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10 for a time, are to be opened unto the gaze of men. At last its wonders are to be unfolded partially that we may prophesy before many peoples.

Read Chapter V of Revelations.

No other book that ever had an existence upon our planet, has within itself the wonderful properties that are indubitably attached to this little book. No other "book" has been so "sealed" with hidden emblematic meanings as to defy all attempts to "open" its pages.

It is the oldest book known and it existed long before the modern written languages were thought of.

Its history extends so far back into the dim recesses of the past, that we must per force ask our readers to take circumstantial evidence as to its early history and uses.

THE ORIGIN OF PLAYING CARDS.

The ancient origin and uses of "playing cards," which is the name they have been called by since the XIV Century has been shrouded in mystery, and their invention has been claimed by nearly every civilized nation upon the globe. The Chinese, Persians, Egyptians and several other ancient nations, claim the honor of their invention.

A pack of cards, said to be a thousand years old, is preserved in the Museum of the Royal Asiatic Society. It is also claimed that they have been known in India from time immemorial.—(Cyc. Brit, Art. Cards.)

When we find a certain invention claimed by a large number of Nations, scattered over our globe, in widely separated localities, we must conclude that none of them were the inventors, but on the contrary, obtained the inventions of some nation preceding them by many years.