“I tak’ up the King o’ Diamants,” says my aunt.  “I count seven cairds fra’ richt to left; and I humbly ask a blessing on what follows.”  My aunt shut her eyes as if she was saying grace before meat, and held up to me the seventh card.  I called the seventh card—­the Queen of Spades.  My aunt opened her eyes again in a hurry, and cast a sly look my way.  “The Queen o’ Spades means a dairk woman.  Ye’ll be thinking in secret, Francie, of a dairk woman?”

When a man has been out of work for more than three months, his mind isn’t troubled much with thinking of women—­light or dark.  I was thinking of the groom’s place at the great house, and I tried to say so.  My aunt Chance wouldn’t listen.  She treated my interpretation with contempt.  “Hoot-toot! there’s the caird in your hand!  If ye’re no thinking of her the day, ye’ll be thinking of her the morrow.  Where’s the harm of thinking of a dairk woman!  I was ance a dairk woman myself, before my hair was gray.  Haud yer peace, Francie, and watch the cairds.”

I watched the cards as I was told.  There were seven left on the table.  My aunt removed two from one end of the row and two from the other, and desired me to call the two outermost of the three cards now left on the table.  I called the Ace of Clubs and the Ten of Diamonds.  My aunt Chance lifted her eyes to the ceiling with a look of devout gratitude which sorely tried my mother’s patience.  The Ace of Clubs and the Ten of Diamonds, taken together, signified—­first, good news (evidently the news of the groom’s place); secondly, a journey that lay before me (pointing plainly to my journey to-morrow!); thirdly and lastly, a sum of money (probably the groom’s wages!) waiting to find its way into my pockets.  Having told my fortune in these encouraging terms, my aunt declined to carry the experiment any further.  “Eh, lad! it’s a clean tempting o’ Proavidence to ask mair o’ the cairds than the cairds have tauld us noo.  Gae yer ways to-morrow to the great hoose.  A dairk woman will meet ye at the gate; and she’ll have a hand in getting ye the groom’s place, wi’ a’ the gratifications and pairquisites appertaining to the same.  And, mebbe, when yer poaket’s full o’ money, ye’ll no’ be forgetting yer aunt Chance, maintaining her ain unblemished widowhood—­wi’ Proavidence assisting—­on thratty punds a year!”

I promised to remember my aunt Chance (who had the defect, by the way, of being a terribly greedy person after money) on the next happy occasion when my poor empty pockets were to be filled at last.  This done, I looked at my mother.  She had agreed to take her sister for umpire between us, and her sister had given it in my favor.  She raised no more objections.  Silently, she got on her feet, and kissed me, and sighed bitterly—­and so left the room.  My aunt Chance shook her head.  “I doubt, Francie, yer puir mither has but a heathen notion of the vairtue of the cairds!”