- ^3 
 
 
 

 PRESENTED Wi 
 

tknickerbockec IRu^geta 
 
 Nugget — "A diminutive mass of precious metal. 
 
 37 VOLUMES NOW READY. 
 For full list see end of this volume. 
 
IVhist Nuggets 
 
 BEING CERTAIN 
 
 WHISTOGRAPHS 
 
 HISTORICAL, CRITICAL, AND HUMOROUS 
 
 Selected and Arranged 
 by 
 
 WILLIAM G, McGUCKIN 
 
 NEW YORK AND LONDON 
 
 C. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 '^^z TRnfcfeerbocfter ipress 
 
GrV\^77 
 
 Electrotyped, Printed, and Bound by 
 
 '^hz Ifinicfeerbocftet press, Iflcw Jgorft 
 
 G. P. Putnam's Sons 
 

 M_ 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introductory vii 
 
 MODERN WHIST I 
 
 London Quarterly Review, January, 1871 
 
 WHIST AND WHIST-PI,AYE:rS .... 33 
 Abraham Hay ward, in Eraser's Mag- 
 azine, April, 1869 
 
 TH^ THIRTY-NIN:^ ARTICI,E:S of whist . 112 
 Richard Irving Dunbar 
 
 RHYMING RUIvE:S, MNEMONIC MAXIMS, AND 
 
 POCKET PRKCKPTS 120 
 
 William Pole 
 
 THK DUFFi^R'S WHIST MAXIMS . . . .123 
 Cavendish's Card Essays 
 
 WHIST, OR BUMBIvKPUPPY 
 
 On Things in General 130 
 
 Practice of Bumblepuppy . . , .132 
 
 Thinking 144 
 
 The Domestic Rubber 150 
 
 IVhist, or Bumblepuppy ? by "Pembridge." 
 —Roberts Bros. 
 
 iii 
 
iv Contcnt0 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CARDS SPIRITUAI.IZED 153 
 
 Anon. 
 
 MRS. BATTI^K'S OPINIONS ON WHIST . . 158 
 
 Charles I^amb 
 
 IvADlKS' WHIST 173 
 
 The Spectator, 1890 
 
 WHISTOI.OGY 183 
 
 All the Year Round, March 17, 
 i860 
 
 WHIST AT OUR CI.UB 203 
 
 Blackwood's Magazine, May, 1877 
 
 A HAND AT CARDS 230 
 
 American Whist Illustrated, by G. W. P. 
 — Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., 1890 
 
 A WHIST PARTY ' 238 
 
 The Tailor-Made Girl, by Philip H. 
 Welch— Chas. Scribner's Sons, 1888 
 
 AT BOVOR— PI,AY A GRKAT GAM:^ OF WHIST 244 
 Happy Thoughts, by F. C. Burnand — 
 Roberts Bros. 
 
 GOSSIP : 
 
 I. ^Edward Kverett at the Court of 
 
 St. James 266 
 
 Geo. Wm. Curtis in "Editor's Easy 
 Chair." Harper's Monthly Maga- 
 zine, May 1876 
 
 II. Metterjstich's Whist . . . .271 
 
 Chamber's Journal, February 28, 1863 
 ni. lyORD I^ytton as a Whist-Player . 274 
 Serjeant Ballan tine's Experiences of a 
 Barrister's Life, 
 
Contente 
 
 PAGE 
 
 IV. Some Literary Recollections . . 276 
 James Payn. Harper & Bros. 1871 
 
 V. Anecdotes 281 
 
 Cavendish's Card-Table Talk 
 VI. Advantage of Skill at Whist . . 284 
 Cavendish's Card-Table Talk 
 
 SOME WHIST CHAT 289 
 
 R. A. Vroctox-- Longman's Magazine 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 IN presenting to the reader this little heap of 
 Whist Nuggets, the Collector begs to inter- 
 pose a word of introduction — to explain the 
 purpose that has guided their selection, and to 
 express his appreciation of the courtesy of the 
 proprietors on whose lands they have been 
 picked up. 
 
 The Editor has not had in mind the compila- 
 tion of a text-book on the principles of the noble 
 game. Nevertheless it is hoped that the student 
 of the scientific side of whist will find much to 
 interest him in the first three numbers. Where 
 the first two pass from the history of primitive 
 whist to a discussion of the latest development 
 of play, they will be found already somewhat 
 old-fashioned, although hardly more than 
 
ITntro^uctors 
 
 twenty years have passed since they were writ- 
 ten. What may be called the body of the game, 
 however, remains substantially what Hoyle and 
 Mathews developed, as is made plain by a com- 
 parison with the Thirty-nine Articles of Whist, 
 the third number, which the courtesy of Mr. 
 Richard Irving Dunbar, one of the most accom- 
 plished whist-players in Gotham, enables the 
 Editor to include, and which is a codification 
 of the rules of whist as played by Mr. Trist, of 
 New Orleans, a player from whom the master, 
 Cavendish himself, has not been ashamed to 
 learn. 
 
 No collection of whistographs would be com- 
 plete which did not include one from the inim- 
 itable author of Bumblepuppy ; and, by the 
 courtesy of '' Pembridge " and of his publishers 
 in the old world and in the new, the assiduous 
 bumblepuppist will find here all the conso- 
 lation of which he or she has never felt the 
 need. 
 
 To the lovers of fun, whether whist-players 
 or occasional bumblepuppists, the Editor confi- 
 dently recommends the great game at Bovor, 
 
IfntroDuctor^ 
 
 as described by Mr. Burnand, in his Happy 
 Thoughts ; and to the courteous editor of Punch 
 and his publishers this Editor's thanks are 
 rendered. 
 
 The quiet English humor of Whist at Our 
 Club offers a striking contrast to the pungent wit 
 of the extract from Philip H. Welch's Tailor 
 Made Girl, included by the kind permission of 
 Messrs. Charles Scribner's Sons, as well as to 
 that of a Hand at Cards, taken from G. W. P.'s 
 American Whist Illustrated, with the author's 
 permission and that of Messrs. Houghton, 
 Mifflin & Co. 
 
 To all these, as well as to Mr. George 
 William Curtis and the Messrs. Harper & 
 Brothers, the Editor gives due and grateful 
 credit elsewhere. 
 
 After the manner of his mightier brethren, 
 the Editor, as whist-player and whist-lover, dis- 
 claims all responsibility for the opinions here- 
 inafter set forth ; and his desire not to abate one 
 jot or tittle of an author's right to ungarbled 
 citation must be his apology to his gracious 
 reader for the repetitions that will be discovered. 
 
IFntroDuctor^ 
 
 as well as for the appearance and reappearance 
 of that castafieous relic, Talleyrand's remark 
 anent the sadness of a whistless old age. 
 
 The cards are cut and dealt. 
 
 Mesdames et messieurs^ faites voire jeu. 
 
WHIST NUGGETS. 
 
 MODERN WHIST. 
 
 nPHB game of whist, after two centuries of 
 * elaboration, has now become a favorite 
 amusement in all ranks of society, and especially 
 with persons of great intelligence and ability. 
 Numerous societies have been established ex- 
 pressly for its practice, and at many of the 
 West Knd clubs it is played daily, particularly 
 in the afternoon, when the mental faculties are 
 more active than in the evening. At these 
 little gatherings may be seen men of high rank, 
 sitting at the same tables with others eminent 
 in literature, science, art, or the public service 
 — all testifying, by the earnestness with which 
 I 
 
mbl0t nmgcte 
 
 their attention is fixed on the game, to its great 
 intellectual attractions. In the best private 
 circles, too, and in domestic society generally, 
 its high character is becoming better appre- 
 ciated, although the style of play is still far 
 from what it ought to be. 
 
 Whist is of E^nglish origin, but its popularity 
 is not confined to this country. On the Con- 
 tinent it has become fully naturalized ; the 
 finest player that ever lived was a Frenchman, 
 and the most elaborate works on whist are by 
 foreign authors. It has, in fact, extended over 
 the whole earth ; there is not a spot where 
 European civilization prevails, where whist is 
 not practised and prized. A published collec- 
 tion of Whist Studies dates from the tropics ; 
 in the rigor of the North American winter whist 
 forms the occupation of the frozen-up inhab- 
 itants for months together ; and in the wilds of 
 Australia the farmers play at whist for ''sheep 
 points, with a bullock on the rubber." 
 
 We need not hesitate to give a place in our 
 pages to an intellectual occupation of such high 
 and universal interest ; and we propose, first, 
 
fllbo^ern imbiet 
 
 to offer a concise history of the game; next, to 
 describe the chief characteristics of its most 
 modern and improved form ; and, lastly, to add 
 a few remarks on whist playing. 
 
 The early history of whist is involved in some 
 obscurity. It is not to be supposed that a game 
 of this high character should have sprung at 
 once perfect into being ; it has been formed, by 
 gradual development from elements previously 
 existing. As early as the beginning of the six- 
 teenth century a card-game was in common use, 
 of which both the name and the chief feature 
 enter prominently into the construction of 
 whist. This was called triumph — corrupted 
 into trump — and the essence of it was the pre- 
 dominance of one particular suit, called the 
 triumph or trump-suit, over all the others. It 
 was of Continental origin, like most of the card 
 games in use at that period. A work published 
 in Italy in 1526 speaks of it under the name of 
 Trionfi^ and it is mentioned by Rabelais as la 
 Triumphe, among the games played by Gargan- 
 tua. From France it was imported into Eng- 
 land, where it soon became popular in good 
 
mblat Iftuggets 
 
 society, as we find a reference to it in a quarter 
 where it would hardly be looked for, namely, in 
 a sermon preached by Latimer at Cambridge 
 the Sunday before Christmas, 1529. He men- 
 tions the game under its corrupted as well as 
 its original appellation, and clearly alludes to 
 its characteristic feature, as the following 
 extracts will show : 
 
 *' And where you are wont to celebrate Christmass in 
 playing at cards, I intend by God's grace to deal unto 
 you Christ's Cards, wherein you shall perceive Christ's 
 Rule. The game that we play at shall be called the 
 Triumph, which, if it be well played at, he that dealeth 
 shall win ; the Players shall likewise win ; and the 
 standers and lookers upon shall do the same. 
 
 :!: ^ H: H: :{: :}: 
 
 "You must mark also that the Triumph must apply 
 to fetch home unto him all the other cards, whatever 
 suit they be of. 
 
 ****** 
 
 " Then further we must say to ourselves, What requir- 
 eth Christ of a Christian man ? Now turn up your 
 Trump, your Heart (Hearts is Trump, as I said before), 
 and cast your Trump, your Heart, on this card." 
 
 Other references to this game are found at a 
 later period ; we need only mention two. In 
 Gammer Gurton's Needle^ said to be the first 
 piece performed in England under the name of 
 
/llboDern 'MbiBt 
 
 a comedy, and writteu by Bishop Still soon 
 
 after the middle of the sixteenth century, 
 
 occurs this passage : 
 
 " Chat. What, Diccon ? come nere, ye be no stranger : 
 We be set fast at trump, man, hard by the fyre. 
 Thou shalt set on the king, if thou come a little 
 
 nyer. 
 * * t- * * ♦ 
 
 Come hither, Dol ; Dol, sit downe and play this 
 
 game, 
 And, as thou sawest me do, see thou do even 
 
 the same : 
 There is five trumps besides the queene, the 
 
 hindmost thou shalt find her ; 
 Take hede of Sim Glover's wife, she hath an 
 
 eie behind her." 
 
 Another reference is by Shakespeare. In 
 Antony and Cleopatra^ act iv., scene 12. An- 
 tony says : 
 
 " My good knave, Kros, now thy Captain is 
 E)ven such a body : here I am Antony ; 
 Yet cannot hold this visible shape, my knave. 
 I made these wars for Bgypt ; and the Queen,— 
 Whose heart I thought I had, for she had mine ; 
 Which, whilst it was mine, had annex'd unto 't 
 A million more, now lost,— she, Eros, has 
 Pack'd cards with Caesar, and false played my glory 
 Unto an enemy's triumph.^' 
 
 This passage has been the subject of several 
 comments ; but the repeated allusions to card- 
 
mbi0t muQ^ete 
 
 playing leave no doubt as to the reference in 
 the last word. 
 
 The game of Triumph appears to have been 
 played in several different ways, some of which 
 resembled our present E carte ; they had, how- 
 ever, little similarity to whist, except in the 
 feature of the predominance of the trump-suit, 
 which was common to them all. 
 
 About the beginning of the seventeenth cen- 
 tury the game had acquired in Bngland another 
 name, which is also preserved in whist, namely 
 Ruffe. It has often excited curiosity how the 
 word for an ornament to the neck or wrists 
 should have come to be used for this purpose ; 
 but it is possible it may have been only another 
 corruption of the original French triomphe, as 
 there is much similarity in the sounds. At any 
 rate the terms were synonymous, as Cotgrave, 
 in his Fre7ich and English Dictionary ^ 1611, 
 explains the French word triomphe to mean 
 "the card-game called ruffe or trump" ; and 
 Nares in his Glossary says '' ruff meant a trump 
 card, charta dominatrixy 
 
 But contemporaneously with this change, 
 
/iRoDern IKIlblet 
 
 the game itself had also undergone, in Eng- 
 land, some modifications which caused it to 
 differ materially from the original foreign type, 
 and among these was the attachment of certain 
 advantages, or ''honors," to the four highest 
 cards of the trump-suit. This was probably 
 of itself an ancient invention, for we find a 
 game called *' Les Honeurs " in Rabelais' list; 
 but the importation of it into trump, or ruff, 
 gave the game a new character, and it took the 
 name of *'Ruff-and-honors," the original form 
 being called '' French ruff " for distinction. 
 
 Ruff-and-honors was played with a pack 
 of fifty-two cards, the ace ranking the highest. 
 There were four players, two being partners 
 against the other two, and each received twelve 
 cards ; the remaining four were left as a stock 
 on the table, and the top one was turned up to 
 determine the trump-suit. The player who 
 happened to hold the ace of trumps had the 
 privilege of taking the stock in exchange for 
 four cards of his own, an operation called 
 ruffing. The score was nine, and the partners 
 that won most tricks were ''most forward to 
 
8 mbi0t mu^^eta 
 
 win the set." Three honors in the joint hands 
 
 were reckoned equivalent to two tricks, and four 
 
 honors to four. This came very near to whist, 
 
 and was, in fact, whist in an imperfect form. 
 
 The further changes in the constitution of 
 
 the game, and the radical alteration of the 
 
 name, appear to have taken place early in the 
 
 seventeenth century. The first form of the new 
 
 designation was Whisk, a word which occurs in 
 
 Taylor's Motto, by Taylor, the Water Poet, 
 
 published in 1621. Speaking of the prodigal, 
 
 he says : 
 
 " He flings his money free witli carelessnesse, 
 At novum, mumchance, mischance (chuse ye which), 
 At one-and-thirty, or at poore-and-rich, 
 Rufie, slam, trump, nody, whisk, hole, sant, new cut." 
 
 The origin of the word is obscure ; but, in 
 
 default of a better explanation, it has been 
 
 suggested that it was used by the common 
 
 people as a synonym for ruffy in ridicule of the 
 
 affectations of the gallants who played at the 
 
 game. The article of dress in fashion under 
 
 the latter name at the time is described as 
 
 "g^eat and monsterous, made either of cambric, hol- 
 land, lawne, or els of some other the finest cloth that 
 
/iRoDern mbiet 
 
 can be got for money, whereof some be a quarter of a 
 yard deepe, yea some more, hanging over their shoulder- 
 points, instead of a vaile. But if ^olus with his blasts, 
 or Neptune with his storms, chaunce to hit upon the 
 crasie barke of their bruised ruffles, then they goeth 
 flip-flap in the winde, like ragges that flew abroad, lying 
 on their shoulders like the disheclout of a slut." 
 
 This sort of thing might well be ridiculed as 
 a whisky which not only meant '' a small besom 
 or brush,'* but also referred to an article of 
 dress : 
 
 " Their wrinkled necks were covered o'er 
 With whisks of lawn, by grannums wore 
 In base contempt of bishops' sleeves." 
 
 Thirty or forty years after Taylor's mention 
 of the word, as applied to the game, it had be- 
 come changed to its present form, the earliest 
 known use of which is quoted by Johnson from 
 the second part of Hudibras (spurious), pub- 
 lished in 1663 : 
 
 " But what was this ? A game at Whist, 
 Unto our Plowden-Canonist." 
 
 In 1674 we find a published description of the 
 game in a curious book, ascribed to Charles 
 Cotton the poet, and entitled The Compleat 
 
mbiet ViuQQcte 
 
 Gamester; or Instructions how to play at Bil- 
 liards, Trucks, Bowls, and Chess; together 
 with all manner of usual and most gentile 
 Games, either on Cards or Dice.'^ In this book 
 a chapter is devoted to ' ' English RufF-and- 
 Honors and Whist," and it contains the fol- 
 lowing passage : 
 
 " Ruff-and-honoiirs {alias slamm) and Whist, are games 
 so corntnonly known in England, in all parts thereof, 
 that every child almost of eight years old hath a compe- 
 tent knowledge in that recreation." 
 
 After describing rufif-and-honors the author 
 says, ** Whist is a game not much differing 
 from this." The ruffing privilege was abol- 
 ished ; each player still had twelve cards, but, 
 instead of leaving an unknown stock on the 
 
 * The frontispiece to this book represents various 
 games being played, and is accompanied by a punning 
 description of them in verse. One figure shows a game 
 at whist, in which ladies take part, and the rhyme says : 
 
 ' ' Lastly observe the women with what grace 
 They sit and look their partners in the face, 
 Who from their eyes shoot Cupid's fiery darts, 
 Thus make them lose at once their game and hearts. 
 
 I^adies don't trust your secrets in that hand 
 
 Who can't their own (to their own grief) command, 
 
 For this, I will assure you, if you do, 
 
 In time you '11 lose your Ruflf and Honour too." 
 
/IRoDern Wibiet 
 
 table, the four deuces were discarded from the 
 pack before dealing ; a great step in advance, 
 as it enabled the players to calculate with more 
 certainty the contents of each other's hands. 
 The score was still nine, tricks and honors 
 counting as before. 
 
 Cotton never uses or alludes to the earlier 
 name " zvktsk,'^ but he gives an independent 
 derivation of the newer word. He says the 
 game 
 
 " is called whist from the silence that is to be observed 
 in the play. ' ' 
 
 This meaning is warranted by the custom of 
 the time. The word, although treated as a verb, 
 adjective, or participle by Shakespeare, Milton, 
 Spenser, and others, is defined by Skinner 
 (1671), one of the best authorities, as interjectio 
 silentium imperans ; and so it was commonly 
 used. In an old play, written by Dekkar in 
 1604, we find the example : 
 
 "Whist ! whist ! my master." 
 
 Cotton's derivation of the present name has 
 been adopted by Johnson and Nares, and has 
 
12 TObiet muggete 
 
 always been most commonly received ; but it 
 must not be forgotten that the word " zvhisk " 
 is the older of the two, and that it continued in 
 use, along with the other name, for a century 
 after Cotton wrote. Pope, in his epistle to Mrs. 
 Teresa Blount, 17 15, says : 
 
 ** Some squire, perhaps, you take delight to rack, 
 Whose game is Whisk, whose treat a toast in sack." 
 
 Johnson describes whist as "vulgarly pro- 
 nounced whisk " ; and the Hon. Daines Barring- 
 ton, writing, in 1786, on games at cards, adopts 
 the later orthography without any qualifica- 
 tion. 
 
 It is possible to reconcile the two derivations 
 by supposing that, when the game took its 
 complete form, the more intellectual character 
 it assumed demanded greater care and closer 
 attention in the play ; this was incompatible 
 with noise in the room or with conversation be- 
 tween the players, and hence the word ^^ whist /^^ 
 may have been used in its interjectional form 
 to insist on the necessary silence ; and from the 
 similarity of this to the term already in use the 
 modification in the last letter may have taken 
 
/llboDem limbiet 13 
 
 its rise. It is worthy of remark, that in a 
 fashionable book on Ombre, published in Berlin 
 in 1 7 14, the writer, who had probably never 
 heard of the English game, says : " Pour bien 
 jouer V ombre, il faut du silence et de la tran- 
 quillity 
 
 But, whatever may be the views held in this 
 country as to the origin of the name of our 
 national card-game, it is only fair to our in- 
 genious neighbors across the Channel to give 
 their explanation, which we find in a French 
 work on whist : 
 
 ** At a time when French was the current language in 
 l^ngland, the people had become so infatuated with one 
 of their games at cards, that it was prohibited after a 
 certain hour. But parties met clandestinely to practise 
 it ; and when the question " Voulez-vous jouer f^^ was 
 answered by '' Oui ! " the master of the room added the 
 interjection "5if/ " to impose silence. This occurred so 
 often that " Oui-st " became at length the current appel- 
 lation of the game ! ' ' 
 
 With these names there came to be associated 
 another of a very strange character, namely 
 ^*' swabbers'''' or ^^ swobbers.^^ Fielding, for ex- 
 ample, in the account of Jonathan Wild's visit 
 to the sponging-house in lyondon, in 1682, says, 
 
14 IGlblet muggets 
 
 "whisk and swabbers was the game then in 
 the chief vogue." Swift, in his Essay on the 
 Fates of Clergymen, ridicules Archbishop Ten- 
 ison, who was said to be a dull man, for misun- 
 derstanding the term. He relates a well-known 
 story of a clergyman, who was recommended 
 to the Archbishop for preferment, when his 
 Grace said, " He had heard that the clergyman 
 used to play at whist and swobbers ; that as to 
 playing now and then a sober game at whist 
 for pastime, it might be pardoned ; but he could 
 not digest those wicked swobbers ^ "It was 
 with some pains," adds the Dean, "that my 
 Lord Somers could undeceive him." Johnson 
 quotes the pretended speech of the Archbishop, 
 and defines szvabbers as ' * four privileged cards, 
 which are only incidentally used for betting at 
 whist." These were probably identical with 
 the four honors ; and it has been conjectured 
 that as " whisk " was intended to ridicule "r/^^" 
 the analogous term ^^ swabbers'''' (from swab, 
 a kind of mop) may have been added to supply 
 the place of the other part of the original name ; 
 so that ' ' whisk and swabbers ' ' was made the vul- 
 
/iftoDern Mbtet 15 
 
 gar synonym for the " ruff and honors " of the 
 fashionable world. But, however this may be, 
 the additional term was of limited application, 
 and soon went out of use. 
 
