It would require a volume, or perhaps many volumes, to treat of
the subject of the present chapter--the Turf, Historical, Social,
Moral; but I must now leave this topic, of such terrible national
interest, to some other conscientious writer capable of 'doing
justice' to the theme, in all its requirements.


CHAPTER XIII.

FORTUNE-TELLING BY CARDS (FOR LADIES).

It must be admitted that this practice--however absurd in its
object and application--does great credit to human ingenuity.
Once admitting the possibility of such conjuring, it is
impossible to deny the propriety of the reasonings deduced from
the turning up, the collocation, or the juxta-position of the
various cards, when the formalities of the peculiar shuffle and
cut required have been duly complied with by the consulter.

The cards are first shuffled ad libitum, then cut three different
times, and laid on a table, face upwards, one by one, in the form
of a circle, or more frequently nine in a row. If the conjurer
is a man he chooses one of the kings as his representative; if a
woman, she selects one of the queens. This is on the supposition
that persons are consulting for themselves; otherwise it is the
fortune-teller who selects the representative card. Then the
queen of the chosen king, or the king of the chosen queen, stands
for a husband or wife, mistress or lover, of the party whose
fortune is to be told. The knave of the suit represents the most