From poisoners, and mercenary pretenders to sorcery, we turn to an adventurer of a less noxious species. The Abbé Primi was a native of Bologna, in which city his father was a cap-maker. He had acuteness, wit, and a pleasing person, and with these mental and corporeal qualities he hoped to make his way at Paris. On his journey thither he became acquainted with a man of talent, named Duval. One of the travellers in the coach smelt so offensively that the others were anxious to get rid of him; and accordingly Duval and Primi secretly concerted a scheme for that purpose. Primi was to pretend to the gift of foretelling, from only seeing a person’s handwriting, what had happened, and would happen, to him. Primi, being questioned by Duval on this head, gave him elaborate answers, which the latter admitted to be correct. Specimens of the penmanship of the rest of the travellers, who were in the plot, were then handed to Primi, and, of course, they were satisfied with the result. The obnoxious passenger at length begged the oracular Italian to do for him the same favour that he had done for the rest. When Primi looked at the paper, he pretended to be shocked, and hastily gave it back, declining to say more than that “he hoped he was mistaken.” The applicant, however, solicited so earnestly to know his fate, that Primi told him he was destined to be assassinated at Paris, if he went thither. This startling intelligence produced the designed effect; the strong-scented querist took the first opportunity to discontinue his journey, and return to his home.