Facts and Speculations on the Origin and History of Playing Cards

"As you say gaming is an image of war, the sudden turns of success are easily discernible; the advances of victory or ill luck, make a strange revolution in the blood. The countenance takes its tincture from the chance, and appears in the colours of the prospect. With what anxiousness is the issue expected. You would think a jury of life and death was gone out upon them. The sentence for execution is not receiv'd with more concern, than the unlucky appearance of a cast or a card. Thus some people are miserably ruffled, and thrown off the hinges; they seem distress'd to an agony; you'd pity them for the meanness of their behaviour; others are no less foolishly pleas'd; break out with childish satisfaction, and bring the covetousness of their humour too much into view.

"Now since play is thus arbitrary over the passions, who would resign the repose of his mind, and the credit of his temper, to the mercy of chance? Who would stake his discretion upon such unnecessary hazards? And throw the dice, whether he should be in his wits or not?"

On Dolomedes, the other speaker in the dialogue, observing, that this does not always follow; that some people play without the least offensiveness or ruffle, and lose great sums with all the decency and indifference imaginable, the author, in the character of Callimachus, thus proceeds:

"Alas! this is often but a copy of the countenance: things are not so smooth within, as they seem without. Some people when they bleed inwardly have the art to conceal the anguish; and this is generally the most of the matter; but if they are really unconcern'd; if so heavy a blow brings no smart along with it, the case is still worse: these men have no sense of the value of money, they won't do the least penance for their folly, they have not so much as the guard of a remorse. This stoicism is the speediest dispatch to beggary; nothing can be more dangerous than such a stupid tranquillity. To be thus becalm'd presages Short allowance. This sedateness makes the man foolhardy, renew the combat, and venture a brush for the remainder; for he that can be beaten at his ease, and feels no pain upon a wound, will fight, most likely, as long as his legs will bear him.

"But this insensibleness is rarely met with: very few are proof against a shrewd chance to this degree. When misfortune strikes home, 'tis seldom decently receiv'd; their temper goes off with their money. For, according to the proverb, Qui perd le sien, perd le sens. And here one loss usually makes people desperate, and leads to another: and now the gentlemen of your function are extremely vigilant to improve the opportunity, and observe the current of the passions. You know very well when a man's head grows misty with ill luck, when the spleen comes over his understanding, and he has fretted himself off his guard, he is much the easier conquest: thus, when your bubbles are going down the hill, you manage accordingly, lend them a push, tho' their bones are broken at the bottom. But I forget myself; there's neither mercy nor justice in some people's business.

"To return: you know I may take it for granted, that your gaming sparks are horribly ruffled when things with a promising face sicken, and sink on the sudden, when they are surprizingly crossbitten, and success is snatch'd from their grasp; when this happens, which is not unfrequent, the spirits are up immediately, and they are a storm at the first blast: the train takes fire, and they kindle and flash at the touch like gunpowder. And when the passions are thus rampant, nothing is more common than oaths, and execrable language: when instead of blaming their own rashness, and disciplining their folly, they are cursing their stars, and raging against their fate. [347]

"These paroxysms of madness run sometimes so high, that you would think the Devil had seiz'd the organs of speech, and that they were possess'd in every syllable: and to finish farther, these hideous sallies are sometimes carry'd on to quarrelling and murther. The dice, it may be, are snatch'd too quick, the cast is disputed, the loading and legerdemain is discover'd.

"Jamque faces et saxa volant:—

Upon this, they run to arms, and after some artillery discharg'd in swearing, come to a close encounter. And thus one of them is run through the lungs, and left agonizing upon the place: or, as it happen'd not long since, the gamester is knocked down with a pint-pot, and his skull broken: he is forced to be trepan'd, and then relapsing into play and drinking, dies of a frenzy.

