Curse of Scotland excluded, making the 7, later called the "beer card", a "stop") but there is no direct relation with the 9. Gomme's book goes on to claim "At the game of Pope Joan, the nine of diamonds is Pope; therefore the nine of diamonds is the curse of Scotland". "The Spectator" review considered the claim "more cogent in form than in matter". A letter written in response to "The Spectator's" book review pointed out that the saying was established well before Culloden, and preferred the Pope Joan theory to other explanations. Other explanations given in the letter were: An 1864 book
Deuce (playing card) later Middle High German word, "dûs", which was borrowed from the North French word, "daus". This corresponds to the French word for "two", "deux", which in turn came from the Latin "duos" and "duo". On the introduction of playing cards into the German language area at the end of the 14th century, the word was also transferred to the cards with the value 2. This card became the highest value playing card in the German card deck, the equivalent to the Ace in the French deck. On the German playing card with the 2, the deuce, there is often a