 It is curious that although the precursors of 
 whist had enjoyed favor in high places, yet 
 whist itself, in its infancy, was chiefly played 
 in low society, where cheats and sharpers as- 
 sembled. The greatest part of Cotton's chap- 
 ter is devoted to a warning against the tricks 
 and frauds of these gentry. He alludes to the 
 **arts used in dealing," and shows how, by in- 
 genious devices, ** cunning fellows about this 
 city may not only know all the cards by their 
 backs, but may turn up honors for themselves, 
 and avoid doing so for their adversaries." The 
 following passage gives some significant hints : 
 
 '* He that can by craft overlook his adversaries' game 
 hath a great advantage, for by that means he may partly 
 know what to play securely. There is a way to discover 
 to their partners what honours they have ; as by the 
 wink of one eye, or putting one finger on the nose or 
 table, it signifies one honour ; shutting both the eyes, 
 two ; placing three fingers or four on the table, three or 
 four honours." 
 
 In a republication of Cotton's work in 1734, 
 
i6 mbi6t nnggctB 
 
 these cautions are amplified, showing that whist 
 still retained the same low character. The 
 editor says, "as whisk [he uses the old appella- 
 tion] is a tavern game, the sharpers generally 
 take care to put about the bottle before the 
 game begins." A special chapter is given to 
 ''piping at whisk"; and as this is an accom- 
 plishment not generally known at the modern 
 clubs, the following extract may be inter- 
 esting : 
 
 " By piping I mean when one of the company that 
 does not play (which frequently happens), sits down in 
 a convenient place to smoke a pipe and so look on, pre- 
 tending to amuse himself that way. Now the disposing 
 of his fingers on the pipe, while smoking, discovers the 
 principal cards that are in the person's hand he over- 
 looks, which was always esteemed a suiBBcient advantage 
 to win a game. This may also be done by another way, 
 I.e. , without the pipe, and by common conversation. * In- 
 deed,' signifies diamonds; 'truly,' hearts; 'upon my 
 word,' clubs ; * I assure you,' spades." * 
 
 It is only fair to add, that with the bane the 
 editor supplies also the antidote. He says, 
 
 * " There are several other bare-faced practices made 
 use of, such as looking over hands, changing cards under 
 the table, and often from off the table ; but these are 
 generally made use of by women, who, when detected, 
 laugh it off, without any sense of shame or dishonour," — 
 Annals of Gaming. 
 
/llboDern Timbiet 17 
 
 ^^ For which reasons^ all nice gamesters play 
 behind curtains y 
 
 There is other evidence of the low character 
 of whist. In Farquhar's comedy of the Beaux'' s 
 Stratagem^ 1707, Mrs. Sullen speaks of ''the 
 rural accomplishment of drinking fat ale, play- 
 ing at whisk, and smoaking tobacco with my 
 husband." Fielding and Pope, as we have seen, 
 both speak of it disparagingly ; and Thomson, 
 in his Autumn (1730), describes how, after a 
 heavy hunt dinner, 
 
 *' Whist awhile 
 Walks his dull round beneath a cloud of smoke 
 Wreath'd fragant from the pipe." 
 
 This being, he adds, one of the ** puling idle- 
 nesses" introduced to cheat the thirsty mo- 
 ments until the party 
 
 " Close in firm circle, and set, ardent, in, 
 For serious drinking. ' ' 
 
 In the early part of the eighteenth century 
 there was a mania for card-playing in all parts 
 of Europe and in all classes of society, but in 
 the best circles whist was still unknown. Gen- 
 tlemen in their gaming coteries chiefly prac- 
 3 
 
i8 mbi6t IRug^ete 
 
 tised piquet (a very old game, invented in 
 France in the fifteenth century), and in ladies' 
 society the most fashionable amusement was 
 Ombre, immortalized by Pope's Rape of the 
 Lock (1712), in a manner strongly contrasted 
 with his disparaging mention of whist a year 
 or two later. 
 
 It was about 1730 when the new game rose 
 out of its obscurity and took rapidly the rank 
 due to its great merits. At that time the ordi- 
 naries, where gambling had been long carried 
 on to an enormous extent, and with the most 
 scandalous abuses, began to be superseded 
 by the more intellectual meetings at taverns 
 and coffee-houses, which figure so prominently 
 in the literary annals of the last century. It 
 happened that a party of gentlemen who fre- 
 quented the Crown coffee-house in Bedford Row, 
 and of whom the first Lord Folkstone was one, 
 had become acquainted with the game, and 
 practised it at their meetings. They soon found 
 out it had merits, studied it carefully, and ar- 
 rived, for the first time, at some fundamental 
 rules of play. 
 
/BboDem OTbiet 19 
 
 The way having been thus prepared, there 
 was wanting a man of genius who should 
 further work out the elements of the game, and 
 mould it into a permanent, logical, scientific 
 form. This man appeared in the person of 
 Bdmond Hoyi,e. There is very little trust- 
 woiihy information as to his antecedents. He 
 was born in 1672 : it is said he studied as a bar- 
 rister, and he styles himself in his first book '' a 
 gentleman." It is clear he was a man of good 
 education, and moved in good society ; probably 
 he was one of the party that met at the Crown. 
 
 It appears that he had studied whist for many 
 years ; and he saw, not only that it had great 
 capabilities, but that it was much debased by 
 the use made of it by sharpers for cheating inex- 
 perienced players out of their money. He 
 believed that it was in his power to guard the 
 public against these unprincipled practices, as 
 well as to excite a more legitimate interest in 
 the game, by spreading a better knowledge of 
 the principles on which it should be played ; 
 and to attain these objects he resolved to teach 
 it professionally. His spirited attempt excited 
 
IKIlbiet IFluggete 
 
 much attention, as we find several notices of it 
 on record. In the Rambler of May 8, 1750, a 
 lady writes : 
 
 '* As for play, I do think I may, indeed, indulge in 
 that, now I am my own mistress. Papa made me drudge 
 at whist till I was tired of it ; and, far from wanting a 
 head, Mr. Hoyle, when he had not given me above forty 
 lessons, said I was one of his best scholars " • 
 
 In the Gentleman'' s Magazine of February, 
 1755) a writer, professing to give the autobi- 
 ography of a fashionable physician, says : 
 
 "Hoyle tutored me in several games of cards, and, 
 under the name of guarding me from being cheated, 
 insensibly gave me a taste for sharping." 
 
 In the course of this instruction he sold to his 
 pupils a set of notes which he had drawn up, 
 containing rules and directions for their guid- 
 ance. These were in manuscript, and he charged 
 a guinea for each copy. The novelty and great 
 value of the rules were soon discovered, and 
 surreptitious copies began to get into circula- 
 tion, when Mr. Hoyle to secure his copyright, 
 had them published. 
 
 At this time the final changes had been made 
 by increasing the score to ten, and by using the 
 
Ao^ern Mbiet 
 
 whole pack, thus giving thirteen cards to each 
 player. This latter improvement introduced 
 the odd tricky an element of such great interest 
 in the present game. Whether it was Hoyle or 
 some one previously, who made these changes, 
 is not clear ; but at any rate the game, as he 
 presents it, is precisely the form of long whist 
 ever since played. 
 
 His book had a great and rapid success ; it 
 went through several editions in one year, and 
 it seems to have been again pirated, as the 
 author found it necessary to certify every 
 genuine copy by attaching his autograph signa- 
 ture, of which the following, taken from the 
 thirteenth edition is a fac-simile. 
 
 In the fifteenth edition the signature was, 
 for the first time, impressed from a wood-block, 
 and in the seventeenth it was announced that, 
 * ' Mr. Hoyle was dead. ' ' The great man departed 
 this life, full of years and of honors, on the 29th 
 of August, 1769. 
 
Timbi6t nmgcte 
 
 Byron's oft-quoted parallel — 
 
 " Troy owes to Homer what whist owes to Hoyle," 
 
 hardly does justice to our author, for he was 
 far more than the historian of whist ; he may, 
 essentially, be considered its founder. 
 
 The effect of Hoyle's promulgation of the 
 game in its improved form was very prompt, 
 as we learn from a witty and amusing brochure 
 that appeared in the same 3'ear, 1743, called 
 T/ie Humours of Whist, a dramatic Satire^ as 
 acted every day at Whitens and other Coffee- 
 houses and Assemblies. It is a short comedy, 
 the principal characters being Professor Whiston 
 (Hoyle), who gives lessons in the game ; Sir 
 Calculation Puzzle, an enthusiastic player, who 
 muddles his head with Hoyle's calculations 
 and always loses ; pupils, sharpers, and their 
 dupes. The object is chiefly to ridicule the 
 pretensions of Hoyle and the enthusiasm of his 
 followers, and to show that skill and calcula- 
 tion are of no avail against bad luck or pre- 
 meditated fraud. The work was reprinted ten 
 years later, but it is scarce, and we may give 
 
/IRoDetn IKIlbtet 23 
 
 a few extracts that throw light on the circum- 
 stances attending the first introduction of the 
 new rules of the game. 
 
 Hoyle had given out that he had spent forty 
 years in its study, and the prologue says : 
 
 " Who will believe that man could e'er exist, 
 Who spent near half an age in studying whist ? 
 Grew grey with calculation, labour hard, 
 As if life's business center'd in a card? 
 That such there is, let me to those appeal 
 Who with such liberal hands reward his zeal. 
 lyO ! whist he makes a science, and our peers 
 Deign to turn schoolboys in their riper years." 
 
 Sir Calculation Puzzle gives some amusing 
 explanations of his losses. In one case he 
 says : 
 
 " That certainly was the most out-of-the-way bite ever 
 was heard of. Upon the pinch of the game, when he 
 must infallibly have lost it, the dog ate the losing card, 
 by which means we dealt again, and faith he won the 
 .game." 
 
 Again, in reference to. Hoyle's calculations 
 of chances : 
 
 " We were nine all. The adversary had three and we 
 four tricks. All the trumps were out. I had queen and 
 two small clubs, with the lead. I^et me see : it was about 
 
24 Wibiet mug^eta 
 
 222 and 3 halves to — 'g"ad, I forgot how many — ^that my 
 partner had the ace and king ; ay, that he had not both 
 of them, 17 to 2 ; and that he had not one, or both, or 
 neither, some 25 to 32. So I, according to the judgment 
 of the game, led a club ; my partner takes it with the 
 king. Then it was exactly 481 for us to 222 for them. 
 He returns the same suit, I win it with my queen, and 
 return it again ; but the devil take that Lurchum, by 
 passing his ace twice, he took the trick, and, having two 
 more clubs and a thirteenth card, egad, all was over." 
 
 The praise of Hoyle's book by its supporters 
 is unbounded. They say : 
 
 " There never was so excellent a book printed. I'm 
 quite in raptures with it ; I will eat with it, sleep with it, 
 go to Parliament with it, go to Church with it. I pro- 
 nounce it the gospel of whist-plaj-ers. I want words to 
 express the author, and can look on him in no other 
 light than as a second Newton. I have joined twelve 
 companies in the Mall, and eleven of them were talking 
 of it. It's the subject of all conversation, and has had 
 the honour to be introduced into the Cabinet." 
 
 The wits, however, did not neglect to poke 
 fun at the Professor : 
 
 "Beau. Ha ! ha ! ha ! I shall dye ! Yonder is I/)rd 
 Fin ess and Sir George Tenace, two first-rate players ; 
 they have been most lavishly beat by a couple of 'pren- 
 tices. Ha ! ha ! ha ! They came slap four by honours 
 upon them almost every deal. 
 
 "Lord Rally. I find, Professor, your book do's not 
 teach how to beat four by honours. Ha ! ha ! ha ! 
 
/iRoDern TObiet 25 
 
 " Professor [aside]. Curse them ! I'd rather have given 
 a thousand pounds than this should have happen'd. It 
 strikes at the reputation of my Treatise. 
 
 '^ Lord Rally. In my opinion there is still something 
 wanting to compleat the system of whist : and that 
 is A Dissertation on the I^ucky Chair. [Company 
 laugh.'] 
 
 ''Professor. Ha! ha! ha! your I^ordship's hint is 
 excellent. I'm obliged to you for it." 
 
 Whist advanced rapidly in public favor, and 
 evidence is on record of the time when it was 
 received at court and formally acknowledged as 
 one of the royal amusements. In 1720 a little 
 book called the Court Gamester was, as its 
 title-page informs us, " written for the Use of 
 the young princesses," the daughters of the 
 Prince of Wales, afterwards George II. It was 
 frequently reprinted, and in later editions a 
 second part was added, called the City Game- 
 ster^ containing less polite games used east of 
 Temple Bar. Whist was included in the latter 
 category up to the seventh edition ; but in the 
 next, dated 1754, it was transferred to the court 
 division. In 1758 it had become a fit recreation 
 for University dons, as in No. 33 of the Idler^ 
 the senior fellow of a college at Cambridge 
 
26 XQblst fluggcts 
 
 represents himself aud his party as "sitting late 
 at whist in the evening." 
 
 WTien whist became fashionable it was nat- 
 urally taken up by polite literature, dry rules 
 and laws being made subservient to poetry and 
 imagination. We have already seen how it 
 had been dramatized ; it was now to be raised 
 to a higher grade in Parnassus, by becoming 
 the subject of an epic. In 1791 appeared 
 Whist, a Poem, in 12 Cantos, by Alexander 
 Thomson, Esq. The book went through two 
 editions, and made great pretensions to learn- 
 ing, by quotations from or references to authors 
 in almost every language, from French to Per- 
 sian, and of almost every age, from the Patri- 
 archs to the eighteenth century ; but the poetry- 
 was feeble, the history incorrect, and the whist 
 not over sound. One quotation, of the con- 
 cluding lines, will suffice : 
 
 " Nor do I yet despair to see the day 
 When hostile armies, rang-'d in neat array, 
 Instead of fighting, shall engage in play ; 
 "When peacefnl whist the quarrel shall decide, 
 And Christian blood be spUt on neither side. 
 Then pleas no more should wait the tardy laws. 
 
flSo5ern IKHbtet 27 
 
 But one odd trick at cnce conclude the cause. 
 (Tho' some wall say that this is nothing- new, 
 For here there have been long odd tricks enow}. 
 Then Britain still, to all the world's surprise. 
 In this great science shall progressive rise, 
 Till ages hence, when all of each degree 
 Shall play the game as well as Hoyle or me." 
 
 One of the chief seats of whist-playing during 
 the eighteenth century was the city of Bath, 
 where Nash and other celebrities had much 
 encouraged card-games generally. About 1800 
 a little book appeared there, entitled Advice to 
 the Young Whist Ptayer^ by Thomas Matthews, 
 Esq. This was a sound and useful work, con- 
 taining many improvements, resulting from the 
 experience of half a century, and it is, even 
 now, worthy of attentive study. 
 
 About the same date an important change 
 took place, namely, the introduction of ''Short 
 Whist," by altering the winning score from 
 ten to five, and abolishing the "call" for 
 honors when wanting two of game. The 
 change is said to iiave originated in an acci- 
 dent : Lord Peterborough having one night 
 lost a large sum of money, the friends with 
 
28 mbi6t mu^get6 
 
 whom li*e was playing proposed to give him the 
 revanche at five points instead of ten, in order 
 to afford him a quicker chance of recovering 
 his loss. The new plan was found so lively 
 that it soon became popular, and has long since 
 superseded long whist in the best circles. The 
 reason of the preference is not difficult to dis- 
 cover. All good players must have found out 
 how the interest increased towards the close 
 of the long game, when the parties were pretty 
 even, and when it became necessary to pay 
 stricter attention to the score, in order to regu- 
 late the play. Now to cause this state of things 
 to recur more frequently, it would be sufficient 
 to play, as it were, the latter half of the game 
 without the former, i. e., to commence with both 
 parties at the score of five ; for this is the true 
 sense of the alteration. 
 
 This mode of viewing it accounts for no 
 change being made in the value of the honors. 
 Some authorities think the scoring for these 
 should have been halved, and, no doubt, this 
 would have given more effect to skill in play ; 
 but such a change would have rendered the 
 
/IftoDcrn TPOlbiat 29 
 
 game less generally interesting. It must never 
 be forgotten that the element of chance is one 
 of the attractive features of whist, to good 
 players as well as to mediocre ones, and to 
 tamper with the present arrangement would 
 probably endanger the popularity of the game. 
 Whist was known in France at an early 
 period by translations of Hoyle. It was played 
 by Ivouis XV., and under the Bmpire was a 
 favorite game of Josephine and Marie Ivouise. 
 After the Restoration it was taken up more 
 enthusiastically. " The nobles," says a French 
 writer, *'had gone to England to learn to 
 think, and they brought back the thinking 
 game with them." Talleyrand was the great 
 player of the day, and his mot — '* You do not 
 know whist, young man ? What a sad old age 
 you are preparing for yourself ! " — is a standing 
 quotation in all whist books. Charles X. was 
 playing whist at St. Cloud on the 29th of July, 
 1830, when the tricolor was waving on the 
 Tuileries, and he had lost his throne. His 
 successor, Ivouis Philippe, when similarly en- 
 gaged, had to vsubmit to an elegant insolence. 
 
30 IKDlbiet IPtuQ^ets 
 
 He had dropped a louis, and stopped the game 
 to look for it, when a foreign ambassador, one 
 of the party, set fire to a billet of i,ooo francs 
 to give light to the King under the table. 
 
 In 1839 appeared a Traite du Whiste^ by M. 
 Deschapelles, whom Mr. Clay calls *'the finest 
 whist player, beyond any comparison, the 
 world has ever seen." Much was to be ex- 
 pected from such a quarter, but the publication 
 was but a fragment of a larger work that never 
 appeared. The author treats of whist in a 
 manner highly spirituel. He reasons on im- 
 mensity and eternity, on metaphysical necessity 
 and trial by jury ; he invokes the sun of Joshua 
 and the star of the Magi ; he investigates the 
 electrical affinities of the players, and illustrates 
 a hand by analytical geometry. He died some 
 fifteen or twenty years ago. 
 
 The latest stage in the history of whist com- 
 prises the more modem determination and 
 consolidation of its scientific constitution, both 
 theoretical and practical. 
 
 This important step was brought about by a 
 circumstance somewhat similar to that which 
 
/RoDern Wibiet 31 
 
 gave rise to the first development of the game by 
 Hoyle, a century and a quarter before. Between 
 1850 and i860 a knot of young men at Cam- 
 bridge, of considerable ability, who had at first 
 taken up whist for amusement, found it offer 
 such a field for intellectual study, that they 
 continued its practice more systematically, with 
 a view to its complete scientific investigation. 
 Since the general adoption of short whist the 
 constant practice of adepts had led to the intro- 
 duction of many improvements in detail, but 
 nothing had been done to reduce the modern 
 play into a systematic form, or to lay it clearly 
 before the public ; its secrets, so far as they 
 differed from the precepts of Hoyle and Mat- 
 thews, were confined to small coteries of club 
 players. The little whist school held together 
 afterwards in London, and added to its num- 
 bers ; and in 1862 one of its members brought 
 out the work published under the name of 
 ''Cavendish," the principal object of which was 
 to illustrate the modem play by a set of model 
 games, after the manner of those so much used 
 at chess. Two years afterwards appeared the 
 
32 llClbi6t 1Klugget6 
 
 essay of Mr. Clay, aud a little later that of Dr. 
 Pole. 
 
 Bach of these publications is distinct in its 
 object. The work of Dr. Pole expounds the 
 fundamental theory on which the modern 
 game is based ; that of Cavendish gives detailed 
 rules for, and examples of, its application in 
 practice ; and that of Mr. Clay is an able dis- 
 sertation on the more refined points of the best 
 modern play, by the best modern player. 
 Taken together, these books (which ought to 
 be combined in one volume) furnish a complete 
 epitome of the game, presenting it both theo- 
 retically and practically in the perfect state at 
 which it has now arrived, by continued study 
 and practice during the two centuries that have 
 elapsed since it first assumed a definite shape 
 and took its present name. 
 
 London Quarterly Review. 
 
WHIST AND WHIST-PLAYERS. 
 
