Table of Contents

• Book catalogue
• Contents
• The Golden Wheel
• What are Dreams
• How to Find Lucky Numbers with Dice
• Fortune Telling with Cards
• Telling Fortunes by Dominoes and Dice
• Palmistry
• Phrenology and Physiognomy
• Lucky and Unlucky Days
• The Divining Rod
• Judgements Drawn from the Moon’s Age
• Signification or Language of the Flowers
• Thirty Physiological Significations
• Book catalogue

Sent Free of Postage on Receipt of Price.

CONTENTS.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862,
BY DICK & FITZGERALD,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern
District of New York.

FONTAINE’S
GOLDEN WHEEL DREAM-BOOK,
AND
FORTUNE-TELLER.

THE GOLDEN WHEEL OF FORTUNE.

This singular wheel was much consulted in the middle ages, and is said to have been used by Cagliostro to aid him in his divinations. I have selected it from an old Latin manuscript on Astrology, and translated it into English for the benefit of those of my readers who cannot read the former language. See Frontispiece.

THE GOLDEN WHEEL OF FORTUNE SHOWS:

• I. Whether you shall obtain the favor of the person you desire?
• II. If the querent shall meet with the preferment he wisheth for?
• III. Whether a sick person will recover?
• IV. If the said sickness will be long or short?
• V. Shall your expectation or wish succeed?
• VI. If it is good for you to marry, or otherwise?
• VII. Whether the friendship of a certain person will prove advantageous or not?
• VIII. Whether a person shall be rich or poor? etc., etc.

HOW TO TELL FORTUNES BY THE GOLDEN WHEEL.

The person whose fortune is to be told, must place the wheel of Fortune face downward, prick into a number (it is better to do it with their eyes shut), then refer for an explanation, which stands at the corresponding number as that you pricked into. (See Frontispiece.)

The following observations answer for either sex, the party, therefore, trying this wheel, must alter wife for husband, or just as the answers may suit either party.

1. If this number is fixed upon, it assures the person that you will marry an homely person, but rich.

2. Whatever your intentions are, for the present, decline them. Those absent will return.

3. Shows loss of friends; bad success at law; loss of money; unfaithfulness in love.

4. If your desires are extravagant, they will not be granted; but mind how you make use of your fortune.

5. Very good fortune; sudden prosperity; great respect from high personages; a letter bringing important news.

6. Look well to those who owe you money, if ever so little, a letter of abuse may be expected.

7. Your lover will act constant and true toward you.

8. A friend has crossed the sea, and will bring home riches, by which you will be much benefited.

9. A loving partner; success in your undertakings; a large and prosperous family.

10. Your husband will not have a great fortune, but with your assistance he is likely to live in middling circumstances.

11. A very sudden journey, with a pleasant fellow-traveller, and the result of the journey will be generally beneficial to your family.

12. You may regain that which you have lost with great perseverance and trouble.

13. A letter of importance will arrive, announcing the death of a relative for whom you have no very great respect, but who has left you a legacy.

14. By venturing carefully, you will gain doubly, though you will suffer great privation.

15. You will meet with many crosses before you are comfortably settled.

16. Too sudden acquaintance with the opposite sex; but which will be opposed; notwithstanding the party should persevere, as it will be to his or her advantage.

17. An agreeable partner, a good temper, and a large family of children.

18. Let the chooser of this number persevere; for your schemes are good, and must succeed.

19. You will marry young, and have dutiful children.

20. Your lover may be low in circumstances, but affectionate.

21. Your marriage will add to your welfare, and you will be very happy.

22. A drunken partner, bad success in trade, but the party will never be very poor, though always unhappy.

23. Do not neglect your lover; let your conduct command respect.

24. You have many friends, and will probably have a large and virtuous family.

25. Your travels will be prosperous, if you are prudent.

26. You have many enemies, who will endeavor to make you unhappy.

27. The luck that is ordained for you, will be coveted by others.

28. Be very prudent in your conduct, as this number is very precarious, and much depends upon yourself; it is generally good.

