Busy Time Ahead.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVII, Issue 5, 31 January 1912, Page 16

Busy Time Ahead.

We are going to have some hours of crowded life in 1912. Madame de Thebes has said so. You may never have heard of Madame de Thebes, which was, indeed, till two minutes ago, the deplorable case of the writer. But she is, we are assured, “the famous soothsayer of Paris.” That ought to be enough for anybody. When a soothsayer is famous in Paris, the city, above all others, endowed with a sense.of humour, she must be a wonderful creature. You will allow that she is when you read the menu that she has drawn up for 1912. Look:— War, which “will not only turn Europe upside down, but other Continents as well.” Conspiracies. Assassinations. Riots. (Epidemics. Total ruin for Paris. Downfall of the German Emperor. “Evil destiny” for England. “Conspiracies and fusillades" in Spain. “The wine will be second-rate.” ■With Armageddon for the hors d'oeuvre and the downfall of the Kaiser for the roti, there is a nice sense of proportion in the meal. You will, of course, admire the eclectic character ot it. There is something for all tastes. No one can complain of a need to go empty away. We admire particularly the savoury. A lesser mind would have found it difficult to add anything which could be piquant after the' strong flavours of the heavy dishes earlier in the meal. But Aladame de Thebes knew the way. “The wine will be secondrate!” No wonder that she is “the famous soothsayer of Paris.” For Paris is the city endowed above all others with a sense of humour.

In this connection it is interesting to •compare what the English contemporary of Aladame has to say. “Old Moore” has been prophesying that 1912 will be a critical year for the Kaiser, and that 1913 will be worse. “The horoscope of the Kaiser indicates a large inheritance. It does not say that he will retain it. On the contrary, the prediction has been often made by astrologers that there is great probability of a division of the German Empire during his lifetime, with the consequent loss to him of a great portion of it.” Strange conjunctions and aspects of the stars were alluded to, which are to lead (in “Old Moore’s” belief) to a repartitioning of Europe in 1913, and to the loss of our supreme power in India —as written in the sacred books of the Hindu astrologers—in 1929. King George’s horoscope, “Old 1 Afoore” added, is far more fortunate than the Kaiser’s. The King of Spain, on the other hand, is warned to be on his guard this year, for danger threatens both him and his Royal Consort.