With these the chrystal on his brow
And then the dimple of his chin;—
All these did my Campaspe win.
At last he set her both his eyes.
She won, and Cupid blind doth rise.
Oh, Love, has she done this to thee?
What shall, alas! become of me?”
“It is probable that Primero was one of the earliest games of cards played in England,” says Mr. Singer; “and it continued to be the most fashionable one throughout the reigns of Henry the Eighth, Edward the Sixth, Mary, Elizabeth, and James.” Shakspeare makes Falstaff say,—
“I never prospered since I forswore myself at Primero;”
showing that it was a well known game at that period. “An alteration or improvement of this game became,” says the same author, “known as El Hombre (The man), or Ombre, which is the national game of Spain.” It was played generally by three persons, at small three-cornered tables; and these little card-tables are frequently found among collections of old furniture.