.3 But the other Kingdoms and States of Europe have treated me with more Candour and Generosity. If I had leave to print the Latin Letters transmitted to me from foreign Parts, they would fill a Volume, and be a full Defence against all that Mr. Partrige, or his Accomplices of the Portugal Inquisition, will be ever able to object; who, by the way, are the only Enemies my Predictions have ever met with at home or abroad. But, I hope, I know better what is due to the Honour of a learned Correspondence, in so tender a Point. Yet, some of those illustrious Persons will, perhaps, excuse me for transcribing a Passage or two in my own Vindication.4 The most learned Monsieur Leibnitz5 thus addresseth to me his third Letter: Illustrissimo Bickerstaffio Astrologiæ Instauratori, &c.6 Monsieur le Clerc, quoting my Predictions in a Treatise he published last Year, is pleased to say, Ità nuperimè Bickerstaffius, magnum illud Angliæ sidus.7 Another great Professor writing of me, has these Words: Bickerstaffius, nobilis Anglus, Astrologorum hujusce Seculi facilè Princeps.8 Signior Magliabecchi, the Great Duke’s famous Library-keeper, spends almost his whole Letter in Compliments and Praises.9 It is true, the renowned Professor of Astronomy at Utrecht seems to differ from me in one Article; but it is after the modest Manner that becomes a Philosopher; as, Pace tanti viri dixerim:10 And, Page 55, he seems to lay the Error upon the Printer, (as indeed it ought) and says, Vel forsan error Typographi, cum alioquin Bickerstaffius vir doctissimus, &c.11
IF Mr. Partrige had followed these Examples in the Controversy between us, he might have spared me the Trouble of justifying my self in so publick a Manner. I believe few Men are readier to own their Error than I, or more thankful to those who will please to inform him of them. But it seems this Gentleman, instead of encouraging the Progress of his own Art, is pleased to look upon all Attempts of that Kind, as an Invasion of his Province. He hath been indeed so wise, to make no Objection against the Truth of my Predictions, except in one single Point, relating to himself: And to demonstrate how much Men are blinded by their own Partiality, I do solemnly assure the Reader, that he is the only Person from whom I ever heard that Objection offered; which Consideration alone, I think, will take off all its Weight.
WITH my utmost Endeavours, I have not been able to trace above two Objections ever made against the Truth of my last Year’s Prophecies: The first is of a French Man, who was pleased to publish to the World, That the Cardinal de Noailles was still alive, notwithstanding the pretended Prophecy of Monsieur Biquerstaffe: But how far a French Man, a Papist, and an Enemy, is to be believed in his own Cause, against an English Protestant, who is true to the Government, I shall leave to the candid and impartial Reader.
THE other Objection, is the unhappy Occasion of this Discourse; and relates to an Article in my Predictions, which foretold the Death of Mr. Partrige to happen on March 29, 1708. This he is pleased to contradict absolutely in the Almanack he hath published for the present Year; and in that ungentlemanly Manner, (pardon the Expression) as I have above related. In that Work, he very roundly asserts, That he is not only now alive, but was likewise alive upon that very 29th of March, when I had foretold he should die. This is the Subject of the present Controversy between us; which I design to handle with all Brevity, Perspicuity, and Calmness: In this Dispute, I am sensible, the Eyes not only of England, but of all Europe, will be upon us: And the Learned in every Country will, I doubt not, take Part on that Side where they find most Appearance of Reason and Truth.
WITHOUT entering into Criticisms of Chronology about the Hour of his Death, I shall only prove that Mr. Partrige is not alive. And my first Argument is thus: Above a Thousand Gentlemen having bought his Almanacks for this Year, meerly to find what he said against me; at every Line they read, they would lift up their Eyes, and cry out, betwixt Rage and Laughter, They were sure no Man alive ever writ such damned Stuff as this. Neither did I ever hear that Opinion disputed: So that Mr. Partrige lies under a Dilemma, either of disowning his Almanack, or allowing himself to be no Man alive. But now, if an uninformed Carcass walks still about, and is pleased to call it self Partrige, Mr. Bickerstaff does not think himself any way answerable for that. Neither had the said Carcass any Right to beat the poor Boy, who happened to pass by it in the Street, crying, A full and true Account of Dr. Partrige’s Death, &c.
SECONDLY, Mr. Partrige pretends to tell Fortunes, and recover stolen Goods; which all the Parish says he must do by conversing with the Devil, and other evil Spirits: And no wise Man will ever allow he could converse personally with either, till after he was dead.
