THE SOLDIER'S ALMANACK, BIBLE AND PRAYER BOOK" From "The History Of Playing Cards With Anecdotes Of Their Use In Conjuring, Fortune-Telling And Card-Sharping" Edited by Rev. Ed. S. Taylor, B.A. Published in London in 1865
Richard Middleton, a soldier, attending divine service, with the rest of the regiment at a church in Glasgow, instead of pulling out a Bible, like his brother soldiers, to find the parson's text, spread a pack of cards before him. This singular behaviour did not long pass unnoticed, both by the clergyman and the sarjeant of the company to which he belonged; the latter in particular requested him to put up the cards, and on his refusal, conducted him after church before the Mayor, to whom he preferred a formal complaint of Richard's indecent behaviour during divine service. "Well soldier!" said the Mayor, "what excuse have you for this strange scandalous behaviour? If you can make any apology, or assign any reason for it, it's well; if you cannot, assure yourself that I will cause you, without delay, to be severely punished for it." "Since your honour is so good," replied Richard, "I will inform you, I have been eight days on march, with a bare allowance of sixpence a day, which your honour will allow is hardly sufficient to maintain a man in meat, drink, washing, and other necessaries that consequently he may want, without a Bible, Prayer Book, or any other good book." On saying this, Richard drew out his pack of cards, and presenting one of the aces to the Mayor, continued his address to the magistrate as follows:
"When I see an Ace, may it please your honour, it reminds me that there is only one God; and when I look upon a Two or a Three, the former puts me in mind of the Father and Son, and the latter of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. A Four calls for remembrance the Four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. A Five, the five wise Virgins who were ordered to trim their lamps; there were ten, indeed, but five, your worship may remember, were wise, and five were foolish. A Six, that in six days God created heaven and earth. A Seven, that on the seventh day he rested from all that he had made. An Eight, of the eight righteous persons preserved from the deluge; viz., Noah, and his wife, with his three sons and their wives. A Nine, of the Nine lepers cleansed by our Saviour; there were ten, but only one returned to offer his tribute of thanks. And a Ten, of the ten commandments that God gave Moses, on Mount Sinai, on the two tablets of stone." He took the Knave and put it aside. "When I see the Queen, it puts me in mind of the Queen of Sheba, who came from the furthermost parts of the world to hear the wisdom of Solomon, for she was as wise a woman as he a man, for she brought fifty boys and fifty girls, all clothed in girls' apparel to shew before King Solomon, for him to test which were boys and which were girls, but he could not until he called for water to wash themselves; the girls washed up to their elbows, and the boys only up to the wrists of their hands, so King Solomon told by that. And when I see the King, it puts me in mind of the great King of Heaven and Earth, which is God Almighty, and likewise his Majesty King George the Fourth, to pray for him." "Well," said the Mayor, "you have given a good description of all the cards except one, which is lacking." "Which is that?" said the soldier. "The Knave," said the Mayor. "If your honour will not be angry with me," returned Richard, "I can give you the same satisfaction on that as any in the pack?" "No," said the Mayor. "Well," returned the soldier, "the greatest knave that I know is the sarjeant who brought me before you." "I don't know," replied the Mayor, "whether he be the greatest knave or no; but I am sure that he is the greatest fool."
The soldier then continued as follows; "When I count the number of dots in a pack of cards, there are 365, so many days as there are in a year. When I count how many cards are in a pack, I find there are 52, so many weeks are there in a year. When I reckon how many tricks are won by a pack, I find there are 13, so many months are there in a year. So that this pack of cards is both Bible, Almanack, and Prayer Book to me."
The Mayor called his servants, ordered them to entertain the soldier well, gave him a piece of money, and said he was the cleverest fellow he ever heard in his life.
Once, long, long ago. . . yet somehow, not so very long. . .
when all the animals and rocks and winds and waters and trees and birds and fish and all the beings of the world could speak. . . and understand one another. . .
There began. . .AN ARGUMENT.
It began softly at first. . .
Quiet as the first breeze that whispered, "He is a wind who is never still." Quiet as the stone that answered, "He is a great rock that never moves." Gentle as the mountain that rumbled, "God is a snowy peak, high above the clouds." And the fish in the ocean that answered, "God is a swimmer, in the dark blue depths of the sea."
"No," said the star, "God is a twinkling and a shining far, far away." "No," replied the ant, "God is a sound and a smell and a feeling, who is very, very close." "God," insisted the antelope, "is a runner, swift and free, who loves to leap and race with the wind." "She is a great tree," murmured the willow, "a part of the world, always growing and always giving." "You are wrong," argued the island, "God is separate and apart."
"God is like the shining sun, far above all things," added the blue sky. "No, He is a river, who flows through the very heart of things," thundered the waterfall.
"She is a hunter," roared the lion. "God is gentle," chirped the robin. "He is powerful," growled the bear.
And the argument grew LOUDER and LOUDER and LOUDER. . .
until. . .
STOP!
A new voice spoke. It rumbled loudly, like thunder. And it whispered softly, like butterfly sneezes. The voice seemed to come from. . . why it seemed to come from. . .
. . . Old Turtle!
Old Turtle hardly ever said anything, and certainly never argued about God. But now Old Turtle began to speak.
"God is indeed deep," she said to the fish in the sea; "and much higher than high," she told the mountains. "He is swift and free as the wind, and still solid as a great rock," she said to the breezes and stones. "She is the life of the world," Turtle said to the willow. "Always close by, yet beyond the farthest twinkling light," she told the ant and the star. "God is gentle and powerful. Above all things and within all things." "God is all that we dream of, and all that we seek," said Old Turtle, "All that we come from and all that we can find."
"God IS."
Old Turtle had never said so much before. All the beings of the world were surprised and became very quiet. But Old Turtle had one more thing to say.
"There will soon be a new family of beings in the world," she said, "and they will be strange and wonderful. They will be reminders of all the God is." "They will come in many colors and shapes, with different faces and different ways of speaking." "Their thoughts will soar to the stars, but their feet will walk the earth." "They will possess many powers. They will be strong, yet tender, a message of love from God to the earth, and a prayer from the earth back to God."
And the people came.
But the people forgot. They forgot that they were a message of love, and a prayer from the earth.
And they began to argue. . . about who knew God, and who did not; and where God was, and was not; and whether God was, or was not.
And often the people misused their powers and hurt one another. Or killed one another. And they hurt the earth. Until finally even the forests began to die. . . . . . and the rivers and the oceans and the plants and the animals and the earth itself. . . Because the people could not remember who they were, or where God was.
Until one day there came a voice, like the growling of thunder; but soft as butterfly sneezes,
Please, STOP.
The voice seemed to come from the mountain who rumbled, "Sometimes I see God swimming, in the dark blue depths of the sea." And from the ocean who sighed, "He is often among the snow-capped peaks, reflecting the sun."
From the stone who said, "I sometimes feel her breath, as she blows by." And from the breeze who whispered, "I feel his still presence as I dance among the rocks." And the star who declared, "God is very close;" And the island who added, "His love touches everything."
And after a long, lonesome and scary time. . . . . . the people listened, and began to hear. . .
And to see God in one another. . . . . .and in the beauty of all the Earth.
CoSM the Movie Nov 14 '06 at 5:32 PM - 1,064 views - 0 comments
Short Films - The Movie is a magical new kind of documentary film experience, leading audiences on an enriching and sense-heightening journey into the visionary art cosmos of world-renowned painter Alex Grey. A film by Nick Krasnic.
