The cards that might be styled those of Charles VII., which appear to us to convey some reminiscence of the _ballet des ardents_, have no inscription but the name of the cardmaker. But in the other pack of the same date the “knave of clubs” bears as a legend the word _Rolan_; the “king of clubs,” _Sans Souci_; the “queen of clubs,” _Tromperie_; the “king of diamonds,” _Corsube_; the “queen of diamonds,” _En toi te fie_; the “king of spades,” _Apollin_, &c. This collection of names reveals to us the threefold influence of the Saracenic origin of playing-cards, the ideas conveyed at that period to the mind by the reading of the old romances of chivalry, and the effect of contemporary events. In fact, in the ancient epics, _Apollin_ (or Apollo) is a deity by whom the Saracens were accustomed to swear; _Corsube_ is a knight of Cordova (_Corsuba_). _Sans Souci_ is evidently one of those _sobriquets_ which squires acquired the habit of adopting at the time they were proving themselves worthy of the title of knight. Roland, the mighty Paladin who died at Roncevaux fighting against the Saracens, seems to have been placed upon the cards in order to oppose the memory of his glory to that of the infidel kings. The queen “_En toi te fie_” might well allude to Joan of Arc. The queen “_Tromperie_” recalls to mind Isabel of Bavaria, who was an unfaithful wife and a cruel mother; and, moreover, had betrayed France to England. All these ideas are doubtless mere suppositions, but such as a critical examination of a more minute and extended character would perhaps succeed in changing into unquestionable certainties. Next after the cards of the time of Charles VII. follow, as the most ancient in point of date, two packs which certainly belong to the reign of Louis XII. One of these packs does not bear any kind of legend; in the other the “king of hearts” is called _Charles_; the “king of diamonds,” _Cæsar_; the “king of clubs,” _Arthur_; the “king of spades,” _David_; the “queen of hearts,” _Héleine_; the “queen of diamonds,” _Judith_; the “queen of clubs,” _Rachel_; the “queen of spades,” _Persabée_ (doubtless for Bathsheba). In a pack of cards belonging to the reign of Francis I., the “king of clubs” becomes _Alexander_, and the name of _Judith_ is transferred to the “queen of hearts;” and for the first time (at least in the specimens which have been preserved) some of the “knaves” bear special names--the “knave of hearts” is _La Hire_, and the “knave of diamonds” _Hector of Trois_ (_sic_).