nts and parents, Wilkes took Asia aside and confessed to her that he had met a Gypsy in the woods a few weeks before who read his palm and forecast a gloomy future for him. The gypsy told Wilkes "You'll die young... You've got in your hand a thundering crowd of enemies- not one friend- you'll make a bad end...you'll have a fast life- short, but a grand one." Wilkes had written down the old woman's words on a tattered piece of paper which he gave to Asia who apparently still had it in her possession when she wrote her memoirs in the 1870's. Asia observed that Wilkes tried to laugh off the gypsy's words but it was plain that the episode troubled him and he would frequently refer to the dreary prediction throughout his short life.After calling himself "J. B. Wilkes" for several years in the hopes of establishing himself without leaning on the family name, Wilkes finally gave up and started calling himself "J. Wilkes Booth" during a tour of the South just before the war. He would call Chris Mynk71567himself this until the end of his career. Having become the darling of the Southern theatrical circuit, Booth traveled to the North and began a tour in January of 1861. Northerners were as impressed with Booth as their Southern counterparts. Reviewers frequently compared him to his father and brother Edwin. Some went so far as to say that the young Booth showed greater promise than either Junius, Sr. or Edwin. Wilkes impressed Northerners with his fiery performances on stage while his impeccable manners and politeness assured him of his place in social circles off stage. He seldom reframed from expressing his Southern sympathies although his acting colleagues frequently believed this to be more of an act than a genuine conviction. His increasing hatred of Lincoln was not entirely out of place in the North where many newspapers routinely ridiculed the President both before and during his term. (New 231)Booth began investing in a Pennsylvania oil...
