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received the reward of divination, and flattered the vanity of the 

 Mandwa chieftain, by assuring him that his fortress was impreg- 

 nable, that the English arms would not prevail, and that the 

 Gracias might set our threat at defiance. These predictions en- 

 couraged them to continue their depredations, and increased their 

 insolence and cruelty. 



The seers and diviners in Hindostan are not confined to the 

 brahmin tribe: they are to be found of various descriptions, and 

 of both sexes; from the prince, who, like Joseph, divineth by his 

 cup, to the humble fortune-teller, who, like the wandering gipsy, 

 receives a small donation for his prediction. Plutarch mentions 

 similar occurrences; and from other classical writers we find the 

 Greeks and Romans believed some men were endowed with power 

 by the gods, to devote not only individuals, but whole armies to 

 death. Homer frequently introduces the seers and augurs in the 

 Grecian and Trojan armies. 



" This, Telemus, Eurymides foretold, 

 " The mighty seer, who on these hills grew old; 

 " Skill'd the dark fates of mortals to declare, 

 " And learn'd in all wing'd omens of the air." 



The astrologers and magicians at Rome at length fell into such 

 disrepute, that, according to Tacitus, the whole tribe was banished 

 from Italy, by a decree of theSenate. Two of them were put to death; 

 one was thrown from the Tarpeian rock, and the other executed, at 

 the sound of a trumpet, on the outside of the Esquiline gate. The 

 magicians of Chaldea, and the professors of judicial astrology, 



