The next morning, being Sunday, several of the boys went to church. A sargent commanded the boys in church; and after the Chaplin had read the prayer, the text was taken up next. Those of the boys who had a prayer book took them out; but this one boy had only a deck of cards, so he spread them out. The Sgt. saw the cards and said, "Soldier, put away those cards".

After the service was over the soldier was taken prisoner, and was brought before the Provost Marshall.
The Marshall said, "Sgt., why have you brought this man here?".
"For playing cards in church, Sir."
"And what have you to say for yourself, son?"
"Much Sir", replied the soldier.
The Marshall said, I hope so. For if not, I shall punish you more than any man was ever punished".
The soldier said, "Sir. I have been on the march for about six days. I have neither Bible nor Prayer Book. But I hope to satisfy you, Sir, with the purity of my intentions". And with that, the boy started his story.

"You see Sir, when I look at the Ace, it reminds me that there is but one God. And the duce reminds me that the Bible is divided into two parts...the Old and the New Testaments".
"When I see the tray, I think of the Father,the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And when I see the 4, I think of the four evangelists that preached the Gospel. There was Matthew, Mark, Luke and John".
"And when I see the 5, it reminds me of the five wise virgins that trimmed their lamps. There were ten of them...five were wise and were saved; five were foolish and were shut out".
"When I see the 6, it reminds me that in six days God made this great heaven and earth. When I see the 7, it reminds me that God rested from his great works".
"And when I see the 8, I think of the eight righteous persons God saved when He destroyed the earth. There was Noah, his wife, their sons and their wives".
"And when I see the 9, I think of the lepers our Savior cleansed; and nine out of the ten didn't even thank Him".
"When I see the 10, I think of the Ten Commandments God handed down to Moses on a table of stone".

"When I see the King, it reminds me that 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".

"There are four suits...the number of weeks in a month".
"There are 12 picture cards, the number of months in a year. There are 13 tricks, the number of weeks in a quarter".

"So you see,Sir, my pack of cards serve as a Bible, an Almanac, and a Prayer Book".

"And friends, this story is true".

"I know..."I was that soldier".