THIRDLY, I will plainly prove him to be dead, out of his own Almanack for this Year, and from the very Passage which he produceth to make us think him alive. He there says, He is not only now alive, but was also alive upon that very 29th of March, which I foretold he should die on: By this, he declares his Opinion, that a Man may be alive now, who was not alive a Twelve-month ago. And, indeed, there lies the Sophistry of his Argument. He dares not assert, he was alive ever since the 29th of March, but that he is now alive, and was so on that Day: I grant the latter, for he did not die till Night, as appears by the printed Account of his Death, in a Letter to a Lord; and whether he be since revived, I leave the World to judge. This indeed, is perfect cavilling, and I am ashamed to dwell any longer upon it.
FOURTHLY, I will appeal to Mr. Partrige himself, whether it be probable I could have been so indiscreet, to begin my Predictions with the only Falshood that ever was pretended to be in them; and this in an Affair at Home, where I had so many Opportunities to be exact; and must have given such Advantages against me to a Person of Mr. Partrige’s Wit and Learning, who, if he could possibly have raised one single Objection more against the Truth of my Prophecies, would hardly have spared me.
AND here I must take Occasion to reprove the abovementioned Writer of the Relation of Mr. Partrige’s Death, in a Letter to a Lord, who was pleased to tax me with a Mistake of four whole Hours in my Calculation of that Event. I must confess, this Censure, pronounced with an Air of Certainty, in a Matter that so nearly concerned me, and by a grave judicious Author, moved me not a little. But although I was at that Time out of Town, yet several of my Friends, whose Curiosity had led them to be exactly informed, (for as to my own Part, having no doubt at all in the Matter, I never once thought of it,) assured me I computed to something under half an Hour; which (I speak my private Opinion) is an Error of no very great Magnitude, that Men should raise Clamour about it. I shall only say, it would not be amiss, if that Author would henceforth be more tender of other Mens Reputation as well as his own. It is well there were no more Mistakes of that Kind; if there had, I presume he would have told me of them with as little Ceremony.
THERE is one Objection against Mr. Partrige’s Death, which I have sometimes met with, although indeed very slightly offered; That he still continues to write Almanacks. But this is no more than what is common to all of that Profession; Gadbury, Poor Robin, Dove, Wing, and several others, do yearly publish their Almanacks, although several of them have been dead since before the Revolution.12 Now the natural Reason of this I take to be, that whereas it is the Privilege of other Authors, to live after their Deaths, Almanack-makers are alone excluded; because their Dissertations, treating only upon the Minutes as they pass, become useless as those go off. In consideration of which, Time, whose Registers they are, gives them a Lease in Reversion, to continue their Works after their Death.
I SHOULD not have given the Publick or my self the Trouble of this Vindication, if my Name had not been made use of by several Persons, to whom I never lent it; one of which, a few Days ago, was pleased to father on me a new Set of Predictions.13 But I think these are Things too serious to be trifled with. It grieved me to the Heart, when I saw my Labours, which had cost me so much Thought and Watching, bawled about by common Hawkers, which I only intended for the weighty Consideration of the gravest Persons. This prejudiced the World so much at first, that several of my Friends had the Assurance to ask me, Whether I were in jest? To which I only answered coldly, That the Event will shew. But it is the Talent of our Age and Nation, to turn Things of the greatest Importance into Ridicule. When the End of the Year had verified all my Predictions, out comes Mr. Partrige’s Almanack, disputing the Point of his Death; so that I am employed, like the General who was forced to kill his Enemies twice over, whom a Necromancer had raised to Life. If Mr. Partrige hath practised the same Experiment upon himself, and be again alive, long may he continue so; but that doth not in the least contradict my Veracity: For I think I have clearly proved, by invincible Demonstration, that he died at farthest within half an Hour of the Time I foretold; and not four Hours sooner, as the above-mentioned Author, in his Letter to a Lord, hath maliciously suggested, with Design to blast my Credit, by charging me with so gross a Mistake.
Written above a thousand Years ago,
and relating to the Year 1709
With Explanatory Notes. By T. N. Philomath
Written in the Year 1709
LAST Year was published a Paper of Predictions, pretended to be written by one Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq.; but the true Design of it was to ridicule the Art of Astrology, and expose its Professors as ignorant, or Impostors. Against this Imputation, Dr. Partrige hath learnedly vindicated himself in his Almanack for that Year.
FOR a farther Defence of this famous Art, I have thought fit to present the World with the following Prophecy. The Original is said to be of the famous Merlin, who lived about a thousand Years ago: And the following Translation is two hundred Years old; for it seems to be written near the End of Henry the Seventh’s Reign. I found it in an old Edition of Merlin’s Prophecies; imprinted at London by Johan Haukyns, in the Year 1530.1 Page 39. I set it down Word for Word in the old Orthography, and shall take leave to subjoin a few explanatory Notes.
