Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-10-18

many ancient histories stories are re-
lated of persons engaged in playing
cards either as a pastime or in gam
bling. All during the various ages the
game of cards is mentioned, and the
game was evidently most popular and
played most extensively among mem
bers of the royal families and the
aristocracy.
Yet of the many card players Of to-
day, of that vast number of men who
spend night after night at card
table, there are probably very few
who know that the origin Of the
pasteboards they handle with such
dizziness is hidden entirely in OBJ
security.
Not infrequently, too, has the game
been vigorously antagonized by vari-
GUS reformers and the church. Even
at the present time many churches
are waging war against the popular
fly of card playing, and recently in
this city during an evangelistic cam
paign a prominent clergyman de-
nounced the game Of progressive
euchre as being no better than the
games played in the gambling dives
in the slums of a big city.
In 1404 the censure of the church
was directed against cards, for it was
in that year that the synod of Lang
ress censured the game of "all tours"
and st. Bernardine so vigorously de-
nounced gambling at Bologna that
nj no,
fire of their discarded pasteboards in
the public square.
Sir William Jones tells of an old
Indian game called -four kings >
which was probably a kind of poker,
in which modern pastime four kings
are usually very satisfactory sort Of
a hand to hold 1t is also on record
that Edward !. received from his
wardrobe keepers eight shilltngs and
fiVepenCe, lad indendum ad QuatuOr
reyes" flor playing at four kings
The smallness of the sum shows at
what a cheap rate gambling could be
carried on at that period Of English
history.
Insane Kings Amusement.
The four kings of the pack are sup
posed to represent David, Alexander,
Caesar and Charles These names
even now appear on cards Of French
manufacture, and are looked upon as
the opponents of the four great mon
archs, the Jews, Greeks, Romans and
Franks under Charlemagne. When
the queens were introduced they were
labeled Argine, Esther, Judith and
Pallas, and stood for the sentiments
noble birth, piety, fortitude and wis
dom
Some time ago the question of play
ing cards was brought up at the turn
ing point of an important trial in an
English court of law. The question in
dispute was whether a testator was
in sound mind when he made his will
Evidence was given that at the time
he made his will he spent much of
his time in playing cards. This
seemed decisive until the counsel for
the contestants of the will arose and
asked witness:
Are you not aware that cards were
invented for the amusement Of an in
sane king
This legend of Charles VI of France
was for some time accepted, but it is
not compatible with the existence in
the possession of the Royal Aslatic
society Of London of a pack of cards
said to be a thousand years old.
These cards are utterly uuinteIligible
even to the most learned archaeoIo-
gists Of today. There is no reason
for doubt, however, that they are
really playing cards, and that they
were used as such. There are eight
suits of different colors. The kings
are mounted on elephants, the viziers
on tigers, horses and bulls. Some of
the cards are worked with what
looks like pine apple in shallow
cup. Others bear figures resembling
a paraso! with two broken ribs.
Chinks Have Claims.
When England was ringing with the
falsehoods of Titus Oates in the sew
enteenth century pack of cards was
printed containing on the backs, The
complete history of all the popish
plots"
'Aspersers of this pack" adver-
tised the publisher, plainly show
themselves to be popishly affected"
A parallel to this advice was the
Idea of the French manufacturers
when the first revolution drove the
people out of their senses for time.
They removed the kings from the
pack and replaced them by pictures
of Moliere, La Fontaine, Voltaire and
Rousseau, while the queens had as
substitutes figures labeled Prudence,
Justice, Temperance and Fortitude-
the very virtues that in '93 were OK
PEELED from France
Another attempt to exclude mon
aNchy and its titles from the game
was made in New York in 1S4S, when
packs were manufactured with presi-
dents instead Of kings. Washington
was made to rule over hearts, John
Adams over diamonds, Franklin over
spades and Jefferson over clubs:
Venus, Fortune, Ceres and Minerva
We're presented instead of the knayes:
but none of these innovations lasted
very long, and the old nomenclature
was soon reinstated.
There have been, of course. changes
in the insignia and titles of the suits
but these have been ethnological or
national, not prompted merely nv
political unrest. The Chinese. who
.oaordi0o RI fboir bictor;oe ;- ,