 T^HH laws of whist, like those of Nature before 
 * Newton, lay hid in night, at all events were 
 involved in most perplexing confusion and un- 
 certainty, when the happy thought of fixing, 
 defining, arranging and (so to speak) codifying 
 them, occurred to a gentleman possessing the 
 requisite amount of knowledge and experience, 
 and admirably qualified by social position for 
 the task. *^Some years ago,'* writes Mr. Bald- 
 win in May, 1864, " I suggested to the late Hon. 
 George Anson (one of the most accomplished 
 whist-players of his day) that, as the supremacy 
 of short whist was an acknowledged fact, a re- 
 vision and reformation of Hoyle's rules would 
 confer a boon on whist-players generally, and 
 on those especially to whom disputes and 
 3 33 
 
34 mbt6t nmQciB 
 
 doubtful points were constantly referred. Our 
 views coincided, but the project was, for the 
 following reason, abandoned/' 
 
 The reason was neither more nor less than 
 what has stopped or indefinitely postponed so 
 many other projects for the amelioration of 
 society or improvement of mankind, namely, 
 the difficulty and trouble to be encountered, 
 with a very uncertain chance of success. This 
 reason was eventually outweighed by the sense 
 of responsibility in the face of a steadily in- 
 creasing evil which a decided effort might cor- 
 rect ; and early in 1863 the legislator of the 
 whist-table had duly meditated his scheme and 
 made up his mind as to the right method of 
 executing it. When Napoleon had resolved 
 upon a code, he began by nominating a board 
 of the most eminent French jurists, whose sit- 
 tings he was in the constant habit of attending, 
 and by whom it was, article by article, settled and 
 discussed. Mr. Baldwin proceeded in much the 
 same fashion. The board or committee which 
 met at his suggestion, or (as he says) ''kindly con- 
 sented to co-operate with him," was comprised 
 
WibiBt anD 'MbieUt^la^cxe 35 
 
 of seven members of the Arlington Club, who — 
 we might take for granted, were it not notorious 
 as a fact — were renowned for the skilful practice 
 as well as the scientific knowledge of the game. 
 The foundation of the republic of Venice 
 maybe dated from 697 a.d., when twelve of the 
 founders met and elected the first Doge. Their 
 descendants, g/t Elettorali^ formed the first 
 class of the aristocracy, and with them were 
 subsequently associated the descendants of the 
 four who joined in signing an instrument for 
 the foundation of the Abbey of San Giorgio 
 Maggiore. The twelve were popularly spoken 
 of as the Twelve Apostles, and the four as the 
 Four Evangelists. The foundation of the re- 
 public of whist may be dated from its reduction 
 under settled laws ; and precedence such as was 
 accorded to the Venetian Apostles and Evan- 
 gelists should be accorded to the two bodies of 
 gentlemen by whom Mr. Baldwin's suggestions 
 were so effectively carried out. The seven 
 members of the Arlington (who may rank with 
 the Apostles) were : — George Bentinck, Esq., 
 late M. P. for West Norfolk ; John Bushe, Esq. 
 
36 mbt6t IWuggets 
 
 (son of the Chief Justice in ' ' Patronage ' *) ; John 
 Clay, Esq., M. P., who acted as chairman ; the late 
 Charles C. Greville, Esq. ; Sir Rainald Knight- 
 ley, Bart.,M. P. ; H. B. Mayne, Esq. ; G. Payne, 
 Esq. ; Colonel Pipon. The Resolution appoint- 
 ing them is authenticated by the distinguished 
 signature of Admiral Rous. The code drawn 
 up by them was transmitted to the Portland 
 Club, the whist-club par eminence since the 
 dissolution of Graham's, which nominated the 
 following committee (who may rank with the 
 Evangelists of Venice) to consider it : — H. D. 
 Jones,- Esq. (the father of ''Cavendish"), chair- 
 man ; Charles Adams, Esq. ; W. F. Baring, 
 Esq. ; H. Fitzroy, Esq. ; Samuel Petrie, Esq. ; 
 H. M. Rid(^ll, Esq. ; R. Wheble, Esq. Their 
 suggestions and additions were immediately ac- 
 cepted by the Arlington, and on Saturday, April 
 30, 1864, — it is right to be particular — this reso- 
 lution was proposed and carried unanimously : 
 
 "Arlington Club. 
 " That the I^aws of Short Whist as framed by the Whist 
 Committee, and edited by John I^oraine Baldwin, Ksq., be 
 adopted by this Club. 
 
 ** (Sigriied) Beaufort, Chairman." 
 
mbiet anD "mbieUt^ln^cvs 37 
 
 So soon as this resolution was passed, the 
 work was done ; for all the other principal 
 clubs in town and country eagerly notified their 
 adhesion, and it would be simply absurd for 
 individuals to refuse obedience. That the 
 Continent and the New World will do well to 
 follow the lead of England, may be inferred 
 from a single point of comparison. Mr. Bald- 
 win's Laws of Whist are comprised in sixteen 
 pages, whereas two hundred and eighty-four 
 pages of M. Deschapelles' Traitk du Whist 
 are devoted to the laws. Nor is the code the 
 only boon for which we are indebted to the 
 codifier. He has also been the means of elicit- 
 ing what (when it was first published) was 
 incomparably the acutest, most compact, and 
 most practical essay on the subject, A Treatise 
 on the Gamey by J. C. (John Clay). It was 
 preceded by several works of merit, but its 
 improving effects may be traced in all recent 
 editions of the best ; and we have now a litera- 
 ture of whist which leaves the habitually bad 
 player, male or female, without the semblance 
 of an apology. 
 
38 WihiBt 1Flu00et0 
 
 Although the large circulation of these books 
 would imply general study and corresponding 
 advance, the effect has been disappointing upon 
 the whole. It is quite curious to see how many 
 who have made whist their favorite occupation 
 never rise to the rank of third-rate players ; how 
 many are utterly ignorant of the plainest prin- 
 ciples, and unprepared for the most ordinary 
 combinations or contingencies ; how many are 
 almost always in hopeless confusion about their 
 leads ; how many have not the smallest notion 
 why and when they should trump a doubtful 
 card, or why and when they should lead trumps. 
 The Italian who had the honor of teaching 
 George lit. the violin, on being asked by his 
 royal pupil what progress he was making, ob- 
 served, ''Please your Majesty, there are three 
 classes of players : i. Those who cannot play 
 at all. 2. Those who play badly. 3. Those 
 who play well. Your Majesty is just rising into 
 the second class." This is the outside compli- 
 ment we could pay to a numerous section of 
 assiduous whist-players. Yet, as Lord Chester- 
 field told his son, whatever is worth doing at 
 
Wibiet anD 1imbi6t=ipla^er0 39 
 
 all is worth doing well ; and one would have 
 thought that a few hours* study might be ad- 
 vantageously bestowed in escaping this con- 
 stantly recurring condition of embarrassment, 
 to say nothing of the annoyance which may be 
 read in the partner's face, however indulgent 
 or well bred, when he or she happens to know 
 something of the game. 
 
 This want of proper grounding and training, 
 far from being confined to the idle and superfi- 
 cial, is frequently detected or avowed in the 
 higher orders of intellect, in the most acute, 
 accomplished, and cultivated minds. '^I^ady 
 Donegal and I," writes Miss Berry, "played 
 whist with Lord BUenborough and I^ord Krskine. 
 I doubt which of the four plays worst.'' I^ord 
 Thurlow declared late in life that he would 
 give half his fortune to play well. Why did he 
 not set about it? I^ord Lyndhurst and I^ord 
 Wensleydale were on a par with I^ord Ellen- 
 borough and lyord Brskine, yet they were both 
 very fond of the game, and both would eagerly 
 have confirmed the justice of Talleyrand's well- 
 known remark to the youngster who rather 
 
40 Wibi6t mUQQCtS 
 
 boastingly declared his ignorance of it : " Quelle 
 triste vieillesse vous vous prSparez / " * It is an 
 invaluable resource to men of studious habits, 
 whose eyes and mental faculties equally require 
 relief in the evening of life or after the grave 
 labors of the day ; and the interest rises with 
 the growing consciousness of skill. 
 
 The main cause of this educational omission or 
 neglect is the rooted belief that whist cannot 
 be taught by study or reading, which is pretty- 
 nearly tantamount to saying that it cannot be 
 taught at all ; for there was no reason why a 
 sound precept, orally communicated at a card- 
 table should be less sound and useful when 
 printed in a book. Moreover, the book has 
 one marked advantage over the oral instructor : 
 it gives time for reflection, and does not give 
 occasion for irritability. We have no elemen- 
 tary schools of whist nor paid teachers as in 
 
 * To Talleyrand at the whist-table might be applied, 
 with the change of a word, the couplet of Pope : 
 
 " See how the world its veterans rewards, 
 A youth of plotting, an old age of cards." 
 
 Talleyrand was far from a good player, and, as might 
 have been anticipated, unduly prone to finessing and 
 false cards. 
 
TObt6t anD 1imbl5t*ipla^er0 41 
 
 billiards ; and a competent amateur, when 
 taking his place opposite a lady partner, is 
 almost invariably addressed : *' Now pray don't 
 scold ; I can't bear scolding." In other words : 
 " I can't bear to be taught." Bven when a lady 
 requests to be told if she plays wrong, the odds 
 are that, unless she is resolutely bent on fasci- 
 nating, she will turn upon you, if you are 
 simple enough to take her at her word, like 
 the matron in Ccelebs who was lamenting her 
 own exceeding sinfulness : 
 
 '^ Mr. Ranby : You accuse yourself too heavily, my 
 dear ; you have sins to be sure. 
 
 " Mrs. Ranby (in a raised voice and angry tone) : And 
 pray what sins have I, Mr. Ranby ? ' ' 
 
 A critical remark to a male partner, or an 
 attempt to talk over the hand, is frequently 
 met in a manner that does not invite a repeti- 
 tion of the experiment, although a polite in- 
 quiry why a particular card was played is an 
 implied compliment. Mr. Clay speaks with 
 his characteristic good sense on this topic : 
 
 " Talking over the hand after it has been played is not 
 uncommonly called a bad habit, and an annoyance. I 
 am firmly persuaded that it is among- the readiest ways 
 
42 mbiet nnggcte 
 
 of learning whist, and I advise beginners, when they 
 have not understood their partner's play, or when they 
 think that the hand might have been differently played 
 with a better result, to ask for information, and invite 
 discussion. They will, of course, select for this purpose 
 a player of recognised skill, and will have little diffi- 
 culty in distinguishing the dispassionate and reasoning 
 man from him who judges by results, and finds fault 
 only because things have gone wrong. They will rarely 
 find a real whist-player so discourteous as to refuse 
 every information in his power, for he takes interest in 
 the beginner who is anxious to improve." 
 
 But real whist-players will rarely take sufl&- 
 cient interest in beginners, however anxious to 
 improve, to be willing to cut in with them 
 before a certain amount of progress has been 
 made; and a request for information, betraying 
 a want of elementary knowledge might provoke 
 an answer like Dr. Johnson's to the young 
 gentleman who asked him whether the cat was 
 oviparous or viviparous : '* Sir, you should read 
 the common books of natural history, and not 
 come to a man of a certain age and some 
 attainments to ask whether the cat lays eggs." 
 With reference, also, to your own immediate 
 interest, you had better hold your tongue, or 
 reserve your comments till the party has 
 
mbt6t anD 1KIlbl0t=p(a^er6 43 
 
 broken up ; for the offender will immediately 
 play worse. 
 
 Books, therefore, are the readiest and surest 
 sources of instruction, but to begin with books 
 would be as absurd as the practice of teaching 
 Latin and Greek through the medium of a lyatin 
 grammar. It is now admitted that the Hamil- 
 tonian method of learning languages is the best. 
 Acquire a sufficient stock of words before 
 meddling with syntax. Just so, familiarize 
 yourself with the ordinary combinations of 
 the cards before venturing on the rules and 
 principles which constitute the syntax of the 
 game. But in each case the syntax is indis- 
 pensable, when the appropriate stage of pro- 
 gress has been reached ; and the whist-player 
 who endeavors to dispense with it, unless 
 he is singularly gifted, will bear the same 
 relation to one of the master spirits of the 
 Portland, the Arlington, or the Paris Jockey 
 Club, that a courier or quick-witted lady's 
 maid who had made the tour of Europe, 
 would bear in linguistic acquirements to the 
 trained diplomatist who speaks and writes 
 
44 TOblat muggets 
 
 French, German, and Italian with correctness 
 and facility. 
 
 It is the same in all things to which mind 
 can be applied ; theory or science should go 
 hand in hand with practice. This is true even 
 of games of manual dexterity, like billiards and 
 croquet, but it is pre-eminently true of whist. 
 Nay, we shall show before concluding that the 
 mere mechanical quality of memory has far less 
 to do with making a fine or even a good player, 
 than the higher qualities of judgment, observa- 
 tion, logical intuition, and sagacity. 
 
 The introduction of short whist is thus de- 
 scribed by Mr. Clay : 
 
 " Some eighty years back, I,ord Peterborough having 
 one night lost a large sum of money, the friends with 
 whom he was playing proposed to make the game five 
 points instead of ten, in order to give the loser a chance, 
 at a quicker game, of recovering his loss. The late Mr. 
 Hoare, of Bath, a very good whist-player, and without a 
 superior at piquet, was one of this party, and has more 
 than once told me the story." 
 
 Major A, writing in 1835, says : *' Short whist 
 started up and overthrew the ancient Long 
 Dynasty more than half a century ago," thus 
 confirming Mr. Clay as to the date ; but if it 
 
TlXDiblst anD mbl6t==iIMa^er6 45 
 
 started up in the eighteenth century, its suprem- 
 acy was not established till far into the nine- 
 teenth, and many whist-players now living 
 imbibed their rudiments under the ancient 
 Ivong Dynasty. 
 
 An illustration in the Anti-Jacobin of 1798, 
 goes far to prove that long whist alone was 
 present to the minds of the distinguished writers, 
 Mr. Canning and Mr. Frere : 
 
 " of whist or cribbage mark th' amusing game, 
 The partners changing, but the sport the same ; 
 
 E)lse would the gamester's anxious ardour cool, 
 Dull every deal, and stagnant every pool. 
 
 —Yet must one Man, with one unceasing Wife, 
 Play the I^ong Rubber of connubial life."* 
 
 These high authorities differ as to the origin. 
 *' This revolution," continues Major A., **was 
 occasioned by a worthy Welsh baronet prefer- 
 ring his lobster for supper hot. Four first-rate 
 
 *The Progress of Man ^ a parody on Mr. Payne Knight's 
 Progress of Civil Society , YQ. which a marked preference 
 is given to the connubial rites or ceremonies of the 
 South Sea Islands over those of Great Britain. This is 
 alluded to in the preceding lines of the parody : 
 
 *%earn hence, each nymph, whose free aspiring mind, 
 Europe's cold laws and colder customs bind— 
 Oh ! learn what Nature's genial laws decree, 
 What Otaheite is, let Britain be." 
 
46 Wibiet nrngcte 
 
 whist-players — consequently, four great men — 
 adjourned from the House of Commons to 
 Brookes's, and proposed a rubber while the 
 cook was busy. *The lobster must be hot/ 
 said the baronet. ^ A rubber may last an hour, * 
 said another, ^ and the lobster be cold again, 
 or spoiled, before we have finished.' 'It is 
 too long,' said a third. * lyct us cut it shorter, ' 
 said a fourth. — Carried, nem. con. Down they 
 sat, and found it very lively to win or lose so 
 much quicker. Besides furnishing conversation 
 at supper, the thing was new — they were legis- 
 lators, and had a fine opportunity to exercise 
 their calling." 
 
 Next day (he says) St. James' Street was in 
 commotion : the Ivongs and Shorts contended 
 like the Blues and Greens of the circus : and 
 for a period it was regarded as a drawn battle or 
 a tolerably equal contest : but the old school 
 became gradually weaker by deaths, and the 
 new school, when no longer confronted by 
 habit and prejudice, obtained a complete vic- 
 tory. The truth is, the new game is the better 
 of the two, as requiring more sustained atten- 
 
Xmbiet auD 1imbi6t:=pla^er6 47 
 
 tion, more rapidity of conception, more dash, 
 more Han, and giving more scope to genius 
 than the old. It is the Napoleonic strategy or 
 tactics against the Austrian ; or (to borrow an 
 illustration from naval warfare) it may be com- 
 pared to Nelson's favorite manoeuvre of ** break- 
 ing the line." Those who maintain the con- 
 trary, must maintain that the second half of the 
 old game (when it stood five to five) was less crit- 
 ical and less calculated for the display of skill 
 than the first. At all events the popular decree 
 is irrevocable, and the revolution has been ren- 
 dered more complete by circumstances which 
 are appositely stated by Mr. Clay : 
 
 " I remember, as a youngster, being told by one of the 
 highest authorities, on the occasion of my having led a 
 single trump from a hand of great strength in all the 
 other suits, that the only justification for leading a 
 singleton in trumps was the holding at least ace and 
 king in the three remaining suits. He spoke the opin- 
 ion of his school. That school, I am inclined to believe, 
 might teach us much that we have neglected, but I 
 should pick out of it one man alone, the celebrated 
 Major Aubrey, as likely to be very formidable among 
 the best players of the present day. He was a player of 
 great original genius, and refused strict adherence to 
 the over careful system, to which his companions were 
 slaves. • 
 
48 11lllbt6t IRug^ets 
 
 "But whist had travelled, and thirty or more yea^s 
 ago we began to hear of the great Paris whist-players. 
 They sometimes came among us — more frequently our 
 champions encountered them on their own ground, and 
 returned to us with a system modified, if not improved, 
 by their French experience. . . . We were forced to 
 recognize a wide difference between their system and 
 our own, and * the French game ' became the scorn and 
 the horror of the old school, which went gradually to its 
 grave, with an unchanged faith, and in the firm belief 
 that the invaders, with their rash trump leading, were 
 all mad, and that their great master, Deschapelles — the 
 finest whist-player beyond any comparison the world 
 has ever seen — was a dangerous lunatic. The new 
 school, however, as I well remember, were found to be 
 winning players. ' ' 
 
 Now what are the distinctive features of the 
 new school, its essential principles, its merits, 
 and its defects ? Unluckily, the great master, 
 Deschapelles, did not live to carry out his origi- 
 nal plan. He has left only a single chapter on 
 La Doctrine, entitled, De V Impasse (Of the 
 Finesse). But his mantle has fallen on no 
 unworthy successors, and little difficulty will 
 be experienced in rendering his system intel- 
 ligible to those who care to master it, for 
 it is substantially that which all the best 
 players in both hemispheres have adopted and 
 recommend : 
 
mbiet anD mblst^plai^erg 49 
 
 " The basis of the theory of the modem scientific game 
 of whist [says Professor Pole] lies in the relations exist- 
 ing between the players. 
 
 " It is a fundamental feature of the construction of the 
 game, that the four players are intended to act, not 
 singly and independently, but in a double combination, 
 two of them heing partners against a partnership of the 
 other two. And it is the full recognition of this fact, 
 carried out into all the ramifications of the play, which 
 characterizes the scientific game, and gives it its supe- 
 riority over all others. 
 
 " Yet, obvious as this fact is, it is astonishing how im- 
 perfectly it is appreciated among players generally. 
 Some ignore the partnership altogether, except in the 
 mere division of the stakes, neither caring to help their 
 partners or be helped by them, but playing as if each 
 had to fight his battle alone. Others will go farther, 
 giving some degree of consideration to the partner, but 
 still always making their own hand the chief object ; 
 and among this latter class are often found players of 
 much skill and judgment, and who pass for great adepts 
 
 in the game." 
 
 « 
 
 The combined principle was not ignored, it 
 was simply undervalued, by the old school. 
 What they failed to see, and what many modern 
 players cannot be brought to see yet, is that, 
 with tolerably equal cards, the result of the 
 mimic campaign hangs upon it, as the fate of 
 Germany hung on the junction of Prince 
 Charles and the Crown Prince at Sadowa, or 
 the fate of Europe on the junction of Blucher 
 
50 TKHbiet IWuggete 
 
 and Wellington at Waterloo. Of course it is 
 necessary to agree upon a common object or 
 system, and this again is placed in tlie clearest 
 light by Professor Pole : 
 
 " The object of play is of course to make tricks, and 
 tricks may be made in four different ways, viz. : 
 
 " I. By the natural predominance of master cards ^ as 
 aces and kings. This forms the leading idea of begin- 
 ners, whose notions of trick-making do not usually 
 extend beyond the high cards they have happened to 
 receive. 
 
 " 2, Tricks may be also made by taking advantage of 
 th.G^ position of the cards, so as to evade the higher ones, 
 and make smaller ones win : as, for example, in finess- 
 ing, and in leading up to a weak suit. This method is 
 one which, although always kept well in view by good 
 players, is yet only of accidental occurrence, and there- 
 fore does not enter into our present discussion of the 
 general systems of treating the hand. 
 
 " 3. Another mode of trick-making is hy trumping ; 
 a system almost as fascinating to beginners as the reali- 
 zation of master cards ; but the correction of this predi- 
 lection requires much deeper study. 
 
 " 4. The fourth method of making tricks is by 
 establishing and bringing in a long suit, every card of 
 which will then make a trick, whatever be its value. 
 This method, tl^ough the most scientific, is the least 
 obvious, and therefore is the least practised by young 
 players. 
 
 " Now the first, third, and fourth methods of making 
 tricks, may be said to constitute different systems, accord- 
 ing to either of which a player may view his hand and 
 regulate his play." 
 
'MbiBt anD mbtets^iplai^ers 51 
 
 This is illustrated by an example. The hand 
 of the player with whom the opening lead lies 
 is thus composed : Hearts (trumps), queen, 
 nine, six, three. Spades, king, knave, eight, 
 four, three, two. Diamonds, ace, king. Clubs, 
 a singleton. He may lead off the ace and king 
 of diamonds (System No. i), or the singleton 
 in the hope of a ruff (No. 3), or the smallest of 
 his long suit (No. 4)> on the chance of establish- 
 ing it and making three or four tricks in it. In 
 other words, he has to choose between the three 
 systems ; and the paramount importance of the 
 choice consists in its deciding the opening lead, 
 by far the most important of the whole ; as it 
 is the first indication afforded to the partner. 
 '^ He will, if he is a good player, observe with 
 great attention the card you lead, and will at 
 once draw inferences from it that may perhaps 
 influence the whole of his plans." 
 
 When the highest authorities, on the most 
 careful calculation of chances, have laid down 
 that the long-suit system is the best, and the 
 long-suit opening has become the received 
 method of carrying it out, a player who takes 
 
52 TKabt6t IFtuggete 
 
 his own line, or looks exclusively to his own 
 hand, will wilfully commit what Mr. Clay 
 justly calls ''the greatest fault he knows in a 
 whist-player." All that can be said in favor of 
 the rival systems has been said a hundred times 
 and deliberately set aside, but the strongest of 
 all objections to each of them is, that neither 
 admits of combined action, in fact, can hardly 
 be called a system at all ; for when you have 
 led off your ace and king, you are at a stand- 
 still, and when you have led your singleton, 
 you have probably en>barrassed instead of in- 
 forming your partner ; and it is fortunate if 
 you have not led him into a scrape. Besides, 
 you may have no ace and king, and no single- 
 ton ; whereas you must always have what (com- 
 paratively speaking) may be called your strong 
 suit, if only consisting of four. 
 
