The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-18
NINE OF DIAMONDS
 "CURSE OF SCOTLAND"
Dozen Stories Account for Cards Ap- pelation-Cruel Orders Were Writ
 ten On It

The reason as to why the nine of diamonds is called "The Curse of Scot land" for close to two centuries has caused a considerable amount of discus sion. The antiquarians seem not to be able to determine when or why this title was so given, and some have tried to trace it as far back as the days of Queen Elizabeth, says the New Or leans States
 One of the stories which is credited by many Is that the nine of diamonds and the. nine lozenges in the armorial coat of the Earl of Stair, Sir John Dal- rymple. bear striking resemblance. and as Dalrymple is accused of having been the prime instrument in causing the massacre of Glencoe, which covered his name with infamy, that Is the req son the card received the name "The Curse of Scotland"
 Another story is that the Duke of Cumberland, on the field after the bat tie of Culloden, wrote upon the back of the nine of diamonds a very cruel and innuman order for the destruction of the persons and property of the place
 And still another is that this card bore a striking resemblance to the cross of Scotland, and through the peculiar pronunciation of certain Scots. they tdileu It the V uTSe or ScOtlanu. St Andrew is the patron saint of Scot land. He suffered on cross not Of the usual form, but like the letter X, which has since been commonly called a St. Andrews cross.
 In print entitled "Britons Associa- ton Against the Pope's Bull,' issued October 21, 1705, is shown the Young Pretender attempting to lead across the Tweed a herd of bulls g laden with the the nine of diamonds The nine re- sembles St. Andrews cross.
 One writer says that the true ex- planation for this card being, called the curse of Scotland Is to be found In the game of Pope Joan, in which the nine of diamonds is the Pope" The well known anti-papas spirit of the Scotch people caused the Pope" card to be called the curse O Scotland. This game was originally called Pope Ju- lio' and is said to be as old as the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
 The following explanation is given in the classical dictionary of the Nul- gar Tongue. printed in 1TS5; an gnoble authority. 1t must be admitted: Dia- monds imply royalty being the orna ments of the imperial crowd, and ev cry ninth King of Scotland has been observed for many ages to be a tyrant and curse to that country.
 From the "Gentlemans Magazine" of 1791 is taken the following:
 ''The nine of diamonds. the Curse of Scotland, has been so called because every ninth monarch of that nation was a bad king to his subjects. I have been told by old people that this card was so called long before the rebellion of 1745, and therefore. it could not arise from the cir cumstances of the Duke of CumberlaDd's s signing orders. accidentally writing upon card, the night before the battle of Culloden, for General Campbell to give no quarter.
 pie justly merits the appellation of the Curse of Scotland from the part he took in the horrible massacre of Glencoe and from the utter detestation in which he was held in consequence, and which com pelled him to resign the seeretaryship in 1895. After the deliberate inquiry by the commissioners had declared him guilty of the massacre we cannot wonder that the man should be held up to scorn by the most popular means witch pre- scented themselves, and the nine of dia- monds in his shield would very natural
 y. being the insigIxa of his family. be the best and most easily understood method of perpetuatng that detestation in the minds of the people,"
 There is still another story which con- cerns the Duke of York in connection with this story When the Duke. a little before his succession to the crown, went to Scotland. he and his suite introduced a new game there, called "comet.' in which the nine Of diamonds is an im- portant card. It is the great winning card of the game, which is sometimes