When the service was over, a constable took Richard before a magistrate.
"Well," asked the magistrate, "what have you brought the soldier here for?"
"For playing cards in church."
"Prisoner, what have you to say?"
"I have been," said the soldier, "about six weeks on the march. I have neither Bible nor Book of Common Prayer. I have nothing but a pack of cards, and I'll satisfy your worship of the purity of my intentions."
And, spreading the cards before the magistrate, he began with the ace:
"When I see the ace, it reminds me there is but one God. When I see the deuce, it reminds me of Father and Son. When I see the tray, it reminds me of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. When I see the four-spot, it reminds me of the four evangelists—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
"When I meet the five, it reminds me of the five wise virgins that trimmed their lamps—there were ten, but only five were wise, while 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 He rested from the great work He had created, and hallowed it.
"When I see the eight, it reminds me of the eight righteous persons that were saved when God destroyed the world—namely, Noah and his wife, with his three sons and their wives. When I see the nine, it reminds me of the nine lepers that were cleansed by our Saviour; there were nine out of ten who never returned thanks.