Note
The order, and comparative value of the different suits, is as follows:—First on the list stand “Clubs,” as they mostly portend happiness; and—no matter how numerous, or how accompanied—are rarely or never of bad augury. Next come “Hearts,” which usually signify joy, liberality, or good temper; “Diamonds,” on the contrary, denote delay, quarrels, and annoyance; and “Spades”—the worst suit of all—grief, sickness, and loss of money.
We are of course speaking generally, as, in many cases, the position of cards entirely changes their signification; their individual and relative meaning being often widely different. Thus, for example, the King of Hearts, the Nine of Hearts, and the Nine of Clubs, respectively signify, a liberal man, joy, and success in love, but change their position, by placing the King between the two nines, and you would read that a man, then rich and happy, would be ere long consigned to a prison!