One unlikely seer was a young man by the name of Robert Nixon, who worked as a plowboy in the county of Cheshire, England in the late 15th century. Because he rarely spoke, and usually babbled incomprehensibly when he did, Nixon was thought to be mentally retarded. When he seemed to predict the ascension of Henry VII to the throne, he was brought before the new king, who was impressed by this simple farm worker’s apparent clairvoyance. Most astonishing, however, was Nixon’s prediction of his own death: he prophesied that he would starve to death in the royal palace. The king thought this absurd, as he was able to provide great banquets to the lad, and ordered that Nixon could eat anything, anytime he desired.
There came a day when King Henry had to travel and left Nixon in the care of a trusted officer. Feeling responsible for this unusual young man’s protection, the officer locked him in the king’s closet. As it would happen, this officer was also called away from London, forgetting to leave instructions for caring for Nixon…
as well as the key to the closet. Nixon starved to death.
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