“We are glad to see you at last, Prince,” Harold cried. “We thought perhaps you were hard to please and could not find a sign to suit you.”
“Oh, no,” he replied, “but I had to almost complete the circle before I found where I belonged.”
“Now,” said the Brother, “I will tell you in a few words some of your inclinations, according to your signs, but you must remember that these will be greatly modified or accentuated as the case may be, according to the position which different planets held at the hour of your births. It would take too long to calculate planetary positions and give you an exact reading of your future, so I will confine myself to what the birth sign shows for each. I will commence with Mrs. Fredericks.”
“Oh! Oh!” laughed Ione, “For mercy’s sake don’t call me Mrs. It sounds so grown up and queer. Please call me Ione.”
“Very well then, Ione. Being born under the sign Cancer which belongs to the water division you will largely partake of the nature of that element and will be changeable and restless, having many ups and downs in fortune and position, also dangers especially of captivity. Journeys or voyages are certain to be frequent and long. You are frequently in danger from falls or hurts from horses, even wounds by human hands are to be feared. As to your inclinations you are gifted with a fertile imagination and you delight in strange scenes and in adventure. You can easily adapt yourself to both places and people, the friendship and attachment of others is an imperative need of your nature. You are discreet and independent and very capable in a variety of ways. As the Moon has great influence over the tides, so too it will strongly influence you, causing you to feel elated and happy then correspondingly gloomy and depressed. But the strongest characteristic of this sign is the sympathy it inspires and the love for home and children. You are very intuitive and can be governed by love rather than ruled by fear. You are impatient of control and have little sympathy or liking for narrow, conventional people, while very fond of the beautiful whether in nature or in art, having decidedly artistic tastes. Your astral colors are green and russet brown. Your jewels, the emerald and black onyx.”
THEY WERE SOON GLIDING THROUGH CANAL AFTER CANAL
(p. [128])
“But you have not told me any of my faults,” said Ione.
“These I never tell with this kind of a reading. I only tell them when I give the influence of the planets.”
“Mercury read Harold’s horoscope, so he can’t have his told again but we should like to hear what you can tell the Princess,” said Ione.