Note 147 — Chapter III · THE PROGRESS OF CARD-PLAYING.

A Briefe Apologie of Poetrie, 1591. Quoted by Mr. P. Cunningham, in his notes to Extracts from Accounts of the Revels, p. 223. In dramatic representations of the game of cards we seem to have preceded the French. In 1676, a comedy by Thomas Corneille, called 'Le Triomphe des Dames,' was acted at Paris, in the theatre of the Hôtel de Guegenaud, and the ballet of the Game of Piquet was one of the interludes. "The four Knaves first made their appearance with their halberts, in order to clear the way. The Kings came in succession, giving their hands to the Queens, whose trains were borne up by four Slaves, the first of whom represented Tennis, the second Billiards, the third Dice, and the fourth Backgammon."—Historical Essays upon Paris. Translated from the French of Mons. de Saintfoix, vol. i, p. 229. Edit. 1766.