 Players who find an irresistible fascination in 
 leading their best cards, or in trumping, may 
 also take comfort in the reflection that they are 
 not requested to abandon their favorite tactics 
 altogether ; for occasions are constantly arising 
 when it becomes advisable to fall back upon 
 
mbl6t anD TObi6t:=lIMa^er0 53 
 
 them ; just as the most consummate general 
 may be compelled to resort to defensive or 
 guerilla warfare, when he is too weak to hazard 
 a pitched battle or a siege in form. It can 
 hardly ever be right to lead off an ace and king 
 with no other of the suit, for they are almost 
 sure of making at a more opportune period of 
 the game. But when held with others in an 
 otherwise weak hand, i. ^., without strength in 
 trumps, or the chance of establishing a suit, 
 high cards may be judiciously led at once to 
 avoid being trumped. Whenever, therefore, a 
 good player plays out his winning cards, with- 
 out first playing trumps, it is a manifest token 
 of weakness, instead of an exhibition of 
 strength. 
 
 The argument is thus summed up by Pro- 
 fessor Pole : 
 
 " Accepting, therefore, this system as the preferable 
 one, we are now able to enunciate the fundamental 
 theory of the modern scientific game, which is : 
 
 *' That the hands of the two partners shall not be played 
 singly and independently, but shall be combined, and 
 treated as one. And that in order to carry out most effec- 
 tually this principle of combination, each partner shall 
 adopt the long-suit system as the general basis of his play. '^ 
 
54 WibiBt nnggcte 
 
 Mark the words '^general basis." This is 
 quite enough to bring about the required under- 
 standing, and you are at full liberty to adapt 
 your play to circumstances when your partner 
 makes no distinct call upon you, or is unable 
 to co-operate in the execution of a plan. 
 
 It is an obvious corollary that the primary use 
 of trumps is to draw the adversary's trumps for 
 the purpose of bringing in your own or your part- 
 ner's long suit ; and it is consequently essential 
 to determine what strength in trumps justifies 
 you in leading them. There is a capital sketch 
 of a whist party in Sans Merci^ by the author 
 of Guy Livingston^ in which the hero, who is 
 losing to a startling amount, asks his partner, 
 an old hand, whether with knave five he ought 
 not to have led trumps. ''It has been com- 
 puted,'' was the calm reply, '' that eleven thou- 
 sand Englishmen, once heirs to fair fortunes, 
 are wandering about the Continent, in a state 
 of utter destitution, because they would not 
 lead trumps with five and an honor in their 
 hands." Professor Pole is distinct and positive 
 on this point : 
 
imbiet anD OTbi6t=ipla^er6 55 
 
 '* whenever you have five trumps, whatever they are, 
 or whatever the other components of your hand, you 
 should lead them ; for the probability is that three, or 
 at most four, rounds will exhaust those of the adver- 
 saries, and you will still have one or two left to bring in 
 your own or your partner's long- suits, and to stop 
 those of the enemy. * * * And, further, you must 
 recollect that it is no argument against leading trumps 
 from five, that you have no long suit, and that your 
 hand is otherwise weak ; for it is the essence of the 
 combined principle that you work for your partner as 
 well as yourself, and the probability is that if you are 
 weak, he is strong, and will have long suits or good 
 cards to bring in. And if, unfortunately, it should 
 happen that you are both weak, any other play would 
 be probably still worse for you." 
 
 Cavendish says that, with the original lead 
 and five trumps, you should almost always lead 
 one ; with six, invariably. Colonel Blyth, 
 after giving the same qualified opinion in his 
 text, adds in a note : ^' I once heard a first-rate 
 whist-player say that, with four trumps in your 
 hand, it was mostly right to lead them ; but 
 that he who held fiVQ^ and did not lead them, 
 was fit only for a lunatic asylum." This first- 
 rate whist-player had probably recently been 
 playing with one of the eleven thousand, or 
 with strong-minded females who are most pro- 
 vokingly reticent of trumps. We should rec- 
 
56 mbist muQ^ete 
 
 ommend every incipient whist-player, who has 
 not experience enough to mark the rare excep- 
 tional cases, to lead one when he holds more 
 than four, but to pause and reflect with four. 
 With four small trumps, he should not lead 
 one, unless he is strong in all the other suits, 
 or at least strong enough in each to pre- 
 vent the establishment of an adversary's strong 
 suit. If there are two or more honors amongst 
 his four, or the ace, he may lead one with com- 
 paratively little risk. 
 
 The smallest should be led from four or 
 more, except when you lead from a sequence, 
 or except when you have king, knave, ten, 
 with others, when the received lead is the ten. 
 Mr. Clay has laid down nem. con. (at least, 
 nem. con, amongst the authorities) that with 
 ace, king, and others in trumps, you should 
 lead the lowest, unless you have more than six, 
 /. ^., as an originallead, or before circumstances 
 have called for two rounds certain. The reason 
 is that you may otherwise lose the third and 
 most important trick ; for if you have no more 
 than six, the odds are that one of your adver- 
 
Wibi6t anD 'MbisUplav.cts 57 
 
 saries has at least three, headed by a superior 
 card to your third best. The odds are also in 
 favor of your partner holding the queen or 
 knave, and if the queen is on his right, the 
 knave is commonly as good as the queen. With 
 ace, king, knave, and three small trumps, it 
 may be as well to lead the ace and king, on the 
 chance of the queen falling. With ace, king, 
 knave, and less than three, the approved prac- 
 tice is to lead the king, and wait for the return 
 of the lead to finesse the knave. 
 
 With a hand requiring or justifying a trump 
 lead, the fact of an honor being turned up on 
 your right must be disregarded, even with a 
 certainty of its taking your partner's best card, 
 the grand object being to get the command of 
 trumps, not the first trick in them. Unless you 
 wish the lead in trumps to be returned, do not 
 (at least not early in the hand) lead through an 
 honor, for the practice of leading through hon- 
 ors, except as a regular trump lead, has been 
 fortunately given up. We say fortunately, for, 
 so long as it prevailed, it was impossible to 
 know whether the lead through the honor was 
 
58 mbiet nmQcte 
 
 the regular lead of trumps or not. At the same 
 time, an experienced player may exercise his 
 discretion in refraining from immediately re- 
 turning the lead up to a high honor, especially 
 if he can replace the lead in his partner's hand, 
 and so enable him to lead through the honor a 
 second time. 
 
 There is another case when you may avoid 
 returning a lead of trumps, whether through an 
 honor or not, t. e,, when your partner has evi- 
 dently led from weakness or desperation in a 
 peculiar condition of the game. Thus, when 
 he leads a knave, you may take for granted 
 that it is his best, for (in England) there is no 
 recognized trump lead from knave with a 
 higher in the hand. The lead of the ten may 
 be from king, knave, ten, with or without 
 Others, and may place you in doubt unless you 
 know that your partner cannot have both king 
 and knave. In our opinion you should always, 
 when third player, pass the ten of trumps un- 
 less you see your way clear to winning both 
 that and the two following tricks. If it does 
 not make, it forces an honor and compels your 
 
TOb(0t anD mbtst^lplai^ere 59 
 
 left-hand adversary to play up to you. It is 
 quite painful to see an ace or king put upon a 
 ten evidently led from weakness, and the com- 
 mand of trumps thus irrecoverably lost. The 
 time for this lead is when the game is ob- 
 viously lost, or in great jeopardy, unless your 
 partner is strong in trumps. For example, 
 your adversaries are three love, and your only 
 trump, or highest of two or three, is the ten. 
 The game is lost unless your partner has two 
 honors, and your ten will materially strengthen 
 him, if he has.* 
 
 The same state of things may justify or 
 require a trump lead, even when you have no 
 trump that can be called strengthening, not 
 even a nine ; but the lead of a singleton in 
 trumps at the commencement of the game, 
 with nothing in the state of the score to justify 
 it, strikes us to be reprehensible in the ex- 
 treme. We do not go the length of saying with 
 the champion of the old school, quoted by Mr, 
 
 * On the same principle, when, to enable you to save 
 the game, it is necessarY that the remaining- cards 
 should be placed in a particular manner, play as if you 
 knew them to be so placed. This is the secret of many 
 of the most celebrated instances of fine play. 
 
6o mbi6t 1Rugget6 
 
 Clay, that the only justification for leading a 
 singleton in trumps (presumably not an hon- 
 or) is holding at least ace and king in the three 
 remaining suits. But there should be strength 
 in each of the three remaining suits sufficient 
 to prevent the establishment of a long suit by 
 the adversaries. There is also this essential 
 objection : The first duty of a player is to de- 
 cide, after a careful study of his cards, whether 
 he is to play a superior or inferior part, whether 
 he is to be commander or subordinate for the 
 hand, whether he is to act on the offensive or 
 defensive, to aim at winning or saving the 
 game. Now, with one trump and no great 
 strength in other suits, you have no right to 
 assume the command by forcing a trump lead 
 on your partner, w^ho, with a single honor and 
 without what can be called strength in trumps, 
 may manage to save the game, if you do not 
 force him into the sacrifice of his best card at 
 starting. Leave him to initiate the lead of the 
 trumps either by leading or asking for them. 
 Begin with your high cards and watch for the 
 signal ; if it is not forthcoming, go on with 
 
Timbl0t anD limbist ©latere 6i 
 
 them and force. If you have no high cards, 
 cadit questio : you would be clearly wrong to 
 lead the trump. 
 
 As for people who lead trumps because they 
 are at a loss what else to lead, they might just 
 as well take the most important step in life, go 
 into orders, the army, or Mrs. Starr's convent, 
 marry, or get unmarried, from sheer lassitude 
 and vacuity. It is I^ord Derby's leap in the 
 dark repeated on a small scale. A trump lead 
 almost always brings matters to a crisis, and 
 should never be hazarded without reason. If 
 absolutely no semblance of a reason suggests 
 itself, play any card rather than a trump ; and 
 if this blank state of mind is of frequent recur- 
 rence after a resolute effort to improve, we 
 should address the dubitant pretty nearly as 
 the French fencing-master addressed the late 
 Barl of B. at the conclusion of six months* 
 teaching : ^* Milord, je vous conseille decidem- 
 ment d'abandonner les armes." 
 
 The importance of the trump lead can hardly 
 be over-estimated when we consider that (with 
 the exceptions already hinted at) it should be 
 
62 Wihiet nmgcts 
 
 returned immediately. It is an aphorism of 
 
 traditional respectability that the only excuses 
 
 for not returning a trump are a fit of apoplexy 
 
 or not having any.^ These, too, are the only 
 
 available excuses for not leading trumps, when 
 
 your partner asks for them, and leading them 
 
 in a manner to carry out his supposed wishes 
 
 to the full. 
 
 * The following case fell under our own observation : 
 A. (the leader) had ace, king, two small spades (trumps) ; 
 tierce major, two other clubs ; two diamonds and two 
 hearts. B. (left-hand adversary), queen, three small 
 trumps ; tierce major and two other diamonds, three 
 hearts, one club. C. (A.'s partner), knave and one small 
 trump ; ace, king, long suit of hearts ; diamonds and 
 one club. D., three trumps, one heart; diamonds, and 
 clubs. B. and D. were three love. A. led a trump which 
 was won with the knave by C'who (instead of returning 
 the lead) led hearts, which were trumped the second 
 round by D.; who then led a diamond and established a 
 kind of sea-saw, B. winning with diamonds, and D. 
 trumping hearts. To stop this, A. over-trumped with 
 his king, and led his ace of trumps ; leaving B. with 
 the queen and another. B. trumped the second lead of 
 clubs, drew the remaining trumps, made his remaining 
 diamonds, and won the game. If C. had returned the 
 trump, he and his partner musi have won the game, 
 and might easily have made every trick but one ; for, 
 after three rounds of trumps, A. would have forced the 
 queen, re-established his suit with his remaining trump, 
 and then, instructed by his partner's discards of dia- 
 monds, have led hearts. From the moment the second 
 lead of hearts began there was, demonstrably, no man- 
 ner of play by which he could save the game, much less 
 win it. C.'s excuse for not returning the trump was 
 that she (it is commonly a fair amateur who reasons in 
 this fashion) kept it to trump her partner's strong suit, 
 clubs. Playing out high cards before returning' the 
 trump is incurring the very risk the trump lead is in- 
 tended to obviate. 
 
1KIlbt6t anD WibieUt^la^cte 63 
 
 " It [asking for trumps] consists in throwing away an 
 unnecessarily high card, and it is requisite to pay great 
 attention to this definition. Thus, if you have the 
 deuce and three of a suit of which two rounds are 
 played, by playing the three to the first round and the 
 deuce to the second, you have signified to your partner 
 your wish that he should lead a trump as soon as he 
 gets the lead. The same with any other higher card 
 played unnecessarily before a lower." 
 
 Mr. Clay, after a satisfactory defence of its 
 fairness, goes on to contend that this signal 
 should never be given simply because the 
 demandant would rather have trumps played 
 upon the whole. He regards it as tantamount 
 to saying: **I am so strong that, if you have 
 anything to assist me, I answer for the game, 
 or, at least, for a great score. Throw all your 
 strength into my hand, abandon your own 
 game, at least lead me a trump, and leave the 
 rest to me." 
 
 So grave does the resulting responsibility ap- 
 pear to this master of the art, that, he tells us, 
 it is not in his recollection that he ever took 
 this liberty with his partner when he held less 
 than four trumps, two honors, or five trumps, 
 one honor, along with cards in his or (ob- 
 
64 Wibiet 1Klugget0 
 
 viously) in his partner's hand which made the 
 fall of the trumps very plainly advantageous, 
 adding : ** I am far from saying, that with the 
 strength in trumps which I have described, it 
 is always, or even generally, advisable to ask 
 for trumps. I have only ventured to lay down 
 that which, in my opinion, should be the 
 minimum." 
 
 Upon this conventional understanding, a 
 partner with two or three trumps should lead 
 the best, and if it makes, follow with the next 
 best : with ace, queen, and another, lead the 
 ace, then the queen, and then the other, unless 
 checked by an indication that either adversary 
 has no more. With four, unless headed by the 
 ace, lead the lowest, with an ace and others, 
 the ace. Keeping in view the main object, the 
 strengthening of your partner, no player of 
 ordinary sagacity can be at a loss how to meet 
 a call for trumps. 
 
 In returning a lead, whether in plain suits or 
 trumps, if you have not decided strength, you 
 should be guided by the same principle of 
 self-sacrifice. Having only three originally, 
 
Wibiet anD TObiets^lplai^ers 65 
 
 you should return the best ; with four or more 
 originally, the lowest. Thus, with ace, ten, 
 three, and deuce, you should win with the 
 ace, and return the deuce. With ace, ten, and 
 deuce only, you win with the ace and return 
 the ten. This not only strengthens your part- 
 ner ; it enables him to count your hand : 
 
 " In trumps, for instance, when he holds one, with 
 only one other left against him, he will very frequently 
 know, as surely as if he looked into your hand, whether 
 that other trump is held by you, or by an adversary. It 
 follows from the above that you should not fail to remark 
 the card in your own lead, which your partner returns 
 to you, and whether that which he plays to the third 
 round is higher or lower than that which he returned." 
 
 The principle is partially applicable to origi- 
 nal leads. Thus, if you have only two or three 
 cards of a suit with nothing higher than a 
 knave, lead the highest : if you are compelled 
 to lead from ace, king, or queen, and a small 
 one, lead the highest ; and it is occasionally 
 right with queen and two small ones, to lead 
 the queen, thereby giving your partner the 
 option of passing it, and at all events strength- 
 ening him where you are weak. 
 
 The safest leads are from sequences ; and the 
 
66 mibist nwQQcte 
 
 rule in dealing with them is to lead the highest 
 and put on the lowest.* But there are marked 
 exceptions. In all suits, with ace and king, 
 you begin with the king ; but in trumps with a 
 major sequence of three or more, you begin 
 with the lowest, because if the lower are not 
 taken, your partner will infer that you have the 
 higher ; but if with three or four honors in plain 
 suits, you begin with the queen or knave, your 
 partner (if weak in trumps) might feel justified 
 in trumping. Bearing in mind that the odds 
 are four to one against a suit going round a 
 third time without a renounce, you will see at 
 a glance why a less venturesome course must 
 be pursued with plain suits than with trumps ; 
 at all events, till trumps are exhausted. Thus, 
 you play off your ace and king in a plain suit 
 instead of beginning with a small one ; with 
 king, queen, and others, you lead the king in 
 plain suits, and a small one in trumps. 
 
 There are some other fixed original leads 
 (specified in the books) which must be kept in 
 
 * This rule does not apply to jw3-sec[uences. Thus with 
 king, ten, nine, eight, you lead the eight. 
 
mblet auD mbi6t=plasei*6 67 
 
 mind, not only for your own direction in lead- 
 ing, but to enable you to draw inferences from 
 what your partner or adversary has led. Thus 
 with ace and four small cards (in plain suits), 
 the ace : with ace and three, the lowest.* With 
 ace, queen, knave, with or without others, the 
 ace, then the queen. With an honor and three 
 or more small cards, or with four or more small 
 cards (not headed by a sequence), the lowest. 
 For leads further on in the game, you may de- 
 rive important information from the discard. 
 A good player always discards from his weak 
 suit, or from the suit he does not wish led to him. 
 There is no commoner or stronger sign of igno- 
 rance or inattention than instantly leading, with- 
 out a defined motive, the suit from which your 
 partner has first thrown away. As the game pro- 
 ceeds, also, you will of course prefer leading 
 through the strong hand and up to the weak. 
 Do not lead to force your partner, or on the 
 chance of forcing him, unless you are strong in 
 
 * This is one of the points in which the best Paris play- 
 ers differ from the E)nglish. With ace and three small 
 cards, they play the ace. Another is in leading from 
 king, knave, ten in trumps; they lead the knave; we 
 the ten. 
 
68 TObtst muggeta 
 
 trumps. We say *' or on the chance of forcing,** 
 for nothing is more common than after playing 
 ace and king, to lead a third round in the hope 
 that the partner will win with the queen or 
 trump. If he is strong in trumps, this is bad 
 either way ; for assuming him to have the best 
 card, the odds are that it will be trumped, 
 whereas he might have got out trumps and 
 made it. 
 
 Mr. Clay lays down that four trumps with an 
 honor is the minimum strength that justifies a 
 force without a peculiar object, such as securing 
 a double ruff or making sure of a trick to win 
 or save the game, or unless your partner has 
 been forced and has not led a trump, or unless 
 he has invited the force, or unless the adversary 
 has led or asked for trumps. '* This last excep- 
 tion," he says, *'is the slightest of the justifica- 
 tions for forcing your partner when you are 
 weak in trumps, but it is in most cases a suf- 
 ficient apology." We cannot think so. If the 
 adversary has led or asked for trumps, and you 
 are weak in them, you should do all you can to 
 strengthen instead of weakening your partner ; 
 
imibiat ant) WibisU^l^^cxs 69 
 
 instead of forcing htnij force the trump-asking 
 or tnimp-leading adversary. This is the best 
 use of good cards when the strength in trumps 
 has been declared against 5^ou : but take care 
 that it is the ^/r6>;/^ adversary you force. *'It 
 follows that there can be but few whist offences 
 more heinous than forcing your partner when 
 he has led a trump (or refused to trump), and 
 you are yourself not very strong in them." 
 
 The following is a golden rule which should 
 prevent an infinity of hesitation : ''With four 
 trumps, do not trump an uncertain card, t.e,^ 
 one which your partner may be able to win. 
 With less than four trumps, and no honor, trump 
 an uncertain card." With a king and one, or 
 the queen and two small trumps also, it is 
 clearly wrong to trump an uncertain card, as it 
 is when trumps have been played, and you 
 have the best trump left, with a losing card to 
 throw away. There are occasions also when it 
 is advisable to give a trick with the view of 
 getting led up to, but Mr. Clay says : " Do not 
 give away a certain trick by refusing to ruff, or 
 otherwise, unless you see a fair chance of mak- 
 
70 Mbtst IRuQQcts 
 
 ing two by your forbearance.*' Young players 
 should be especially cautioned against giving 
 away sure tricks. They sometimes suffer two 
 or three tricks to be made in a long suit by 
 withholding the long trump, though they have 
 nothing else to do with it. 
 
 On the other hand, eagerness to trump with 
 strength in trumps shows ignorance or defiance 
 of all sound principle ; for you weaken yourself, 
 and you deceive your partner, besides depriving 
 him of the advantage of his position as fourth 
 player, with possibly a commanding tenace. If 
 a good player trumps a doubtful card, the in- 
 ference is that he is weak in trumps ; if he 
 refuses, that he has four at least, or a guarded 
 honor ; if he refuses to trump a known winning 
 card, take it for granted that he is strong, and 
 at the very first opportunity lead a trump. It 
 is usual when the ace of trumps is a singleton, 
 to lead it at once ; your partner understands 
 that you have no more, and has the option of 
 resuming the lead and drawing two for one. 
 This lead cannot, like a lead from another 
 singleton, mislead or entrap your partner. 
 
By leading a singleton ace in a plain suit, 
 besides inviting a force, you give up the chance 
 of catching an adversary's honor, and the only 
 contingency against you (an improbable one) is 
 your partner leading the king. The lead of a 
 singleton king is wrong, except in trumps when 
 your partner has turned up an ace. Always con- 
 sider before leading what inference your part- 
 ner will be entitled to draw from your lead, and 
 what effect it may have upon his hand, as by 
 sacrificing one of his best cards without benefit- 
 ing you. 
 
 The play of the Second Hand is more easily 
 reducible to rule than that of the first. The 
 cases of most frequent application are detailed 
 in the books. Mr. Clay says : 
 
 ** Playing high cards, when second to play, unless 
 your suit is headed by two or more high cards of equal 
 value, or unless to cover a high card, is to be carefully 
 avoided. 
 