29. Beware, or you will be deceived by the person you are paying your attentions to.

30. You love one who is affectionate and true, and deserves respect.

31. You too fantastically refuse offers. Be prudent when you accept, or you will be sorry.

32. You will be very unfortunate for a short time, but be careful, and your situation will very soon alter.

33. A fortune will be yours, but be not over anxious.

34. Alter your intentions, or you will be sorry when it is too late.

35. You will have a rich, but jealous partner, and will live very uncomfortably.

36. You will have a sober, steady, and affectionate partner, but poor.

37. A very good fortune, sudden prosperity, and a large family.

38. The persons who choose this unlucky number, must look well to their conduct; or justice will overtake them.

39. Remain among your friends, then you will escape misfortune.

40. You will have an affectionate partner, but no family; and a large fortune.

41. If you have a fortune, be charitable; if but little, be frugal.

42. You will have a quarrel with your lover, through jealousy.

43. You must bear your losses with fortitude.

44. You will get a handsome, young, and wealthy partner.

45. When your conduct changes, your fortune will mend, by marrying a rich partner.

46. You have mixed with bad company, and you may depend on it, that you will be brought to disgrace.

47. A large family of healthy children, give them learning, and they will honor their father and mother.

48. You will be very unfortunate at first, but persevere, and your schemes will be successful.

49. You have a number of secret enemies, who will try to do you an injury; be on your guard and you will prosper.

50. Your happiness will consist in doing good: they are pleasing spots in the memory, which vexations cannot erase.

51. You will die an old maid, you have been too whimsical in choosing for yourself a partner.

52. Your lover will travel in Europe, and will be very successful.

53. You will marry a person with whom you will have but little comfort.

54. This is a very lucky number; whatever you do, will always prove successful.

55. After much misfortune, you will be pretty comfortable and happy.

56. Good conduct will produce much luck and happiness.

57. Through affection you will marry unfortunately; but you must make one another happy.

58. You have many lovers, but mind how you choose, or else you will suffer for it.

59. Your lover is on his return home, but he has met with severe losses.

60. A letter announcing the loss of money.

61. You have a secret enemy, mind or he will do you some harm.

62. Warns you against the evil consequences of idleness, either in yourself or partner.

63. Your partner will be very rich, but very neglectful.

64. You will be very poor and miserable, with one child.

65. Sincere love from an upright heart will be rewarded.

66. You will marry an old person with whom you will be very unhappy.

67. Plenty of offers will happen before one is worthy of acceptance, be cautious how you make your choice.

68. You will play with the mouse till you lose it.

69. Take heed, you are being deceived by your lover.

70. You will meet with great trouble, you should have consulted your friends.

71. Beware, the person you love, does not love you, he seeks your ruin.

72. If you marry in haste, you will be deceived, wait patiently, and you will be happy.

73. Hard work, hard fare, little joy, and much care.

74. A scolding wife, but rich.

75. Your partner will be very rich, but will have no children.

76. You have a rival, be not deceived; depend on our tablets, and you will better your condition.

77. You will have many children, but will be very poor.

78. Do not delay, hasten your marriage, or you will lose your virtue.

79. Your wife will have no children, and will be addicted to drinking liquors.

80. Be honest and industrious, and you will triumph over your enemies.

81. You will have children, who, if you give them a good education, will make you happy.

82. You will fall into great difficulties, you will lose your partner and marry a drunkard.

83. Hasten your marriage; the person is faithful, and you will be happy.

84. You must break off the connection you have formed, or you will come to absolute want.

85. Your lover is jealous of you, and will break off the connection.

86. You will travel in Europe, and be married there, but will have no children.

87. You will get married, but not till you begin to get old.

88. Beware, you have a secret enemy who will try and do you some injury.

89. You will die an old maid.

90. You will marry three different times, and still be very poor and miserable.

91. The person you are paying your attentions to, is deceitful.

92. If you marry, you will have great trouble, and many children; be persuaded, and live single, then you will be happy.

93. You will live to a great age and be happy.

94. There is a young man dying in love for you, but mind you are not led astray.

95. You will marry poor, but in the end be rich.

96. You are too whimsical and deceitful ever to be happy.

97. Be not flattered, for you have an amorous sweetheart.

98. A shocking accident will happen to you, or to your children, which will cause great trouble.

99. You will discover your false lover.

100. You will have a very handsome, but artful partner.

WHAT ARE DREAMS?

I offer you in this work, my dear reader, all that can be collected in reference to dreams. Notwithstanding the proverbial saying,  “All dreams are lies,” we frequently see the realization of them, and by them we are informed of more or less interesting events which afterward happen to us. A prudent and enlightened man will therefore examine carefully his dreams to know which he ought to interpret, neglecting those which are extravagant because of too exalted an imagination or of a disturbed digestion.

In consulting this book with attention, in seeking in it for the explanation of your dreams, and calculating the causes which have produced them, you will rarely depart from the truth, because you will be following the rules of a wise combination, which will prevent you from falling into an illusory if not fatal error.

FOREKNOWLEDGE, OR INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS.

