5
whole of your story appears as strange to me, as it can be amazing to you; but if you can tell me when the child was born, I will calculate its nativity, and see what it portends. He then called for pen, ink, & paper, & sitting down, calculated his nativity; & when he had finished it, he shook his head, and his countenance waxed pale; which being perceived by Judas's mother, she said unto him, do not deceive me, but tell me true, hide nothing from me, whether it be good or evil. Then, said the magician, to your sorrow I have seen the rules of the planet that reigned predominant at your son's birth, that he would prove a thief and a murderer, & what is worse, he will, for lucre, betray the Lord of Life; for which act he will afterwards despair of mercy, lay violent hands on himself, and come to a shameful end.--These words pierc'd the mother's heart, who, wringing her hands, wished she had never been born, rather than to have been the mother of such an