"As to the hazards, they are frightful, and sufficient to overset the temper of better principled people than gamesters commonly are. Have we not heard of ladies losing hundreds of guineas at a sitting? And others more slenderly stock'd, disfurnish their husbands' studies, and play off the books which, it may be, help'd to feed them. And when the women are thus courageous, the men conclude their own sex calls for a bolder liberty: that they ought to go farther in danger, and appear more brave in the methods of ruin: thus a manor has been lost in an afternoon; the suit and service follow the cast, and the right is transfer'd sooner than the lawyer can draw the conveyance. A box and dice are terrible artillery, a battery of cannon scarcely plays with more execution. They make a breach in a castle, and command a surrender in a little time. " [348]

A curious Rabbinical tract on the subject of Gaming, entitled, סור מרע,—Sûr Mera,—that is, "Depart from Evil," [349] seems to require some notice here. It was first printed at Venice, about 1615; was reprinted at Leyden about 1660; and a third edition, accompanied with a German translation, was published at Leipsic in 1683. None of the editors mention either the name of the author, or the time when he lived. The work is in the form of a dialogue between two young Jews, one of whom, named Medad, maintains the lawfulness of Gaming, and is opposed by the other, named Eldad. The work is divided into six chapters. The first is merely introductory, giving a brief account of the speakers in the dialogue;—Medad, a merchant's son, addicted to play; and Eldad, his friend, who endeavours to reclaim him. The second chapter contains the argument which they had on the subject of gaming and commerce; Medad endeavouring to show that play is commendable and similar to commerce; while Eldad maintains the contrary. In the third chapter, Eldad undertakes to prove from the Scriptures that a gamester breaks all the Ten Commandments, and Medad ingeniously answers him. In the fourth chapter, Eldad, on the authority of the Talmud and other Rabbinical works, maintains that a gamester can neither be a judge nor a witness; and Medad answers him, citing opposite passages from the same authorities. In the fifth chapter, Eldad recites a piece of poetry descriptive of the miserable state of a gamester; and Medad, in return, recites another, wherein the pleasures of a gamester's life are highly extolled. In the sixth and last chapter, Eldad seriously exhorts his friend to assent to truth; Medad yields, and acknowledges that the cause which he had maintained was bad.

The following are a few of the more remarkable passages in the argument of Medad, the advocate of gaming: "Play is commendable, the same as all other human inventions. It is like a bright mirror in which many excellent things are to be discovered, exciting to a sluggish man, and causing him to forget the cares incident to daily life. Though it be undeniable that he whose whole pleasure consists in keeping the commands of the Lord, and who is neither vain nor ambitious, is a better man than he who plays; yet of the various pursuits in which men engage in order to obtain wealth or power, Play is one which may be allowed to those who, without pretending to be absolutely righteous, yet endeavour to be as righteous as they can. Through much trafficking man becomes knowing; and wares are in Hebrew called סחורה—Sechorah—a word which means 'circulation,' or 'that which circulates,' on account of their passing from one person to another by way of barter or sale. Why should Play not be estimated the same as any other business, at which money is sometimes lost and sometimes gained? [350] The determining of matters by lot or chance is even of Divine institution: the high priest's sin-offering was to be determined by lot; the land was to be divided amongst the Twelve Tribes by lot; David, in the sixteenth Psalm, says that the Lord maintains his lot; and in Proverbs, chap. xviii, we are told that 'the lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.'—It is answered, that traffic or commerce is productive of mutual benefit. But hearken: in anticipation of a dearth you purchase a hundred quarters of corn of your neighbour, and lock it up in your granaries, in the hope of gaining double. You raise your face to Heaven, but it is to look out for the signs of bad weather; and you are content that there should be a famine in the land, provided that you thrive by it. When your wine-vats are full to overflowing, you enjoy the storm of thunder and hail that destroys the vintage of the year; for you will thus be enriched. But is this just? is there any mutual benefit in this? Can you make your profit without the rest of the world being injured? And yet you are held to be an honourable fair-dealing man. [351]—In the third chapter of the tract Sanhedrin, gamesters and usurers are indeed classed together; but it is known that in the Scriptures usury is strongly condemned, while play is not even forbidden. But now, those who live by usury are honoured; and so far from being deprived of the right of acting as judges or of giving testimony as witnesses, they are magistrates and rulers: a word of theirs is worth a hundred witnesses. Gamesters, on the contrary, are unjustly vilified; and he who does not speak evil of play runs the risk of being excommunicated.—Even the losing gamester may derive great advantage from his play: he is thus taught to bear losses with patience; and when in other matters he has been unlucky and has lost much money, he consoles himself with the thought that it is only what has often happened to him at play. He perceives that nothing is stable or perpetual in human affairs, and takes the good and the bad with even temper. From his games he also acquires the elements of science; he learns arithmetic without a master; and also becomes a proficient in logic and rhetoric, from his exercise of those arts on his opponents. From the cards he may acquire a knowledge of painting, and from the dice, which are exactly squared, he may learn mathematics. In short, he who plays at cards and dice, has a hand in all arts. The Hebrew word בכל--Bekol--which signifies 'in all,' is, in its numerical value, equal to 52: that is, ‏ב‎ = 2; ‏כ‎ = 20; and ‏ל‎ = 30: in all 52,--the number of cards in a French pack. The Hebrew word ויד--Va-yod--which signifies 'a Hand,' is, in the same manner, reckoning the word itself as 1, equal to 21: that is, ‏ו‎ = 6; ‏י‎ = 10; ‏ד‎ = 4; the word itself = 1: in all 21,—the number of the spots on a die. Thus, from his play, may a man learn righteousness, and how to conduct himself with moderation."

