and the third in order was the soto, or
attendant, that is, the esquire, or armour-bearer of the knight--all
which was exactly conformable to those ideas of chivalry which ruled the
age. It is said that David (king of spades), tormented by a rebellious
son, is the emblem of Charles VII., menaced by his son (Louis XI.), and
that Argine (queen of clubs) is the anagram of Regina, and the emblem
of Marie d'Anjou, the wife of that prince; that Pallas (queen of spades)
represents Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans; that Rachel (queen of
diamonds) is Agnes Sorel; lastly, that Judith (queen of hearts) is the
Queen Isabeau. The French call the queens at cards dames.

The four knaves (called in French, valets or varlets) are four valiant
captains--Ogier and Lancelot, the companions of Charlemagne, Hector de
Gallard, and Lahire, the generals of Charles VII. The remainder of the
pack equally presents a sort of martial allegory; the heart is bravery;
the spade (espad, 'sword') and the diamond (carreau, that is, a square
or shield) are the arms of war; the club (in French trefle, 'trefoil')
is the emblem of provisions; and the ace (in French as, from the Latin
aes, 'coin') is the emblem of money--the sinews of war.

In accordance with this allegorical meaning, the function of the ace
is most significant. It leads captive every other card, queen and king
included--thus indicating the omnipotence of gold or mammon!

'To the mighty god of this nether world--To the spirit that roams with
banner unfurl'd O'er the Earth and the rolling Sea--And hath conquer'd
all to his thraldom Where his eye hath glanced or his footstep sped--Who
hath power alike o'er the living and dead--Mammon!(59) I sing to thee!

(59) Steinmetz Ode to Mammon.

Some say that the four kings represent those famous champions of
antiquity--David, Alexander, Julius Caesar, and Charlemagne; and that
the four queens, Argine, Pallas, Esther, and Judith, are the respective
symbols of majesty, wisdom, piety, and fortitude; and there can be no
doubt, if you look attentively on the queens of a pack of cards, you
will easily discern the appropriate expressions of all these attributes
in the faces of the grotesque ladies therein depicted. The valets, or
attendants, whom we call knaves, are not necessarily 'rascals,' but
simply servants royal; 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