“When I see an Ace, may it please your Honour, it reminds me that there is only one God; and when I look upon a two or a three, the former puts me in mind of the Father and Son, and the latter of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. A four calls for remembrance the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. A five, the five wise Virgins who were ordered to trim their lamps. There were ten indeed; but five, your Worship may remember, were wise and five were foolish. A six, that in six days God created heaven and earth. A seven, that on the seventh day he rested from all he had made. An eight, of the eight righteous persons preserved from the deluge; namely, Noah and his wife, with his three sons and their wives. A nine, of the nine lepers cleansed by our Saviour. There were ten, but only one returned to offer his tribute of thanks. And a ten, of the ten commandments that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai, on the two tables of stone.” He took the Knave and put it aside. “When I see the Queen it reminds me of the Queen of Sheba, who came forth from the farthermost parts of the world to hear the wisdom of Solomon, for she was as wise a woman as he was a man, for she brought fifty boys and fifty girls, all clothed in girls’ apparel, to stand before King Solomon, for him to test which were boys and which were girls; but he could not until he called for water to wash themselves. The girls washed up to their elbows, and the boys only up to the wrists of their hands; 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 the Fourth, to pray for him.” “Well,” said the mayor, “you have given a good description of all the cards save one, which is lacking.” “Which is that?” said the soldier. “The Knave,” said the mayor. “If your Honour will not be angry with me,” returned Richard, “I can give you the same satisfaction on that as on any in the pack.” “No,” said the mayor. “Well,” returned the soldier, “the greatest Knave I know is the serjeant who brought me before you.” “I don’t know,” said the mayor, “whether he be the greatest Knave or no, but I am sure he is the greatest fool.” The soldier then continued: “When I count the number of dots in a pack of cards, there are three-hundred and sixty-five,—as many days as there are in the year. When I count how many cards there are in a pack, I find there are fifty-two,—so many weeks are there in a year. When I reckon how many tricks are won by a pack, I find there are thirteen,—so many months are there in a year. So that this pack of cards is both Bible, Almanack, and Prayer-Book to me.” The mayor called his servants, ordered them to entertain the soldier well, gave him a piece of money, and said he was the cleverest fellow he ever heard in his life.