The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 4, November 1, 1851Various
History
The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 4, November 1, 1851
Various
Art, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- History -- Periodicals
Cazotte answered not, and made himself ready to go away, when madame
Grammont, who always tried to prevent the matter from being taken
seriously, and exerted herself to restore the gaiety of the company, went
to him, and said: "Now, M. Prophet! you have told us all our fortunes, but
you say nothing of your own fate?"
He was silent and cast down his eyes; then he said: "Have you, madame,
read, in Josephus, the history of the siege of Jerusalem?"
_Duchess._--"Certainly! who has not read it? but you seem to think that I
have not!"
_Cazotte._--"Well, madame, during the siege a man went round the city, upon
the walls, for seven days, in the face of the besiegers and the besieged,
and cried continually, with a mournful voice, 'Wo unto Jerusalem! Wo unto
Jerusalem!' but on the seventh day he cried, 'Wo unto me!' and at that
moment he was dashed to pieces by an immense stone, which the machines of
the enemy had thrown."
After these words, M. Cazotte bowed himself, and went away.
In relation to the above extraordinary prediction, a certain M.... has
inserted the following article in the public journals of Paris: "That he
well knew this M. Cazotte, and has often heard from him the announcement
of the great oppression which was to come over France, and this at a time
when not the least of it was suspected. The attachment to the monarchy was
the reason why, on the second of September, 1792, he was brought to the
abbey, and was saved from the hands of the bloodthirsty rabble only through
the heroic courage of his daughter, who mitigated the raging populace. This
same rabble which wanted to destroy him, led him to his house in triumph.
All his friends came to congratulate him, that he had escaped death. A
certain M. D... who visited him after the terrible days, said to him: "Now,
you are saved!"--"I believe it not," answered Cazotte; "in three days I
shall be guillotined!"--"How can this be?" replied M. D... Cazotte
continued: "Yes, my friend, in three days I will die on the scaffold!" As
he said this he was very much affected, and added: "Shortly before your
arrival, I saw a gend'armes enter, who fetched me by order of Petion; I was
under the necessity of following him: I appeared before the mayor of Paris,
who ordered me to the _Conciergerie_, and thence I came before the
revolutionary tribunal. You see, therefore (by this vision, namely, which
Cazotte had seen), my friend, that my hour has arrived; and I am so much
convinced of this, that I am arranging my papers. Here are papers for which
I care very much, which you will deliver to my wife; I entreat you to give
them to her, and to comfort her.""
M. D... declared this all folly, and left him with the conviction, that his
reason had suffered by the sight of the scenes of terror from which he had
escaped.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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