It is probable that one of the oldest existing packs is the Tarot pack now

preserved in the Cabinet des Estampes in Paris. Others discovered in the

back of a book in Florence in 1910, also Tarots, have not been open to the

inspection of students. They are valued at two thousand dollars, but the

pack is not complete, nor on record, so the cards painted for Charles VI

may still claim to be the oldest known. The débris of this pack was also

discovered in the binding of a book of the fifteen century. The heraldic

devices on the cards and the detail of the costumes, which are essentially

French, point to their having been produced in the time of Charles VI. The

robes, beards, etc., of three of the Kings are similar to the portraits of

Charles or his courtiers. The velvet hats are surmounted with crowns and

the robes are trimmed with ermine. The dress of the Knaves corresponds

with that of the pages, or else with that of the _sergents d'Armes_ of the

day, while the Queens are dressed like the portrait of Isabella of

Bavaria. The court cards of the fourth suit show a marked contrast to the

richly bedecked ones of the three other suits, for the figures are habited

like savages, which is supposed to recall a fête given on the occasion of

the marriage of one of the queen's maids of honour to the Chevalier de

Vermandois, that had such a horrible termination.

Charles VI had had attacks of mania, but was at that time more reasonable.

Hugonin de Janzay, one of his favourites, planned to entertain him by

inducing him to take part in a mummery, for which the king and five other

men were to be dressed as savages, and were to enter the fête to surprise

the guests. The party were dressed in linen soaked with tar and covered

with fur, so were completely disguised. They rushed into the ballroom

shouting and rattling their chains, when the Duc D'Orleans, brother of the

king, seized a torch from an attendant to look more closely at the

strangers, and by mischance set the inflammable clothes on fire. Most of

the men were chained together and could not escape, but one of them freed

himself and saved his own life by plunging into a cistern of water which

was placed in the buttery for the purpose of rinsing the drinking cups.

The king, who was standing at a little distance talking to the Duchess de

Beri, was saved by that lady, who, with great presence of mind, wrapped

her velvet cloak around her royal master. This gruesome incident brought

on another attack of mania, that lasted until his death on the 21st of

October, 1422, after a reign of forty-two years. It is presumed by M. Paul

la Croix, in his essay on "Cartes a Jouer" (1873), that this celebrated

incident was perpetuated in the French cards that he thinks were invented

and painted at about that time.

The fragments of the second pack, that apparently belong to the same

period, closely resemble those with which we are familiar, since they are

not Tarots but bear the pips invented by the French, and M. la Croix

states (page 241) that he "credits the tradition declaring that these

particular cards are the first Piquet pack, and that these were the

original cards that dethroned the Tarots of the Italians to become the

favorites of the French nation."

These French pips were afterwards adopted by the less ingenious English,

while the Germans invented devices of their own, called Grünen, Eicheln,

Herzen, and Shellen, at about the same period. Although the Spaniards

remained faithful to the Tarots, they discarded the Atout part of the

pack, retaining only the suit cards with the pips of Cups, Money, Swords,

and Staves. The emblems adopted in the several countries nearly five

hundred years ago (when a wave of card playing seems to have swept over

Europe), have retained their hold on the affections of those who adopted

the individual devices, for each nation still clings to the pips that were

then chosen, and it is only by degrees that the French designs are

emigrating to different parts of the world.

The "Jesse" pack of cards, now to be seen in Paris, are painted on

cardboard, and the figures are dressed in the fashions of the day. The

emblems recall the heraldic tokens of two of the courtiers of Charles VI,

as well as the one identified with one of the most beautiful and learned

women of her day. It is said that the invention of these pips was due to

the anxiety of Queen Isabella and her ministers to divert the unfortunate

monarch, so as to prevent his interfering with their schemes.

It was with the alteration of the pips, the adoption of _Coeurs_ (Hearts),

_Carreaux_ (Diamonds), _Trèfles_ (Clubs), and _Piques_ (Spades), the

distinctive use of red and black unmingled with other colours, and the

discarding of the fourth court card, together with the Joker, and the

Atout part of the old pack, that the fortune-telling Book of Thoth became

transformed into a set of toys or gambling instruments. It is little

wonder that their original intention, purpose, and history became

obliterated and finally almost forgotten, so that when a French writer

ventured to state that cards were part of the Egyptian mysteries he was

treated as a foolish dreamer.

The invention of the French pips is attributed to two persons, both of

them courtiers of the king, who probably worked together to produce a

simple and convenient set of devices that should be easily recognised and

as well adapted for playing, as were the original Tarots suited for

divining the lives and characteristics of mankind. One of the inventors

of the French pips was Etienne Vignolles, whose nickname was La Hire, and

this name has been found on some of the old cards, as if he wished to be

perpetuated in this way, and not as the brave old soldier who was well

versed in chivalric customs, and who, according to historians, had always

his sword drawn against the English. The second person to whom is credited

the invention of the Piquet pack is Etienne Chevalier, secretary to the

king, and his treasurer, who was noted for his original and inventive

genius and his quick wit. It is more than probable that to his facile

pencil the new designs should be attributed. The men who formulated the

rules of the game for which they invented the cards must have been clever,

as it is arranged with such care that these rules have remained

practically unaltered for five hundred years, and Piquet is still a

favourite in men's clubs and the best tête-a-tête game known.

The Piquet pack contains five pip cards, Ace, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten,

with three court cards, King, Queen, and Knave, called by the French names

of Le Roi, La Reine, and Le Valet or varlet. With this handful of cards

we are all familiar. Here was a great modification of the old suits with

their heraldic devices. The Cavalier of the Tarot pack was discarded, thus

reducing the court cards to three instead of four, while five of the pip

cards were also omitted. The game was thoroughly scientific, needing close

attention and discretion even with the curtailed pack of cards. It showed

the soldier's hand in its stratagem, and that of the artist in its simple

colours.

The king's banker was Jacques Coeur, whose beautiful palace in Bourges

shows a pun on his name in every lintel, door or window where a heart is

cut in stone or wood to remind one of the owner. Tradition states that it

was in honour of Jacques Coeur that his heraldic emblem, _Coeurs_

(Hearts), was placed on the cards to perpetuate his memory, to the

exclusion of that of his patron, Mercury, the god of merchants.

The Money emblem was changed to _Carreaux_ (Diamonds). This device may

have been inspired by the little lozenge panes of glass in the windows of

Coeur's palace, or by the tiles in the floors, or perhaps by "_les fers de

fiche_," which would have retained the original idea of the "divining

arrows" from which the old cards came. M. la Croix says: "The Sword of the

ancients became _Pique_ (Spade), to do honour to the two soldier brothers,

Jean and Gaspard Bureau." The _Trèfle_ (Club) was the heraldic device of

Agnes Sorel, a greatly accomplished woman who displaced the queen in the

affections of her husband. Sorel is the French for what we call shamrock

or clover, and was a pun on the name of the lady.

M. la Croix thinks that these cards were devised some time between the

years 1420 and 1440. If so, they could only have been born at the very end

of the mad king's life.

The distinctive marks of the French pack are the two dominating colours,

red and black, that strongly contrast with the various and mingled colours

seen in the Tarots. The reason for simplifying the pips in this way is not

recorded, although the change makes it much easier for players and was a

clever idea, but no sharp division like this is called for when playing

the game of Piquet (or little Pique), for which these cards were primarily

used. It was probably intended to simplify the work of the card maker, as

it demanded only the two colours commonly used by printers, black and red.

It was about the year 1785, over three hundred years after the French had

become accustomed to their new cards, and had entirely forgotten that

there were any others, that Court de Gebelin, a French writer, published

his essay on Tarots, which he calls "that strange collection of unbound

leaves that are the parents of all modern playing cards." It is entitled

"Extràit du Monde Primative Analysé et comparé avec le Monde Moderne, Tome

I, Du Jeu des Tarots."

[Illustration: EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS

Pip Cards of the Sword Suit

55 Ace of Swords

56 Deuce of Swords

57 Trey of Swords

58 Four of Swords

59 Five of Swords

60 Six of Swords]

The account begins with the announcement that the origin of the Tarots and

their allegories will be traced and explained, as well as their connection

with the cards of the day. The essay being in French, a free translation

with necessary omissions must be given, while the curious are referred to

the original. M. de Gebelin begins:

"If it were announced that one of the ancient books of the early Egyptians

that contained most interesting information had escaped the flames that

consumed their superb libraries, every one would doubtless be anxious to

see such a precious and rare work. If added to this information it was

stated that the leaves of this book were scattered over Europe, and

that for centuries they had been in the hands of all the world, surprise

and incredulity would greet the suggestion. Yet when, to crown all, it was

realized that no one had even suspected the connection of the scattered

pages in their possession with those of Egyptian mysteries, nor had any

person deciphered a line on them, and that the fruit of an exquisite

wisdom is to-day regarded as a collection of extravagant pictures without

any significance, the world would be surprised at its own supineness or

ignorance. Despite incredulity on these points, a great Egyptian book, the

sole survivor of a valuable library, is still in existence, and, what is

more strange, this book is so universally used and seems to be so

insignificant that no savant has condescended to study its unbound pages,

nor has any student suspected its illustrious origin. Composed of

seventy-eight leaves that are divided into five classes, this book is, in

one word, what is commonly known as the Tarot pack of cards. Of ancient

origin, the bizarre pictures that they display do not betray the intention

or motive for assembling together such peculiar figures and emblems.

These pictures, that seem to be incongruously mingled, call for an answer

to the enigma, and they should not be treated as trifles or merely for

amusement." Such is the opinion of a scholar who lived over one hundred

years ago, and this opinion has survived the ridicule, abuse, and disdain

showered on de Gebelin after he had pointed out that the Tarots were in

truth the Book of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus.

There is only one spot in the world where these cards remain in their

pristine condition and are played with to-day, and where they are offered

for sale, and it is interesting to note that it is close to the place

where the worship of Thoth first made its appearance in Europe.

The Tarots are now used for playing several games, and these, if analysed,

will show marks of the ancient mysteries. Through them can be traced not

only a birthplace, but a history declared by de Gebelin to hark back to

the borderland of civilization. He points out that the writers of his day

have confined their studies to French cards used in Paris, when they were

looking for the origin of playing cards, entirely ignoring, or at least

never referring to, the Tarots, of which probably they had never heard.

The history of French cards was not hard to relate, since it goes back

little over three hundred years. There is a record of their birth, and, as

has been mentioned, there are survivors of the original pack now to be

seen in Les Cabinet des Estampes in Paris, which display Hearts, Diamonds,

Clubs, and Spades.

