[22] "Le traducteur du Poëme de la Vielle, en décrivant les Echecs, s'exprime ainsi;
'La Reyne, que nous nommons Fierge,
Tient de Venus, et n'est pas Vierge;
Aimable est et amoureuse.'" &c.
—L'Origine du Jeu des Echecs, par Mons. Freret. Hist. de l'Académie des Inscriptions, tom. v, p. 255.
[23] "Comme c'est un jeu militaire, il y a dans chaque couleur un roi, un officier supérieur ou capitaine, nommé Ober, et un bas-officier appelé Unter. On appelait encore de nos jours dans l'Empire, où les mots François ne sont pas en vogue, les officiers supérieurs Oberleute, et les bas-officiers Unterleute"—Heineken, Idée Générale d'une Collection d'Estampes, p. 241. Leipsic, 1771.
[24] It would appear that the etymology of this name was a matter of great uncertainty even among people of oriental race. According to some, it was Sad-rengh, the hundred turns, or wiles of the players; according to others, it was Sad-rangi, the hundred vexations of the game. A third derivation was from Shesh-rengh, six colours, as if each of the six orders of pieces had been distinguished by a separate colour.—Hyde, De Ludis Orientalibus. Par. 1. Historia Shahiludii, cap. De Nomine Shatrangi. Oxon. 1694.
[25] That the suits of cards were formerly distinguished by an emblem which was suggestive of a particular colour, as well as representing a particular form, is certain. The Germans still call two of their suits Roth and Grün—red and green—and the emblems are a heart and a leaf.
[26] Observations on the Antiquity of Card-playing in England. In the Archæologia, vol. viii.
[27] "Edward the First, when Prince of Wales, served nearly five years in Syria, and therefore, whilst military operations were suspended, must naturally have wished some sedentary amusement. Now, the Asiatics scarcely ever change their customs: and as they play at cards, though in many respects different from ours, it is not improbable that Edward might have been taught this game, ad quatuor reges, whilst he continued so long in this part of the globe."—Archæol. viii, p. 135.