[SEVEN and TEN addyd to NINE,
Of Fraunce hir Woe thys is the Sygne,
Tamys Rivere twys y-frozen,
Walke sans wetyng Shoes ne Hosen,
Then cometh foorthe, Ich understonde,
From Toune of Stoffe to fattyn Londe,
An herdie Chiftan, woe the Morne
To Fraunce, that evere he was borne.
Then shall the Fyshe beweyle his Bosse;
Nor shal grin Berrys make up the Losse.
Yonge Symnele shall again miscarrye:
And Norways Pryd again shall marrey.
And from the Tree where Blosums fele,
Ripe Fruit shall come, and all is wele.
Reaums shall daunce honde in honde,
And it shall be merye in old Inglonde.
Then old Inglonde shall be no more,
And no Man shall be sorie therefore.
Geryon shall have three Hedes agayne,
Till Hapsburge makyth them but twayne.]
Seven and Ten. This Line describes the Year when these Events shall happen. Seven and Ten make Seventeen, which I explain seventeen Hundred, and this Number added to Nine makes the Year we are now in; for it must be understood of the Natural Year, which begins the First of January.
Tamys Ryvere twys, &c. The River Thames frozen twice in one Year, so as Men to walk on it, is a very signal Accident; which perhaps hath not fallen out for several Hundred Years before; and is the Reason why some Astrologers have thought that this Prophecy could never be fulfilled, because they imagined such a Thing could never happen in our Climate.
From Toune of Stoffe, &c. This is a plain Designation of the Duke of Marlborough. One Kind of Stuff used to fatten Land is called Marle, and every Body knows that Borough is a Name for a Town; and this Way of Expression is after the usual dark Manner of old Astrological Predictions.
Then shall the Fyshe, &c. By the Fish is understood the Dauphin of France, as the Kings eldest Sons are called: It is here said, he shall lament the Loss of the Duke of Burgundy, called the Bosse, which is an old English Word for Hump shoulder, or Crook-back, as that Duke is known to be: And the Prophecy seems to mean, that he should be overcome, or slain. By the Grin Berrys, in the next Line, is meant the young Duke of Berry, the Dauphin’s third Son, who shall not have Valour or Fortune enough to supply the Loss of his eldest Brother.
Yonge Symnele, &c. By Symnele is meant the pretended Prince of Wales; who, if he offers to attempt any Thing against England, shall miscarry as he did before. Lambert Symnel is the Name of a young Man noted in our Histories for personating the Son (as I remember) of Edward the Fourth.2
And Norways Pryd, &c.3 I cannot guess who is meant by Norways Pride; perhaps the Reader may, as well as the Sense of the two following Lines.
Reaums shall, &c. Reaums, or as the Word is now, Realms, is the old Name for Kingdoms: And this is a very plain Prediction of our happy Union, with the Felicities that shall attend it. It is added, that Old England shall be no more, and yet no Man shall be sorry for it. And, indeed, properly speaking, England is now no more; for the whole Island is one Kingdom, under the Name of Britain.4
Geryon shall, &c. This Prediction, though somewhat obscure, is wonderfully adapt. Geryon is said to have been a King of Spain, whom Hercules slew. It was a Fiction of the Poets, that he had three Heads, which the Author says he shall have again.5 That is, Spain shall have three Kings; which is now wonderfully verified: For, besides the King of Portugal, which properly is Part of Spain, there are now two Rivals for Spain; Charles and Philip. But Charles, being descended from the Count of Hapsburgh, Founder of the Austrian Family, shall soon make those Heads but two; by overturning Philip, and driving him out of Spain.6
SOME of these Predictions are already fulfilled, and it is highly probable the rest may be in due Time: And, I think, I have not forced the Words, by my Explication, into any other Sense than what they will naturally bear. If this be granted, I am sure it must be also allowed, that the Author (whoever he were) was a Person of extraordinary Sagacity; and that Astrology brought to such Perfection as this, is, by no Means, an Art to be despised; whatever Mr. Bickerstaff, or other merry Gentlemen, are pleased to think. As to the Tradition of these Lines having been writ in the Original by Merlin; I confess I lay not much Weight upon it: But it is enough to justify their Authority, that the Book from whence I have transcribed them, was printed 170 Years ago, as appears by the Title-Page. For the Satisfaction of any Gentleman, who may be either doubtful of the Truth, or curious to be informed, I shall give Order to have the very Book sent to the Printer of this Paper, with Directions to let any Body see it that pleases; because I believe it is pretty scarce.
Plate 2. Broadside of ‘A Famous Prediction of Merlin, the British Wizard’ (1709)