Merlin, Chatto, Singer, and Breitkopf look farther afield than de

Gebelin's predecessors, whose writings are now forgotten, but all of them,

while acknowledging that the images or the pips of the Tarots with which

they are familiar have some connection with an old condition of affairs,

fail to trace it, since no reliable historical or legal record of cards

that are called "Playing Cards" can be discovered prior to the Middle

Ages, so they assumed that cards could not have existed before that date,

but the possibility that they might have lived and flourished under

another name is overlooked.

These authorities acknowledge that the shape, the sequence, and the

grouping of the Tarots display system, which they decide is interesting

but incomprehensible, yet they fail to unravel the significance of these

arrangements. They touch upon the strange resemblance of various figures

and their value in the game of _L'Ombre_ (The Man) to the civil law,

philosophy, and religion of the ancient Romans, Greeks, or Egyptians. Mr.

Singer points to one of the Atouts that he says "resembles the attributes

of Osiris," and other cards impress him as recalling those of Mercury, as

well as other mythological personages that he writes "seem to be found

among the Atouts." But all the authors arrest themselves at this point

without inquiring if these ancient gods whom they recognised were placed

with intention or by chance on the cards, and, although they concede that

the cards were used for divining purposes, they fail to connect them

distinctly with the mysteries of past ages.

De Gebelin declares that "the Tarots could only be the outcome of the work

of sages," and that "these cards were intended for the use of initiates

and not for gamblers." He alone pierces the mystery of the origin of the

Tarots, while the others content themselves with supposing that cards

sprang in their present form into use precisely as Minerva emerged fully

equipped from Jove's head; they write that cards had no existence, no

form, and no record, previous to those accorded to them about the

thirteenth century.

To call an antagonist "a dreamer" or "a fool" is an unconvincing form of

argument. To declare that a proposition is untrue because it is presented

for the first time and has not been looked into is absurd; so to-day, over

one hundred and twenty-five years after Court de Gebelin spread his pearls

before the uncomprehending students of Playing Card lore, it may be well

to recapitulate his theories and study his conclusions with minds opened

by latter-day revelations of the ancient rites, mysteries, and cults, and

not to reject them without investigation.

CHAPTER X

COURT AND POINT CARDS WITH FRENCH PIPS

As early as 1656, according to the writers of the day, a pack of cards was

called in England, "a pair of cards," which was evidently derived from the

Italian, Paio, as the combined Atout and numbered cards, or the two

volumes of the book of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus, were occasionally called

in Italy. The importation of cards was prohibited in England in 1463, by

Act 11, Henry VII, as local productions were to be encouraged, so foreign

cards are seldom found in England.

Sometimes the collection of fifty-two cards, adopted from the French, was

called "a stock," notably in the play of "The Three Ladies of London,"

where one of them says: "Now, all the cards in the Stock are dealt about."

But the word is now only applied when it is wished to designate those

cards left after a hand has been dealt, although they are more commonly

called "the widow," or "the forsaken one." In Queen Elizabeth's day, a

pack of cards was called "a bunch," and Shakespeare terms them "a deck,"

which designation is still used in Scotland and in parts of the United

States.

The designs on the cards representing the numbers are technically termed

pips, or peeps, perhaps from the seeds of apples, pears, and oranges, that

are so called in England; and they are also called spots.

In the "Metamorphosis of Ajax," by Sir John Harrington (1615), he says:

"When Brutus had discarded the kings and queens out of the pack, and shown

himself sworn enemy to all the Coate cards, there crept in many new forms

of government." This rather unique and old-fashioned way of designating

the figures in the pack leads some persons to suppose that the name

implied "coated figures, that is to say, men and women wearing coats, in

contradistinction to the other devices of flowers or animals." The term

does not seem to have been general, however, and it is more probable that

they were called "court cards," since these representative persons are

dressed in ermine, with rich embroideries and jewels, and two of each suit

are crowned, so that they were recognised as "coated," or fashionably

dressed. It has been pointed out that the original French court cards were

probably likenesses of the kings of France of the day, as well as their

consorts and mistresses; while in England, they were copies of well-known

portraits of Henry VIII and his beautiful mother, Queen Elizabeth of York,

so that they were rulers of the card kingdom, as well as of their

respective countries. The cards were, therefore, called "of the court," or

"court cards."

The collection necessary for most of the games played with the French

cards vary in number, but this is merely a matter of local preference, as

demanded by the games in vogue. In Paris, a Piquet pack requires only

thirty-six cards, while, in the United States, Nonsuch Euchre calls for

sixty-one, including the Joker, which card is unknown in France. A

standard French or English pack contains fifty-two cards, divided into

four suits, like their forefathers, the Tarots. The distinguishing feature

of the junior pack is the two colours into which it is parted, for two of

the suits are painted black, and two are red; this distinction marks the

difference between the French cards and those of all other nations, where

local pips are used.

The Tarots had four court cards to each suit, while the French and Spanish

packs have only three members of the court world. The Spaniards omit the

woman from their cards, while the French drop one of the men, the

cavalier, a mounted figure that gives variety and value to the royal

family in other countries, and makes the game more like one of war, and

not merely a compliment to a distinguished lady. However, the King, Queen,

and Knave are now the only ones with the French emblems, and these are

followed by ten pip cards, in which number one, or the Ace, is sometimes

the highest, and, at others, the lowest in the pack, according to the game

to be played.

In the United States, a pack is incomplete without the Joker, which then

makes fifty-three cards to a standard pack. Many writers have tried to

connect the number fifty-two with the weeks of the year, but, as can

easily be seen by studying the Tarots, this was not the original number,

and the French, when inventing their new set of cards, probably had no

such connection in mind, and the Piquet, which is the earliest French

pack, contains less than fifty-two cards.

The Joker did not make its appearance in the United States until about the

middle of the nineteenth century, and then for a rather strange reason.

The cards used in the Northern States were those inherited from France or

England, while those used in the extreme South-western States were of

Spanish origin, but the packs of none of these countries had retained the

old figure of Mercury. The Joker, however, suddenly appeared in the

American packs, the reason for this being as follows, cards are printed or

stamped on large sheets of paper, which are afterwards cut apart to the

required size. When arranged on the sheet, one space in a corner was not

used, and, therefore, left blank, although the back was printed exactly

like all the rest of the pack. Having no need for this card, the makers

generously threw it in, and placed it on the outside of the wrapper, so as

to show the colour and design of the back. The value of the new card was

rapidly recognised by players, who, impelled by some unknown power,

assigned to it the position originally occupied by Il Matto of the Tarot

pack, with all its old privileges of taking every other card. It was

particularly valuable in the game of Euchre, that sprang into popularity

at the same time that the Joker (or the one who played tricks and took

them) was adopted. So, through this accidental appearance of a blank card

in the pack, Mercury suddenly asserted his old supremacy, and cunningly

resumed his wonted place and power in the card world, although his

original prominence and his cult had been entirely overlooked and

forgotten for over five hundred years, except in one particular town in

Italy, where the old Tarots are retained in their pristine condition.

Instead of using a blank card on the outside of the pack, some of the

European card manufacturers make a hole in the wrapper, through which may

be seen the Ace of Hearts, stamped with the government revenue stamp. In

England and the United States, the name of the manufacturer is printed on

the Ace of Spades, and the revenue stamp is pasted on the wrapper of the

pack. German card makers often place a blank card in their wrappers, but

it has not been incorporated into any of the local games, nor does it bear

a revenue stamp or the maker's name upon it.

As soon as American manufacturers discovered that card players considered

the odd card of value, the Joker was quickly represented by various

grotesque figures, that differ in every pack, and are somewhat confusing

to players. It, therefore, seems a pity that a uniform design is not

agreed upon, as is the case with the court cards. Any deviation from the

dress of the figures on the latter meets with instant opposition from

players. It seems peculiar that the card is never represented by Mercury,

or a fool, or a clown, or perhaps, a red devil, which would make it easy

to distinguish from the Ace of Spades, which is often, and sometimes

disastrously, mistaken for the more powerful Joker. The most desirable

image that might now be used would be a reproduction of the beautiful

flying figure of Mercury, carrying the caduceus, by John of Bologna.

No French packs, and very few English ones, contain a Joker, since the

games that call for its use are not favourites in those countries.

However, the Joker, with all its inherited value, is known in the

Japanese and Korean packs of cards, where it seems to be of sporadic

growth, and is apparently not connected with the ancient god, Mercury, the

quondam ruler of the cards.

Nor are the makers of the French packs wedded to one costume for the court

cards, as are those of England, where the slightest change in the dress,

emblems, or colours, causes a remonstrance from players, who insist on

retaining everything as they have been accustomed to it for several

hundred years. The English people, however, do not reverence the images

because they are those of their own royal families, for it remained for an

American to identify the origin of the pictures, and to connect them with

the originals.

English players even resented the alteration made about 1870, when the

cards were cut in two, and reversed, making what are known as "double

headers." These are sometimes declared to be an American innovation, but

in "Cartes a Jouer," by M. Merlin, a pack of Venetian cards, dated 1602,

is illustrated, the court cards of which are so divided.

Another novelty invented and introduced in America, is the "index," or

the number of the card printed in the upper left-hand and lower right-hand

corners. This was necessary for playing Poker, where the players keep the

cards squeezed together as closely as possible, to prevent other players

looking into their hands. These useful little numbers have given their

name of "squeezers," or "indexed cards" to this fashion. English clubmen,

however, absolutely refused to adopt cards printed in this way.

The costume of the King in English and American packs is a grotesque

reproduction of that of Henry VIII of England, and that of the Knave is

like the dress of the page of his day. The long sleeves were nicknamed

"pokeys," since food or precious articles might be concealed in them, so

these bag sleeves were the ancestors of pockets and reticules.

It is quite as important to retain the position as the dress of each

figure, if the wishes of players are to be respected. Thus, the King of

Hearts holds the sword of Mercury uplifted in his left hand. It is an

heraldic weapon, and not a rapier, or what is known as a dress sword, that

would have been usual with the costume of the period. His mate on the

English cards, the red King of Diamonds, has a battleaxe displayed in the

upper left-hand corner, and he is the only king whose face is in profile.

His right hand is raised, as if bestowing a blessing.

The two black kings each hold uplifted swords. That of Clubs faces towards

the left, as does the King of Hearts, but Clubs holds an orb in his right

hand. The King of Spades faces towards the right. All the kings have long

hair, resting on the shoulders, and curling upwards at the ends. They wear

small, pointed moustaches (with the exception of Hearts), and all have

beards divided in the middle and curled. Crowns and long, flowing robes,

trimmed with ermine, complete the costume, excepting on the modern,

double-headed cards, where their royalties are curtailed of half of their

splendour.

It was once fashionable to assign names to the royal family of cards. This

custom has been retained in France, and is the only one, with the

exception of the colour and designs of the pips, that has been kept, for

the early dresses have been entirely discarded, and fantastic ones, with

no heraldic meaning and no inherited intention, have been substituted.