 " With two or three cards of the suit played, cover a 
 high card. Play a king, or a queen, on a knave, or ten, 
 etc. 
 
 '* With four cards, or more, of the suit played, do not 
 cover, unless the second best of your suit is also a valu- 
 able card. Thus with a king or queen, and three or 
 more small cards, do not cover a high card ; but if, along 
 
72 llHlbist nnggcU 
 
 with your king or queen, you hold the ten, or even the 
 nine, cover a queen or a knave. 
 
 " With king and another, not being trumps, do not 
 play your king, unless to cover a high card. 
 
 ** With king and another, being trumps, play your 
 king." 
 
 The reason he gives for this distinction is, that 
 the ace is not generally led from except in 
 trumps, but this is only true of the higher order 
 of players, who see the value of an ace as a card 
 of re-entry. 
 
 **With queen and another," he continues, 
 " whether trumps or not, play your small card, 
 unless to cover." Despite of this recognized 
 maxim, many respectable players are constant- 
 ly trying to snatch a trick with the queen, and 
 exult in their occasional success ; forgetting 
 that the maxim is based on a careful calculation 
 of the chances, and that the conventional 
 language is confused by contravening it. 
 
 With knave, ten, or nine, and one small card, 
 play the small card, unless to cover. With 
 king, queen, and one or more small cards, play 
 the queen, except in trumps, when circum- 
 stances may justify you in giving your partner 
 
TObtst anD 1imbi6t==ipla^er6 73 
 
 a chance of making the trick. The rationale 
 
 of the general rule, to play your lowest card 
 
 second, is given by Cavendish : 
 
 "You presume that the first hand has led from strength, 
 and if you have a high card in his suit, you lie over him 
 when it is led again ; whereas, if you play your high 
 card second hand, you get rid of a commanding card of 
 the adversary's suit, and when it is returned, the 
 original leader finesses against you. Besides this the 
 third player will put on his highest card, and, if it is 
 better than yours, you have wasted power to no purpose." 
 
 In the first lead, therefore, if you have ace 
 and queen with strength in trumps, you play a 
 small card second hand, and wait for the re- 
 turn, the chances being that the lead is from 
 the king. If the lead is a knave or any other 
 card indicating weakness, put on the ace. Put- 
 ting the queen (when you have ace, queen) on 
 the knave (a common practice) is simply sacri- 
 ficing her if the king is with the third player, 
 and uselessly destroying your tenace if the king 
 is with the fourth (your partner). The king 
 (except in one rare contingency) must be be- 
 hind you. The lead of ten or nine may be 
 either from weakness or strength ; and (with 
 ace, queen) you must be guided by circumstan- 
 
74 Wbtst nm&cte 
 
 ces, by the usual play of your adversary, by the 
 state of your own hand, or (if the lead is not the 
 first) by such indications as may have occurred. 
 With ace, queen, ten, play the queen. With 
 ace, queen, knave, or with ace, queen, knave, 
 ten, etc., the lowest of the sequence. With 
 ace, king, knave, the king : then (in trumps, 
 or if strong in trumps) wait for the chance of 
 finessing or of catching the queen. With ace, 
 king, and others in plain suits, the king ; in 
 trumps the lowest, unless you wish to stop the 
 lead and give your partner a ruff. It is per- 
 emptorily laid down : '* Play an ace on a knave. '^ 
 But surely this cannot be always right in trumps, 
 for it gives up the command at once, and ful- 
 fils the precise purpose of the leader, which is 
 presumably to clear the way for his partner. 
 With ace and four small ones, some put on the 
 ace second hand for the same reason which in- 
 duces them to lead it with the same number of 
 the suit. But the cases are essentially distinct ; 
 for by playing the ace second hand, you know- 
 ingly give up the advantage of lying over the 
 leader in his strong suit. In our opinion, it 
 
Iimblst anD Timb(0ts=ipla^cr6 75 
 
 should not be so played, unless you have more 
 than four others of the suit, and are weak in 
 trumps. By '' weak '* or "strong " in trumps in 
 all such contingencies is meant, are you, or 
 (presumably) your partner, strong enough to 
 draw the adversary's trumps and prevent the 
 reserved cards from being trumped ? You have 
 little chance of attaining this desirable object 
 with less than four, including the ace or two 
 honors, and you will probably come to grief if 
 you attempt it with inadequate means. 
 
 The play of the Third Hand involves the the- 
 ory of the finesse, on which M. Deschapelles 
 has left a fragment which makes us regret the 
 want of his great work as we regret the lost 
 books of lyivy or the unreported speeches of 
 Bolingbroke. "In the high cards," he says, "the 
 simple finesse is almost mechanical : nobody 
 fails to practise it. There are, however, many 
 cases which do not allow of it. We should 
 habituate ourselves to keep the organ of atten- 
 tion constantly on the qui vive^ so as only to do 
 by choice and after balancing the advantages, 
 the things which seem to belong to routine. A 
 
7^> IKIlbist mu^geta 
 
 moment of distraction or forgetfulness, and 
 you haply fall into a fault which will ruin your 
 reputation. I have seen skilful players finesse 
 in a trick which would have given them the 
 game, and others commit the same blunder in 
 the last trick but one, with a trump in. Censure 
 has no mercy for them ; its thousand sharp and 
 quick tongues are multiplied to defame you ; 
 you cannot appear anywhere for a week without 
 running the gauntlet of an exaggerated recital 
 and a mortifying inquiry." 
 
 Nor is the punishment one whit too severe. 
 In whist clubs or circles, a list of the grossest 
 offenders should be hung up for a week, like 
 the list of offenders against public decency in 
 the parks, or of the defaulters or lame ducks 
 on the Stock Exchange. We do not mean such 
 offences as forgetting or mistaking a card, but 
 such as forcing a partner who has led trumps 
 or refused to trump, or finessing in the trick by 
 which the game might be saved or won, such, 
 in short, as the commonest discretion and the 
 merest modicum of good sense would obviate. 
 Habitual carelessness also merits severe repre- 
 
Wibi6t anD mbt6t:*lIMa^er6 77 
 
 hension, such as playing a higher card instead 
 of a lower, even a five instead of a four, or 
 vice versa, contrary to the fixed rules of the 
 game. The last player, not being able to win 
 the seven, plays the six ; his partner takes for 
 granted that he has no more, refrains from a 
 meditated lead of trumps, plays for a ruff 
 and finds him with the five ! In a trump lead, 
 the third player with ace, six, four, three, 
 wins with the ace, returns the four, and after- 
 wards plays the three. His partner, taking it 
 for granted that he has played the best of fwo 
 remaining cards and that the remaining trump, 
 the six, is in an adversary's hand, draws it and 
 haply loses the game. If he had returned the 
 three, and afterwards played the four, his part- 
 ner would have known to a certaintj^ that the 
 remaining trump was in his hand. 
 
 To the same category belongs the playing 
 false cards. "I hold in abhorrence the play- 
 ing false cards," is the emphatic denunciation 
 of Mr. Clay. With exceptions, which he ad- 
 mits, we completely go along with him ; and 
 the practice may fairly be called un-Knglish ; 
 
78 mbiet nwQQcte 
 
 for (he states), * ' French players are dangerously- 
 addicted to false cards, and the Americans 
 rarely play the right card if they have one 
 to play which is likely to deceive everybody. 
 They play for their own hands alone — the 
 worst fault I know in a whist-player." He 
 puts the case of your partner winning with 
 the highest instead of the lowest, as with the 
 ace instead of the king, whence you assume 
 that the king is against you and find the whole 
 scheme of your game destroyed. But take the 
 every-day case — with the king led presumably 
 from ace and king — of dropping the queen 
 instead of the knave, in the hope of stopping 
 the suit. The suit is stopped, but your partner 
 may be mischievously deceived ; for, on your 
 having or not having the knave, depends the 
 entire quality of your hand and the course of 
 combined action he should pursue. False cards, 
 therefore should never be played unless at a 
 period of the game when your partner is prac- 
 tically /lors de combat^ or when he is incapable 
 of drawing the ordinary inferences which will 
 be drawn by your adversaries. '* Why did you 
 
mbiet mb Timbt6ts=pla^er6 79 
 
 play that card ? " was the question incautiously 
 put to a good player by an astonished by- 
 stander. '* For the very sufficient reason," was 
 the answer, in a loud stage whisper, ''that my 
 partner is a muffy 
 
 Habitual hesitation, also, is a very grave 
 fault. It is by turns unfair as enlightening 
 your partner and indiscreet as giving hints to 
 your adversaries. Indicating the quality of the 
 hand in any manner, by word or gesture, should 
 be suppressed by a penalty ; and any player 
 who says he has the game in his hand, should 
 lay his cards on the table and submit to have 
 them called. Cards thrown down should always 
 be called, for otherwise an unfair advantage is 
 obtained; all liability to a mistake in playing 
 them being thereby avoided ; and the practice 
 should be discountenanced as wasting instead 
 of saving both time and temper by the discus- 
 sion it creates. Like Mrs. Battle we are de- 
 cidedly for '' a clear fire, a clean hearth, and 
 the rigor of the game." ^ Unless the laws are 
 
 * Elia. First Series — Hazlitt, although, like a certain 
 dignified ornament of the church, constantly in hot 
 water, was not equally remarkable for clean hands. 
 
8o Timblet mugoet6 
 
 regularly enforced, any occasional enforcement 
 of them is open to the imputation of an unfair 
 advantage ; so that uniform strictness is most 
 favorable to a good understanding. 
 
 A moment's pause before the opening — and no 
 good player will need more — for the formation 
 of a plan is not to be confounded with hesita- 
 tion. ''This moment," observes M. Descha- 
 pelles, ''will be amply compensated: it may 
 save ten ; for the cards will flow rapidly as 
 consequences ; your adversaries will be unable 
 to draw inferences ; and your partner, catching 
 confidence from your self-possession, will be- 
 come charged with the electric spark which 
 fuses the moi into the intelligent and co-oper- 
 ating nous,'''' 
 
 But we are digressing and must return to the 
 
 finesse, which depends so much on inference 
 
 and the state of the score, that few general 
 
 maxims can be laid down. Imprimis^ the only 
 
 finesse permissible in your partner's long suit 
 
 (his first lead) is from ace and queen. If the 
 
 E)lia (Charles I^amb), playing whist with him, dryly ob- 
 served : "If dirt was trumps, what hands you would 
 hold." 
 
Timbl6t ant) mbieWS^la^cte si 
 
 queen wins, immediately return the ace in 
 trumps, and also in plain suits, unless there are 
 symptoms of trumping. In that case, play 
 trumps, if you are strong enough ; otherwise 
 change the suit, and wait to see what your 
 partner will do ; or, if you have a good trump, 
 though weak, play it to strengthen him. A 
 good player will, of course, finesse more fre- 
 quently, and more deeply, in trumps than in 
 plain suits, because he is generally sure of 
 making the reserved card, and of making it at 
 the most favorable moment. Thus, if with ace, 
 king, and knave, he finesses the knave and 
 loses it, he is still in a better position than if 
 he had played his king and left the queen 
 guarded and held up behind him. With ace, 
 knave, ten (in trumps), the ten may be finessed 
 if two immediate rounds are not required. 
 When weak in trumps, finesse deeply in the 
 suit in which your partner is weak. This, 
 though contrary to the general practice, is 
 strongly recommended by Mr. Clay. The 
 finesse of knave from king, knave, cannot be 
 
 recommended unless your partner has obvi- 
 6 
 
82 ' TObiet nmQcte 
 
 ously led from weakness. Your partner wins 
 with the queen and returns the lead with a 
 small card : with king, ten, finesse the ten, for 
 the ace is certainly held over you, and if the 
 knave is in the same hand, you must lose both 
 any way. This is an instance of what is called 
 the finesse obligatory. 
 
 The chief difficulty of the Fourth Hand is in 
 discriminating the rare instances in which the 
 trick should not be taken. You have three 
 cards left : ace, knave, and a small one ; your 
 adversary with king, queen, ten, leads the king. 
 If you take the king, you win one trick ; if you 
 allow it to make, you win two. There are also 
 occasions when you give the trick in order to 
 compel the adversary to lead up to you in 
 another suit. A common ruse (which Mr. Clay 
 strongly condemns) is to hold up the ace when 
 you have ace and knave and the adversary has 
 led the king from king and queen. This is 
 dangerous out of trumps, or unless you are very 
 strong in trumps and want to establish the suit, 
 and then your partner may trump the second 
 round and be carried off on a wrong scent. In 
 
Wbt6t an^ T3mbi5t*pla^er6 83 
 
 trumps, the opportunity can rarely arise with 
 good players. An ace may sometimes be kept 
 back with telling effect, not only in trumps, 
 but with ace and four small cards in a plain 
 suit ; the trumps being out or with you, and 
 three tricks required to win or save the game. 
 If no other player has more than three, and the 
 ace is kept back till the third round, the three 
 tricks are secured. 
 
 But an inexperienced player cannot be recom- 
 mended to risk a stroke of this kind ; neither 
 should we recommend him to resort to under- 
 play^ until he has advanced far enough to be 
 initiated into the mysteries of the g-rand coup:'' 
 Play the plain, unpretending, unambitious 
 game, till the higher and finer class of combi- 
 nations break upon you. On the other hand, 
 don't shun any amount of justifiable risk. If, 
 looking to the score and the number of tricks 
 
 * The grand coup is getting rid of a superfluous trump 
 which may compel you to win a trick and take the lead 
 when you do not want it. It was the master-stroke, the 
 coup de Jarnac, of Deschapelles. Underplay is when, re- 
 taining the best of a suit, you play a small one in the 
 hope that your left-hand adversary will hold up the 
 second best and allow your partner to make the trick 
 with a lower card. 
 
TKHblst flu^gete 
 
 on the table, a desperate measure is called for, 
 risk it ; if great strength in trumps in your 
 partner's hand is required to save the game, 
 play your best trump, however weak in them. 
 All ordinary rules must be set aside in this 
 emergency ; every available force must be in- 
 stantly called into the field. Here is the crisis 
 in which you must lead the king with only one 
 small one in his train : as at Fontenoy and 
 Steinkirk, there is nothing for it but for the 
 niaison du roi to charge. There are moments 
 in whist when a coup d^ceil is wanted like that 
 of the dying Marmion : 
 
 " I^et Stanley charge with spur of fire, 
 With Chester charge and lyancashire, 
 Full upon Scotland's central host, 
 Or victory and [England's lost. ' ' 
 
 One of the chosen few being asked what he 
 deemed the distinctive excellence of a fine 
 player, replied, ** playing to the point." Such 
 a player plays almost every hand differently 
 without once departing from the conventional 
 language of the game. It is an excellence 
 rarely attained or appreciated ; and the great 
 
Timbl6t anD OTbi6t==iIMa^er0 85 
 
 majority of players play on just the same what- 
 ever the state of the score or the number of 
 tricks already made on either side. They not 
 only run risks to secure three tricks when they 
 only want one : we have seen a gentleman 
 playing for the odd trick with six tricks made 
 against him, deliberately give away the seventh 
 by declining to trump for fear of being over- 
 trumped ! We have seen another take out the 
 card that would have won the game, look at it, 
 fumble with it, and then put it back again. 
 Nelson told his captains at Trafalgar that any 
 one of them who did not see his way clearly 
 could not go far wrong if he laid his ship along- 
 side a ship of the enemy. No whist-player can 
 go far wrong who wins a trick when the game 
 is growing critical. We do not say with Hoyle : 
 ** Whenever you are in doubt, win the trick "; 
 for we have heard puzzle-headed people appeal 
 to this maxim after trumping the leading card 
 of their partner's long suit, or trumping a doubt- 
 ful card with the solitary guard to a king or 
 with one of four trumps which constituted their 
 strength. But we say : when you are in doubt 
 
86 mbist nnggcte 
 
 with the adverse pack of tricks dangerously 
 mounting up, win the trick. Hesitation with- 
 out knowledge makes matters worse. Instead 
 of snatching a grace beyond the reach of art, 
 the hesitating player commonly commits a 
 blunder beyond the reach of speculation, and 
 tempts one to exclaim with Johnson: ''You 
 must have taken great pains with yourself, sir ; 
 you could not naturally have been so very 
 stupid." 
 
 Few readers can have forgotten the bitter 
 comment of Rasselas after Imlac had enumer- 
 ated the qualities needed to excel in poetry : 
 " Knough, thou hast convinced me that no 
 human being can ever be a poet." An enu- 
 meration of the qualities needed to shine in 
 whist might provoke a similar retort. In the 
 famous passage which Mr. Disraeli borrowed 
 from M. Thiers, describing the qualifications 
 and responsibilities of a great commander, we 
 find : *' At the same moment he must think of 
 the eve and the morrow — of his flanks and his 
 reserve : he must calculate at the same time 
 the state of the weather and the moral qualities 
 
Timbi0t auD OTbi6t:=iIMa^er0 87 
 
 of his men. * ^ * Not only must he think 
 — he must think with the rapidity of light- 
 ning; for on a moment more or less depends 
 the fate of the finest combinations, and on 
 a moment more or less depends the glory 
 or the shame. Doubtless all this may be 
 done in an ordinary manner by an ordinary 
 man ; as we see every day of our lives ordinary 
 men making successful ministers of state, suc- 
 cessful speakers, successful authors. But to do 
 all this with genius is sublime." 
 
 Something very similar might be said of a 
 great whist-player, — indeed, has been said by 
 M. Deschapelles, who was himself the great sub- 
 lime he drew. He must watch and draw infer- 
 ences from three hands besides his own ; he 
 must play twenty-six cards instead of thirteen ; 
 he must follow the shifting condition of four 
 suits ; he must calculate, at the same time, each 
 phase of the game, and the moral and mental 
 qualities of the players. Are they strong or 
 weak, bold or cautious, frank or tricky and 
 given to false cards ? He must think with in- 
 tuitive rapidity and sagacity. If he miscalcu- 
 
88 WibxBt tinggcte 
 
 lates, or loses the key to a single combination, 
 he is lost. We see ordinary men making tol- 
 erably good whist-players, but the fine whist- 
 player is as rare as the great commander ; and 
 to the beau tdia I one might be applied what the 
 Irishman predicated of a finished Irish gentle- 
 man — that there would be nothing like him in 
 the world, if you could but meet with him. 
 
 Not only did we never meet with or hear of a 
 whist-player who could venture to boast with 
 Turenne that he never fought a battle that he 
 did not deserve to win ; but we have heard an 
 excellent one adopt the aphorism, attributed to 
 the Iron Duke, that a battle was a game in 
 which those who made the fewest blunders won. 
 Or a parallel maybe drawn between the paladin 
 of the whist-table and the damsel in the Vaude- 
 ville who took her married sister's fault upon 
 herself, and is thus apostrophized by her 
 brother-in-law: "Quoi! vous, Marie, vous, la 
 Vertu meme ! " Her reply is exquisite for 
 feminine self-knowledge and tact : *' Oh ! la 
 Vertu, la Vertu ! tout le monde a ses heures ou 
 ses moments.'^ The most consummate skill, 
 
1imbt6t and mbtst^BMa^ere 
 
 like Virtue herself, is not safe against a slip. 
 Did not the late Barl Granville lose a rubber, 
 after giving the long odds in thousands, by for- 
 getting the seven of hearts ? Did not Henry 
 Lord de Roos lose one on which three thousand 
 pounds was staked by miscounting a trump ? 
 Did not, only the other day, the Daniel or 
 Gamaliel of the Arlington fail to detect a palpa- 
 ble revoke, to the astonishment and (it must be 
 owned) gratification of the by-standers, some 
 of whom went home consoled and elevated in 
 their own self-esteem by his default ? 
 
 But let no one hurry to the conclusion that 
 skill is of minor importance because it is 
 sometimes found tripping, or because the fine 
 player may be often seen vainly struggling 
 against cards, when, like the good man strug- 
 gling against adversity, he is a spectacle for the 
 gods. ''Human life," writes Jeremy Taylor, 
 *4s like playing at tables; the luck is not in 
 our power, but the playing the game is. ' ' For 
 "playing at tables," read whist. Independent- 
 ly of the intellectual gratification, skill will 
 prove an ample and material remuneration in 
 
90 TWlblBt VinggctB 
 
 the long run for the pains bestowed in acquiring 
 it. If only one trick per hand were won or lost 
 by play, the percentage would be immense ; 
 but two or three tricks per hand are frequently 
 so won or lost. We have repeatedly in a single 
 sitting seen bad players score three or four with 
 hands which, held by good players, would in- 
 fallibly have made the game. With tolerably 
 equal cards, play must turn the balance : with 
 fortune pro^ it indefinitely increases the gain ; 
 with fortune C07iy it indefinitely diminishes the 
 loss. It must have been the effect of irritability 
 after losing to bunglers that made high authori- 
 ties deny so obvious a truth. We are quite sure 
 that in their cooler moments they would agree 
 with us. 
 
 A curious piece of evidence bearing on this 
 subject was given at the De Roos trial by a dis- 
 tinguished whist-player, who stated that he had 
 played regularly for about the same stakes dur- 
 ing twenty years ; that his winnings had aver- 
 aged ;^i,5oo a year, making ^30,000 in the ag- 
 gregate, but that he had two consecutive years 
 of ill-luck, during which he lost ;^8,ooo. An- 
 
IKHblet anD WibieUt>l^>QCve 91 
 
 other witness, a captain in the navy, who had 
 realized a regular income by his skill, was 
 asked whether he was not in the habit of din- 
 ing on boiled chicken and lemonade when he 
 had serious w^ork in hand ; and the alleged 
 training (which he denied) was no imputation 
 on his sagacity. No man flushed with food or 
 wine, vinoque ciboque gravatus, will play his 
 best. 
 
