Scott's novels 8 Author:Walter Scott Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV. Come aad see ! trust thine own eyes. A tearful sign stands in the house of life. An enemy ; a fieml lurks c(ose behind The radiance of th... more »y planet—Oh, be warned ! Coleridge, from Schiller. The belief in astrology was almost universal in (he middle of the seventeenth century; it began to waver and become doubtful towards (he close of that period, and in the beginning of the eighteenth the art fell into general disrepute, and even under general ridicule. Yet it still retained many partisans even in the seats of learning. Grave and studious men were loath to relinquish the calculations which had early become the principal objects of their studies, and felt reluctant to descend from the predominating height to which a supposed insight into futurity, by the power of consulting abstract influences and conjunctions, had exalted them over the rest of mankind. Among those who cherished this imaginary privilege with undoubt- ing faith, was an old clergyman, with whom Mannering was placed during his youth. He wasted'his eyes in observing the stars, and his brains in calculations upon their various combinations. His pupil, in early youth, naturally caught some portion of his enthusiasm, and laboured for a time to make himself master of the technical process of astrological research ; so that, before he became convinced of its absurdity, William Lilly himself would have allowed him " a curious fancy and piercing judgment in resolving a question of nativity." On the present occasion, he arose as early in the morning as the shortness of the day permitted, and proceeded to calculate the nativity of the young heir of Ellangowan. He undertook the task secundwm artem, as well to keep up appearances, as from a sort of curiosity to know whether he yet remembered, and...« less