The revolution that overturned the throne of France also upset the

costumes of the card world, that had closely resembled the original

designs up to that date, but when royalty was banished, the cards followed

many and various fashions.

In the originals, the Knave of Clubs was named Roland, for one of the

heroes of French literature in the time of Charlemagne. The king of that

suit has a legend printed beside his name, "_faut sou_" or "lack penny."

The Queen was called Tromperie.

The King of Diamonds received the historical name of Corsube, and the

motto of his Queen was "_en toi te fie_," or "self-trust." The King of

Spades was Apollin, a Saracenic hero, and the Queen of Hearts bears the

motto, "_La foie etsp. d. u._," or "lost faith." The date of these cards

is about 1450.

In another pack, of probably nearly the same date, the King of Hearts is

named La Hire. This was the nickname of the warrior who was said to have

assisted in the invention of the game of Piquet, and the pips unalterably

connected with it. The King of Diamonds has, beside his name, that of

Hector of Troy, said to have been the ancestor of the kings of France. The

Knave of Spades is Ogier the Dane, reminding the players of one of the

peers in the time of Charlemagne. The kings of this historic pack were

Alexander, Cæsar, David, and Charlemagne. The queens were Judith, Pallas,

Argine, and Rachel. Judith was intended for Isabella of Bavaria, mother of

Charles VII, and a very disreputable person; Pallas typified Joan of Arc,

who gave her life for her nation; Argine was supposed to represent the

wife of the king, Marie of Anjou; and Rachel was Agnes Sorel, whose

emblem, the sorrel or clover leaf, had been placed among the pips.

The Knaves in the card kingdom of England wear battlemented caps of red

velvet, shaped like those worn in that country by the servant class in the

middle of the sixteenth century, when the dress of each man and woman

marked his or her position with peculiar distinctness. To be quite

correct, the caps should be black, but the touch of colour is well-liked

on the cards. The warriors or police of the pack are the black knaves who

hold pikes as weapons. The Knave of Clubs looks to the right, and his

comrade to the left. These cards typify Boaz and Jakin, or the pillars of

the Temple of Solomon, revered by Freemasons.

The Knave of Hearts is a soldier, like his comrades, but of a somewhat

higher grade, and he carries on his right arm a halberd "at rest." In his

left hand is a branch of olive, representing the messenger of peace,

clearly descended from the emblem of Mercury, whose wand was often used as

a flag of truce. The Knave of Spades carries a twisted ribbon, strongly

suggestive of the caduceus; and he is supposed to represent Patch, the

favourite court fool of Elizabeth of York. Both the Knave of Hearts and

the Knave of Spades are in profile, and look over the left shoulder. The

hair of all is long and curly. With the exception of Clubs, all of the

Knaves wear moustaches, but no beards. Diamonds once sported a quiver with

arrows, but this has now become part of the dress, and is difficult to

separate from its trimmings. Before they were so ruthlessly cut in half,

these Knaves had funny short, fat legs, with broadtoed shoes.

The names given to the knaves in different localities and in different

games are not written on the cards, as is the case in France, but they

receive them from the players, and are sometimes historical and rather

affording. In the old game of Gleek, they were nicknamed Tom. In other

games, the Knave of Clubs was designated Pam, and in Germany, he is called

Wenzel, Wencelaus, or _der Treffle-Bube_.

Jack was the name given to all the Knaves in All-Fours, which cognomen has

clung to them. In Euchre, the Knaves of Trumps are called Bowers. The

rules of that game make the Joker the highest card, followed by the Knave

of the suit declared to be trumps, and the Knave of the suit of the same

colour. Thus, if Hearts are trumps, its Knave is called "the right bower,"

and the Knave of Diamonds becomes "the left bower." This word is a

corruption of a dialect word, meaning "young man," and was given to the

Knaves when Euchre was invented, about the middle of the last century, at

the same time that the Joker was reappointed to his old place in the pack.

In Skat and the games from which it has been adapted, such as Tappé Tarot,

of the Austrians; L'Ombre, of the Italians, and Primero, of the Spaniards

and English (to all of which the German game bears a strong resemblance),

the Knaves are called "Matadores." In France, the Knave is called Varlet,

or Valet; in Italy, Fanté; in Spain, Soto; but there are local nicknames

for all the Knaves in different countries and in different games. Obermann

and Untermann, or, for short, Ober and Unter, are printed on the two male

figures in the German packs, where three court cards are retained, but

where no Queens are to be found, although the Tarots had four royal

personages, including a Queen.

The attributes, dresses, and devices of the queens of the card kingdom are

historical and most interesting, for, like their kings and valets, their

fashions have survived unchanged for practically four hundred and

twenty-five years, since the French cards were introduced into England.

None of the faces are in profile, but the Queens of Diamonds and Clubs

incline to our right, while the Queens of Hearts and Spades look towards

our left. The robes are trimmed with ermine and are confined at the waist

by jeweled buckles. A wimple or veil floats from the fair hair that is

parted over the brow and crowned with a diadem, worn quite far back

instead of on the top of the head.

The representation of the Queens on the cards is a close copy of the

costume of the many portraits extant of Elizabeth of York, daughter of

Edward IV of England, wife of Henry VII and mother of Henry VIII. Some of

her likenesses are in different collections in England, the most

interesting one being in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

The picture of Henry VII, which hangs as a pendant to that of his lovely

wife, is marked 1505, or four years before his death, and looks like an

elderly, careworn man, but that of his consort was probably painted at the

time of her marriage, as she is portrayed as a young, sweet-faced woman.

It is this picture that has been placed on the cards, where it has

remained practically unaltered for four centuries, while her husband's

likeness has not been perpetuated among the court cards.

The reason for placing the likeness of Elizabeth of York on the cards may

be briefly stated. She was born in the palace of Westminster, February

11, 1466, and was the eldest child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.

For some years the little royal princess was heiress to the throne. When

his daughter was about nine years of age, King Edward made an expedition

into France, and war with that country was averted only by her submitting

to become tributary to the invaders. In the articles of peace, the

Princess Elizabeth was contracted to the Dauphin Charles, the eldest son

of Louis XI and the great-grandson of the crazy Charles VI, for whom the

French pips were said to have been invented.

"From the hour of her contract with the heir of France, Elizabeth was

always addressed in the palace," says Miss Strickland in her "Lives of the

Queens of England," "as Mme. la Dauphine," so "the most illustrious Maid

of York" (as she was also called) was taught to speak and write French by

ladies sent to England by Louis. They also dressed the princess in the

latest French fashions. The simple veil of fine white muslin, that had

been the customary court dress, was replaced by a velvet hood with long

lapels heavily jeweled. Flowing sleeves trimmed with ermine took the

place of the tight ones with broad lace cuffs that had formerly been the

style in England, and a robe confined at the waist by a girdle and jeweled

buckle took the place of the stiff, tight bodice. All these items of dress

have been closely copied in the cards, where they may be easily studied.

[Illustration: EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS

Pip and Court Cards of the Sword Suit

61 Seven of Swords

62 Eight of Swords

63 Nine of Swords

64 Ten of Swords

65 Knave of Swords

66 Cavalier of Swords]

Elizabeth was also taught embroidery by her French _dame d'honneur_, but,

above all, was instructed to play with the cards bearing French pips

instead of those with German emblems, showing Acorns, Leaves, Hearts, and

Bells, that were probably used before that time in England, since they are

the only ones found in that country.

The marriage contract was treacherously broken by the French king, who

married his son to Anne of Bretagne, and this slight to the Princess

Elizabeth so infuriated her father that it caused his death.

After years of sorrow and vicissitudes, Elizabeth married Henry VII,

January 16, 1486, thus uniting the houses of York and Lancaster, and her

heraldic rose remains on the cards to remind us of this important event.

John de Gigh, a prebendary of St. Paul's, wrote a Latin epithalamium on

her marriage, and a part of it describes this exalted lady on her wedding

day. A free translation of it may be given as follows:

Oh! royal maid,

Put on your regal robes in loveliness.

A thousand fair attendants round you wait,

Of various ranks, with different offices,

To deck your beauteous form. Lo, this delights

To smooth with ivory comb your golden hair,

And that to curl and braid each shining tress,

And wreathe the sparkling jewels round your head,

Twining your soft, smooth locks with gems. This one shall clasp

The radiant necklace framed in fretted gold

About your snowy neck, while that unfolds

The robes that glow with gold and purple dye,

And fits the ornaments with patient skill

To your unrivalled limbs, and here shall shine

The costly treasures from the Orient sands.

The sapphire, azure gem that emulates

Heaven's loftly arch, shall gleam, and softly there

The verdant emerald shed its greenest light,

And fiery carbuncle flash forth its rosy rays

From the pure gold.

This graphic description of hair, costume, and ornaments seems to be still

repeated in the cards of to-day that closely resemble the portraits of

this dainty queen.

Elizabeth was a believer in fortune-telling and consulted an astrologer on

many occasions. It was predicted that all sorts of good fortune would

befall her in 1503, on the day that she completed her thirty-seventh year.

This is alluded to in the elegy that Sir Thomas More wrote on his royal

mistress, describing in it the folly and vanity of such divinations and

their untrustworthiness, as follows:

Yet was I lately promised otherwise

This year to lie in weal and in delight;

Lo! to what cometh all thy blandishing promises,

O false astrology and divinitrice,

Of God's secrets vaunting thyself so wise?

How true is for this year the prophecy?

The year yet lasteth, and lo, here I lie.

It booteth not for me to wail and cry,

Pray for my soul, for lo, here I die.

For, after a short and sad married life, Queen Elizabeth died on her

birthday, February 11, 1503. "She was," says Miss Strickland, "one of the

most beautiful of our queens. Her portraits are numerous and her

monumental statue is in King Henry's Chapel at Westminster Abbey. It was

designed by Torregiano and shows the sweet expression of her mouth."

The portrait of this lovely, gentle lady may well remain as queen of the

Card Kingdom, with that of her son, Henry VIII, as king. In England the

Queen of Hearts is still frequently called "Queen Bess."

The plaid or chequered backs fashionable at one time on cards were later

discarded, since they could so easily be used by gamblers, who put marks

on the cards that could not readily be discerned by unaccustomed players.

The chequered backs gave rise to the supposition that the board for

playing chess had been transferred to the backs of the cards, and the

chessmen had been converted into printed figures on the faces of the

cardboard. This idea has been proved incorrect, since cards are in no way

derived from the game of Chess.

In France the backs of the cards are highly glazed and are of a plain,

uniform colour, generally red or green. In Spain card makers use speckled

backs. The modern Tarots have designs engraved on a very thin paper that

is pasted on the back, the edges of which are turned over the face of the

card, making a narrow border. These designs are sometimes "the woman of

Samaria," and at others a Hercules throwing rocks down a precipice. The

backs of old English cards were generally plain, and when paper was scarce

or expensive, old cards were too useful to be destroyed, and were used for

various purposes; hence we find them in the bindings of old books.