 Although many of the best players play high, 
 the highest players are by no means uniformly 
 the best. It was stated from melancholy expe- 
 rience by De Quincey, that opium-eating in the 
 earlier stages produces none of the beneficial 
 or pleasurable effects ; not till it has grown 
 into a habit does the inspiring or soothing in- 
 fluence begin. It is the same with high play, 
 which unduly excites and agitates for a season ; 
 although, if the purse and constitution hold 
 out, it has been known to sharpen the obser- 
 vation and concentrate the attention to the 
 utmost point which the player's natural capa- 
 bilities enable him to reach. But this turning 
 a relaxation and a pleasure into a business and 
 
92 TlHlbi6t Iftug^ete 
 
 a toil, is to be deprecated, not recommended ; 
 and a wise man (pecuniary considerations apart) 
 would rather give up whist altogether, than be 
 compelled to play it under the implied condi- 
 tion that he was to keep his mind eternally 
 upon the strain. It was this consideration pos- 
 sibly that drove Charles James Fox to hazard, 
 although he boasted that he could gain ;^4,ooo 
 a year at w^hist if he chose to set about 
 it. Major Aubrey, who had tried both, de- 
 clared that the greatest pleasure in life was 
 winning at whist, — the next greatest pleasure, 
 losing. 
 
 Women, particularly young women, should 
 never play for sums which it is inconvenient to 
 them to lose ; and a sum which is immaterial 
 to a man of independent means may create an 
 alarming deficit in a female budget dependent 
 on an allowance of pin-money. The feminine 
 organization is opposed to their ever getting 
 beyond the excitable perturbed fluttered stage : 
 their hands may be read in their faces ; they 
 play recklessly to shorten the torment of sus- 
 pense ; and it is fortunate if, along with their 
 
Wibiet anO WihisU^la^ctB 93 
 
 money, they do not lose both their temper and 
 their good looks : 
 
 " And one degrading hour of sordid fear, 
 Stamp in a night the wrinkles of a year." 
 
 The charge of comparative disregard of truth 
 
 which the male sex, with or without reason, 
 
 are wont to bring against the female, derives 
 
 plausibility from an effect stated by Byron : 
 
 " The pretty creatures fib with such a grace, 
 There's nothing so becoming to the face." 
 
 Upon this principle they should certainly 
 avoid high play at any game, for there is noth- 
 ing so unhecotning to the face. Hogarth's 
 print of The Lady^s Lost Stake suggests an- 
 other danger, which is also hinted at in The 
 Provoked Husband : 
 
 '^ Lord Townley : 'Tis not your ill hours that always 
 disturb me, but as often the ill company that occasion 
 these hours. 
 
 ^^ Lady Townley : Sure, I don't understand you now, 
 my lord. What ill company do I keep ? 
 
 ** Lord Townley : Why, at best, women that lose their 
 money, and men that win it ; or perhaps men that are 
 voluntary bubbles at one game in hopes a lady will give 
 them fair play at another. ' ' 
 
 When whist is merely taken up as one of the 
 weapons of coquetry, there is no great mis- 
 
94 Timblst nnggctB 
 
 chief to be apprehended ; although kcarti or 
 chess would seem more suited to the purpose, 
 and give better hope of a situation like that of 
 Ferdinand and Miranda. ** Sweet lord, you 
 play me false," is ill replaced by '' Sweet lady, 
 you have revoked." 
 
 Henri Beyle (Stendhal), musing over an 
 interrupted liaison and a lost illusion, ex- 
 claims : ''After all, her conduct is rational. 
 She was fond of whist. She is fond of it no 
 longer : so much the worse for me if I am still 
 fond of whist." So much the better for him, 
 as he had still an inexhaustible resource ; and 
 he would have gained nothing by abandoning 
 it. She was no longer fond of whist, because 
 she was no longer fond of him. 
 
 It is a common fallacy, mischievously rife 
 amongst the fair sex, that without the gift of 
 extraordinary memory, it is impossible to be- 
 come a good whist-player ; the fact being that 
 memory has little or nothing to do with the real 
 understanding or finest points of the game. 
 What, for instance, has memory to do with the 
 opening lead, which has the same relative im- 
 
TKHblet art^ 'MbisUpln^cvs 95 
 
 portance that Lord Lyndhurst attributed to the 
 opening speech in a cause ? What has memory 
 to do with trumping or not trumping a doubtful 
 card ; or with returning the best with three and 
 the lowest with four ; or with returning the 
 trump lead immediately ; or with answering 
 the call for trumps ; or with taking the trick 
 that wins or saves the game ; or with number- 
 less emergencies in which you have only to 
 look at your hand, the tricks on the table, and 
 the score ? 
 
 Of course a certain number of rules and max- 
 ims must be learnt ; but it is not more difficult 
 to learn these than to learn the Catechism ; and 
 a lady might as reasonably complain that she 
 could not become a good Christian for want of 
 memory, as that she could not become a good 
 whist-player by reason of that defect ; which, 
 in nine cases out of ten, is purely imaginary. 
 People remember well enough what they care 
 to remember, or what fixes their attention by 
 interesting them. This depends on character, 
 habits, and powers of appreciation. Whilst 
 the man of cultivated taste and fine sense of 
 
96 Wibiet nm^cte 
 
 humor is laying up a stock of choice anecdotes 
 and fine passages, an old maid in a country 
 town will be growing into the living chronicle 
 of all the scandalous gossip of the last fifty 
 years, complaining all the time of her memory. 
 The measures are the same, but the one is filled 
 with pearls of price, and the other with glass 
 beads and knicknackery. The discriminating 
 reminiscent, instead of being envied for memory, 
 should be commended for refined observation, 
 judgment, quickness of perception, and apropos. 
 Alleged forgetfulness at whist, as in most 
 other things, is far more frequently inattention 
 than forgetfulness. The fall of the cards has 
 not been watched, and the proper inferences 
 have not been drawn at the moment. A player 
 cannot be said to have forgotten what he never 
 knew. If, for example, at the end of a second 
 round, he had clearly drawn the inference that 
 the best card remained with one adversary and 
 that the other had no more of the suit, this 
 state of things would suggest itself naturally 
 and without any effort when the suit was 
 played again : 
 
Wibiet anD Wibieutfl^^cxe 97 
 
 " with care [says Mr. Clay] and with his eyes never 
 wandering from the table, each day will add to the indi- 
 cations which he will observe and understand. He will 
 find that mere memory has less to do with whist than 
 he imagines, that it matters little whether the five or 
 the six is the best card left of a suit, as long as he 
 knows, which he generally ought to know, who has 
 that best card. Memory and observation will become 
 mechanical to him, and cost him little effort, and all 
 that remains for him to do will be to calculate at his 
 ease the best way of playing his own and his partner's 
 hands, in many cases as if he saw the greater portion 
 of the cards laid face upwards on the table. He will 
 then be a fine whist-player." 
 
 Without being a fine whist-player, he may 
 be a capital second-rate, a thoroughly reliable 
 partner, and one with whom no one can be 
 dissatisfied to sit down. This is the grand 
 point, and this (we repeat) may be attained 
 with no more than the average amount of mem- 
 ory with which men and women manage to get 
 on creditably through life. One of the con- 
 fessedly best London whist-players is below 
 the average in this particular. Nor will cal- 
 ling him so appear paradoxical to any who 
 accept M. Deschapelles' division : 
 
 ** We will suppose a parabola described by a bombshell, 
 of which the culminating point shall be the seventh 
 7 
 
98 mbiet VinggctB 
 
 trick. On this side, it is invention which holds sway ; 
 on the other, it is calculation. Attention and memory 
 are at the base, whilst sagacity, seated at the top, 
 distributes the work, calls by turns on the organs 
 that are to complete it, excites and circumscribes 
 their efforts, and assigns them at the appointed mo- 
 ment the repose necessary to the restoration of their 
 strength. * * * When there are no more than five or 
 six cards remaining in the hand, the fine and delicate 
 faculties of intelligence have resigned and repose. 
 Mathematical calculation is at the helm : the simplest 
 calculation disengaged from the unknown. 1 hen it 
 is that the most commonplace player is entitled to 
 claim equality with the finest ; it is a property which 
 he has acquired by his labor ; the elements of it are 
 open to all the world. They are beyond the domain of 
 the aristocracy of the brain and the susceptibility of 
 the organs ; beyond that of poetry and imagination ; 
 but they are open to all, like the right to breathe and 
 speak good prose ! * * * with regard to sagacity, 
 how do you know that you are wanting in it ? Do but 
 apply your mind to the matter in hand, age quod agis, 
 and you will see that you have as much as another. I 
 can give as proof the manner in which people lead at 
 present ; even at our weakest parties, I am surprised 
 to see that it is almost always the right card that is led. 
 This is owing to our grande tactique, with which every 
 one is imbued." 
 
 The grande tactique is the strong or long-suit 
 system ; with which, we regret to say, every 
 one is not imbued amongst us, or we should not 
 so frequently hear, at the end of along, puzzled, 
 and unreflecting pause, '' I really do not know 
 
 I 
 
WibiBt auD 'Mbi^Upla^cte 99 
 
 what to lead." The lady or gentleman who 
 habitually indulges in this apostrophe, had 
 better say at once, *' I really do not know 
 how to play." 
 
 Every civilized country has had its Augustan 
 age or ages. We have had our Elizabethan age, 
 our age of Queen Anne, and what was also an 
 Augustan age, though yet unnamed — the age 
 when Byron, Moore, Scott, Wordsworth, 
 Coleridge, Rogers, Sydney Smith, Hallam, 
 Brougham, Canning, etc., were the central fig- 
 ures of the group. On its being recently re- 
 marked that there was nothing now coming on 
 to replace what must be soon passing away— 
 that almost all the highest reputations in all 
 walks are of full twenty years' standing or 
 more ; that we have no rising poets, artists, nov- 
 elists, or orators, — * * No ! ' ' exclaimed a far-famed 
 beauty and wit, ^' and no lady-killers such as I 
 remember in my heyday, before whom one felt 
 bound to succumb, as the belles of the Spectator 
 succumbed to Beau Fielding, when he said of 
 them: ' EHes tombent comme des mouches.* " 
 Our fair friend, who is also a competent judge 
 
Mbiet nauggete 
 
 on this subject, might have added : ** And no 
 rising whist-players of the first class ; not one 
 under middle age, who has given proofs of 
 undisputed genius." 
 
 A master of the art who has survived a gen- 
 eration, was recently asked who were the best 
 whist-players he ever knew. He instantly 
 named three : the late Earl Granville, the Hon. 
 George Anson, and Henry Lord de Roos. On 
 being asked for the fourth he paused, but there 
 was no need of hesitation : " Kd io anche sono 
 pittore. " No one would have accused him of un- 
 due assumption if he had followed the example 
 of Lamartine, who, on being asked who was the 
 first living French poet, drew himself up with 
 an air of offended dignity, and replied, " Moi." 
 The palm is popularly considered to lie between 
 Lord Henry Bentinck and Mr. Clay ; whose 
 styles are so essentially different that an in- 
 struccive parallel might be drawn between them 
 after the manner of Plutarch. 
 
 The de Roos affair was a sad blow and a tem- 
 porary discredit to whist-players, for some of 
 them were unluckily seduced into acting on the 
 
TObiet mb WibieUpl^^^cte loi 
 
 late Ivord Hertford's maxim: "What would 
 you do if you saw a man cheating at cards? '' 
 ** Bet upon him, to be sure." I/ord de Roos' 
 methods of aiding his skill were only available 
 for one hand in four — when he dealt. He then 
 contrived to turn an honor by what is called 
 sauter le coupy and having marked the higher 
 honors with his nail, he could see to whom they 
 fell. During the burst of scandalous comment 
 which followed the exposure, one of the ''bitter 
 fools" of society, who had never been admitted 
 to his intimacy, drawled out at Crockford's : 
 ** I would leave my card at his house, but I 
 fear he would mark it." The retort was ready: 
 ''That would depend on whether he considered 
 it a ^^^^ honor. " This repartee, popularly asr 
 signed to I^ord Alvanley — on ne prite qii^aux 
 riches — was made by Charles Kinnaird Sheridan 
 (the brother of the three gifted sisters of the 
 race), whose untimely and deeply regretted 
 death, in the bloom of his brilliant youth, was 
 a memento niori which not the gayest or most 
 thoughtless of his gay contemporaries could 
 speedily shake off. 
 
102 TObi0t mug^eta 
 
 " Manibus date lilia plenis : 
 Purpureos spargam fiores, animamque nepotis 
 His saltern accumulem donis, et fungar inani 
 Munere." 
 
 There is a well authenticated story of I^ord 
 Granville's devotion to whist. Intending to set 
 out in the course of the afternoon for Paris, he 
 ordered his carriage and four posters to be at 
 Graham's at four. They were kept waiting till 
 ten, when he sent out to say that he should 
 not be ready for another hour or two and that 
 the horses had better be changed ; they were 
 changed three times in all, at intervals of six 
 hours, before he started. When the party rose, 
 they were up to their ankles in cards, and the 
 ambassador (it was reported) was a loser to the 
 tune of eight or ten thousand pounds. About 
 this time there was a set at Brookes' (lyord 
 Sefton, an excellent player, being one) who 
 played hundred-guinea points besides bets. We 
 still occasionally hear of ^300 and ^500 on the 
 rubber, but five -pound points are above the 
 average ; and many of the best players are con- • 
 tent with two-pound points (ten, bet) at the 
 Arlington, and half pounds at the Portland. A 
 
Mbi6t mt> 'MbieUt^l^^cts 103 
 
 great deal of money is turned on the five to two 
 (really nearer three to one) bet on the rubber 
 after the first game. 
 
 In Paris (where the rubber counts four) the 
 points are comparatively low, much in our 
 opinion to the detriment of the game. During 
 the period comprised in M. l/ouis Blanc's" 
 Histoire des Dix AnSy the stakes at the Cercle 
 de r Union were such that Count Achille Dela- 
 marre calculated his average rubber at 2oolouis. 
 There, and afterwards at the Jockey Club, the 
 level rate was two louis and ten bet, but the 
 large ad libitum bets became so general that any 
 one who cut in without joining in them was 
 looked upon as an interloper. The principal 
 players at the Union were I/ord Granville (the^ 
 English ambassador). Count Meden (the Russian 
 ambassador), Comte Walewski, the Due de 
 Richelieu, General Michelski, Comte Descha- 
 pelles (the author), Comte Achille -Delamarre, 
 and M. Bonpierre ; the three last, with Ivord 
 Granville, being esteemed the best of the lot. 
 Amongst the best Parisian players who have 
 subsequently come into the field (of green cloth), 
 
104 Mblst 1Rucjget6 
 
 are Vicomte Paul Daru, Comte d'Albon, Comte 
 d^Andlau, Comte de Malart, Vicomte Ladislas 
 de St. -Pierre, and his brother M. Maurice de St- 
 Pierre. The highest play during the last two 
 or three years has been at the Petit Club de la 
 Kue Royale, where it ranges from i and 30, or i 
 and 50j up to or about i and 100 louis ; the 
 points l)eing stationary and the bets fluctuating. 
 The scale of play has been recently raised 
 above the usual level at Paris by the very high 
 play at baccarat, at which ;^i6,ooohas been lost 
 Ijy one person in one night. 
 
 There used to be high play at Berlin- and 
 Vienna. Count Palfy won enough at a single 
 sitting of Prince John of Lichtenstein to build 
 and furnish a chateau. It was shown to the 
 loser, who on being asked how he liked it, re- 
 plied: " Pas du tout ; cela a tout a fait T air d'un 
 chateau de cartes." Count Briihl wrote a treatise 
 on whist, which, we regret to say, we have been 
 unable to procure in time for this article. There 
 is a current anecdote of Count P^echberg, late 
 Secretary for Foreign Afifairs in Austria, which 
 justifies a surmise that he also is a proficient. 
 
TObtet ant) mbist^^JMa^ers 105 
 
 His left-hand adversary {proh pudor an 
 Englishman) made so desperate though suc- 
 cessful a finesse, that his Excellency uttered an 
 exclamation of surprise ; whereupon the gentle- 
 man offered a bet that the Count himself should 
 acknowledge that he had a sound reason for 
 his play. It was taken, and he then coolly 
 said: "Why, I looked over your hand." 
 This gentleman must have graduated under the 
 Artful Dodger, who, w^hen playing dummy in 
 Pagan's den, is commended for *' wisely regu- 
 lating his play by the result of his observations 
 on his neighbors' cards." 
 
 Some thirty years since a remarkable set 
 used to meet in Berlin at Prince Wittgenstein's, 
 including Count Alopeus, the Russian Minister, 
 General Nostitz, Sir Henry Bulwer (then at- 
 tached to the Berlin embassy), and the Duke 
 of Cumberland (afterwards King of Hanover). 
 Another of the royal family, the late Duke of 
 York, played whist a great deal and lost a 
 great deal of money at it, as well he might, for 
 he invariably showed whether he was satisfied 
 or dissatisfied with his cards, and played them 
 
To6 mbiat mu99et0 
 
 indifferently into the bargain. He played pony 
 points (;f 25) and fifty bet, making the full or 
 bumper rubber ;^250. One evening, having 
 won three full rubbers of a wealthy parvenu, 
 he was reluctantly reminded that there was a 
 prior loss of some four thousand pounds to be 
 set off. *' No, no," he protested, **that will 
 never do. We have nothing to do with old 
 scores " ; and the man was fool enough to pay. 
 There is no royal road to whist, and as royal 
 personages with the best natural dispositions 
 tarely submit to be taught, it is fortunate that 
 the kingly power has been limited since Canute, 
 who had a courtier hanged for checkmating 
 him, and would doubtless have had him hanged, 
 drawn, and quartered for claiming a revoke at 
 whist. This great and wise king had evidently 
 come to the conclusion that the occasional 
 execution of a courtier pour encourager les 
 autres inculcated a moral more practically than 
 getting wet feet through the disobedience of 
 the waves. 
 
 When Napoleon was at Wiirtemberg, *'he 
 used to play whist in the evening, but not for 
 
TDOlbiet anD WibieUt^la^cve 107 
 
 money, playing ill and inattentively. One 
 evening when the queen dowager was playing 
 with him against her husband and his daughter 
 (the Queen of Westphalia, the wife of Jerome), 
 the King stopped Napoleon, who was taking up 
 a trick that belonged to them, saying : * Sire, 
 on ne joue pas ici en conquerant' " * 
 
 It must be admitted as a partial excuse for 
 absolutism in such matters, that the spirit of 
 play absorbs or deadens every other thought 
 and feeling. Horace Walpole relates that, on 
 a man falling down in a fit before the bay win- 
 dow of White's, odds were instantly offered 
 and taken to a large amount against his recov- 
 ery, and that, on its being proposed to bleed 
 him^ the operation was vehemently resisted as 
 
 * Diaries of the Lady of Quality, second edition, p. 
 128. Frederic the Great was in the habit of kicking 
 the shins of the savans who ventured to differ from him. 
 When Peter the Great was on a visit of inspection on 
 board an English line-of-battle ship at Portsmouth, he 
 expressed a wish to witness the operation of ^<?^/- 
 hauling ; viihich consists in dragging the subject under 
 water from one side of the ship to the other by means 
 of a rope passed under the keel. He was told that this 
 was contrary to law, so far as Englishmen. were con- 
 cerned. " If that is all, you can take one of my suite," 
 was his unconcerned rejoinder. It would be pleasing to 
 watch the countenance of Sir Edward Cust, or General 
 Grey, or one of the I^ords in Waiting, when told off for 
 such an experiment by our gracious Sovereign. 
 
io8 IMbiBt nnggcte 
 
 unfair. When I^ord Thanet was in the Tower 
 for the O'Connor riot, three friends were ad- 
 mitted to play whist with him, and remain till 
 the lock-up hour of eleven. Barly in the sit- 
 ting his partner fell back in a fit of apoplexj^ 
 and one of the party rose to call for help. 
 *'Stop,'' cried another, "we shall be turned 
 out if you make a noise ; let our friend alone 
 till eleven ; we can play dummy, and he '11 be 
 none the worse, for I can read death in his 
 face.*' 
 
 The profession of medicine has turned out 
 some good whist-players. Three celebrated 
 physicians, being, like the surgeons in Zeluco^ 
 at a loss how to fill up the time it was thought 
 decent to occupy on the case of a noble patient, 
 set to at dummy. The patient, if there had 
 really been much the matter with him, would 
 have found himself in the predicament of the 
 survivor of the Horatii : 
 
 ' * Que vouliez-vous qu'il fit centre trois ? 
 
 Qu'ilmour^t." 
 
 The clergy, especially in the West of Bug- 
 land, were formerlv devoted to whist. About 
 
Timbl6t mb limbtst^ipla^ere 109 
 
 the beginning of the century there was a whist 
 club in a country town of Somersetshire, com- 
 posed mostly of clergymen, that met every 
 Stmday evening in the back parlor of a barber. 
 Four of these were acting as pall-bearers at the 
 funeral of a reverent brother, when a delay 
 occurred, from the grave not being ready, or 
 some other cause, and the coffin was set down 
 in the chancel. By way of whiling away the 
 time, one of them produced a pack of cards 
 from his pocket and proposed a rubber. The 
 rest gladly assented, and they were deep in 
 their game, using the coffin as their table, 
 when the sexton came to announce that the 
 preparations were complete. We have care- 
 fully verified the fact that they played long 
 whist, and we suspect that whist has been less 
 popular in the church since the introduction 
 of short, by reason of its inferior gravity. The 
 principle is indicated by Sydney Smith in his 
 qualified defence of angling. ''I give up fly- 
 fishing ; it is a light, volatile, dissipated pur- 
 suit. But ground-bait, with a good steady 
 float that never bobs without a bite, is an occu- 
 
TKHbiet fPinggcte 
 
 pation for a bishop, and in no way interferes 
 with sermon-making.'' 
 