In the Holy Scriptures God says, that he  “will pour his Spirit on all flesh, that the young men and maidens shall prophesy, the old men shall see visions, and the young men dream dreams.” Both sacred and profane history are full of so many examples of the fulfilment of dreams, that he must be very skeptical and but little versed in natural science who would refuse to have faith in them.

Hippocrates says that when the body is asleep the soul is awake, and transports itself everywhere, where the body would be able to go, that it knows and sees all that the body could know or see were it awake; that it touches all the body could touch, in a word, that it performs all the actions that the body of a sleeping man could do were he awake.

There are five kinds of dreams, differently named according to their different qualities. The first is dream, the second vision, the third oracle, the fourth revery, and the fifth apparition.

A dream is that which, while we are asleep, shows us the truth hidden under certain figures, as when Joseph interpreted to king Pharaoh the dream concerning the seven lean kine that devoured the seven fat ones; the dream of the seven full ears of corn, etc.

A vision is simply a dream happening when the body is awake instead of sleeping, as Vespasian when he saw the surgeon who had extracted Nero’s tooth.

The oracle is a revelation, or information given us by some angel or other celestial spirit who does God’s bidding. The angel appearing to Joseph the husband of the Virgin, and to the wise men, are examples of this.

Revery occurs when the passions are so vehement that they destroy the mental equilibrium for a time. Then what one thinks of during the day he will dream of at night, as a lover who has been thinking during the day of his beloved one will continue to do so at night while he is sleeping. Sometimes when one fears to meet a person, he will dream at night that he has met him; having fasted during the day, he will dream of eating, or, having been thirsty, of drinking. Avarice will make the miser dream of his gold, and speak of it when sleeping, as he would not do when awake.

Apparition is named Phantom by the Greeks, and is only that nocturnal vision sometimes presented to children and weak-minded persons, who imagine they see objects presented to intimidate or pain them.

Of these five kinds of dreams, the three first have an appearance of truth, but the last two are absolutely false.

It is to be remarked, with regard to all dreams, that those of which only parts are remembered, signify nothing at all; that those that memory retains are good and true; that they ought to occur about day-break, or at least after midnight, because until that time the senses and the body are occupied in the labor of digestion, and the mind disturbed by the remembrance of dinner, can dream of nothing reasonable. Nevertheless Artemidorus says, that a sober, temperate, and tranquil man can dream at any hour of the night, or even during the day, and that the fulfilment of such dreams will be certain.

Some authors divide dreams into three kinds, namely, dreams of natural objects, of animals, and of celestial objects. The natural things are those by which physicians judge of the temperament; dreams of animals show the passions and cares that the mind has felt during the day; those of celestial objects are the intimations of divine things, as for example, the statue that the king of Babylon saw when asleep, which is so well explained by the prophet Daniel.

There are few persons who have the gift of dreaming that which will be fulfilled, fewer still who know how to interpret them, because it is necessary to observe many things not generally known.

There are two principal kinds of dreams, the speculative or contemplative, and the allegorical or significative. To these one ought to pay attention, the speculative happening in the fulfilment as it occurred in dreams, for example: A prisoner in a small prison at Paris dreamed that a cord was being attached to his neck to hang him, that after it was done a stranger appeared with a sword who severed the cord and delivered him from death; this was fulfilled the next day, for the judge having pronounced his sentence, and given him to the hangman, he was delivered by unknown persons employed by his friends. Allegorical dreams on the contrary never happen as one has dreamed. Thus, to dream of an angel, signifies revelation or good news, but to see a serpent which tries to bite one signifies troubles arising from the envy of others.

Speculative dreams are soon fulfilled, allegorical ones not so quickly; a day or two often intervening between the dream and its completion.

ABOUT THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS.

“Dreams? Nonsense!” I hear some grave-faced person cry. Indeed! And where did this grave-faced person learn his wisdom? Not from experience, I will engage. No, experience teaches us the reverse of this. Dreams are by no means nonsense. This I maintain openly in the face of all the world.

I maintain even that every dream has its signification. Not that it always discloses the future, I am far from asserting that. I say only it has its signification. Commonly a dream "permits us to cast a glance into the soul or into the heart of man. The thoughts which dwell in the former, and the feelings which sway the latter, shape themselves in sleep into various images, which throw a strong light upon the character. There have no doubt been many extravagant fictions palmed off as facts relative to dreams, but yet enough credible evidence exists of their importance to make any strange dream the subject of reflection and examination on the part of the dreamer; and it cannot be denied that many things in our dreams are actually omens.

A List of Dreams, with their True Interpretation, together with the Lucky Numbers of the Lottery which they signify.