Sometimes they were cut up for paper dolls. The richly dressed figures of

the court cards were ingeniously put to this purpose, while a skillful

cutter could with a pair of scissors fashion sleds, chairs, tables, etc.,

from the pip cards.

In "Henry Esmond," Thackeray mentions that an invitation was sent on a Ten

of Diamonds, and this was a common practice in America before the

Revolution. There are several cards preserved in different families on

which invitations have been written or printed. One of them is as follows:

"Sir Jeffery Amhurst's compliments to Mrs. Paul Miller, and desires the

Favour of her Company to a Ball at the New Assembly Rooms on Saturday the

23d inst., being the Anniversary of St. George. Head Quarters April 18th,

1763, New York."

In the days of Charles I and the Commonwealth, there was a Sir John

Northcote, ancestor of the present peer, who took the Parliamentary side

against the king. His father was Justice Northcote, who at a game of cards

won an estate in Devonshire from a Mr. Dowrish. The game played was

Piquet, and to commemorate this transaction, the hands held by the players

were afterwards inlaid upon the table they used, that is still preserved

by the family.

CHAPTER XI

POINT CARDS WITH FRENCH PIPS

When Mercury's emblems were discarded by the French, some four hundred

years since, to be replaced by local designs, it was but natural that the

points should be accorded original and appropriate significances at their

birthplace, as well as in the alien countries where these new pips were

adopted. Names were suggested by the shape or usage of the device in

different games or under noteworthy occasions.

Thus, the Pique of the French (the shape of which was derived from the

outline of the _hallebarde_ of the soldiers who were on guard about their

king) received from the English the name of Spade, and for this several

derivations have been given. One of them is that the shape resembled that

of the shovel or spade common among miners, but the more probable origin

is the one that is suggested from the Tarot pip called by the Spaniards

Espadas, the name of which was transferred to the new emblem, which is a

suggestion that the Tarot cards were not unknown in England before the

arrival of the French pack, although no cards of this period have been

found in England.

This is strange, for fragments of an old pack called Dr. Stukley's cards

are now in the British Museum, bearing Bells and other German emblems.

They are of about the date of the invention of the French pips, but since

they were found in the binding of a Latin book that may have been imported

into England, the originals may never have been used in that country.

In Yorkshire, the common people call a Diamond a "Picke," says Mr. Taylor,

"because it is picked or sharp-pointed as the diamond stone." Other

authorities declare that "it is to be gathered from its resemblance to a

mill-pick," and others assume that the small window frames of early days

are responsible for the name Diamond, as they were generally lozenge or

diamond-shaped. The name "Picke" may also have been a corruption of the

French Pique, assigned from the original to the pip of another colour.

The name Club by no means describes the clover or sorrel leaf that was

the emblem adopted by Agnes Sorel, but was probably the name originally

given to the Rod or caduceus of the Tarots, again showing that these cards

were probably known in England before the French pips became fashionable.

They may have appeared first at court, and then among the noblemen and

upper classes, although it was probably a hundred years before these

emblems became common, as fashions moved slowly in those days and cards

were not cheaply reproduced, but for some time were expensive luxuries

only to be found among the rich.

Hearts are the only pips whose emblem is correctly described by its name.

The name of Ace seems to have been derived from As or Asso, which was the

unit of the Roman coinage. It is represented by a single device, placed in

the centre of the card, a fashion followed in all countries.

A nickname for the Ace of Diamonds in Ireland is "the Earl of Cork." This

is explained by Mr. Taylor, who says: "It was because it is the worst Ace

and the poorest card in the pack, and the Earl of Cork was the poorest

nobleman."

The Spaniards call the Ace of Money _Le Borgne_, or "the one-eyed." The

Trey of that suit is _Le Seigneur_. The Trey of Cups is named _La Dame_,

or the Lady, and the Deuce of that suit _La Vache_, or the Cow. The Nines

of Cups and of Money are "the great and little Nines," while the Ace of

Sticks is "the serpent." This is the caduceus of Mercury, around which

originally were wound the two heraldic snakes, which have now degenerated

into two strips or ribbons.

The Aces of the Swiss pack have flags wrapped around the central pip, and

those of Germany have beer mugs and kindred subjects printed on them. In

European countries, cards can only be purchased from tobacconists or in

beer gardens.

The Spaniards call the Two spot Dos, the Germans name it Daus, and the

French and English dub it Deuce. Although it is always the lowest in the

pack, since in almost all games the Aces are "high," there is an old

proverb which says, "There's luck under the black Deuce," and old whist

players had a habit of trying to prevent the good fortune from falling to

an adversary when they turned it up for trumps by saying, "Not when the

right elbow is on it," and suiting the action to the word.

In England, at one time, the Nine of Diamonds was called "the curse of

Scotland," or "the cross of Scotland," referring to the arrangement of the

pips, which, with the addition of a few connecting lines, can be made to

look like the heraldic St. Andrew's cross on the arms of Scotland. Mr.

Taylor quotes on page 235 from "The Oracle or Resolver of Questions"

(1770), saying "the Crown of Scotland had but nine diamonds in it, so that

was the origin of the name for that card."

An explanation is given for calling the card "a curse," as there is a

tradition that it was on this card that "the Butcher Duke of Cumberland"

wrote his sanguinary order after the battle of Culloden, and yet another

reason given is that, in the game called after her, the Nine of Diamonds

is named Pope Joan, to whom a large forfeit must be paid. Old Chinese

laquered boxes, that also contained beautifully carved mother-of-pearl

counters (chips), always had several little trays in them, which obviated

the necessity for spoiling a fresh pack of cards and folding them for the

necessary trays. The Chinese boxes had the Kings, Queens, Knaves, and

Nines of Diamonds painted on their bottom. These were placed in the centre

of the table and the forfeited counters paid into them. The game called

for one chip to be paid to the King, two to the Queen, three to the Knave,

and four to Pope Joan (the Nine of Diamonds), causing this card to be

disliked by players, who considered it "a curse."

We call the Three spot a Trey, which name is probably derived from the

Spanish Tres or the French Trois.

The Four of Hearts is sometimes called Bob Collingwood, and is by some

considered an unlucky card, while the Four of Spades has received the name

of Ned Stokes; but these are probably localisms and have but little

interest for the general public. The Four of Clubs is nicknamed "the

Devil's bed-posts," and in the old game of Gleek all the Fours were named

Tiddy. The Four of Money frequently bears the emblem of the double star,

signifying the "house of David," that was one of the signs adopted by

Freemasons.

In the game of Gleek the Fives were called Towser, and the Sixes Tumbler,

and these were lucky cards, as they counted double when they were turned

up as Trumps.

"In Ireland," says Mr. Taylor, "the Six of Hearts is called 'Grace's

card,' from the spirited answer returned by one of that family to Marshal

Schomberg, who sent to tempt Grace to espouse the cause of William of

Orange. A reply was written on the Six of Hearts as follows: 'Tell your

master that I despise his offer, and that honour and conscience are dearer

to me than all the wealth and titles that a prince can bestow.'"

Lady Dorothy Nevill, in her interesting book, "Under Five Reigns," says

(page 320): "Visiting cards, it is not generally known, originated from

ordinary playing cards, which were used as such as late as the end of the

eighteenth century. A proof of this is that when, some time ago, certain

repairs were being made at a house in Dean Street, Soho, a few playing

cards were found with names written on their backs behind a marble chimney

piece. One of the cards in question was inscribed Isaac Newton, and the

house had been the residence of his father-in-law, Hogarth, in one of

whose pictures of Marriage a la Mode, Plate IV, several 'playing card'

visiting cards may be seen lying on the floor on the right side of the

picture. On one of them is inscribed, 'Count Basset begs to no how Lady

Squander slept last nite.' As time went on, specially devised visiting

cards with somewhat ornate calligraphy took the place of playing cards,

and these, in time, developed into the small and simple pieces of

pasteboard in use to-day."

Although the Tarots and the cards of many nations have well-decorated

engraved backs, these sometimes were simply chequered or covered with tiny

dots, which made some writers believe the name Tarot to be derived from

_taroté_, or spotted; but this was not the case, since the original name

for cards was the "Book of Thoth."

CHAPTER XII

"ACCORDING TO HOYLE"

The ancestor of all our common games of cards is probably L'Ombre, El

Hombre, or The Man, sometimes also called La Beste, the origin of which

has been traced to the middle of the fourteenth century in Italy, where

the original Tarots were used as they are to-day. A modification of the

old game is called Tarroco, the rules for which have been altered during

the centuries that have passed since the game was first taken to the

hearts of the gamblers, who succeeded the fortune-tellers or the priests

of Mercury. The game having now but few interpreters, the cards have

nearly ceased to bear the messages of the gods, and the cult of Mercury is

forgotten.

L'Ombre was played during the fourteenth century in Spain, and wandered to

England, France, Germany, and Austria. It still receives its original

title in the first two countries, and is played by country folk, but in

France it seems to have been discarded.

Under the name of Skat, and played with the pips of that country, a

modified form of the game is known in Germany. In Austria the game is

called Tappé Tarok, and the ancient names are assigned to strangely

designed cards quite foreign to the original Tarots, although the pack

includes twenty-two Atouts and fifty-two pip cards that bear the French,

but not the Italian or German, designs. For this game the old rules are

largely retained, and it is considered difficult and highly scientific, so

this rearranged pack has taken the place of the old Tarots in Austria.

Tappé Tarok is a fashionable game in Vienna, where the "Hoyle" of the day

calmly announces that it originated in that city with the cards invented

for it, totally ignoring the lineage of the true Tarots, of which their

Tarok pack is simply an alteration, with the French pips exchanged for

Cups, Money, Swords, and Staves. That the new symbols were adopted at the

same time that the emblematic figures of the Atouts were cast aside, to be

replaced by meaningless pictures, is most probable, and one author

declares that the change was made "lately," but a pack in the writer's

possession proves that such was not the case, for the designs are those of

the old Tarots.

After the fortune-telling pack had been adopted for a tête-a-tête game, it

spread rapidly from Etruria to other places, and L'Ombre is mentioned in

early Italian books of history, romance, and poetry, where the game is

frequently called Tarroco or Minchiate. In England the Poet-laureate

Waller immortalized "a card torn at L'Ombre by the Queen," who was

Catherine of Braganza, the wife of Charles II. It is Belinda's game in

"The Rape of the Lock," and in many pictures of that time players are

depicted either tête-a-tête, or else three persons are seated at

three-sided tables that were particularly fashioned for this game; these

are still treasured in old mansions, where they are called Ombre or

Preference tables.

