history of this king, "carried his aversion for oaths
to such an extent, that if any one, whether knight or of any other rank,
let one slip from his lips in the presence of the sovereign, even by
mistake, he was ordered to be immediately thrown into the river." Louis
XII., who was somewhat less severe, contented himself with having a hole
bored with a hot iron through the blasphemer's tongue.

[Illustration: Figs. 179 and 180.--French Cards for a Game of Piquet,
early Sixteenth Century.--Collection of the National Library of Paris.]

The work "On the Manner of playing with Dice," has handed down to us the
technical terms used in these games, which varied as much in practice as
in name. They sometimes played with three dice, sometimes with six;
different games were also in fashion, and in some the cast of the dice
alone decided. The games of cards were also most numerous, but it is not
our intention to give the origin of them here. It is sufficient to name a
few of the most popular ones in France, which were, Flux, Prime, Sequence,
Triomphe, Piquet, Trente-et-un, Passe-dix, Condemnade, Lansquenet,
Marriage, Gay, or J'ai, Malcontent, Here, &c. (Figs. 179 and 180). All
these games, which were as much forbidden as dice, were played in taverns
as well as at court; and, just as there were loaded dice, so were there
also false cards, prepared by rogues for cheating. The greater number of
the games of cards formerly did not require the least skill on the part of
the players, chance alone deciding. The game of _Tables_, however,
required skill and calculation, for under this head were comprised all the
games which were played on a board, and particularly chess, draughts, and
backgammon. The invention of the game of chess has been attributed to the
Assyrians, and there can be no doubt but that it came from the East, and
reached Gaul about the beginning of the ninth century, although it was not
extensively known till about the twelfth. The annals of chivalry
continually speak of the barons playing at these games, and especially at
chess. Historians also mention chess, and show that it was played with
the same zest in the camp of the Saracens as in that of the Crusaders. We
must not be surprised if chess shared the prohibition laid upon dice, for
those who were ignorant of its ingenious combinations ranked it amongst
games of chance. The Council of Paris, in 1212, therefore condemned chess
for the same reasons as dice, and it was sp