rings on their fingers, to which little bells were suspended, also amid the tresses of their hair that their superior rank might be known and they receive due homage. In Europe bells have also been regarded as ornamental, and were worn by the Emperors of Germany in the 12th and 13th centuries; they were adopted as symbols on monuments also at this period, and were used in falconry by princes and nobles of the first class; this was antecedent to armorial bearings or heraldic designs, by which they have since been superseded as being better suited to gratify the pride of the nobles in consequence of their indicating both rank and personal distinction at the same time. From a combination of circumstances it may be inferred that bells were brought into Europe from the east about the end of the eleventh century, and were adopted as symbols of grandeur by the Gerinan nobility of that period, the several other devices adopted by the Germans at that time were so numerous as to defy description.

The Portuguese cards are unmistakeably borrowed from the oriental type, particularly in the suits Danari or money, and Bastoni or clubs. The former is decidedly more like the chakra or quoit of Vichnou, than a piece of coin, whilst on the top of the club there is a diamond proper, another attribute of the same deity. The dragon on the aces is also perfectly Oriental. The court cards of this pack are King, Queen, and Horseman; and the suits are Coppa, Danari, Bastoni, and Spade-Cups, Honey, Clubs, and Swords. Specimens of those cards are preserved in the Imperial Library of France, and appear to have been executed in 1693.

During the revolutionary period in France, cards appear to have undergone various strange changes in accordance with the political phases of that momentous era. Peignot, in his "Analyse de Recherches sur les Cartes à jouer," has thus described a pack. "For Kings were substituted Genii; for Queens, Liberties; and for Valets, Equalities. The King of Hearts is represented by the Genius of War,"GENIE DE LA GUERRE." This Genius, which is winged, is seated on the breech of a cannon; he holds in the right hand a sword and a wreath of laurel, and in the left, a shield, round which is the inscription, Pour la République Française. On the right, read vertically from the top, is

the word 'Force."

At the feet of the Genius are a bomb, a lighted match, and a heap of bullets; at the bottom of the card is the inscription, Par brevet d'invention, Naume et Dugouac, au Génie de la Rép. Franc.'

"For the Queen of Hearts; LIBERTE DES CULTES,' religious liberty. This is a female seated, very badly draped, and with her legs bare. She holds a pike surmounted with a red cap; and on a banneral attached to the pike are the words dieu seul'. Towards her feet are seen three volumes, inscribed Thalmud, Coran,' and 'Evangeline,' the vertical inscription is, Traternité.'

"Knave of Hearts; EGALITE DES DEVOIRS,' Equality of Duties. This is a soldier seated on a drum, with his musket between his knees. In his left hand he holds a paper containing the words,' Pour la patrie. The vertical inscription is Securité.

"King of Spades; 'GENIE DES ARTS,' the Genius of Arts. The figure of Apollo with a red cap on his head; in one hand he holds the Belvedere statue of himself, and in the other a lyre. The vertical inscription; Gout. At the bottom, emblems of painting, sculpture, and such like.

"Queen of Spades; LIBERTE DE LA PRESSE, Liberty of the Press. A female figure with a pen in one hand, and with the other sustaining a desk, on which lies a roll of paper partly unfolded, and displaying the words' Morale, Religion, Philosophie, Physique, Potitique, Histoire. At the bottom, masks, rolls of manuscript.

"Knave of Spades; EGALITE DE RANG'S, Equality of Ranks: The figure of a man whose costume accords rather with that of a Septembriseur' than that of a mere ‘Sansculotte' of the period. He wears sabots, and has a red cap on his head. He has no coat on, and his shirt sleeves are tucked up to the elbows. His small clothes are loose at the knees, and his legs are bare. He is seated on a large stone, on which is inscribed; Démolition de la Bastille 10 Août, 1792'. Under his feet is a scroll inscribed Noblesse,' and displaying shields of arms. The vertical inscription is 'Puissance.'

"King of Clubs; 'GENIE DE LA PAIX,' Genius of Peace. In his right hand he holds the Fasces' and an olive branch, and in the left a scroll containing the word' Lois'. The vertical inscription is Prospérité.

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Queen of Clubs; LIBERTE DU MARIAGE,' Liberty of Marriage. The figure of a female holding a pike surmounted with the red cap; and on a scroll attached to the pike is the word Divorce. The vertical inscription is Pudeur.' On a pedestal is a statue of the crouching Venus entirely naked, without doubt intended for the emblem of modesty.

"Knave of Clubs: EGALITE DE DROITS, equality of rights. A judge in tricolor costume, holding in one hand a pair of scales, and in the other a scroll containing the inscription, 'La loi pour tous.' He is trampling on a serpent or dragon, the tortuous folds of which represent legal chicanery. The vertical inscription is 'Justice."

"King of Diamonds: 'GENIE DU COMMERCE,' the genius of He is seated on a large bale, which contains the inscription 'P.B. d'ino, J.D. à Paris.'

commerce.

In one hand he holds a purse, and in the other a caduceus and an olive branch; the vertical inscription is 'Richesse." At the bottom are an anchor, the prow of a ship, a portfolio, and such like."