The Spanish nickname for L'Ombre is Manilla, which is also that of one of

their favourite cards. Some of their towns have had this name given to

them, one of which is in the Philippine Islands and one on the African

coast. La Manilla is one of the "Matadores," the name given the four

cards that are selected to outrank all the others, and so called because

they are "killers" or "slaughterers," since they kill or take all other

cards.

The Ace of Espadas (Swords) is the first Matador, nicknamed Espadilla, or

little Sword, after the Harpé of Mercury that is represented on this card,

the suit being called after its emblem. In England the card is called

Spadille.

The second Matador is the one named Manilla or Malilla, and is the Nine of

Money. The third Matador is the Ace of Sticks, called Basto, "he who

knocks or beats." It is the Caduceus, or Rod, and the suit takes its name

from it. In certain parts of the game it is played with great effect, as

is mentioned in "Cranford," by Mrs. Gaskell, where is a description of

some ladies playing a game that was then called "Preference"; where Miss

Barker at the card table was "basting most unmercifully, although she

declared that she was too ignorant to know Spadille from Manille." The

fourth Matador is the Ace of Cups, and is called Punto, which means the

point or spot.

Players of Skat will readily recognize these terms and the value of the

cards. Rules and play vary in different countries, so it would take close

study of each game to point out the various rules, names, etc., that

connect the games of the day with their five-hundred-year-old ancestor.

In England the eldest descendant of L'Ombre seems to be Primero, Prime,

Prima-sta, or Preference, for all are the same game. Some writers claim

that when Philip of Spain was wooing Mary of England he taught her the

game fashionable at the court of his father, Charles V, but Primero was in

vogue among the people from the days of Henry VIII to that of James I, so

much so that Piquet, the French game taught to Henry's mother when the

French pips were introduced into England, was greatly neglected except in

court circles.

In the Earl of Northumberland's letters we find a reference to the game,

as in one of them is the following sentence: "Jocelyn Percy was playing at

Primero on Sunday in Essex House, when his uncle the conspirator called on

him."

In the Sidney Papers, Vol. II (page 83), there is an account of Sir Walter

Raleigh, William Ambrose Willoughby, and Mr. Parker "being at Primero in

the Presence Chamber, the queen was gone to bed. Lord Southampton, as

Squire of the Body, desired him, Willoughby, to give over. Soon after he

spoke to them again that if they did not leave he would call in the Guard

to pull down the board, which Sir Walter Rawley seeing put up his money

and went his ways." This occurred in 1598.

In Marcus's "Life at Primero," many of the terms used in the game are

mentioned, such as Prime, Rest, Eldest Hand, Flush, Stop, Pack, etc., all

of which have been adopted in one or more modern games. In Minshew's

Spanish Dictionary there is an illustration of players at Primero in the

time of Queen Elizabeth.

In "Capitolo del Gioco della Primera," by Berni, the game is thus

mentioned: "To describe what Primera is would be little less than useless,

for there can scarcely be any one so ignorant as to be unacquainted with

it, although played differently in Florence from Venice, Naples, France,

or Spain, but none of these various ways of playing the game are superior

to the Rules of Rome, where the game principally flourishes."

In one of the works of Rabelais, edited by M. le Duchat, two kinds of

Primero are described called "the lesser" and "the greater." In the former

only pip cards are required, but in the latter the whole Tarot pack is

retained, as in Austria, where Atouts and pip cards belong to Tappé Tarok.

The Germans play "the lesser Primero" and call it Skat. This shows how

widely the rules of the game have parted from the original laws, which is

the reason that it is now almost impossible to harmonize it with the

fortune-telling game that it was primarily. In Italy it is called

Minchiate, Tarocco, and Tarocconi. These now differ as much from the

original as bridge whist does from these games.

The terms of the different games were frequently used in old plays or

romances in England, as well as in other places. Shakespeare mentions

Primero in "Henry VIII" (v:1): "I left the king at Primero with the Duke

of Suffolk." Again, in "The Merry Wives of Windsor" (iv:5), Falstaff says:

"I never prospered since I foreswore myself at Primero."

Sir Harry Wildair (1701) says: "The Capot at Piquet, the Paroli at Basset,

and then Ombre. Who can resist the charms of Matadores?"

Lady Lurewell answers: "Ay, Sir Harry, and the 'Sept le va, Quinze le va'

[of Basset], 'the Nine of Diamonds at Comet' [or Pope Joan], 'three Fives

at Cribbage and Pam,' the 'Queen to the Knave of Clubs in Loo.'"

The terms in Primero have been so generally adopted in modern games that

they are familiar to all players, although as a collection they are no

longer used for one game. Primero is played by dealing four cards, at

which the players look, and, if they are unsuitable, they say "Pass." The

Sevens are the highest cards and are worth twenty-one points. The other

numbers have values that differ according to the locality where the game

is played. Quinola, or the Knave of Hearts, represents the Joker, and the

cards left after dealing are not called the Widow or the Stock, as in some

games, but the Rest. Punto, or "point," is not the Ace of Cups, as in

Spain, for in England it is the Quinola. Flushes are four cards of the

same suit, and Prime is a hand in which there are four cards of the same

value, but each one of a different suit.

Card games followed each other, first one and then another becoming the

fashion, only to be replaced by a new one or a modification of some old

one, and after L'Ombre and Preference came Mawe, Post, Lodam, Noddy,

Barkerout (probably Baccarat), and countless others, to the now

all-important Bridge or Auction Whist.

Mawe is described in Mr. Singer's "History of Playing Cards" (page 258)

"as a playe at cards grown out of the country from the meanest into credit

at court with the greatest." The game is frequently referred to by name in

books or plays written about 1580. The Ace of Hearts is called Rumstitch

or Romstecq, the name given to Mawe in the Netherlands. In Germany the

game is played with a Piquet pack of thirty-six cards, and any number of

persons from two to six may form the party. The Italians call a similar

game Romfa.

Noddy is a childish game, but it was fashionable in the seventeenth

century, and is frequently referred to by writers of that time.

Gleek is described in Cotton's "Complete Gamester," where it is called "a

noble and delightful game or recreation." It is also mentioned by Villon,

who wrote in 1461, and other contemporary authors. M. le Duchat, the

editor of Rabelais, declares that the name is derived from the German word

_Glück_, meaning chance or luck. It is played by three persons only, each

of whom is dealt twelve cards, eight being left in the widow, that is

called the "stock." The Deuces and Treys are taken from the pack. If the

Four is turned up as trump, it is called "Tiddy," and each player pays

four counters to the dealer. A Mourival is a hand holding all the Kings,

Queens, Knaves, or Aces. The players bid for the stock, as is done in

Nonsuch Euchre. The eldest hand says, "I'll vie the Ruff"; the next, "I'll

see it"; the third, "I'll see it and revie it," or, "I'll not meddle with

it," which terms are closely copied in modern games. The Ruff is the

highest flush, or else four Aces. The game of Ruff seems to have succeeded

Gleek, and many games have been evolved from it, including Bridge, Poker,

and Euchre, each one of which has adopted certain rules to the exclusion

of others, in this way making such different games that few people can

trace them to the originals. To ruff is a term still used by provincials,

by which they mean to revoke.

The steps from Ruff to Bridge are called by different names, such as Trump

or Triumpo by the Italians and Spaniards. "Ruff and Honours, Alias Slam,

was once a favourite in England," says Cotton in 1680.

In 1737 Richard Seymour published some rules, in which he says: "Whist, or

the silent game, vulgarly called Whisk, is said to be very ancient among

us, and the foundation of all the English games upon the cards." Dean

Swift declares that in his time "Whisk was a favourite among the clergy."

"His pride is in Piquet," says Lord Godolphin in Pope's "Moral Essays,"

showing the position that this game occupied in England in 1733, about

three hundred years after its introduction to the English court. It is

still played at the clubs to-day, showing what a strong hold it has upon

the affections of card players, and its original rules are hardly altered,

while the cards remain practically the same as when invented by La Hire,

Etienne Chevalier, and Jacques Coeur.

It is supposed that the first reference to Piquet in print is in the works

of Rabelais, already quoted from (1533). Probably the earliest book of

rules is the one published at Rome in 1647, and translated into English in

1652. The rules were very much the same as those laid down afterwards by

Cavendish in 1882. The "point" was called the "ruffe," or, in French,

Ronflé.

In "Les Facheux," by Molière (1661), there is an interesting Piquet hand

described by Alcippe, one of the players. In 1646 a _Ballet du Jeu de

Piquet_ was produced, in which the dancers were ranged according to their

colours, the blacks opposite to the reds and both sides headed by the

court cards. This ballet became a great favourite and was often produced,

as it interested the audiences, who appreciated the various movements of

the dance that reproduced and corresponded with the play of the game.

English and French plays frequently refer to the card games of their day,

and Piquet is often mentioned. In the Epilogue to "Sir Harry Wildair"

(1701) is the following:

Vat have you got of grand plasir in dis town?

'Tis said Vidont is come from France, dat vil go down.

Piquet, Basset, your vin, your dress, your dance,

'Tis all you see tout a la mode de France.

John Hall was one of the early writers in England who referred to

Piquet, originally called Cent in that country. He says, in 1646, "a man's

fancy (or character) would be summed up at Cribbage; Gleek requires a

vigilant memory, Mawe a pregnant agility, Picket a various invention,

Primero a dexterous kind of rashness."

[Illustration: EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS

Pip Cards of the Money Suit

67 Ace of Money

68 Deuce of Money

69 Trey of Money

70 Four of Money

71 Five of Money

72 Six of Money]

In 1659 a curious pamphlet was published called "Shuffling, Cutting, and

Dealing in a Game at Pickquet," a political squib which used the terms of

the game to describe the politicians.

Hamlet says: "How absolute the Knave is. We must speak by the card or

equivocation will undo us. By the Lord, Horatio, these three years I have

taken notice of it, the age is grown so picked (piqued)."

As the French cards, with the game of Piquet for which they were invented,

were introduced into England in the time of Edward IV, it is possible that

Hamlet used a familiar term when he declared the age was picked, as this

is an expression frequently used in the game.

It is generally supposed that Euchre is a variant of the French game

Ecarté, the name of which is taken from one of the rules, meaning "to put

away or discard." In the United States, Euchre was adopted about 1840,

appearing first in the Middle West. It was for this game that the Joker

was reinstated in the pack, a card that at first was a blank one left

imprinted, but its adoption was accomplished very slowly, and it did not

change the games or completely dominate the packs until within the last

few years.

Others assume that the game had a nautical derivation and was invented by

old salts, as the names given to the commanding cards have reference to

the forward anchors of a ship.

