at first they were knights, as appears from the names of some of
the famous French knights being formerly painted on the cards.

Thus a pack of cards is truly a monument of the olden time--the
days of chivalry and its numberless associations.

In addition to the details I have given in the previous chapter
respecting the probability of holding certain cards, there are a
few other curious facts concerning them, which it may be
interesting to know.

There is a difference in the eyes of two of the knaves--those of
diamonds and hearts, more apparent in the old patterns,
suggesting the inference that they are blind. This has been made
the basis of a card trick, as to which two of the four knaves
presenting themselves would be selected as servants. Of course
the blind ones would be rejected. A bet is sometimes proposed to
the unwary, at Whist, but one of the party will have in his hand,
after the deal, only one of a suit, or none of a suit. The bet
should not be taken, as this result very frequently happens.

Lastly, there is an arithmetical puzzle of the most startling
effect to be contrived with a pack of cards, as follows. Let a
party make up parcels of cards, beginning with a number of pips
on any card, and then counting up to twelve with individual
cards. In the first part of the trick it must be understood that
the court cards count as ten, all others according to the pips.
Thus, a king put down will require only two cards to make up 12,
whereas the ace will require 11, and so on. Now, when all the
parcels are completed, the performer of the trick requires to