Though the game of cards has not been so elaborately moralised as the game of Chess, yet the Pack has not wanted spiritual expounders, who have ingeniously shown that it might serve, not only as a perpetual almanack, but also as a moral monitor, and a help to devotion. The most popular and best known of such expositions, or rather applications, is that entitled 'The Perpetual Almanack, or Gentleman-Soldier's Prayer Book;' which has been long circulated in this country as a penny chap-book. Mons. Leber says that it is an imitation of a French tract on the same subject, entitled 'Explication morale du Jeu de Cartes, anecdote curieuse et intéressante, sous le nom de Louis Bras-de-fer, engagé au service du roi,' which seems to have been first published at Brussels, in 1778. The history of Bras-de-fer is referred to by Breitkopf; and Mons. Renouard, speaking of Singer's 'Researches into the History of Playing Cards,' in the Catalogue of his Library, observes, "Cet auteur, qui a tout recherché, n'a probablement pas tout rencontré, car s'il l'eut seulement entrevue, auroit-il laissé échapper l'explication morale du jeu de cartes par le soldat Bras-de-fer, l'une des pièces le plus notables de la bibliothèque à deux sols?" In order that a similar objection may not be brought against the writer of this work, the whole of the Perpetual Almanack is here given, verbatim, from a broadside, "printed by J. Catnach, 2, Monmouth Court, Seven Dials."

"The Perpetual Almanack; or Gentleman-soldier's Prayer Book: shewing how one Richard Middleton was taken before the Mayor of the city he was in for using cards in church during Divine Service: being a droll, merry, and humorous account of an odd affair that happened to a private soldier in the 60th Regiment of Foot.

"The serjeant commanded his party to the church, and when the parson had ended his prayer, he took his text, and all of them that had a Bible, pulled it out to find the text; but this soldier had neither Bible, Almanack, nor Common-Prayer Book, but he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a pack of cards, and spread them before him as he sat; and while the parson was preaching, he first kept looking at one card and then at another. [352] The serjeant of the company saw him, and said, 'Richard, put up your cards, for this is no place for them.'—'Never mind that,' said the soldier, 'you have no business with me here.'

"Now the parson had ended his sermon, and all was over: the soldiers repaired to the churchyard and the commanding officer gave the word of command to fall in, which they did. The serjeant of the city came, and took the man prisoner.—'Man, you are my prisoner,' said he.—'Sir,' said the soldier, 'what have I done that I am your prisoner?'—'You have played a game at cards in the church.'—' No,' said the soldier, 'I have not play'd a game, for I only looked at a pack.'—'No matter for that, you are my prisoner.'—'Where must we go?' said the soldier.—'You must go before the Mayor,' said the serjeant. So he took him before the Mayor; and when they came to the Mayor's house, he was at dinner. When he had dined he came down to them, and said, 'Well, serjeant, what do you want with me?'—'I have brought a soldier before you for playing at cards in the church.'—'What! that soldier?'—'Yes.'—'Well, soldier, what have you to say for yourself?'—'Much, sir, I hope.'—'Well and good; but if you have not, you shall be punished the worst that ever man was.'—'Sir,' said the soldier, 'I have been five weeks upon the march, and have but little to subsist on; and am without either Bible, Almanack, or Common-Prayer Book, or anything but a pack of cards: I hope to satisfy your honour of the purity of my intentions.'