In the year 1870 the first celebrated and authentic illustrated history of

the game of Euchre was published by Bret Harte:

Which we had a small game,

And Ah Sin took a hand;

It was Euchre, and the same

He did not understand;

But he smiled as he sat by the table

With a smile that was childlike and bland.

The verses continue describing the game, in which all cheated, and its

disastrous termination, "When we went for that Heathen Chinee," is too

well known to require repetition.

In early editions of "The American Hoyle," as the book is called which is

the acknowledged authority on card games in this country, the history of

Euchre is given tentatively, but the account is rejected by later

editions, or, at least, not republished. Although the compilers of these

later editions evidently did not value, or perhaps credit, the history

given by their predecessors, it may well be quoted, since no other has

been advanced. The edition of 1864 says:

"The origin of this fascinating game is somewhat uncertain. From the fact

that the word Bauer (a peasant) is pronounced similarly to the names of

the leading cards of the game, some have supposed it to be a German

invention, yet the game is unknown in Germany except in those parts where

it was introduced by wandering Americans." Nor do the German pips and

cards lend themselves to the chief features of the game, particularly

since they have no Joker, which is the most important card in Euchre.

In speaking of this game, Hoyle writes as follows: "As it has been traced

to the counties of Bucks, Lancaster, and Lehigh, in the State of

Pennsylvania, where it first made its appearance about forty years ago,

it is not difficult to conjecture how it arose. Some rich farmer's

daughter of those American Teutonic regions had occasion to visit

Philadelphia, and carried back to her home a confused memory of Ecarté.

From her dim account one of her ingenious rustic beaux created the

rudiments of the original game of Euchre, which it is claimed is a

corruption of Ecarté, which by alterations and additions grew to what it

is. Conjectural as this is, a number of corroborative facts seem to

indicate that it is the fact."

So far "according to Hoyle," but any one who has studied games and their

sequences may also suppose that among the descendants of the Prince of

Hesse's soldiers who were left after the war with England to spend the

remainder of their lives in exile, the old games common in their country

were remembered, and a game was evolved that suited the cards with the

French pips, which were the only ones obtainable in this country, even

although they differed from those of the Fatherland. Euchre resembles

Gleek or Glück, a game well known in Germany, so the tradition of the

farmer's daughter, although ingenious, is probably without foundation.

Many of the terms used in Euchre and Nonsuch Euchre are probably derived

from the dialect spoken by German immigrants and their children. The name

Bower is the American-German word signifying "youngster," which may well

describe "the Knave child," as it was at one time called in England. This

word was naturally bestowed by Pennsylvania Germans on the card, for they

still speak a _patois_ peculiarly their own and clearly derived from their

ancestors. It was probably they who gave this name to the Knave, and it is

retained for the aforementioned game, where certain Knaves have a

particular value.

The word Euchre seems likely to have been derived from the shout of

exultation usual when playing certain games of cards in Germany, although

the evil tendencies of the imp who presides over the spelling of English

words has altered the original word _Juch_ to the peculiarly unmeaning one

of Euchre.

_Juch_ pronounced Yuch, is a cry of exhultation. There is not only a verb

to cry out, _Juch_, but a somewhat unusually constructed noun made from

that verb, which is _Jucheier_; whereas _Jucher_ would be the normally

constructed noun made from that verb. Therefore, it seems quite natural to

assume that _Jucher_, describing a player shouting with exultation when

winning a point, must have been used unconsciously, whether this word is

to be found in the dictionary or not, for it is certainly this exclamation

that is used as the player throws down the card winning the third trick in

Euchre when the opponent has ordered or taken up the trump card or made

the suit. The words Keno or Domino are commonly used to declare winning

one of those two games, particularly in foreign countries, and since

Euchre is evidently derived from alien games, and was introduced by

persons speaking a _patois_ of English and German, the name is probably

taken from the verb mentioned. Ch is pronounced in German like K, so

_Jucher_ has the sound of Euchre. In Grimm's "Deutsches Woerterbuch," we

find the following definition:

JUCH (interjection).--A loud burst of joy. As example, "The good man

dreamed as if he were still at the card club, shouting, 'Juch, Juch,

Grun (the leaf suit in the German cards) is chosen.'"

JUCHEN (verb).--To shout "Juch."

In the New English Dictionary, commonly called the Oxford Dictionary

(1905), we find the following:

EUCHRE or UKER or YUKER.--Of uncertain origin, supposed to be German.

As Bower, one of the terms used in this game, is of German origin, it

has often been supposed that the word Euchre is also from the German,

but no probable source has been found in that language. Can it be that

it is the Spanish Yuca, in the sentence "Ser yuca," given by Cabillero

as an American expression for "cock of the walk," meaning to "get the

best of anything"? In 1847 Euchre was common in Mississippi, and is

alluded to in various celebrated lawsuits growing out of disputes over

the game.

It would seem that the compilers of the English dictionary had not given

enough weight to the localisms of Pennsylvania when they could discover

only a Spanish derivation for the terms used in Euchre, a game unknown in

Spain. The game that apparently started in the western part of that State

seems to have travelled down the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers, for the

earliest mention of it comes through the boatmen on those great streams.

Poker seems also to be a game evolved by gamesters of the United States

from the old Primero, with its ancient derivations, for so many of the

rules and expressions common in the modern game may be traced to the

fourteenth century. It is played by four or more persons, who bet on the

value of their hands, a pair being the lowest and a straight flush being

the highest hand, the names of which were inherited and explain

themselves. Jack Pot, Widow, and Kitty are some of the cant words used in

the game, the derivations of which are evidently from Primero. The first

signifies the Pool under certain circumstances. The Widow (or the

forsaken, the discarded one) was originally called the Stock, or the cards

unused after dealing. The Kitty is the name for the forfeit paid at the

end of each game by its winner to the gambling house, that frequently

amounted to a considerable sum of money.

In 1908, a variation of Poker was arranged in England, although one writer

thinks that it originated in China, but without giving any authority for

the statement. The game is called Poker Patience. It can be played by one

or more persons, who are supplied with a board on which are twenty-five

squares that, when covered with the cards, according to the rules, will

count ten poker hands, five horizontally and the other five vertically.

The first card is placed on square No. 13, directly in the middle of the

board, and the next card played must touch the first one on one of its

eight adjoining squares. The third card should touch either the first one

or the second, and so on until the twenty-five squares are covered. The

hands are counted exactly as in Poker, a straight flush being the highest,

and counting thirty points, while a pair is rewarded with only one point.

The flushes are not of much scoring value, being only five points, but

they are not difficult to make. This game is easy and interesting when

used as a solitaire, but when two or more players are pitted against each

other and bent on preventing the score of the opponent, it will be seen

that there is a great deal of "play," for there are so many cards left in

the Widow that the game is uncertain until its finish, as a card that is

most desirable may never turn up, and, therefore, there is much chance as

well as skill in the baby prodigy.

"According to Hoyle" has become a proverb among card players, most of whom

could give no more explanation for the term than they could for the origin

of Playing Cards, although it trips so readily from the tips of their

tongues. But whenever a play at cards is disputed, the justification is

that it is "According to Hoyle," which leads to the query of how and where

the sentence originated that is freighted with so much weight and

expression. With this cant phrase goes another, that was once frequently

on the lips of card players, which condemned an unlucky player or a

careless partner to "go to Halifax."

These proverbs will be explained by a cursory glance backwards over the

life story of Edward Hoyle, born in England, in 1672, near the little town

of Halifax, in Yorkshire. He was of a good family and was educated for the

law, for which his clear, analytical, and logical mind seemed to be

particularly adapted. Living in London, he amused himself in the evenings

by meeting some friends at what was the precursor of men's clubs, the

Crown Coffee House, in Bedford Row, to play Whist or Triumph, a title that

was about that time shortened to Trump, a name that is retained to

designate the highest suit elected by the players at the beginning of each

hand, either by turning up the last card of the deal or by electing a suit

according to the preference of the players. The French retain the old name

of Atout for that purpose, although those picture cards have not been used

in that country for centuries.

The first mention of Whist under the revised name is in "The Compleate

Gamester," which was published in 1674, and was intended to supply

standard rules for the fashionable games of the time. But Cotton's laws

were confusing, and the game was played in various ways in different parts

of England, since this standard was not universally accepted, and it is

said that Whist was a favourite only in the servants' hall, so that these

unarbitrary rules led to quarrels and sometimes even to bloodshed.

But when Edward Hoyle became interested in the game of Whist, he had for

partners or opponents some of the deepest players and most distinguished

men about town, and the gamesters gradually adopted regular rules for

their own guidance, which usually originated with Hoyle, so the fame of

his decisions about disputed points was noised abroad throughout London.

This led to his taking pupils at a guinea a lesson, and finally Hoyle

wrote out his rules for their benefit, distributing them first in

manuscript, but finally publishing them in "A Short Treatise on Whist,"

for which he received one thousand guineas. Hoyle's rules were adopted by

the clubs and players throughout England, so, when any dispute arose, his

book was consulted, and, instead of the players saying, "It is the wish

(or the voice) of the gods," as had been the original custom when

consulting the oracles of Mercury, and continued by card votaries, it

became customary to say, "It is according to Hoyle."

That gentleman lived until 1769, and his rules remained unaltered for over

one hundred years. In 1864, however, the Arlington and Portland Clubs,

finding that modifications were needed, revised the rules, after which the

"Cavendish rules" became the mode, but books on card rules are still

issued under the name of Hoyle's "Games of Cards," so "According to Hoyle"

is still a fashionable saying among the votaries of the card table.

CHAPTER XIII

ENGRAVED CARDS

Thanks to the lovers of woodcuts, prints, and engravings, the history of

European Playing Cards has been preserved. Through these it has been

investigated, as it would have been impossible in any other way, since the

men who are devoted to the card table are not usually of an investigating

turn of mind, while those who prophesy with cards prefer the occult and

mysterious to the scientific.

It was far otherwise with the _dilettanti_, who recognised the master hand

that had produced beautiful pictures, intrinsically valuable, although put

to what, in the opinion of connoisseurs, was a debased use. Since the

cards, as gamblers' tools, or the instruments of diviners, had little

attraction for print lovers, the latter traced the origin of the cards

from an interest in the method of their production. But the history of

these instruments followed, since it was an integral part of the story of

the pictures that had at first been produced by hand, and then by

mechanical arts. This led to an awakened desire to understand the

connection of the gambling toys with the period when prints were first

issued. But when these learned men studied the histories of the European

countries for the first printed or legal record of Playing Cards, and

decided on the fourteenth century as the date of their birth, they never

looked into the haze of the past to the period when cards were not bits of

pasteboard, but of very different character. So the mystery of their

origin was not unfolded, although all of the written records mentioned

that cards were called the Book of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus, who was

evidently an unknown person.