 We have seen short whist played by a mem- 
 ber of the episcopal body, and a very eminent 
 one, the venerable Bishop of Bxeter (Phill- 
 potts), one adversary being the late Dean of St. 
 Paul's (Milman), the other an American diplo- 
 matist, and his partner a distinguished for- 
 eigner whose whist is hardly on a par with his 
 scientific acquirements and social popularity. 
 The two dignitaries played a steady, sound 
 orthodox game. The Bishop bore a run of ill 
 luck like a Christian and a bishop, but when 
 (after the diplomatist had puzzled him by a 
 false card) the Count lost the game by not 
 returning his trump, the excellent prelate 
 looked on the verge of bringing the rubber to a 
 conclusion as he once brought a controversy 
 with an archbishop, namely, by the bestowal 
 of his blessing ; which the archbishop, appar- 
 ently apprehensive of its acting by the rule of 
 contraries, earnestly entreated him to take 
 back. 
 
 The famous ** Billy Butler," vicar of Framp- 
 
mibiet anD WibieUt^la^cv6 m 
 
 ton, got the offer of a rich piece of preferment 
 by finding a fox in the **open" when the 
 Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV.) was 
 anxious for an easy run. Many a good living 
 has been gained by whist-playing, this being 
 considered an indispensable qualification by 
 discerning patrons (lay and episcopal) in the 
 olden time. Our own opinion is that, if the 
 spirit of the times no longer admits of its being 
 exacted in candidates for holy orders, the being 
 well up in Cavendish or Clay should command 
 a handsome number of marks in all competitive 
 examinations, civil and military. We throw 
 out this suggestion for the serious consideration 
 of the Cabinet ; especially of Mr. Gladstone, 
 Mr. Bright, and Mr. Lowe. 
 
 Abraham Hayward, 
 
 in Fraser^s Magazine. 
 
THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES OF 
 WHIST.* 
 
 T^HK following RulcvS of Whist are based on 
 
 * the principle of American Leads as devel- 
 oped by ** Cavendish," and Mr. N. B. Trist, of 
 New Orleans, and are compiled for players who 
 have some knowledge of the game. The chief 
 features of the American Leads are as follows : 
 I. A low card led indicates three cards higher 
 than the one led. 2. A high card led, followed 
 by a low one, indicates two cards remaining, 
 higher than the second card led. 3. A high 
 card led, followed by another high card, always 
 gives some information as to the number of 
 cards in the suit : sometimes the exact number. 
 
 ORIGINAI^ IvKADS. 
 1. The best tactics at Whist aim at establishing a lonjjf 
 suit, in order to bring in the remaining cards after 
 
 ♦ By the courtesy of Richard Irving Dunbar. 
 
 IZ2 
 
XLbc Ebirt^=ninc Brticlee of mbtet 113 
 
 trumps have been exhausted. Therefore the orifi^inal 
 lead should be from the longest suit, unless that suit be 
 of four cards only, headed by one lower than the Nine. 
 
 2. The lead of the AC^ indicates length (that is, at 
 least five cards), or Queen-Knave. Always lead Ace 
 with more than four in suit, except with head sequence. 
 
 If you have already trumped, however, always 
 lead Ace with Ace-King, irrespective of length. If 
 your partner be short, he might trump in order to 
 establish a cross-rufF. 
 
 3. The KING indicates Ace or Queen (or both), and 
 never more than four in the suit. 
 
 4. The QUKEN indicates Ace-King and length. King 
 and length, or the head of a sequence. 
 
 5. The KNAVE) indicates sequence to King or Ace, 
 with length ; or the highest of a short suit. 
 
 6. The TKN indicates King and Knave, with or with- 
 out the Nine ; or the highest of a short suit. 
 
 7. In all other cases the FOURTH-BEST is led. 
 
 8. If you open a lon^: suit after trumps have been 
 exhausted, usually lead as in trumps (q. 7a). 
 
 9. Should the long suit be of four cards headed by one 
 lower than the Nine, open the best three-card suit, one 
 in sequence if possible ; generally leading the highest, 
 except when holding a Tenace ; or Ace and Knave ; or 
 Ace, King, or Queen, as the only high card : then lead 
 the lowest. 
 
 Always lead the highest of a short suit, if the 
 previous play has shown it to be your partner's 
 long suit. 
 
114 Mbl6t mug^ete 
 
 SUBSEQUENT I^EADS. 
 
 10. If following- up original lead, usually play the 
 best card. 
 
 11. If without the best card, follow with original 
 fourth-best, unless having held originally three or 
 more high cards : then lead one of the remaining high 
 cards. 
 
 But, with King-Queen and length, if the Queen 
 win, follow with fourth-best of the remaining cards. 
 
 12. After leading a high card, if left with two or 
 three high cards that are "indifferent" (that is, of 
 equal trick-taking value), show length in suit by lead- 
 ing the lower; e. g., (a) with Ace-Queen-Knave, lead 
 Ace and follow with Queen if having held originally 
 three or four ; and with Knave if having held five or 
 more ; (b) with King-Queen-Knave and length, lead 
 Knave (even if one of the other cards be the Ten) ; 
 follow with King if having held five ; with Queen if 
 having held six or more. 
 
 13. The Ace as a secondary lead, followed by the 
 King, indicates no more in the suit and a desire to ruflf. 
 
 TRUMP I.EADS. 
 
 14. The best use to which you can put a strong trump 
 suit is to play it out, to remove the only obstacle to 
 making tricks in the long plain suits. 
 
 15. With seven or more trumps, usually lead as in 
 plain suits. With less than seven, lead the fourth- 
 
ttbe Zbivt^^ninc articles of TOlbtet 115 
 
 best, unless with at least three honors. Exceptions : 
 
 (a) with King-Queen-Ten and two or more small cards, 
 
 lead Queen ; if without the Ten, lead fourth-best, unless 
 
 with seven in the suit; (b) lead the highest of a sequence, 
 
 headed by Queen or Knave, regardless of length. 
 
 The turn-up card may also modify the lead. And, 
 of course, you may finesse more deeply in trumps 
 than in plain suits. 
 
 16. Make trumps your original lead, having five or 
 more, even if without an honor, except when void in a 
 suit or with a singleton. But, with five small trumps, a 
 moderate plain suit, and no high cards in the other 
 suits, it is better to lead from the long plain suit, unless 
 your partner has shown strength. 
 
 17. Rarely lead from a suit of four trumps unless very 
 strong in other suits, or with three cards in each, or 
 until you have established a suit. 
 
 Be cautious in leading trumps if your adversaries 
 have also established a suit. Under these condi- 
 tions, success will follow the side that first forces 
 the strong hand. 
 
 Should your first lead be after an adversary has 
 established a long strong suit, or after j^our partner 
 has opened a four-card or weak long suit, generally 
 do not lead trumps, even if strong in them, but try 
 to utilize your partner's trumps by forcing him. 
 
 18. I^ead trumps, when weak in them, only when 
 holding commanding strength in all plain suits, or to 
 stop a cross-ruff. But having a very poor hand, with 
 the score against you, 3—0 or 4 — o, generally lead 
 trumps : for unless your partner has a strong hand the 
 game is lost. 
 
ii6 mbiet nuQQcte 
 
 RETURN IvKADS. 
 
 19. Usually return at once your partner's lead, except 
 (a) when j'^ou have a strong suit of your own ; (b) when 
 you have taken the trick cheaply ; (c) when your trump 
 suit is strong- enough to warrant opening it. 
 
 20. Having held originally three cards in your part- 
 ner's suit, return the higher ; having held more, return 
 the lowest. 
 
 If left with the best card, however, always play it ; 
 or if with second- and third-best, always return the 
 highest, irrespective of length. 
 
 PI^AY OF SECOND HAND. 
 
 21. Usually play lowest card, second hand. 
 
 22. Holding cards such that you would, if first player, 
 lead high, usually play high, second hand ; except with 
 Ace and four small cards. Play the lowest of indifferent 
 high cards. 
 
 23. Holding Ace, Queen and more, play Queen only 
 when Nine or Ten is led, unless very long in suit and 
 weak in trumps. 
 
 24. Holding Ace-Queen-Ten, usually play Queen when 
 any low card is led ; except in trumps, when play Ten. 
 
 25. Cover an honor with the best card only, unless you 
 hold a " fourchette," z. <?., a card next higher and one 
 next lower than the card led, when always cover. 
 
 26. Holding King and one small card, play King only 
 when Nine is led ; or the Kight, when your small card 
 is the Nine. 
 
Ubc Zbitt^^ninc Brticlee of Wibiet 117 
 
 27. Holding Queen and one small card, play Queen 
 only when Nine or Ten is led. 
 
 28. The fourth-best card of a suit being led, the leader 
 
 holds three cards higher. If the number of pips on the 
 
 card thus led be subtracted from eleven, the remainder 
 
 will be the number of cards out against the leader, 
 
 higher than the card led. When a fourth-best card is 
 
 led, therefore, if the number of pips on that card added 
 
 to the number of higher cards held by you makes 
 
 eleven, cover with the lowest of the high cards, since 
 
 you hold all the high cards not in the leader's hand.* 
 
 The rule is the same when Ace is led, followed by 
 the original fourth-best. 
 
 29. Holding desi card in the second round of a suit, 
 usually play it. 
 
 PI,AY OF THIRD HAND. 
 
 30. Generally play your best card on your partner's 
 original lead. 
 
 31. But, with Ace and Queen, play Queen. This is an 
 imperative ^«(?^5^. 
 
 32. Never play Ace on partner's lead of King or 
 Queen ; but if holding only one other card, Ace may be 
 played on Knave. 
 
 33. Rarely play Queen on your partner's lead of Nine, 
 and never on his lead of Ten. 
 
 34. But always avoid being left after the second round 
 
 * This rule was first worked out by Mr. R. F. Foster, 
 of New York, and afterwards independently discovered 
 by Mr. K. F. M. Benecke, of Oxford, England, who was 
 the first to make it public. 
 
ii8 TObt6t mu^gets 
 
 with the best card only of your partner's suit, if he has 
 shown length as well as strength. Therefore, with 
 three cards originally, take the second trick ; with four 
 cards, retain the lowest as long as you can. 
 
 35. Rarely finesse in the second round, holding best 
 and third best. 
 
 THK SIGNAI,. 
 
 36. When you wish your partner to lead trumps, 
 throw an unnecessarily high card on his or the adver- 
 sary's lead, following it with a lower card when you 
 next play a card of the same suit. 
 
 37. In answering a call for trumps, lead the highest 
 of two or three cards, the lowest of four or more ; unless 
 holding the Ace, which should always be led. 
 
 THE :echo. 
 
 38. When your partner has called for trumps and you 
 have numerical strength, you should also call if oppor- 
 tunity oflfer. If you trump with a card higher than that 
 which you afterward play, he will understand that you 
 held four or more trumps originally. 
 
 THE DISCARD. 
 
 39. The original discard should always be from the 
 
 weakest suit, unless great strength in trumps has been 
 
 declared against you ; when discard from your best 
 
 protected suit. This rule generally holds good even 
 
 if your partner has also shown strength in trumps. 
 
 Remember that indication of suit is given by original 
 discard only. 
 
tLbc trbfrti^s=nlne Brtlclee of Mbtst ng 
 
 GKNKRAI, REMARKS. 
 
 A. !Endeavor to play in harmony with your partner ; 
 that is, never consider your own hand as separate from 
 his. 
 
 B. It is better to inform your partner than to deceive 
 your adversary ; therefore rarely play a false card. 
 
 C. Your first object should be to save the game, if it 
 appear in danger ; your next to win it, if you have a 
 reasonable chance of success. 
 
 D. Never play a singleton as original lead. 
 
 K. Rarely force your partner unless you hold four 
 trumps, including an honor ; or unless your partner 
 has shown weakness in trumps. 
 
 F. Force the adversary's strong trump hand, unless 
 both adversaries have renounced. 
 
 G. If strong in trumps rarely trump a doubtful card, 
 but trump fearlessly if weak. ^ 
 
 H. If your partner refuse to trump a sure winning 
 card, lead trumps. 
 
 I. When you have nothing better to do, lead up to the 
 weak, or through the strong hand of the adversary. 
 
 J. In playing for the odd trick, the violation of estab- 
 lished rules is sometimes justifiable; e. g., leading a 
 singleton ; forcing your partner when weak in trumps ; 
 refraining from leading trumps when very strong; 
 refusing \.o finesse ; playing a false card ; etc. 
 
 Richard Irving Dunbar. 
 
**!&& 
 
 RHYMING RULES, MNEMONIC 
 
 MAXIMS, AND POCKET 
 
 PRECEPTS. 
 
 BEING SHORT MEMORANDA OF IMPORTANT 
 POINTS TO BE KEPT IN MIND BY THOSE 
 WHO WOUIyD PRACTISE THE MODERN SCI- 
 
 ENTIEIC GAME OE WHIST. 
 
 • 
 
 IF you the modern game of whist would know, 
 From this great principle its precepts flow : 
 Treat your own hand as to your partner's joined, 
 And play, not one alone, but both combined. 
 
 Your first lead makes your partner understand 
 What is the chief component of your hand ; 
 And hence there is necessity the strongest. 
 That your first lead be from your suit thaVs 
 longest, 
 
 1 20 
 
IRbi^ming IRules 
 
 In this, with ace and kingy lead king^ then ace ; 
 
 With king and queen^ king also has firet place ; 
 
 With ace^ queen^ knave^ lead ace and then the 
 queen ; 
 
 With acCy four small ones, ace should first be 
 seen ; 
 
 With queen^ knave^ ten, you let the queen pre- 
 cede ; 
 
 In other cases you the lowest lead. 
 
 Bre you return your friend's, your own suit play ; 
 But trumps you must return without delay. 
 
 When you return your partner's lead, take pains 
 To lead him back the best your hand contains, 
 If you received not more than three at first ; 
 If you had more, you may return the worst. 
 
 But if you hold the master card you 're bound 
 In most cases to play it second round. 
 
 Whene'er you want a lead, 'tis seldom wrong 
 To lead up to the weak, or through the strong. 
 
 In second hand, your lowest should be played, 
 Unless you mean, ** trump signal " to be made : 
 Or if you've king and que en ^ or ace arid king^ 
 Then one of these will be the proper thing. 
 
122 imbiBt "Umgcte 
 
 Mind well the rules for frumps, you^l often 
 
 need- them : 
 When you hoi.d five, 'tis airways right 
 
 to i^ead them ; 
 Or if the lead won't come in time to you, 
 Then signal to your partner so to do. 
 
 Watch also for your partner's trump request, 
 To which, wilk less than four, play out your best. 
 
 To lead through honors turned up is bad play. 
 Unless you want the trump suit cleared away. 
 
 When, second hand, a doubtful trick you see, 
 DonH trump it if you hold m.ore trumps than 
 
 three ; 
 But having three or less, trump fearlessly. 
 
 When . weak in trumps yourself, don't force 
 
 your friend. 
 But always force the adverse s>\xou% trump hand. 
 
 For sequences, stern custom has decreed 
 The lowest you must play, if you don't lead. 
 
 When you discard, weak suit you ought to 
 
 choose. 
 For strong ones are too valuable to lose. 
 
 W11.I.IAM Poi,E. 
 
THE DUFFER'S WHIST MAXIMS. 
 
 '• Printed for the benefit of families, and to prevent 
 scolding."— -Bob Short. 
 
 I. Do not confuse your mind by reading a 
 parcel of books. Surely you've a right to play 
 your own game, if you like. Who are the peo- 
 ple that wrote these books? What business 
 have they to set up their views as superior to 
 yours? Many of these writers lay down this 
 rule : ** I^ead originally from your strongest 
 suit '* ; don't j^ou do it, unless it suits your hand. 
 It may be good in some hands, but it does n't 
 follow that it should be in all. Lead a single 
 card sometimes, or, at any rate, from your 
 weakest suit, so as to make your little trumps 
 when the suit is returned. 
 123 
 
124 TObl6t IRug^ets 
 
 By following this course in leads, you will 
 nine times out of ten ruin both your own and 
 your partner's hands ; but the tenth time you 
 will perhaps make several little trumps, which 
 would have been useless otherwise. In addition 
 to this, if sometimes you lead from your strong- 
 est suit, and sometimes from your weakest, it 
 puzzles the adversaries, and they never can tell 
 what you have led from. 
 
 2. Seldom return your partner's lead ; you 
 have as many cards in your hand as he has it 
 is a free country, and why should you submit 
 to his dictation ? Play the suit you deem best, 
 without regard to any preconceived theories. 
 
 It is an excellent plan to lead out first one 
 suit and then another. This mode of play is 
 extremely perplexing to the whole table. If 
 you have a fancy for books, you will find this 
 system approved by **J. C." He says: **You 
 mystify alike your adversaries and your partner. 
 You turn the game upside down, reduce it to 
 one of chance, and, in the scramble, may have 
 as good a chance as your neighbors." 
 
 3. Especially do not return your partner's 
 
TOe Dutfer'6 TKDibist /IRajtms 125 
 
 lead in trumps, for not doing so now and then 
 turns out to be advantageous. Who knows but 
 you may make a trump by holding it up, which 
 you certainly cannot do if your trumps are all 
 out ? Never mind the fact that you will gener- 
 ally lose tricks by refusing to play your part- 
 ner's game. 
 
 Whenever you succeed in making a trump 
 by your refusal, be sure to point out to your 
 partner how fortunate it was that you played 
 as you did. 
 
 Perhaps your partner is a much better player 
 than you, and he may on some former occasion, 
 with an exceptional hand, have declined to 
 return your lead of trumps. Make a note of 
 this. Remind him of it if he complains of 
 your neglecting to return his lead. It is an 
 unanswerable argument. 
 
 4. There are a lot of rules, to which, how- 
 ever, you need pay no attention, about leading 
 from sequences. What can it matter which 
 card of a sequence you lead? The sequence 
 cards are all of the same value, and one of them 
 is as likely to win the trick as another. Be- 
 
126 TRUbist Iftu^aeta 
 
 sides, if you look at the books, you '11 find the 
 writers don't even know their own minds. 
 They advise in some cases that you should lead 
 the highest, in others the lowest, of the se- 
 quence ; and in leading from ace, king, queen, 
 they actually recommend you to begin with the 
 middle card. Any person of common sense 
 must infer from this that it don't matter which 
 card of a sequence you lead. 
 
 5. There are also a number of rules about 
 the play of the second, third, and fourth hands, 
 but they are quite unworthy serious considera- 
 tion. The exceptions are almost as numerous as 
 the rules, so if you play by no rule at all you 
 are about as likely to be right as wrong. 
 
 6. Before leading trumps always first get rid 
 of all the winning cards in your plain suit. 
 You will not then be bothered by the lead after 
 trumps are out, and you thus shift all the re- 
 sponsibility of mistakes on to your partner. But 
 if your partner has led a suit, be careful when 
 you lead trumps to keep in your hand the best 
 card of his lead. By this means, if he goes on 
 with his suit, you are more likely to get the 
 
trbe 5)uttet'0 Wihiet /iRa^lms 127 
 
 lead after trumps are out, which, the books say, 
 is a great advantage. 
 
 7. Take every opportunity of playing false 
 cards, both high and low. For by deceiving 
 all round you will now and then win an extra 
 trick. It is often said, *' Oh, but you deceive 
 your partner. " That is very true. But, then, 
 as you have two adversaries and only one part- 
 ner, it is obvious that by running dark you play 
 two to one in your own favor. Besides this, it 
 is very gratifying, when your trick succeeds, to 
 have taken. in your opponents, and to have won 
 the applause of an ignorant gallery. If you play 
 in a commonplace way, even your partner 
 scarcely thanks you. Anybody could have 
 done the same. 
 
 8. Whatever you do, never attend to the 
 score, and don't watch the fall of the cards. 
 There is no earthly reason for doing either of 
 these. As for the score, your object is to make 
 as many as you can. The game is five, but, if 
 you play to score six or seven, small blame to 
 you. Never mind running the risk of not get- 
 ting another chance of making even five. Keep 
 
128 TMlblst 1Flugget6 
 
 as many pictures and winning cards as you can 
 in your hand. They are pretty to look at, and 
 if you remain with the best of each suit you ef- 
 fectually prevent the adversaries from bringing 
 in a lot of small cards at the end of the hand. 
 As to the fall of the cards, it is quite clear that 
 it is of no use to watch them ; for if everybody 
 at the table is trying to deceive you, in accord- 
 ance with Maxim 7, the less you notice the 
 cards they play the less you will be taken in. 
 
 9. Whenever you have ruined your hand 
 and your partner's by playing in the way here 
 recommended, you should always say that it 
 '*made no difference." 
 
 It sometimes happens that it has made no 
 difference, and than your excuse is clearly 
 valid. And it will often happen that your part- 
 ner does not care to argue the point with you, 
 in which case your remark will make it clear to 
 everybody that you have a profound insight in- 
 to the game. If, however, your partner chooses 
 to be disagreeable, and succeeds in proving you 
 to be utterly ignorant of the first elements of 
 whist, stick to it that you played right, that 
 
XLbc Dutrer'6 TDClbtet /Iftajlms 129 
 
 good play will sometimes turn out unfortu- 
 nately, and accuse your partner of judging by 
 results. This will generally silence him. 
 
 10. Invariably blow up your partner at the 
 end of every hand. It is not only a most gentle- 
 manlike employment of spare time, but it gains 
 you the reputation of being a first-rate player. 
 
 Cavendish's Card Essays, 
 
WHIST, OR BUMBLEPUPPY?* 
 
 ON THINGS IN GENERAI.. 
 
