When I see the Ten, it reminds me of the Ten Commandments, which God handed down to Moses, on a table of stone. When I see the King, it reminds me of the Great King of Heaven, which is God Almighty. When I see the Queen, it reminds me of the Queen of Sheba, who went to hear the wisdom of Solomon; for she was as wise a woman as he was a man. She brought with her fifty boys and fifty girls, all dressed in boy’s apparel for King Solomon to tell which were boys, and which were girls. King Solomon sent for water for them to wash themselves; the girls washed to the elbows, and the boys only to the wrist, so King Solomon told by that.’ ‘Well,’ said the Mayor, ‘you have given a description of all the Cards in the pack, except one.’ ‘Which is that?’ said the Soldier. ‘The Knave,’ said the Mayor. ‘I will give your honour a description of that, too, if you will not be angry.’ ‘I will not,’ said the Mayor, ‘if you will not term me to be the Knave.’ ‘Well,’ said the Soldier, ‘the greatest knave I know, is the constable that brought me here.’ ‘I do not know,’ said the Mayor, ‘whether he is the greatest knave, but I know he is the greatest fool.’ ‘When I count how many spots there are in a pack of cards, I find 365, as many days as there are in a year.[14] When I count the number of cards in a pack, I find there are 52, as many weeks as there are in a year. When I count the tricks at Cards, I find 13, as many months as there are in a year. So you see, Sir, the Pack of Cards serves for a Bible, Almanack, and Common Prayer Book to me.’ The Mayor called for some bread and beef for the Soldier, gave him some money, and told him to go about his business, saying that he was the cleverest man he ever heard in his life.” The origin of Playing Cards is involved in mystery, although the Chinese claim to have invented them, saying that the Tien-Tsze, pae, or dotted cards, now in use, were invented in the reign of Leun-ho, A.D. 1120, for the amusement of his wives; and that they were in common use in the reign of Kaow-Tsung, who ascended the throne A.D. 1131. The generally received opinion is that they are of Oriental extraction, and that they were brought into Europe by the gipsies, and were first used in Spain. How, or when they were introduced into England, is not known. In Anstis’s _History of the Order of the Garter_, vol. i., p. 307, is to be found the earliest mention of Cards, if, indeed, the Four Kings there mentioned are connected with Cards. The date would be 1278.