PIC 
PIC 
C. Feet formed for walking, containing : 
Alcedo Momotus 
Buceros Todus 
Merops 
PICKET, PicauET, or PiantiT, in for- 
tification, a painted staff shod with iron; 
used in marking out the angles and princi- 
pal parts of a fortification, when the engi- 
neer is tracing out a plan upon the ground. 
There are also larger pickets, or painted 
stakes, which are driven into the earth to 
hold together fascines or faggots, in any 
work cast up in haste. Pickets are like- 
wise the stakes driven into the ground near 
the tents of the horsemen in a camp, to tie 
their horses to ; and before the tents of the 
foot, where they rest their inusquets or 
picks about them in a ring. The same 
name is also given to the stakes with notches 
towards the top, to which are fastened 
the cordages of tents : thus to plant the 
picket is to encamp. When a horseman 
has committed any considerable offence, 
he is sometimes sentenced to stand upon 
the picket, which is to have one hand 
and the opposite foot tied together, and 
being drawn up from the ground by the 
-other hand, he is obliged to stand with one 
foot on the point of a picket or stake, so 
that he can neither stand nor hang with- 
out great pain, nor ease himself by chalig- 
ing feet. 
PICQUET, a celebrated game at cards 
played between two persons, with only 
thirty-two cards ; all the deuces, threes, 
fours, fives, and sixes being set aside. 
In playing at this game twelve cards are 
dealt to each, and the rest laid on the ta- 
ble : when if one of the gamesters find he 
has not a court card in his hand, he is to de- 
clare that he has carte blanche, and tell how 
many cards he will lay out, and desire the 
other to discard, that he may show his 
game, and satisfy his antagonist, that the 
carte blanche is real ; for which he reckons 
ten. And here the eldest hand may take 
in three, four or five, discarding as many of 
his own for them, after which the other may 
take in all the remainder if he pleases. Af- 
ter discarding, the eldest hand examines 
what suit he has most cards of ; and, reck- 
oning how many points he has in that suit, 
it the other has not so many in that, or any 
other suit, he reckons one for every ten in 
that suit, and he who thus reckons most is 
said to win the point. It is to be observed, 
that in thus reckoning the cards, every card 
goes for the number it bears ; as a ten for 
ten ; only all court cards go for ten, and 
the ac» for eleven, and the usual game is 
one hundred up. The point being over, 
each examines what sequences he has of 
the same suit, viz. how many tierces, or 
sequences of three cards ; quartes, or se- 
quences of four cards ; quintes, or sequences 
of five cards, &c. he has. These several se- 
quences are distinguished in dignity by the 
cards they begin from : thus ace, king, and 
queen, are stiled tierce major ; king, queen, 
and knave, tierce to a king; knave, ten, 
nine, tierce to a knave ; and the best tierce, 
quarte, or quinte prevails, so as to make 
all the others in that hand good, and to de- 
stroy all those in the other hand. In like 
manner a quarte in one hand sets aside a 
tierce in the other. 
The sequences over, they proceed to exa- 
mine how many aces, kings, queens, knaves, 
and tens each holds ; reckoning for every 
three of any sort, tlmee ; but here too, as in 
sequences, he that with the same number 
of threes or fours, has one that is higher 
than any the other has, makes his own good, 
and sets aside alt his adversary’s; but four 
of any sort, which is called a qiiatorze, be- 
cause fourteen are reckoned for it, always 
set aside three. 
The game in hand being thus reckoned, 
the eldest proceeds to play, reckoning one 
for every card he plays above nine, while 
the other follows him in the suit : but un- 
less a card be won by one above nine, ex- 
cept it be the last trick, nothing is reckoned 
for it. The cards being played out, he that 
has most tricks reckons ten for winning the 
cards : but if they have tricks alike, neither 
reckons any tiring. If one of them wins all the 
tricks, instead of ten, which is his right for 
winning the cards, he reckons forty, and this 
is called capot. 
The deal being finished, each person sets 
up his game ; they then proceed to deal 
again as before ; cutting afresh each time 
for the deal : if both parties are within 
a few points of being np, the carte blanche 
is the first that reckons, then the point, 
then the sequences, then the quatorzes,then 
the tierces, and then the tenth cards. He 
that can reckon thirty in hand by carte 
blanche, points, quintes, &c. without play- 
ing, before the otherhas reckoned any thing, 
reckons ninety for them, and this is called a 
repike ; and if he reckons above thirty, he 
reckons so many above ninety. If he can 
make up thirty, part in hand, and part in 
play, before the otherhas told any thing, he 
reckons for them sixty ; and this is called a 
