a bunch of soldiers had been on a long hike
and they arrived in a town called Siagon.
And the next day being Sunday, several of the boys
went to Church.
the text was taken up. Those of the boys
who had prayer books took them out,
but one boy had only a deck of cards,
so he spread them out.
cards and said, "Soldier, put away those cards."
And after the service was over, the
soldier was taken prisoner and brought
before the Provost Marshall.
this man here?" "For playing cards in church, Sir."
"And what have you to say for yourself, son?"
"Much Sir," the soldier replied. The Marshall said,
"I hope so, for if not I shall punish you severely."
You see, "Sir, I've been on the march
for six days. And I had neither a Bible nor
a prayer book, but I hope to satisfy
you, Sir, with the purity of my intentions."
me that there is but one God.
And when I see the Deuce it reminds me that the Bible is
divided into two parts, the Old and the New Testaments.
And when I see the Trey,
I think of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost.
And when I see the Four, I think of the
four Evangelists who preached the Gospel;
they were Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
And when I see the Five, it reminds me of
the five wise virgins who trimmed their lamps;
there was ten of them: five were
wise and were saved, five were foolish
and were shut out.
six days, God made this great heaven and earth.
And when I see the Seven, it reminds me that on
the seventh day, God rested.
And when I see the Eight, I think of the eight
righteous persons God saved when He destroyed
this earth; there was Noah, his wife, their three sons
and their wives.
And when I see the Nine, I think of the lepers
our Savior cleansed, and nine out of the ten didn't
even thank Him.
And when I see the Ten, I think of the Ten
Commandments God handed down to Moses on a table
of stone.
there is but one King of Heaven, God Almighty.
And when I see the Queen, I think of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, who is Queen of Heaven.
And the Jack of knave is the Devil.
And when I count the number of spots on a deck
of cards, I find 365, the number of days in a year.
There are 13 tricks, the number of weeks in a quarter.
There are 4 suits, the number of weeks in a month.
There are 12 picture cards, the number of months in
a year.
So you see, Sir, my deck of cards serves me as a
Bible, an Almanac and a Prayer Book."
"And friends, this story is true.
Because my son was, That soldier ."