"Queen of Diamonds: LIBERTE DES PROFESSIONS,-Liberty of professions and trades. A female figure, who in the same manner as the other three liberties holds a pike, surmounted with the red cap. With the other hand she holds a cornucopiæ and a scroll containing the word 'Patentes.' The vertical inscription is Industrie."

"Knave of Diamonds: EGALITE DE COULEURS,' Equality of colours. The figure of a Negro, seated, and leaning on a musket; below is the word 'Cafe;' near to him are a sugar-loaf, a broken yoke, fetters, iron collars for the neck, and such like. The vertical inscription is 'Courage."

Such are the court cards of this Republican pack. The numeral cards are the same as the old ones, with the excep tion of the aces, which are surrounded by four fasces placed lozenge-wise, with these words: La Loi, Rép. Frane; the whole coloured blue. It is scarcely necessary to say that those ridiculous cards had not even a momentary Vogue.

We have given, in extenso, Peignot's elaborate and most graphic account of those cards, which represent a period in the history of France replete with painful interest, and are accurately descriptive of the tone of mind and feeling which pervaded all classes of the people, during that sad and most

disgraceful season of turbulence and bloodshed; there were various other packs beside that which we have described, each illustrative of the passions and prejudices of the time. Our transatlantic brethren have not been behind-hand in following this European custom of illustrating, through the medium of cards, the remarkable personages, and most stirring events of a revolutionary period; thus, we have in one pack WASHINGTON represented as the King of Hearts; JOHN ADAMS, the second President of the United States, King of Diamonds; FRANKLIN, of Clubs; and LA FAYETTE, of Spades. The queens bear mythological designs; for instance, the Queen of Hearts represents VENUS enveloped in a flowing robe, to accord with the fastidious notions of American delicacy; Clubs, CERES; Diamonds, FORTUNE; and Spades, MINERVA. Four Indian Chiefs are personified in the knaves.

Mons. Peignot also notices a set of picture cards published by Cotta, the book-seller of Tubingen, the court cards of which represent the principal characters of the time, clothed in the costume of that period. The King of Hearts is CHARLES VII.; the Queen, ISABELLA OF BAVARIA; the knave, LA HIRE. The King of Clubs represents TALBOT, the English commander, dying; the Queen, JOAN OF ARC; the knave, LIONEL, taking away the sword of JOAN OF ARC. The King of Diamonds is PHILIP, DUKE OF BURGUNDY ; the Queen, AGNES SOREL; the knave, RAIMOND, a villager. The King of Clubs is RENE OF ANJOU, with the crown of Sicily at his feet; the Queen, LOUISE, sister of JOAN OF ARC; and the knave, MONTGOMERY, on his knees and weeping. This card almanac of Cotta, "Karten Almanack," first appeared in the year 1806, and was continued for several years; the designs of the four first years of this picturesque almanack are attributed to a lady.

Many quaint and even superstitious remarks have, from time to time, been made on several of the numeral cards, and have been pronounced lucky or unlucky according to the tone or temper of the period; thus, for instance, the deuce of cards is not by any means considered synonymous with that term as ordinarily applied, and is, therefore, regarded as a lucky card, and old card-players frequently use this aphorism, "There's luck in the deuce, but none in the tray.

In some parts of England the four of Hearts is looked on as an unlucky card at Whist, and rejoices in the euphonious title of "Hob Collingwood." The four of Clubs has been designated the "devil's bed-post" by sailors. The six of Hearts, in various parts of Ireland, is known by the name of "Grace's card," a cognomen which it is said to have acquired in the following manner. A gentleman named Grace being solicited, with promises of royal favour, to espouse the cause of William III., gave the following answer, written on the back of the six of Hearts, to an emissary of Marshal Schomberg's, who had been commissioned to make the proposal to him :-"Tell your master I despise his offer, and that honour and conscience are dearer to a gentleman than all the wealth and titles a prince can bestow.' Such is the story connected with this card, and given as a truism, and fully believed, in the county Kilkenny.

In addition to the cards already mentioned, we may here particularize another species, much in vogue about one hundred years ago, namely, Message Cards.

In that admirable, and now almost forgotten, work of the Rev. Richard Graves, The Spiritual Quixote; or, The Summer's Rambles of Mr. Geoffry Wildgoose, we have the following "Digression on Message Cards." Wildgoose has been haranguing on the parade at Bath, where in spite of Beau Nash and all the fashionables, he has collected a very considerable crowd, and has inveighed with great severity against luxury in dress, cards, dancing, and all the fashionable diversions of the place; and even against frequenting the rooms with the most innocent intentions of recreation and amusement. We learn from The Spiritual Quixote :

As soon as Wildgoose had finished his harangue, which was almost of an hour's duration, a jolly foot-man, about the size of one of the gentlemen in the horse guards, bustling through the crowd, stretched out a gigantic fist, and presented the orator a single card. Wildgoose, who had not, of late, been much in genteel life, could not guess at the meaning of this ceremony; but imagined it was some joke upon his invective against gaming. The footman, however, with a surly air, cried out, Read it friend! read it; my lady desires to see you at her lodgings here on the parade.' Wildgoose, then, perusing his billet, read as follows.