"Then the soldier pulled out of his pocket the pack of cards, which he spread before the Mayor; he then began with the Ace. 'When I see the Ace,' said he, 'it puts me in mind that there is one God only; when I see the Deuce, it puts me in mind of the Father and the Son; when I see the Tray, it puts me in mind of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; when I see the Four, it puts me in mind of the four Evangelists, that penned the Gospel, viz. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; when I see the Five, it puts me in mind of the five wise virgins who trimmed their lamps; there were ten, but five were foolish, who were shut out. When I see the Six, it puts me in mind that in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth; when I see the Seven, it puts me in mind that on the seventh day God rested from all the works which he had created and made, wherefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it. When I see the Eight, it puts me in mind of the eight righteous persons that were saved when God drowned the world, viz. Noah, his wife, three sons, and their wives; when I see the Nine, it puts me in mind of nine lepers that were cleansed by our Saviour; there were ten, but nine never returned God thanks; when I see the Ten, it puts me in mind of the Ten Commandments that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai on the two tables of stone.' He took the Knave, and laid it aside.—'When I see the Queen, it puts me in mind of the Queen of Sheba, who came from the furthermost parts of the world to hear the wisdom of King Solomon, for she was as wise a woman as he was a man; for she brought fifty boys and fifty girls, all clothed in boy's apparel, to show before King Solomon, for him to tell which were boys, and which were girls; but he could not, until he called for water for them to wash themselves; the girls washed up to their elbows, and the boys only up to their wrists; so King Solomon told by that. And when I see the King, it puts me in mind of the great King of Heaven and Earth, which is God Almighty, and likewise his Majesty King George, to pray for him.'

"'Well,' said the Mayor, 'you have a very good description of all the cards, except one, which is lacking.'—'Which is that?' said the soldier.'—'The Knave,' said the Mayor.—'Oh, I can give your honour a very good description of that, if your honour won't be angry.'—'No, I will not,' said the Mayor, 'if you will not term me to be the Knave.'—'Well,' said the soldier, 'the greatest that I know is the serjeant of the city, that brought me here.'—'I don't know,' said the Mayor, 'that he is the greatest knave, but I am sure that he is the greatest fool.'—'When I count how many spots there are in a pack of cards, I find there are three hundred and sixty-five; there are so many days in a year. When I count how many cards there are in a pack, I find there are fifty-two; there are so many weeks in a year. When I count how many tricks in a pack, I find there are thirteen; there are so many months in a year. You see, sir, that this pack of cards is a Bible, Almanack, Common-Prayer Book, and pack of cards to me.'

"Then the Mayor called for a loaf of bread, a piece of good cheese, and a pot of good beer, and gave the soldier a piece of money, bidding him to go about his business, saying he was the cleverest man he had ever seen."

Another chap-book, entitled 'A New Game at Cards, between a Nobleman in London and one of his Servants,' is merely a variation of the 'Perpetual Almanack:' a servant being denounced to his master as a gambler, denies the fact; and on a pack of cards being found in his pocket, he asserts that he is unacquainted with their use as mere cards, and that he uses them as an almanack, and sometimes converts them into a prayer-book. The four suits answer to the four quarters of the year; there are thirteen cards in each suit, and thirteen weeks in each quarter; the twelve coat cards correspond with the twelve months in a year; and there are just as many weeks in the year as cards in a pack. The King and Queen remind him of his allegiance; the Ten reminds him of the Ten Commandments; the Nine, of the nine Muses; the Eight, of the eight altitudes, and the eight persons who were saved in the ark; the Seven, of the seven wonders of the world, and the seven planets that rule the days of the week; the Six, of the six petitions contained in the Lord's Prayer, and of the six working days in a week; the Five, of the five senses; the Four, of the four seasons; the Three, of the three Graces, and of the three days and nights that Jonah was in the whale's belly; the Two, of the two Testaments, Old and New, and of the two contrary principles, Virtue and Vice; and the Ace, of the worship of one God. With respect to the Knave, which, like the soldier, he had laid aside, and had omitted to notice in its proper place, he says, on being asked its meaning by his master, that it will always remind him of the person who informed against him.

