A Frenchman, Père Menestrier, studied the history of the cards that were known to him as early as 1704, when he published "Des Principes des Sciences et des Arts Disposé en Forme de Jeux." Others followed his example, but they all looked upon cards simply as gambling instruments, or regarded them as interesting historical fashion plates picturing French celebrities, or else as rare engraved plates; so they treated the cards of their own countries only from this point of view. Of course, most of the writers knew only the cards of their immediate surroundings, and, if they ever were cognizant of the ancient Tarots, disregarded them entirely. When, in 1836, Samuel Weller Singer published his "History of Playing Cards," he was interested in engraving, with its kindred arts, and he found that the earliest work on wood or metal had been done to reproduce cards. This book was followed by the "History of Playing Cards," by William Andrew Chatto; "Origin of Playing Cards" (1865); "History of Playing Cards," by Rev. Edward Taylor, and many others. Although two persons in the priesthood devoted time to studying cards, they did not do so with reference to their religious influence on their congregations. Still, they acknowledged with surprise that these unbound leaves offered an interesting study, and, while each one pointed out the probable connection of Playing Cards with the Book of Thoth and the cult of Mercury, not one of them proved the statement, but slurred it over, as if rather ashamed of the idea, although the fact could easily have been proved through a careful examination of the marks, the pips, and the emblems on the cards themselves, that are so undoubtedly the heraldic devices through which Mercury is always recognised, and which he received from the most ancient forms of worship in Babylonia. These authors, with other German, French, and Spanish writers, unanimously decided that, since there is no legal record or trustworthy mention of cards intended for use in games before the year 1392 (the one that they seemed to agree upon, ignoring the account given of the martyrdom of St. Cyprian in 258, who was killed for remonstrating against playing cards), and since chance has not disclosed a hitherto unknown monument to their birth and cradle, that these playthings were suddenly invented just about the date when they appeared simultaneously all over Europe for the amusement of pleasure-loving mortals. However, they quarrelled a bit as to whether cards were first known in the Occident or in the Orient, but none of the authors studied divination, and the rules known to astrologers, fortune-tellers or gypsies that are carefully preserved, as well as the evident connection of Playing Cards with the tools of the diviners of ancient days.