It is well known that in all ages, and in most countries, prophetic traditions have been said to exist; and although it may often have happened that such traditions have arisen from spurious prophecies, written after the event, and falsely said to have existed before it, yet it would also appear that genuine prophecies have from time to time appeared, and become traditions before the events took place. Of course, we do not here allude to the Scriptural prophecies, but to such as have no pretensions to a divine origin. There can be little doubt that the Sybilline Books contained prophecies of the future fate of Rome; and although we cannot now ascertain, even if this were the case, whether they were accurate predictions, or merely sagacious guesses, nor whether the event confirmed them, yet the tradition of their existence is in itself curious. We cannot here enter into an enumeration of the various prophecies which are said to have existed, in ancient or modern times, before the events occurred, but on some future occasion we may return to that subject: in the mean time we may allude, as a modern example of popular prophecy in our own country, to the prediction of the extinction of the male line of the house of Seaforth, in the person of a deaf Caberfae—a prediction which Mr Morritt of Rokeby, the friend of Scott, heard quoted in Ross-shire at a time when the last Lord Seaforth, who became quite deaf, had several sons in perfect health. We have no doubt our Highland readers are acquainted with many analogous cases. Our present object is to direct attention to the fact, that in Germany, more especially on the Rhine and in Westphalia, there exist many remarkable popular prophecies concerning public events, of various dates, and originating in various quarters, but exhibiting a remarkable coincidence in many of the chief points. Many of these have been printed at various times; others exist as traditions among the peasantry; others, again, are said upon good evidence to have been in modern times taken down from the lips of the prophets themselves, all or most of whom are now dead. Yet they generally predict, and often with strange minuteness of detail, events which were to occur about this time,—viz. in 1848, 1849, and 1850. Political and religious convulsions, wars, and finally peace and prosperity, form the burden of them; and we shall see that the events of 1848 and 1849 supply apparently strong confirmation of their truth, their previous existence being admitted.