A variation of the history of Bras-de-fer was published at Paris in 1809, with notes by a Mons. Hadin, under the following title: 'Histoire du Jeu de Cartes du Grenadier Richard, ou Explication du Jeu de cinquante-deux cartes en forme de Livres de Prière.' [353] Mons. G. Brunet, in his 'Notice Bibliographique sur les Cartes à jouer,' says that this livret is not devoid of originality, and that it is not easily met with. From the passages which he quotes, it would appear that the "Grenadier Richard" was equally well read in sacred and profane history, and that he had thumbed both his Concordance and his Classical Dictionary to some purpose. The Ace reminds him, amongst various other things, of the unity of the Deity; that Noah left the ark one year after the deluge; and that there is only one Catholic Church. When he sees the Nine, he thinks of the nine orders of angels; and is reminded that Christ died at the ninth hour of the day. A Queen reminds him of Eve, Judith, Dalilah, the Queen of Sheba, and the Virgin Mary; a Knave, of the centurion in the Gospel; and a King, of Adam, Solomon, or any king mentioned in Holy Writ. The twelve coat cards remind him of the twelve fountains of Elim, the twelve precious stones in the breastplate of the high priest, the twelve loaves of shew-bread, the twelve stones with which Eli built an altar, the twelve patriarchs, the twelve oxen that sustained the brazen sea in Solomon's temple, the twelve apostles, the twelve articles of the creed, and the twelve feasts which are more particularly celebrated by the Church of Rome in honour of Christ. Diamonds—le Carreau,—make him think of the place where the cross was fixed; Spades—le Pique,—of the lance which pierced the side of Christ; and Clubs,—le Trèfle,—with their triple leaves, of the love of the three women who went early in the morning with perfumes to the holy sepulchre.

On subjects of heathen mythology, cards are equally suggestive to his well-stored memory. The Three reminds him of the three sons of Saturn,—Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto; of the three Furies, the three Graces, the three Hesperides, the three daughters of Mineus, and the three horses of the chariot of Pluto. The Four reminds him of the four ages, the four horses of the chariot of the sun, and the four labyrinths, namely, of Egypt, Crete, Italy, and Lemnos; and whenever he sees the Nine, he is vividly reminded of the nine Muses, and the nine acres of land covered by the body of the giant Tithius. The twelve coat cards are suggestive of the twelve gods and goddesses, the twelve labours of Hercules, and sundry other twelves besides. [354]

The following historical anecdote, apropos, of a pack of cards, is extracted from a little book in duodecimo, entitled 'The Social and Instructive Companion,' printed for T. Field in Paternoster Row, 1765. The same story is also inserted in the 'Whitehall Evening Post,' of the 27th September, 1767; and the editor says that it is related in the manuscript memoirs of Richard, Earl of Cork, and of Henry Usher, primate of Armagh. He further adds that its truth was ascertained by James Usher, Archbishop of Armagh, nephew of the aforesaid Henry. Whether true or false, a great many more improbable things have passed current as authentic history upon no better evidence.

"Queen Mary having dealt severely with the Protestants in England, signed a commission about the latter end of her reign, for taking the same course with them in Ireland; and to execute the same with greater force, she nominated Dr. Cole, who had recommended himself by wholesome severities in England, to be one of the commissioners, sending the commission by the doctor himself.

"In the way, Dr. Cole lodged one night at Chester, where, being visited as the queen's messenger, and a churchman of distinction by the mayor of that city, he informed this magistrate of the contents of his message; and taking a box out of his cloak-bag, said, 'Here is a commission that shall lash the heretics' (meaning the Protestants of Ireland).

"The good woman of the house being well affected to the Protestant religion, and having also a brother named John Edmonds, then a citizen in Dublin, and a Protestant, was greatly disturbed at the doctor's words; but waiting a convenient time whilst the mayor took his leave, and the doctor complimented him down stairs, she ventured to open the box, and taking the commission out, she in its place put a sheet of paper, and a pack of cards, with the Knave of Clubs faced uppermost, wrapped up. The doctor, at his return to his chamber, suspecting nothing of what had been done, put up the box again into his cloak-bag; and next day the wind setting fair, he sailed for Ireland, and landed at Dublin, the 7th of October, 1558.

"The doctor having notified his arrival at the Castle, the lord deputy Fitz-Walters sent for him to come before his excellency and the privy council; to whom the doctor made a long speech relating to the subject of his commission, and then presented the leather box with its contents to the lord deputy. But when the deputy opened it for the secretary to read the commission, lo! to the great surprise of all present, and the doctor's confusion, there was nothing found but a pack of cards with the Knave of Clubs faced uppermost. The doctor assured the deputy and council that he had a commission, but knew not how it was gone, 'Then,' said the lord deputy, 'let us have another commission, and we will shuffle the cards in the meanwhile.'

