Part 61

13.--QUEEN OF SPADES.--There is a likelihood of no.

14.--ACE OF SPADES.--Probably no.

15.--THREE OF SPADES.--No.

16.--TWO OF SPADES.--Certainly no.

Be very careful to decide the question before the cards are touched.

MADAME LENORMAND'S METHOD

Madame Lenormand, one of the most celebrated fortunetellers who has ever lived, had a method of divining people's futures by means of cards which we describe here.

First, she decided on her client's matching card, in the way explained elsewhere in this chapter, and placed it on the table in the position marked 1, in the diagram.

Next, she took the four aces, twos, threes, fours, fives and sixes from a pack, giving twenty-four cards, and allowed her client to shuffle them, which was followed by the same person cutting them with the left hand.

Then Madame took the cards and arranged them around the matching card in the order shown in the diagram. The layout completed, she looked at the various cards and gathered information from their positions.

It would be impossible for any ordinary person to derive as much information from them as she did, but we can follow the chief lines of her thoughts.

This is how she reasoned:

My client assumes the central position, and around her are positions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Now what cards fill these stations? If there is an abundance of hearts, then friends surround her; if there is an abundance of spades, then enemies encompass her. If there are clubs or diamonds, then just ordinary people are flocking to her side.

It will be seen that Madame gave little consideration to the clubs or diamonds, though she naturally preferred the former, and made her calculations largely on the positions of the hearts and spades. Broadly speaking, the nearer the hearts pressed around the matching card, the better were the fortunes of her client, the farther away were the hearts, the worse were the client's fortunes.

Then, she considered an ace to have a stronger force than a two, and a two a stronger force than a three, and the six weakest of all. Thus an ace of hearts could more than neutralize the evil influences of a six of spades; but an ace of spades would be more than a match for the six of hearts.

We advise you to follow Madame Lenormand's method and see how the cards dispose themselves in your favor.

PATIENCE LUCK

Many people who play games of patience a good deal are convinced that, if they are able to bring three different forms of patience to a successful conclusion on the same day, they only have to wish for something and the wish will be granted to them.

The particular games they play are known as "Tens," "Demon" and "the Idiot's Delight."

It must be understood that there is no necessity to be successful on the first trial of each of the games. Such a thing is almost impossible. What these devotees do is to go on playing until they bring out, say, the "Tens," and then they turn to either of the other two and work at it. Should they be so lucky as to get out all the three, then they formulate their wish and wait for it to come true.

In case some readers do not know how to play these fascinating games, we will proceed to explain them.

TENS.--For this, two full packs are required. The cards are well shuffled and then a row of ten cards is dealt out on the table, face down. This done, another row of ten cards is laid out, also face down. Next, a third row is set out, but this time the cards are placed face up.

The player looks at the ten face cards and throws out any aces. Then he builds up suits, as far as he can, by resting a card of opposite color, and of one degree lower in value, on some other card. Thus, a red goes on a black, a black on a red, a queen on a king, a two on a three, and so on. When the shifting of cards causes a file to have no face card in it, then the uppermost non-face card may be turned over, ready for being used.

As soon as all the possible movements have been effected, a fresh set of ten cards is dealt out, one being placed on each file. The movements are recommenced. Note that not only can one suitable card be placed on another, but partial runs of cards may be so moved, as long as there is no broken sequence in them. Thus, a black two, a red three, a black four and a red five may be lifted in one operation on to a black six; but a red three, a black four, a black five may not be put on a red six. It is possible, however, to lift the red three and black four on to a red five, if such a card is available.

Should a file become quite empty, with not even face-down cards in it, then it is possible to fill it with a king and any proper following sequence, should such a one be within reach in any other file. The use of this movement becomes apparent after a few games have been played.

When the second lot of ten face cards has been dealt with, a third ten is set out, and other lots of ten are dealt in the same way, until the double pack, in hand, is exhausted.

The aim of the game is to have no cards left in the lay-out, and this is obtained by building up sequences from "king" to "two" and, as soon as one of these complete sequences is formed, it is removed from the game.

If, when all the two packs have been dealt out and all the possible movements of cards made, there are broken sequences left, then the game has failed and it is finished.