"The Soldier's Prayer Book" - continued
The young soldier, whom the sergeant had seen apparently playing cards in church, was taken before the Captain, who was not too pleased at being disturbed on a reasonably quiet Sunday. The Captain said in a rather rough manner, "Well, sergeant, what do you want with me?"
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"I have brought a soldier before you for playing at cards at our church service."
"Well, soldier what have you to say for yourself? Said the Captain"
"Much, sir, I hope." "Well, I certainly hope so too, but if you have not got a reasonable excuse for such behaviour, you will be punished most severely."
"Sir," said the soldier, "I have been five weeks on constant duty and have had but little to subsist on, and I have no Bible, Almanac or Common Prayer Book, or anything but a pack of cards. I hope to satisfy you Sir, of the purity of my intentions." |
Then the soldier pulled out of his pocket the pack of cards, which he spread before the Captain ; he then began with the Ace.
When I see the Ace," he said, "it reminds me that there is one God only;
When I see the Deuce or Two, it reminds me of the Father and Son; when I see the Three, it reminds me of the Holy Trinity, of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
When I see the Four it puts me in mind of the four evangelists that penned the Gospels, namely, - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
W hen I see the Five it reminds me of the Five wise virgins who trimmed their lamps, - there were actually ten, but five were foolish and were shut out.
When I see the Six it reminds me that in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth; when I see the Seven, it reminds me that on the seventh day God rested from all the works, which he had created and the Lord blessed the seventh day and made it Holy.
When I see the Eight it reminds me of the eight righteous people that were saved when God drowned the world in the great flood, namely, Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives; and when I see the Nine it reminds me of the nine lepers that were cleansed by our Saviour. There were ten of them, but nine never returned their thanks to God.
When I see the Ten it reminds me of the Ten Commandments that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai on the tablets of stone."
He took the Knave or Jack and laid it aside and continued. "When I see the Queen it reminds me of the Queen of Sheba who came from the furthermost parts of the world to hear the wisdom of King Solomon, for she was as wise a woman as he was a man, and came to test his wisdom, for she brought 50 boys and 50 girls all clothed in boys' apparel to parade before King Solomon and for him to tell which were boys and which were girls;
The King could not tell from looking at them and so he called for water to be brought for them to wash themselves; - Now, the girls washed up to their elbows and the boys only up to their wrists, so King Solomon was able to tell by that, who were the boys and who were girls. The Queen also reminds me of our own gracious Queen whom I loyally serve:
When I see the King I am reminded of the great King of Heaven and Earth, who is God Almighty."
"Well," said the Captain, "you certainly have a very good description of all the cards except one, which you laid aside." "Which is that?" said the soldier. "The Knave," said the Captain. "Oh, I can give your a very good description of that, Sir, if you won't be angry." "No, I will not be angry," said the Captain. "Provided you will not liken me to the Knave." "Well," said the soldier, "the Knave reminds me of the devil and the greatest Knave I know is the Sergeant of the company, who brought me here."
"I don't know", said the Captain, "that he is the greatest Knave, but I am sure he is the greatest fool."
The soldier continued, “When I count how many spots there are in a pack of cards, I find that there are 365, the exact number of days in the year. When I count how many cards there are in a pack I find there are 52, the number of weeks in a year.”
“When I count how many tricks in a pack I find there are 13, the number of lunar months in a year, and the Four suits remind me of the Four Seasons of the year, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.”
“So You see, sir, that this pack of cards is not just a pack of playing cards to me. It is my Bible, Almanac, Common Prayer Book and my friend, reminding me of my God and my home.”
As you can well imagine, the Captain was very impressed with the young soldier’s knowledge of the Bible and the use he made of this simple pack of playing cards and the sergeant was extremely embarrassed by the whole affair.
So I think you’ll understand why magicians and soldiers alike always carry a pack of cards with them wherever they go. These cards not only bring comfort and joy to the lonely soldier, but in the hands of the Magician they can bring Fun, Laughter and Magic.
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