THE DAILY MIRROR

15 August 1907

(PAGE 4)

MYSTIC CARD.

Household Mishaps Quickly Follow

Receipt of Curious Missive.

PUZZLING SIGNS.

An extraordinary letter, enclosing a strange, elliptical card, has just been received at the Daily Mirror office.

The substance of the letter, which is sent from a West End address, is as follows:—

“Two days ago I received the enclosed card anonymously, and, just glancing at it briefly, thinking it an advertisement of some sort, I placed it on the mantelpiece.

“Within a few minutes, disasters of a minor kind began to happen in my little home.

“First, one of my most valuable vases fell to the ground and was smashed to pieces. My little clock stopped—the clock was near the card—and then I discovered to my amazement that my dear little canary lay dead at the bottom of its cage!

“I am fully convinced that the characters on the card have some evil influence. Please do not send the dreadful thing back to me.”

Two London authorities on signs and hieroglyphics, Mr. Everard Green, F.S.A., and Mr. Sadler, librarian of the Freemason’s Hall, have been approached by the Daily Mirror, in the hope that they might be able to throw some light on the matter.

Mr. Green said the arrangement of the signs was apparently meaningless. “It has nothing whatever to do with any heraldic signs,” he said, “It is probably the work of an individual, or of some small society.”

Mr. Sadler on viewing the card remarked that it was totally erroneous to imagine that it had an evil influence.

“There are Alpha and Omega—the beginning and the end—in the scales of justice, supported by the sword. Above all is the celestial crown, white the letterings are, as far as I can judge, mostly of a religious character. The lettering, ‘V.V.V.V.V.,’ however, I cannot understand.

“I do not know to what society or order the card belongs.” It has nothing to do with Freemasonry.

Perhaps some of our readers may be able to explain the origin of this mysterious card.