ABOVE. To dream you see any thing hanging above you signifies you will improve in your worldly prospects, and soon be in a better situation than you were before you had the dream. 76, 62, 14.

ABSENCE. To dream of absent persons, signifies that they will soon return. It also denotes success in business. 4, 22.

ABSCESS. If you dream you have an abscess, or running sore on your person, it foretells good fortune and good health, to be preceded by sickness. 3, 27.

ABUSE. To dream that you are abused and insulted, is a sign that some dispute will happen between you and some person with whom you have business; if you are in love, be assured that some one has attempted to injure you with the object of your affections, and that they have in a great measure succeeded. 6, 38, 44.

ABUNDANCE. If you dream you have an over-abundance of any thing, it goes by contrary, and is a sign of a scarcity; as if a farmer should dream that he had a great crop, it would predict a scarcity—not perhaps of that particular article of which he dreamed, but of something that would be important to him. 15.

ABYSS. To see an abyss, or deep hole, is a warning; avoid, after such a dream, taking a journey by land, or a voyage by sea, for eight-and forty hours, because it forebodes accidents by travelling. 62, 19.

ACCIDENT. To dream that an accident has happened to you, or to any one of your household, or with whom you live, foretells that you will see some one whom you little expect to see. 72, 3, 11.

ACCOUNTS. Dreams that relate to making up accounts are good omens. If you dream you found an error in your money account, it foretells that you will have a piece of good luck. Accounts blotted with ink is a sign of sickness. 14.

ACCUSE. To dream a person accuses you of any thing, is favorable to the dreamer. 66, 4.

ACORN. (See Oak.) To dream you see swine eating acorns denotes that you will have reverses in business, and lose if you are not very careful; to dream of picking acorns signifies that a rich relative will leave you a fortune. 65.

ACQUAINTANCE. To dream you quarrel or fight with an acquaintance, forebodes divisions in your own family; in love, unfaithfulness; and losses in business. 42, 6.

ACTRESS. If you dream you love her, it is a sign you will meet with adversities. If you dream you see her on the stage you will be successful in all your undertakings. 68, 5, 18.

ADDER. To dream of this reptile is a sign that some one whom you think friendly to you will injure you in some way. 19, 2.

ADULTERY. It is in most cases a bad omen to dream that you have perpetrated this act. If the person you dreamed about is married, or is a prostitute, you may almost be sure that some misfortune will overtake you. If she is a virgin, it merely predicts that you will shortly have an invitation to a wedding. For a married woman to dream of adultery is a sign she will soon conceive and have a girl. To an unmarried woman such a dream is a sign of misfortune. 51, 7, 3.

AGUE. To dream that you have one, warns you against an inclination to strong drink; to dream your sweetheart has an ague, denotes affection and happiness. 39, 6, 1.

AIR. To dream that you see it clear and serene, shows that you shall be beloved and esteemed by most people; if at law, success. In short, all good is denoted by clear and serene air. But to dream that the air is thick, cloudy, dark, and troubled, denotes to the dreamer, grief, sickness, loss of good, hindrance of business, and crosses in love. 12, 9.

ALMONDS. Signify riches and happiness; to eat them shows you will have good luck in love matters. 73, 18, 10.

ALLIGATOR. (See Reptile.)

ALMS. To dream they are begged of you, and you refuse them, shows want and misery to the dreamer; but to dream you give them freely, is a sign of joy and long life. 11, 13, 4.

ALTAR. To dream of an altar, betokens gladness, and affection in love. Of an Ark, the same. 71, 63, 4.

ANCHOR. To dream you see one, signifies unexpected success in love; but in business, it shows the success to be distant, and only obtainable with care. 47, 36.

ANGEL. To dream you see angels in your sleep, is a sign some are near you, and that the rest of your dream will come to pass. To see many angels, is a sign of many children, and much prosperity. 16, 8, 24.

ANGER. (See Rage.) To dream that you have been provoked to anger, shows that you have powerful enemies; and warns you to be careful that all you do should be strictly honorable; but it also signifies you will hear good news, and be in a good humor. 44, 16.

ANGLING. (See Fish.)

ANTS. To dream of ants, is unlucky; and to dream too often of them, shows the dreamer not to be long lived. 7, 49, 20.

APES. (See Monkey.) To dream you have seen or had any thing to do with them, signifies malicious, though secret enemies; and warns you against carrying on law-suits. 17, 6.

APPARITION. To dream you see an apparition or spirit, clothed in white, signifies deceit, temptation to sin, and disappointment in love. 57.