66 dently needs a caution; I give it him in one wordBEWARE!* This daring sinner, by a quotation from the APOCRYPHAL NEW TESTAMENT, has positively introduced the Saviour of the world, to authorize and sanction his system of iniquity. I know not whether Lieut. Morrison deems himself honoured by such a coadjutor.-But here I leave the professor of "Divine and celestial magic," with his essences -particles-triplicity of principles-moral agency -prescience," and HIS " New system of theology," together with his proffered instruction; recommending to his attention, the prayerful consideration of two passages the first is in Proverbs (xxvi. 3)-"A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back." The second he will find in Acts (xiii. 10)" O full of all subtlety, and all mischief, thou child of the devil; thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord ?" I am, Sir, &c. January, 1836. T. H. MOODY. * Appendix, No. 10. SIR, In my last, I promised that the present letter should make such disclosures respecting horary astrology and its principles, as developed in Lilly's work, republished last year by Zadkiel, (a gentleman dearly beloved by Lieutenant Morrison,) as should make even Philip Wood ashamed. The Lieutenant has not forgotten this, as I perceive from his miserable production in your last; he labours to divert me from my purpose, by his empty bluster respecting Lady King's nativity: he resembles a boy who is dreading the approach of his master, from whom he has reason to expect a sound thrashing: for he already, by anticipation, writhes under the facts about to be communicated; and appears to be so confused in his upper story, that perhaps it would be well for him to attend to the words of Juvenal: "Orandum est, ut sit mens sana in corpore sano." He declares that he has no intention of arguing the truth or falsehood of astrology with me, and yet im mediately proceeds to do both, bnt in his own peculiar way; and in his eagerness to defend his beloved idol, he has positively not paid that regard to truth which we should expect from a naval officer and a man of honour. He says "In Lady King's nativity, the meridian at birth received no aspect of the Sun; but the Sun after passing over 21 degrees 53 minutes, arrived at a sextile aspect of the meridian which measured 19 years and near 9 months, the autumn of 1835, at which time IT WAS PREDICTED IN THE GRAMMAR SHE SHOULD MARRY, and she accordingly did." Now this is really too bad; the Lieutenant talks of my deceiving the public, which I trust I never did; but this is a THUMPER. The conclusion to which Zadkiel ultimately came respecting the marriage of this lady, is to be found at page 137 of the Grammar. Zadkiel, having shewn that the Moon will form a a sextile aspect with Jupiter-19 days, 20 hours, 52 minutes, after the time of birth, then says "This, at the rate of a day for a year, is just 19 years, 10 months, and 13 days, which age the native attains on the 23d of October 1835; and, as at the age of 20 years and 26 days, or the 5th of January, 1836, the Moon is in conjunction with the Sun in the secondary direction, it is not at all improbable that the former of these periods may be that of the engagement being formed, and the latter that of its consummation !" Zadkiel here affirms that it was not at all improbable that Lord Byron's daughter would be married on the 5th of January, 1836; but the lady was before hand with him, for her nuptials were celebrated on the 7th of July, 1835. I now leave the public to make their own comment upon this fact he was not right even in the year! and yet the Lieutenant says, she married according to the time of his prediction. In the horoscope of this nativity, the Moon represents Miss Byron, and Jupiter her future husband: when the Moon and Jupiter form a sextile aspect, an engagement is formed between Miss Byron and Lord King; and when these planets come to a conjunction, Miss Byron becomes Lady King. How besotted and stultified must that man's mind be, who can give credence to such stuff. But Zadkiel has very much wavered in opinion respecting this marriage; for at page 58, he says, "As the Sun is occidental, and the Moon cadent, I judge that she will not marry early in life;" [but if she should, take care Zadkiel!] 66 or, if she do, that it will be to a man some years her senior." Truly, this is a prediction worthy of an astrologer! It rests, so far as it goes, upon the Sun's being occidental and cadent. The sun was declining from the meridian towards the west, one of the parties must, therefore, be declining in years; but so far from this being true, neither of them had at tained even the meridian of life. The Sun was also cadent to explain this, I must observe that the twelve houses of heaven, are either angular, suc cedent, or cadent-the angular are the strongest, the succedent the next powerful, and the cadent the least powerful; but these terms are here supposed to refer to the strength of life, and therefore Zadkiel inferred, as the Sun was in a cadent house, one of the parties must be in the wane of existence; but the truth is, both were young, Lord King being little more than thirty at the time of his marriage. As to the death of Lord Byron, which took place. in April, 1824, it was easy for Zadkiel, who did not write his Grammar till 1833, to find some configurations in the heavens which might seem to shadow forth the event. But "Is there a planet that by birth Does not derive its home from earth, Make Berenice's periwig? Whose livery does the Coachman wear; And therefore as they came from thence, With us may hold intelligence." HUDIBRAS, Part ii. Canto 3. |