It was owing to the necessity of producing cards cheaply, on account of

their widespread use, that xylographic arts were invented and perfected,

thus leading the way to printing, that art which has enlightened mankind

as nothing had done before in the same space of time.

Mr. Singer states that "the earliest examples of woodcuts were intended

for Playing Cards," although it is generally believed that the earliest

example of a woodcut that survives is the picture of St. Christopher,

which was discovered pasted inside of the cover of an old book. Many

Playing Cards have been preserved in the same way, since frugal persons

utilized the precious paper on which the cards were printed, and did not

waste it, as is done in this extravagant age.

That the oldest known print is that of a saint does not disprove Mr.

Singer's statement, for many of the rude figures produced by the first

engravers served a double purpose, being equally well adapted for court

cards or as representations of historical or saintlike characters, they

were often adopted first for the games, and then transferred to the homes

of peasants, where the pictures were accorded the name of a patron saint

and revered accordingly, so in many such places priceless cuts and

engravings have been found, and from there have been transferred to

museums or to private print collections, where they are recognised as rare

and valuable specimens of the art of the graver's tool.

These old figures and the cards that followed them are not classed under

the head of games or Playing Cards, so students wishing to examine

examples of early European Playing Cards must seek the print rooms of the

British Museum, or the Nuremburg Museum, and the national libraries of

Vienna, Bologna, and Paris.

Since among the first productions of the graver's tools were gambling

cards, Mr. Singer and others have studied the games for which so much time

and labour were devoted. "It is evident," he says, "that since the

earliest specimens of engraving on steel and on copper both in Italy and

Germany are cards, there must have been a great demand for them, and that

their cheap production was eagerly seized upon by the card makers, who

through it considerably shortened their labours and increased their

output, so from this moment games with cards rapidly spread over Europe,"

while the Book of Thoth was abandoned to gypsies and fortune-tellers.

The cards painted under Grigoneur for the French king, and now in Les

Cabinet des Estampes, Paris, are probably the oldest extant, and are about

contemporary with the Italian packs in Bologna and those in Mr. Morgan's

collection, that are painted, but not engraved.

A pack in the British Museum goes by the name of Doctor Stukley's cards,

for he was the first to exhibit them. They are stencilled and have German

pips. There is no Queen among the court cards, but her place is taken by a

male figure called Ober, accompanied by a King and Unter. There are no

Aces, so the cards were probably intended for the popular game of

Sixty-six. These cards were rudely printed and coloured with stencils.

They were first shown to the society of Antiquarians, London, November 9,

1763, and have been frequently exhibited and discussed. They were found in

the binding of an old book, supposed to be Claudian, printed before 1500,

and to these we owe a debt of gratitude for exciting an interest in

Playing Cards, to which much of their history is due. The supposition that

the German pips were used in England before the French cards were

introduced is sustained only by finding this solitary pack. The book

itself was not printed in England, while the name assigned to the suit of

Spades is clearly derived from the Spanish Espadas, which points to the

probability of the Swords, Rods, Cups, and Money pips having been known in

England. The Trèfle of France was called a Club, as had probably been

done with the Rod suit of the old cards.

A nearly complete pack bearing these designs and almost facsimiles of the

Stukley pack is in the Historical Society of New York.

Among the earliest specimens of ornamental engraved cards are some that

were executed at Cologne, the different cards of which are so widely

separated that the complete pack can nowhere be found. Solitary examples

are scattered in different museums, where they are treasured as beautiful

representations of "the master's" art, although no person knows his name.

The wrapper of these cards has been found, and on it is a well-executed

design of three ornamental crowns, placed inside of Gothic arches, that

are connected by a gracefully twisted ribbon on which is the inscription

"_Salve Felix Colonia_" which is the only remaining clue to the engraver,

the date of execution, and the birthplace of the pack.

In it are five suits instead of four, and these have original emblems

that, however, never seem to have been popular or intended for gambling,

or even for divination, but they were probably the invention of the

artist, who had little idea of the significance of the original emblems

of Cups, Swords, Staves, and Money, for not only was a fifth and

unprofitable suit added to the pack, but the pips were changed to artistic

designs that may delight the senses of the connoisseurs, but fail to

appeal to a card player, since the designer was evidently not as clever as

the Frenchmen, who invented a new set of emblems for their royal master,

and through constructing the game Piquet, that could only be played with

these cards, clinched their adoption by players. The five suits of these

German cards were Hares, Parrots, Pinks, Roses, and Columbines, with four

court cards to each suit, and they are illustrated in "Playing Cards," by

Mr. Singer (page 47), and are attributed by him to Martin Schoen, or

Schongaur. "The costume of the figures," he says, "belongs to the

fifteenth century, and seems conclusively to establish the fact." To this

statement other authorities do not agree.

One of the earliest examples of Playing Cards executed on copper was

produced in Germany before 1446. The artist is known only by his initials,

and is called "The Master E. S." His cards are original and finely

executed, although his emblems stray as far from the ancient ones

peculiar to Mercury as the games to be played with them differ from

divination. The devices are Roses, Cyclamen, Savages, Birds, Stags, and

Lions. This "Master E. S." seems to have copied most of his designs for a

smaller set of cards, and he also executed a pack that had Shields,

Flowers, Animals, and Helmets for pips. These are artistically grouped,

and the escutcheons display coats-of-arms of the nobility that go far to

establish the date of those that are not marked. But the pips, although

they were gracefully marshaled, were troublesome and confusing to the

players, which has caused these cards to be chiefly valued as examples of

the graver's art, lacking the simplicity of the French pips, with their

harmonious red and black colours, these peculiar designs failed to

revolutionise the Playing Cards in common use, as had evidently been the

intention of "The Master."

The little that is known of "E. S." points to his having been the

immediate predecessor of Martin Schongaur, of Colmar, who was the

unrivalled engraver of his time, and has been described as the Van Eyck of

engraving. He was "the actual creator of the art as practiced in modern

times," says Max Lehrs in his essay on the Playing Cards engraved by this

master. "To him we owe the technical method of producing the appearance of

relief and solidity on a flat surface by the combination of a number of

parallel lines on transverse lines, which effect had only been obtainable

before his invention by the addition of colour to the finished prints."

His home was probably in the vicinity of Freiburg, or Breisach, and it is

supposed that he died in 1467.

The cards attributed to "E. S." are scattered over Europe, but they seem

to be universally acknowledged as the first specimens of _engraved_

Playing Cards. The dainty pictures served as models to the students of the

Master, and have often been copied or adopted as accessories to other

pictures. The Four of Men and the Ober Knave of the same suit, the Four of

Dogs, and the Three of Birds were used to adorn the cover of a Bible that

is now in the University Library of Erlangen. These designs were also used

in the tooling of other books.

Augsburg may lay strong claim to be considered the first seat of the art

of engraving on wood, as a Guild of Card Makers is mentioned in the Town

Roll of 1418. Sheets of cardboard on which the pack was printed from the

block, but not yet coloured by hand, are to be found in museums, and it is

supposed that the celebrated woodcut of St. Christopher, dated 1423, was

produced in Augsburg, which about that time became the great exporting

centre of card makers, against whom the manufacturers of Vienna, Venice,

and Viterbo caused ordinances to be passed in their respective cities,

forbidding the Augsburg and Nuremburg cards to be sold within their

boundaries. This law is enforced to-day, which has prevented the

introduction of foreign or French pips into Austria and Italy.

An interesting sheet of cards produced by the tool was acquired by the

writer in Nuremburg in 1910. It is about ten by twelve inches in size, and

is made of several sheets of paper pasted together. The reverse side shows

a lozenge pattern, and each one of the spaces contains a _fleur de lis_,

emphasised at the corner by a square. The sheet has not been cut apart,

and there are eighteen cards printed on it, comprising all those belonging

to the court, and six pip cards bearing the usual German devices. The

figures do not include a Queen, but have the King, the Ober, and the

Unter. The King of Eicheln (or Acorns) is seated, wears a crown on top of

a turban, and holds a sceptre. His Ober and Unter both carry two swords.

Their dresses are richly trimmed and they wear lace at the neck and

wrists.

The King of Grünen (or Leaves) also wears a crown on top of a turban, but

holds his sword in his right hand instead of his left, as is the case with

his brother of Acorns. His chair is more ornate than that of any of the

other kings. He wears at his neck two muslin lapels, such as were once

worn with black silk gowns by ministers when preaching. One of his Knaves

plays a flute, the other beats a drum. The King of Bells wears a

five-pointed coronet and has a book on his knees. His Ober has a wig and a

richly embroidered coat, but is bareheaded, as is his Unter, who is a

ludicrously stout figure, parrying a thrust with his sword from an unseen

warrior. The King of Hearts has a crown with _fleurs de lis_, and on the

side of his chair is an anchor with the initials M. S., leading to the

supposition that these cards were engraved by Martin Schongaur, the

successor to the "Master E. S." The execution, however, is far inferior to

his usual delicate work. The Ober of Hearts is armed with a pike and his

hair is tied with ribbons, the two ends of which float carelessly down his

back. He and the Unter of his suit can "ruffle with the best of them," for

both have side arms as well as long pikes, and their coats are handsomely

embroidered, while they wear lace at the throat and wrists.

The four Deuces are on this sheet. That of Hearts has an escutcheon on

which is a lion rampant. The Two of Leaves shows a deer and a unicorn

rampant regardant. The Two of Acorns has a Bacchus astride of a beer

barrel, holding up the Cup of Hermes, and the Two of Grünen has the sow

sacred to Prosperine and Mercury, that was always sacrificed to them at

the feast of Hermes, on the thirteenth of May, when Spring commenced, and

Mercury led Prosperine from Pluto back to earth and to her Mother, Ceres.

The pig was also sacred to Nebo, so its position on the cards is fraught

with meaning. The Ten of Leaves and the Seven of Hearts complete this

valuable sheet that shows an early process of card production.

[Illustration: EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS

Pip and Court Cards of the Money Suit

73 Seven of Money

74 Eight of Money

75 Nine of Money

76 Ten of Money

77 Knave of Money

78 Cavalier of Money]

A beautiful pack of cards was engraved by Jost Ammon, who was born in

Zurich in 1539. His wood engravings are very numerous. He died in

Nuremburg in 1591. The interesting cards attributed to him were published,

it was said, to inculcate "Industry and Learning" rather than "Idleness

and Debauchery," so may be placed under the head of Educational Cards.

Each one shows a pip, under which is a clever sketch that is fully

described by some appropriate Latin verses. The pips are Books, Winepots,

Cups, and Printer's Balls. One of the cards represents a wood carver at

work, supposed to be a likeness of the artist. Another shows a printer. A

third has on it a bibliomaniac surrounded by flies that he is striking at

with a flapper, and the accompanying verses are forcible, if inelegant. On

the Three of Printer's Balls are a lady and gentleman playing cards. The

Six of Winepots shows two men at a game of Draughts. Some of the cards

have pictures of men and women playing musical instruments, while others

depict various homely occupations.