"The doctor withdrew in great trouble of mind; and hasting back to England, obtained a fresh commission: but being detained some time at the water side for a fair wind, he was prevented from putting it into execution by the news of the queen's death.

"This account of the providential deliverance of the Protestants in Ireland from the Marian persecution is attested in the memorials of Richard, Earl of Cork, by the Lord Primate Usher; and in Sir James Ware's MSS.; who also writes that Queen Elizabeth, being informed of the truth thereof by the lord deputy Fitz-Walters, her Majesty was so delighted, that she sent for the good woman, named Elizabeth Edmonds, but by her husband (whom she afterwards married) named Mathershead, and gave her a pension of forty pounds during life, for having saved her Protestant subjects of Ireland."

Having now laid before the reader a store of facts and speculations on the origin and history of cards, a sketch of the progress of card-playing in different countries in Europe, and a collection of the opinions of several eminent men on the lawfulness of the game theologically and morally considered, together with sundry other matters either naturally, or artificially, associated with cards,—I shall conclude the work by a brief recapitulation of a few of the leading facts and circumstances relating to the origin of cards and the time of their first introduction into Europe.

In Hindostan, the tradition is, that cards were known in that country at a remote period,—upwards of a thousand years ago; but I have not been able to learn that they are mentioned in any Hindostanee work of an early date, and I am informed, on the authority of the Sanscrit professor at Oxford, that there is no Sanscrit word for playing cards. This last fact is, however, of but little weight as negative evidence of cards being unknown in Hindostan a thousand years ago; for long before that time Sanscrit had become obsolete as a vernacular language. In China, if any credit can be attached to the two dictionaries, or rather cyclopædias, of the greatest authority in that country, "Dotted Cards" were invented in 1120, in the reign of Seun-ho, and began to be common in the reign of Kaou-tsung, who ascended the throne in 1131. Cards—Carte—are mentioned in an Italian work, said to have been composed by Sandro di Pipozzo in 1299; but as the MS. is not of an earlier date than 1400, there is good reason for concluding the word to be an interpolation, seeing that in several works of the earlier part of the fourteenth century, which had been cited to prove that cards were then known in Europe, it has been discovered that the term cards was an interpolation introduced at a later period by a transcriber. The author of the 'Güldin Spil,' a work written about the middle of the fifteenth century, and printed at Augsburg, in 1472, says that he had read that the game of cards was first brought into Germany in 1300. No fact, however, confirmatory of the correctness of this account has been discovered; and the omission of all notice of cards by European authors of the earlier half of the fourteenth century, even when expressly treating of the games in vogue at the period, may be received as good negative evidence of their not being then known as a popular game in Europe: "De non apparentibus et non existentibus eadem est ratio." Admitting cards to be of Eastern invention—a fact which appears to be sufficiently established by the evidence adduced in the first chapter,—it would seem that they first became known in Europe as a popular game between 1360 and 1390. Covelluzzo, an Italian chronicler of the fifteenth century, says, that the game was first brought into Viterbo in 1379; in 1393, three packs of cards were painted by Jacquemin Gringonneur for the amusement of Charles VI of France; [355] in 1397, the working people of Paris were forbid to play at cards on working days; and in the same year card-playing was prohibited by the magistrates of Ulm. Such are the principal facts relative to the introduction of cards into Europe. The game appears to have rapidly spread amongst all classes of people. The manufacture of cards was a regular business in Germany and Italy prior to 1425; the importation of foreign cards into England was prohibited by act of parliament in 1463; and about 1484, cards, as at present, was a common Christmas game. It is unnecessary to recapitulate the more prominent incidents which mark the progress of card-playing; it may be sufficient to observe, that no other game was ever so generally played, with people of both sexes,—young and old, rich and poor. Even the "red man" of America, the "Stoic of the Woods," has acquired a knowledge of cards, from his neighbours of European descent, and ceases to be apathetic when engaged in the game. It is, perhaps, as extensively diffused as the use of tobacco; and is certainly indulged in by a greater variety of persons.

APPENDIX.