Curse of Scotland of 1715 and "became universally hated in Scotland". In 18th-century Scotland, the nine of diamonds was sometimes called the "Justice Clerk", and was considered to be the most unlucky card in the pack. James Mitchell's 1825 "Scotsman's Library" claimed that the expression originated from the Duke of Monmouth writing orders on such a card before the Battle of Bothwell Bridge (1679). Despite this, in "The Spectator", a reviewer of an 1885 book by George Gomme commented that the reviewer had believed that the phrase had started from an order written on a 9 by the Duke of Cumberland ("Butcher" Cumberland)
The Dain Curse a theft of diamonds from the Leggett family of San Francisco. The plot involves a supposed curse on the Dain family, said to inflict sudden and violent deaths upon those in their vicinity. Edgar Leggett's wife is a Dain, as is his daughter Gabrielle. The detective untangles a web of robberies, lies and murder. It is discovered that Gabrielle Leggett is under the influence of a mysterious religious cult and is also addicted to morphine. Gabrielle escapes from the cult and marries her fiancé Eric Collinson, but bloodshed continues to follow her. The Continental Op, on behalf of four successive