These symbols did not take the place of those simple devices that convey

at a glance to a player the suit or number of a card, so necessary from a

gambler's point of view. Their authorship has been disputed, but the cards

remain as interesting specimens of wood engraving.

The greater part of the early Italian cards are printed with a pale ink of

a grayish tint. The earliest specimens are a set of Tarots that are much

larger than the standard size of Playing Cards, being about four by six

and a half inches. These cards are finely executed, and are one of the

first of the educational packs, since the emblematic figures of the Atouts

are Rhetoric, Arithmetic, etc.

The specimens of engraved cards of the Netherlands are of a later date,

being about the middle of the eighteenth century. They are carefully done,

and the two red suits are distinguished by being printed with a pale red

ink, while the Spades and Clubs are printed in black. These cards are

pretty miniature pictures, with local figures and landscapes, while the

pips are French and are placed in the upper left-hand corner.

The Dutch have also several educational packs of cards. Some are

historical, with Kings, Queens, and Knaves representing their royalties.

There is also one showing the chief products of their kingdom and its

dependencies. A third pack illustrates the costumes of the different

provinces.

Germans, French and English were very fond of teaching children through

educational games of cards, and a great collection of these may be found

in the print room of the British Museum under the head of Lady Charlotte

Schrieber's Collection, but it is carelessly kept in drawers, the packs

tied with bits of string or worsted, and it is difficult to study on this

account.

CHAPTER XIV

PLAYING CARDS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND OTHER PURPOSES

It was but natural that, from the very date of the readjustment of the

Book of Thoth, when it was deposed from its high position of being the

voice of the gods to become the tool of gypsies or the toy of gamblers,

that invectives should be hurled at it from the pulpit, from whence the

early war is continued, as well as from the government, for when pleasure

becomes a vice it behooves those in authority to repress it, so as to

protect the unwary or the ignorant from traps laid for gain against them.

Cardinal John Capistran, who visited Nuremburg in 1452, found the

inhabitants devoted to all games of chance, and so addicted to gambling

that the prosperity of the town was threatened.

The good Cardinal preached against the vice of gambling with such fervor

and eloquence that the cathedral could not contain the crowds who went to

listen to him, so a pulpit was erected before the church, in the great

square or Market Place, under the clock, where a procession of wise men

bowing before the King still takes place daily at noon, and from this

rostrum the Cardinal ordered that all cards, dice, chessmen, draughts

(checkers), etc., should be brought before him and publicly burned; an

order that was implicitly obeyed.

How well the good man succeeded in obliterating games of chance or hazard

may be questioned, since Nuremburg is still one of the chief centres of

card making, the descendants of the original makers being in active

business to-day, who sell sheets of cardboard that were concealed for many

years, on which the cards are printed, but not cut apart, for probably the

manufacture was checked at the time, but never entirely suppressed. The

celebrated museum of the town has one of the best collections of native

Playing Cards to be found, while the dramatic holocaust is recalled with

pride by the inhabitants, who value the woodcut that is commemorative of

the event.

English preachers denounced card playing, and the Scotch dubbed the packs

"The Devil's Picture Books." Robert Burns says:

The Ladies, arm in arm, in clusters,

As great and gracious a' as sisters,

* * * * *

On lee-lang nights, wi' crabbit leuks.

Pore owre the devil's pictured beuks.

The Sunday before Christmas, 1529, Bishop Latimer preached a sermon

against gambling at St. Edward's Church, in Cambridge, taking for his text

"Who art thou?" and filling his sermon with phrases that were culled from

Primero, which was the favourite game of his day. This knowledge showed

such an intimate acquaintance with the game that his offended hearers used

it with great effect against him. The sermon is now remembered only

because of these phrases and expressions that give students a clue to the

rules and play of the old game.

One ingenious preacher took for his text: "As God has dealt to every man"

(Romans xii:3), implying that the Almighty had sorted and distributed the

cards of life. This practical allusion to gambling so horrified his

congregation that they nearly pulled the minister from the pulpit. Yet

St. Paul evidently referred to the "tablets of fate," on which the

destinies of men were written at birth as "the measure of fate," since

these traditions must have been active in the mind of the apostle. Modern

people seldom place themselves in the atmosphere of Biblical times, which

leads to much misconstruction and misunderstanding.

The various proclamations and edicts passed against Playing Cards are a

history in themselves, although it is a pity that they are of too late a

date to throw much light on the first alteration of the cult of Mercury

into games, a change that was probably gradual, and so insidious or secret

as to have no public record. Still, it is through these legal papers that

we get authentic dates and the earliest mention of cards as gambling

instruments or toys; but at the end of the fourteenth century, at a time

when cards were denounced as such, and by name there is still no

interdiction of fortune-telling, which may have been conducted too

secretly to occasion attention, or, perhaps, the general law against

vagrants or gypsies may have been deemed sufficient protection.

M. la Croix says: "The Germans were the first to apply cards to

instructing young persons, by endeavouring to teach them different

sciences illustrated by the cards, that had printed on them historical

tales, sums of arithmetic, heraldic devices, astronomical symbols, bars of

music, or quotations from the poets, with the pips displayed in the

corners to deceive people into imagining that they were enjoying a play,

when in reality they were being gently led along the paths of learning,

and that this idea seems to have found favour in other countries,

particularly in Great Britain and France."

In this list of countries that adapted cards to purposes of instruction

might have been included China and Japan, had M. la Croix studied the

games of those nations. The latter country has two packs that are devoted

to quotations from the poets, or historical tales.

Numerous specimens of these educational cards are now to be found in all

card collections, although to those who regard Playing Cards as part of

the cult of Mercury these instructive bits of pasteboard are no more

related to the Tarots than are advertisements or school books.

There are some puritanical persons who regard Playing Cards with horror,

and will not touch "the devil's picture books" that display the symbols of

Hearts, Clubs, etc.; but these same people adopt with avidity these

educational cards that sometimes have the pips slyly tucked into a corner.

Or, perhaps, they use cards that have numbers printed on them to indicate

the pips, with other marks to show the suits and the court cards, so these

good people play Grabouche, Pinocle, Bezique, Flip, and other games that

are, in truth, recognised as games of chance.

In 1507 a set of instructive cards was invented by Dr. Thomas Muruer, the

celebrated opponent of Martin Luther. The pack was printed at Cracow and

called _Chartiludui Logicae_, and these were intended for the use of the

inventor's pupils in the art of reasoning. At first people were delighted

with them and their novelty, and then they turned against this method of

instruction and threatened to burn the doctor for inventing them.

This pack was an imitation of the Tarots, and was composed of ten logical

cards with sixteen suits of emblem cards, the pips being the German Bells,

Acorns, Leaves, and Hearts, with additional symbols of crayfish,

scorpions, etc.

When Louis XIV was eight years old, it was necessary to educate him, but

he was a dull and reluctant pupil, so Cardinal Mazarin invented some

"instruction cards" for the youthful king that illustrated fables and

proved attractive to others besides the agrammatist.

A little later, some cards depicting the history of France were designed

by the artist Desmarits, who, finding that they were received with favour,

followed them with a geographical set, and then with one called harlequin,

in which the figures of well-known persons were grotesquely dressed.

There are later French packs illustrating the kings and queens of France,

and also some that commemorate the Revolution, the Empire, the reign of

the Orleans family, and that of Napoleon III; for in that country not only

were the cards used for illustrating their historical events, but the

court cards changed their dress with the rulers, not keeping to the

costumes of the fifteenth century, as the English cards have done.

The French also issued a pack of cards to teach heraldry as early as 1680,

and one for music in 1808, while in 1820 two instructive sets were

issued, one of them on botany and the other one on astronomy.

Heraldic cards were published by M. Claude Finé in 1659, and others were

issued in 1725. This idea was followed in England in 1675, when some

German cards were adapted to the needs of the other country. The Germans

issued another pack on which were heraldic devices in 1700, and a similar

one came out in Venice in 1707. The cards are not useful for gambling or

fortune-telling, but they are ornate, and are fine examples of print work,

and as such find places in collections.

In 1656 practical cards for teaching spelling, arithmetic, etc., were

issued in London by F. Jackson, and at about the same time satirical and

political cards were published. Those interested in full descriptions of

these packs can find a list in "The Catalogue of Playing and Other Cards

in the British Museum," by Mr. Willshire.

Cards for divination have appeared from time to time, but the emblems were

so fanciful and so unauthoritative that the unhistoric designs have not

found favour. One of them in the British Museum shows traces of being

derived from the Tarots, as Mercury is seen hovering over a sailing

vessel under his guise of protector of merchants. It is to be remarked

that it is the Seven of Bells and is called Commerce. The Eight of Bells

is the Wheel of Fortune. The Two of Leaves is Hope, and the Six of that

suit is the Death card. It is evident that the artist picked out at

haphazard certain designs on the Tarots for imitation, and that he had no

comprehension of the meaning or value of the numbers, such as three,

seven, or thirteen, accorded to them by mystics.

Humourous, or what are known as harlequin, cards have been published in

all countries, where the emblems themselves have been taken for the

foundation of fantastic figures. One of these packs was designed by Mr.

William Thackeray. There are several French and Belgian packs, but far the

best one was designed by Mr. Charles Caryl and issued by Messrs. Tiffany &

Co., New York.

Musical cards are ingenious, and, by following the rules, several pretty

airs may be played. Cards for the game of Authors were lately popular, and

the game called Doctor Busby was a capital one for teaching children

observation and concentration.

The Japanese cards, that have been referred to, are original in conception

and design. The pack emblematic of the weeks of the year seems to be

intended for gambling, although it shows no traces of a descent from the

Tarots, for the cards display no suggestion of the pips or emblems of

Mercury. Nor are there any emblematic figures like those of China, where

the cards show evident imitations of the Stave, Money, and Sword pips,

with some court cards. The Japanese themselves declare that Portuguese

sailors introduced gambling cards into the country, but the only proof

lies in the tradition and in the name by which cards are known in Japan,

which is _Karta_, for the Portuguese use cards with the Cup, Money, Sword,

and Stave pips, and no traces of these are to be found on any of the

Japanese packs. In that country divining cards or sticks are used, which

seem to have been inherited from China, and the methods of using them

follow closely the rules adopted in all primitive countries, where the old

superstitions referred to in the Bible are still active and in force.

A chap book of the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century had a

large circulation, for it described one Richard Middleton, who, being

caught playing with a pack of cards in church, was haled before a

magistrate, who was amused when the soldier declared that he looked upon

the cards as his Prayer Book, and described what they conveyed to him as

he ingeniously connected each one with some Biblical reference.