He was habited in a black gown and fur cap. His countenance,
over and above a double proportion of philosophic gravity, which
he had assumed for the occasion, was improved by a thick beard,
white as snow, that reached to his middle, and upon each shoulder
sat a prodigious large black cat which had been tutored for the
purpose.
Such a figure, which would have startled Peregrine himself, had
not he been concerned in the mystery, could not fail to make an
impression upon those whom he accompanied. The fictitious chambermaid,
in spite of all her natural pertness and vivacity, changed colour
when she entered the room, while the pretended lady, whose intellects
were not quite so enlightened, began to tremble in every joint,
and ejaculate petitions to Heaven for her safety. Their conductor,
advancing to the table, presented his offering, and, pointing to
the maid, told him, that lady desired to know what would be her
destiny in point of marriage. The philosopher, without lifting
up his eyes to view the person in whose behalf he was consulted,
turned his ear to one of the sable familiars that purred upon his
shoulder, and, taking up the pen, wrote upon a detached slip of
paper these words, which Peregrine, at the desire of the ladies,
repeated aloud: "Her destiny will, in a great measure, depend upon
what happened to her about nine o'clock in the morning on the third
day of last December.
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