Playing at cards, or any other game, for money or anything else of value, is a practice to be reprobated; but fir pleasant amusement at an evening party, cards are extremely attractive.

Raphael introduces to the notice of his young readers the system of an amusement which is in itself perfectly harmless, and at the same time both amusing and interesting. In the words of a celebrated author, "Divination (or that which is understood by the common term fortune-telling, and which of itself is both ambiguous and inapplicable) may be pursued, in order to obtain an idea of the ultimate consequences of any action or thought,

* See "Tricks with Cards," published by Dick & Fitzgerald 3* provided a system be uniform and carefully observed." The same au-thor further adds, "that the sympathies of nature provide the means of elucidation if the mind is sufficiently anxious."

To this Raphael might raise some question. He, however, offers the following, hoping it may be productive of amusement in the sense he intends it.

Take a pack of cards, and we will presume the presiding genius to be a lady of very fair and light complexion; she will then be represented by the queen of diamonds, as persons of different complexions are represented by the different suits of the pack. Thus diamonds represent the fairest, hearts the next fair, clubs a dark complexion, and spades very dark persons. Ladies are represented by the queens of the respective suits, and gentlemen by the kings. The jack or knave of each suit represents the person's thoughts of that suit of which the king represents the party; thus if a king of diamonds represents a very fair man the knave of diamonds represents his thoughts. In order to proceed, let the cards be properly shuffled, and if the presiding personage tells his or her own destiny, he or she is represented by the card (king or queen, according to the sex), as above described, or if another person's, that person is represented in like manner. Suppose one is telling another their prospects; let that person cut the pack, after being shuffled, into three lots, then, taking up the lots indiscriminately, let the cards be laid out (faces uppermost) in rows of nine in a row; then, as there are fifty-two cards in the pack, there will be five rows of nine each, and one of seven at the bottom; these being laid on a table will form nearly a square. The representative card will of course be seen in one of the rows, and commencing with that as one, count nine cards in every way possible, then the cards ending at nine in the various countings will denote what is to come to pass according to the following scale, and which must be applied to the best and most suitable advantage by the Consulting Oracle: -

Description of the Cards. - The ace of diamonds represents a ring; the ace of hearts, your house; the ace of clubs, a letter;and the ace of spades, death, spite, quarreling.

OF DIAMONDS