In a second pack, consisting, like the preceding, of eight suits of twelve cards each, the King appears seated on a throne; while the Vizier, as in the former, is on horseback, except in three of the suits where he appears mounted on an elephant, a single-humped camel, and a bull. Though there be a difference between this pack and the former, in the marks of some of the suits, there can be no doubt that the same game might be played with each. In the pack now under consideration the backs of all the cards are red. The following are the colours of the ground and the marks of the several suits.

COLOURSMARKS
1. YellowApparently a flower.
2. BlackA red spot, with a white centre.
3. RedA "tulwar," or sword.
4. RedMan's head and shoulders.
5. Brown(Unintelligible.)
6. GreenA circular spot.
7. GreenA parallelogram (longest side vertical).
8. YellowAn oval.

The third pack of Hindostanee cards in the possession of the Royal Asiatic Society, to whom it was presented by the late Sir John Malcolm, is much more curious and interesting than either of the other two previously noticed. It consists of ten suits, of twelve cards each; and the marks of the suits are the emblems of the ten Avatars, or incarnations of Vichnou, one of the three principal divinities in the religious system of the Hindoos. The King is represented by Vichnou, seated on a throne, and in one or two instances accompanied by a female; and the Vizier, as in most of the suits of the other two packs, is mounted on a white horse. In every suit two attendants appear waiting on the second as well as on the principal "honour." The backs of all the cards in this pack are red; and the colours of the ground and marks of the several suits are as follows:— [48]

COLOURSMARKS
1. RedA fish.
2. YellowA tortoise.
3. GoldA boar.
4. GreenA lion.
5. Brownish GreenA man's head.
6. RedAn axe.
7. Brownish GreenAn ape.
8. PuceA goat or antelope.
9. Brick RedA cattashal or umbrella.
GreenA white horse, saddled and bridled.

The following description of the ten Avatars, or incarnations, of Vichnou, as represented in a series of drawings, [49] will explain the meaning of nearly every one of the marks of the ten suits of cards. The only suits which do not exactly correspond with the Avatars, as represented in the drawings, are those numbered 8 and 9, the emblems of which are a goat and an umbrella. It is, however, to be observed that Hindoo authors do not agree in their accounts of the different Avatars of Vichnou, though they generally concur in representing them as ten in number, that is, nine passed and one to come. It is also possible that the goat—which appears couchant as if giving suck—and the umbrella, which in the east is frequently the sign of regal dignity, may be symbolical of the eighth and ninth Avatars in the description of the drawings. Though the Bramin Dwarf, in the fifth Avatar of the drawings, carries an umbrella, there can scarcely be a doubt that the Man's head, in No. 5 of the cards, is the symbol of this Avatar.

THE TEN AVATARS OF VICHNOU.

1. Matsyavatara. The first Avatar of Vichnou, as a Fish; represented as the body of a man with the tail of a fish. The human part is coloured blue; the rest is white. In two of his four hands he holds the Chakra, or Soudarsana, which here appears something like a quoit with rays proceeding from it. [50] In the palm of another of his hands the diamond—carré mystique—is displayed. According to the Bhagavat Purana, the precious stone or diamond called Castrala, is a sort of talisman which illuminates all things, and in which all things are reflected. It is the perfect mirror of the world, and Vichnou generally wears it on his breast, or holds it in the palm of that hand which is raised in the act of benediction.

2. Kourmavatara. The second Avatar, as a Tortoise; the upper part of the figure, man, the lower, tortoise. The Chakra appears poised on the fingers of one of the hands.