 * The time has come,* the walrus said, 
 ' To talk of many things.' " 
 
 TO become a fair whist-player,t no wonder- 
 ful attributes are required : common- 
 sense, a small amount of knowledge, — easily 
 Sicquiredy— ordinary observation of facts as they 
 occur y and experience, the result of that observa- 
 tion, — not the experience obtained by repeating 
 the same idiotic mistakes year after year, — are 
 about all. To save you trouble, the experience 
 
 * By permission of the author, and of G. K. Waters, 
 I^ondon, Eng., and of Messrs. Roberts Brothers, Boston. 
 
 t Not a fine whist-player ; for this is a rare bird, much 
 more rare than a black swan (these can be bought any 
 day at Jamrach's by the couple, but even in the present 
 hard times when, I am informed, the markets are glut- 
 ted with everything, he has not one fine whist-player in 
 stock) : to him, in addition to common-sense and atten- 
 tion, genius and a thorough knowledge of Cavendish 
 are essential. 
 
 130 
 
imibtett or aSumblepuppi^-? 131 
 
 of all the best players for the last hundred years 
 has been collected into a series of maxims, 
 which you will find in any whist-book. These 
 maxims you should know^; but though you 
 know every maxim that ever was written, and 
 are *' bland, passionate, deeply religious, and 
 also paint beautifully in water-colors, ' ' if among 
 your other virtues the power of assimilating 
 facts as they occur is not included, this will not 
 avail you in the least. 
 
 Bumblepuppy — according to its own account 
 — demands much more superfine qualities : 
 e. g,y inspiration, second-sight, instinct, an in- 
 tuitive perception of false cards and singletons, 
 and an intimate acquaintance with a mysterious 
 and Protean bogey called *' the game," — in 
 short, everything but reason f (all these fine 
 
 * " Although these maxims may occasionally speak of 
 things never to be done, and others always to be done, 
 you must remember that no rules are without exception, 
 and few more open to exceptional cases than rules for 
 whist."— Clay. 
 
 t Just as orthodoxy has been delined to be your own 
 doxy, so "the game" usually means, "your own idea 
 of the game at the time." 
 
 I have called it Protean because it assumes so many 
 different forms (being mainly based on results), and, 
 like the nigger's little pig, runs about to such an extent 
 that it is impossible to get a clear view of it. 
 
132 • Wibiet MmQcte 
 
 words, when boiled and peeled, turn out some- 
 times to mean ordinary observation, but more 
 usually gross ignorance). So much for its 
 theory ; its practice is this : 
 
 PRACTICE OF BUMBIvEPUPPY. 
 
 " This is an anti-Christian game, 
 Unlawful both in thing and name."— If udtbras. 
 
 (i) Lead a singleton whenever you have one. 
 
 (2) With two small trumps and no winning 
 card, lead a trump. 
 
 (3) Rufif a suit of which your partner clearly 
 holds the best, if you are weak in trumps. 
 
 (4) Never ruff anything if you are strong. 
 
 (5) Never return your partner's trump if you 
 can possibly avoid it, unless he manifestly led it 
 to bring in a suit of which you led a singleton. 
 
 (6) Deceive him whenever you get a chance. 
 
 (7) Open a new suit every time you have the 
 lead. 
 
 (8) Never pay any attention to your partner's 
 first discard, unless it is a forced discard. Lead 
 your own suit. 
 
mbiet, or ffiumblepuppis 7 133 
 
 (9) Never force him under any circumstances 
 unless you hold at least five trumps with two 
 honors ; even if you lose the rubber by it, play 
 *'the game! " 
 
 (10) Devote all your remaining energies to 
 looking for a signal in the last trick. If you 
 are unable to discover which was your partner's 
 card, — after keeping the table waiting for two 
 minutes, — lead him a trump on suspicion. 
 
 Play all your cards alike, without emphasis 
 or hesitation ; how can you expect your partner 
 to have any confidence in your play when it is 
 evident to him from your hesitation that you 
 have no confidence in it yourself? 
 
 If your partner renounces, and you think fit 
 to inquire whether he is void of the suit, do so 
 quietly ; don't offer a hint for his future guid- 
 ance by glaring or yelling at him. 
 
 Don't ask idiotic questions. If you led an 
 ace, and the two, three, and four are played to 
 the trick, what is the use of asking your partner 
 to draw his card ? If you hold all the remain- 
 
134 Mbfat muggete 
 
 ing cards of a suit, why inquire whether he has 
 any? 
 
 Don't talk in the middle of the hand.^ How- 
 ever you may be tempted to use bad language, 
 — and I must admit the temptation is often very 
 great, — always recollect that though your Latin 
 grammar says " humanum est irasci,''' the anti- 
 dote grows near the bane ; for — at the bottom 
 of the very preceding page — it also says ''^ pii 
 orant tacitiy 
 
 " 'T is best sometimes your censure to restrain." 
 
 Pope. 
 
 The wisest man who ever lived says : " He that 
 holdeth his peace is counted wise, and he that 
 shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of under- 
 standing." Such a reputation appears cheap 
 
 * " Though ' whist ' is reported to be an old Eng-lish 
 word meaning * silence,' and though it is advisable for 
 many reasons that it should be played with reasonable 
 (luiet, it is not at all compulsory to conduct yourself as 
 if in the monastery of I^a Trappe : you have a perfect 
 right— as far as the laws of whist are concerned— to dis- 
 cuss at any time the price of stocks, the latest scandal, 
 or even the play going on, ' provided that no intimation 
 whatever, by word or gesture be given as to the state of 
 your own hand or the game.' ^^— Etiquette of Whist. 
 
 At bumblepuppy you had better waive this right alto- 
 gether ; for if under any circumstances you open your 
 mouth, you will infallibly put your foot into it. 
 
Mbf6t, or JSumblepupp^ ? 135 
 
 at the price ; but if you are of the opinion of J. 
 P. Robinson, that 'Hhey didn't know every- 
 thing down in Judee," you can call your part- 
 ner any names you like as soon as the hand is 
 over.* You need not be at all particular what 
 for ; any crime of omission or commission — 
 real or fancied — will do. If, after the game is 
 over, you discover that it might have been 
 saved or won by doing something different, 
 however idiotic, grumble at him.f 
 
 *" Avoid playing with those who instruct, or rather 
 find fault, while the hand is playing. They are gener- 
 ally unqualified by ignorance, and judge from conse- 
 quences ; but, if not, advice while playing does more 
 harm than good." — Mathews. 
 
 **The empty vessel makes the greatest sound." — 
 Shakespeare 
 
 " Talking over the hand after it has been played is not 
 uncommonly called a bad habit and an annoyance : I am 
 firmly persuaded it is one of the readiest ways of learn- 
 ing whist."— Clay. 
 
 t " ' O dreary life ! ' we cry, ' O dreary life ! ' 
 And still the generations of the birds 
 Sing through our sighing, and the flocks and 
 herds 
 Serenely live while we are keeping strife." 
 
 " The education of the whist-player is peculiar. How 
 he becomes a whist-player, nobody knows. He never 
 learns his alphabet or the catechism, or anything that 
 he ought to do. He appears full-g-rown, mushroom-like. 
 He remembers some one blowing him up for doing 
 something he ought not to have done, and somebody 
 else blowing him up for not doing something else ; and 
 
136 mbt6t muggets 
 
 It is quite legitimate to revile him for not 
 playing cards he never held : if he should have 
 the temerity to point out that the facts are 
 against you, revile the facts. 
 
 If there is really a diabolical mistake in the 
 case, and you happen to have made it yourself, 
 revile him with additional ferocity. 
 
 Failing any other grievance, you can always 
 prove to demonstration — and at interminable 
 length — that if his cards, or your cards, or both 
 
 he is blown up to the end of the chapter. This phase 
 of being blown up is varied by grumbling, sometimes 
 aloud, sometimes sotto voce ; so that the whist-player is 
 reared on scolding and grumbling as other youngsters 
 are reared on pap Truly this is a happy life. Some 
 men grumble on principle because it is a national privi- 
 lege, and they avail themselves of the Englishman's 
 birthright. 
 
 ' A sect whose chief devotion lies 
 In odd perverse antipathies ; 
 In falling out with that or this, 
 And finding somewhat still amiss ; 
 More peevish, cross, and splenetic 
 Than dog distract, or monkey sick.' — Hudibras. 
 
 Some do it because they believe, that, if they grumble 
 enough, it will bring them luck. Some do it in the hope 
 that they will excite sympathy, and that their friends 
 will feel for their ill-fortune, which, by-the-by, whist- 
 plavers never do. Some grumble to annoy their friends, 
 and we are bound to say these succeed." — Westminster 
 Papers. 
 
 " The croaking nuisance lurked in every nook ; 
 And the land stank— so numerous was the fry." 
 
 COWPER. 
 
THIlblat, or aSumblepuppi^? 137 
 
 your cards, had been just the reverse of what 
 they were, the result would have been different. 
 This certainly opens a wide field for specula- 
 tion ; but it is neither an instructive nor enter- 
 taining amusement, though it kills time. 
 
 There is a theory, which, according to some 
 evil-disposed persons, may easily be made too 
 much of, — the injury to yourself being remote 
 and doubtful, while the gratification of annoy- 
 ing him is certain and immediate, — that abus- 
 ing your partner, as having a tendency to make 
 him play worse, is a mistake from a pecuniary 
 point of view. Of course it is a mistake, but 
 not for such a paltry reason as that : take a 
 higher standpoint ! Whether you are winning 
 or losing, — 
 
 ** You should never let 
 Your angry passions rise." — Watts. 
 
 Don't cry ! 
 
 *' 111 betides a nation when 
 She sees the tears of bearded men." 
 
 And you will have a beard yourself some 
 time, if you don't lead the penultimate of 
 five. Without exciting the slightest sympathy 
 
138 mbi6t muggets 
 
 on the part of an unfeeling public, crying de- 
 ranges the other secretions. The lyaureate says, 
 tears are idle, and professes ignorance of their 
 meaning : if he played whist, he would know 
 that they injure the cards and make them sticky. 
 
 Don't play out of your turn, nor draw your 
 card before that turn comes. 
 
 Don't ride a hobby to death ! In ordinary 
 whist three prevailing hobbies are so cruelly 
 over-ridden that I am surprised the active and 
 energetic Mr. Col am has never interfered : 
 these are : 
 
 (i) The penultimate of a long suit ; 
 
 (2) The signal for trumps ; 
 
 (3) Not forcing your partner unless you are 
 strong in trumps — under any circumstances. 
 
 The first is nothing but a nuisance.* The 
 second is stated to simplify the game, and to 
 cause greater attention to be paid to it : prac- 
 
 * " They are intent on some wretched crotchet like 
 th e lowest but one " 
 
 *' Every time he can lead a lowest but one. no matter 
 what the state of the game or the score, that lead he is 
 sure to make ; and we believe there are some neophytes 
 who would lose their money with pleasure if they could 
 only tell their partners afterwards that they had led the 
 lowest but one." — Westminster Papers. 
 
XKIlbl6t, oc JBumblepuppis ? 139 
 
 tically the entire time of the players is taken 
 up either in devising absurd signals, or in 
 looking for and failing to see them. The third 
 is responsible for losing about as many 
 games as anything I am acquainted with, 
 though the constant and aimless changing of 
 suits runs it close. 
 
 Is it any reason — because you have no trumps 
 — that you should announce that circumstance 
 early in the hand to the general public, and 
 prevent your partner making one ? If he has 
 them all, you cannot injure him ; if he has not, 
 the adversaries will play through him and 
 strangle him : how is it that you are afraid to 
 let your partner make a certain trick, but you 
 are never afraid to open a new suit ? 
 
 There is an impression abroad that there is a 
 law of whist somewhere to this effect : *^ Never 
 force your partner at any stage of the 'game un- 
 less you yourself are strong in trumps." 
 
 IvCt us see what the authorities say on the 
 point : 
 
 " Keep in mind that general maxims pre-suppose 
 the game and hand at their commencement, and that 
 
I40 mbiBt nwQgctB 
 
 material changes in them frequently require that a dif- 
 ferent mode of play should be adopted." 
 
 " It is a general maxim not to force your partner unless 
 strong in trumps yourself. There are, however, many 
 exceptions to this rule, as : 
 
 " (i) If your partner has led a single card ; 
 
 " (2) If it saves or wins a particular point ; 
 
 " (3) If great strength in trumps is declared against 
 you ; 
 
 " (4) If you have a probability of a saw ; 
 
 " (5) If your partner has been forced, and did not lead 
 trumps ; 
 
 " (6) It is often right in playing for an odd trick ; 
 
 "If your partner shows a weak game, force him 
 whether or not you are otherwise entitled to do it." — 
 Mathews. 
 
 With a weak trump hand, force your 
 partner : 
 
 " (i) When he has already shown a desire to be forced 
 or weakness in trumps ; 
 
 " (2) When you have a cross ruff; 
 
 " (3) When you are playing a close game, as for the 
 odd trick, and often when one trick saves or wins the 
 game or a point ; 
 
 ' * (4) When great strength in trumps has been declared 
 against yoii."— Cavendish. 
 
 " Do not force your partrler unless to make sure of the 
 tricks required to save or win the game ; 
 
 " Or unless he has been already forced, and has not 
 led a trump ; 
 
 " Or unless he has asked to be forced by leading from 
 a single card, or two weak cards ; 
 
 " Or unless the adversary has led, or asked for trumps." 
 —Clay. 
 
TObiat, ot :fi3umblepuppi2? 141 
 
 "tlnless your partner has shown great strength in 
 trumps, or a wish to get them drawn, or has refused to 
 ruff a doubtful card, give him the option of making a 
 small trump ; unless you have some good reason for not 
 doing so, other than a weak suit of trumps in your own 
 hand." — Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 With these extracts before you, perhaps you 
 will dismiss from your mind the popular fallacy 
 that you are under any compulsion to lose the 
 game because your trumps are not quite so 
 strong as you could wish. 
 
 Make a note of this. 
 
 Maxims were not invented for the purpose of 
 preventing you from either saving or winning 
 the game, though it is their unfortunate fate to 
 be epitomized and perverted out of all reason- 
 able shape. The ill-advised dictum, '* Suppose 
 the adversaries are four, and you, with the lead, 
 have a bad hand : the best play is in defiance of 
 all system, to lead out your best trump," was 
 comparatively innocuous, till some ingenious 
 person, with a turn for abbreviation, altered it 
 into, ** Whenever you hold nothing, lead a 
 trump ! '* Use your common-sense.* 
 
 * " Common-sense (which in truth is very uncommon) 
 is the best sense I know of. Abide by it : it will counsel 
 you hQSt. "—Chesier^eld Letters, 
 
142 mbl6t muggete 
 
 I have gone into this matter at considerable 
 length, because I am convinced that however 
 many people, once affluent, are now in misery 
 and want, owing to their not having led trumps 
 with five, — Clay gave the number as eleven 
 thousand, — a far larger number have been 
 reduced to this deplorable condition by chang- 
 ing suits, and refusing on principle to save the 
 game by forcing their partner. 
 
 Before quitting the subject, there is another 
 branch of it worthy of a little consideration. 
 When your partner has shown by his discard 
 which is his suit, and you hold two or three 
 small cards in it, however strong you may 
 be in trumps, — unless everything depends on 
 one trick, — do you expect to gain much by 
 forcing him and making yourself third 
 player ? Though it is usual to play in this 
 absurd way, is there any objection to first 
 playing his suit, and — as, ex hypothesi, you 
 are strong in trumps — forcing him after- 
 wards ? 
 
 Play always as simply and intelligibly as you 
 
Mbtstt or JSumblepuppi^ ? 143 
 
 can.* li^ever think ! t Know! Leave thinking 
 to the Teuton. 
 
 *' A Briton knows ; or, if he knows it not, 
 He ought."— Co WPER. 
 
 After the game has begun, the time for think- 
 ing has passed : as soon as a card is led, it is the 
 time for action, the time to bring your previously 
 acquired knowledge to bear. 
 
 P. S. — When pointing out your rights, I 
 omitted to state, that, before you proceed to 
 give your partner a piece of your mind, you 
 should always call your honors ; for by neglect- 
 ing this simple precaution you will often lay 
 yourself open to a crushing .rejoinder. — Ex- 
 perto crede. 
 
 * In addition to your j)artner not being able to vSee 
 your cards — in itself a disadvantage — he is, by an im- 
 mutable law of nature, much inferior in perception to 
 yourself: you should bear this in mind, and not be too 
 hard on the poor fellow. 
 
 t This is at first sight rather an appalling proposition, 
 but the advice I give you I have always endeavored to 
 follow myself; and I am not a solitary case, for in The 
 Nineteenth Century Reviezu for May , 1879, 1 find the writer 
 of one of the articles in the same boat. This thoughtful 
 writer — he must have been thoughtful, otherwise his 
 lucubration would not have been accepted — says, ' ' I have 
 given up the practice of thinking, or may be I never 
 had it." 
 
144 TObi6t Bugc5et6 
 
 THINKING. 
 
 " With some unmeaning thing, that they call thought." 
 
 Pope. 
 
 Never think ! 
 
 Unless you have some remarkably good rea- 
 son for taking your own course, do as you are 
 told. If your partner leads you a small trump, 
 return it at once. 
 
 " Gratia ab officio, quod mora tardat, abest." 
 
 This is a much more simple and satisfactory 
 plan than to proceed to think that he may have 
 no more, or that the fourth player must hold 
 major tenace. No one will admit more readily 
 than I do, that you are much the better player 
 of the two, still allow him to have some idea 
 of the state of your own hand. 
 
 Don^t think, whenever you see a card played, 
 that it is necessarily false : as, on the whole, 
 true cards are in the majority, you are rather 
 more likely to be wrong than right, and the 
 betting must be against you in the long-run. 
 
 " My business and your own is not to inquire 
 Into such matters, but to mind our cue, — 
 Which is to act as we are bid to«do."— Byron. 
 
imibiet, or JBumblepuppi^ ? us 
 
 If you are blessed with a suflficiently sharp 
 eye to the left, you may occasionally know that 
 a card is false ; but I should not describe knowl- 
 edge acquired in that way as thinking, I should 
 use quite a different expression. 
 
 With the military gentleman who anathemat- 
 ized intellect, I deeply sympathize. Profound 
 thought about facts which have just taken 
 place under your own eye is the bane of whist. 
 
 Why imitate Mark Twain's fiery steed ? 
 Why, when it is your business to go on, **lean 
 your head against something, and think " ? 
 
 Whether you have seen a thing, or not seen 
 it, there can be no necessity for thought. Re- 
 condite questions — such as whether the seven 
 is the best of a suit of which all the others but 
 the six are out, or whether a card is the twelfth 
 or thirteenth — can be answered by a rational 
 being in two ways, and two only : either he 
 knows, or he does not know ; there is no tertium 
 quid. The curious practice of gazing intently 
 at the chandelier, and looking as intelligent as 
 nature will permit, — if not more so, — though it 
 is less confusing than going to the last trick for 
 
146 TObtst IRuggete 
 
 information, and imposes upon some people, is 
 no answer at all * : this, in whist circles, is 
 called, or miscalled thinking. It is not a new 
 invention, for it has been known and practised 
 from the earliest times. '* There is a genera- 
 tion, oh, how lofty are their eyes! and their 
 eye-lids are lifted up" (Prov. xxx., 13, B.C. 
 1,000). Pecksniff, who had an extensive ac- 
 quaintance with the weaknesses of human 
 nature, knew it : you, and all other schoolboys, 
 are adepts at it. 
 
 In Greek the very name of man — drOpooTto^ — 
 was derived from this peculiar method of feign- 
 ing intelligence, and it was by no means un- 
 known to the Romans. 
 
 "' Pronaque cum spectent animalia coetera terram, 
 -Os homini sublime dedit coelumque tueri." 
 
 But, however ancient and venerable the prac- 
 tice may be, it is one of those numerous prac- 
 tices more honored in the breach than in the 
 observance. Surely looking at the table is more 
 in, accordance with the dictates of common- 
 
 * Marking passes in the air with your hand, as if you 
 were about tp mesmerize the table, is another favorite 
 stratagem. 
 
Timblat, or :©umWepupp^ 7 147 
 
 sense than attempting to eliminate unknown 
 quantities from a chandelier. In the one you 
 have gas, and probably water : on the other, — 
 lying open before you, — the data required. I 
 have now endeavored, not to teach you either 
 whist or bumblepuppy, but to point out a few 
 of the differences between them, and to start 
 you on the right road. The first is a game of 
 reason and common-sense, played in combina- 
 tion with your partner ; the second is a game 
 of inspiration, hap-hazard, and absurdity, where 
 your partner is your deadliest enemy. 1 have 
 made a few extracts from Mathews : partly be- 
 cause I don't like novelties merely because they 
 are novelties ; partly to convince the bumblepup- 
 pist (if anything will convince him) that when he 
 tells me the recognized play is anew invention, 
 introduced by Cavendish for his especial annoy- 
 ance, he does not know what he is talking about; 
 and partly to show you that since that book 
 was written — eighty years ago — the main prin- 
 ciples of whist are almost unaltered. 
 
 The chapter on etiquette is since his time; 
 but, though the game has been cut down one- 
 
148 Timbi6t 'UnggctB 
 
 half, take away from Mathews his slight par- 
 tiality for sneakers (to be accounted for by the 
 possibility of his partner at that remote period 
 being even a more dangerous lunatic than yours 
 is at present, and the consequent necessity of 
 playing more on the defensive ; for leading 
 singletons, whatever else it may do, does not 
 injure the leader),* take away from the play of 
 to-day its signal, its echo, and its penultimate of 
 a long suit, — all excrescences of doubtful advan- 
 tage for general purposes, and the last two more 
 adapted to that antediluvian epoch when human 
 life was longer, — and the continuity of the 
 game is clear. f Whether whist would gain 
 anything by their omission, I am unable to say. 
 
 * The diflference here is more apparent than real : 
 Mathews , .with considerable limitations, advocates lead- 
 ing sine:letons. Nowadays the practice is decried ; but 
 I regret to say, that, as far as my experience goes, the 
 principal obstacle to leading a singleton is not having a 
 singleton to lead. 
 
 t " We suspect that Cavendish very often must have 
 objected to that ancient plagiarist Mathews for stealing 
 his ideas." 
 
 " If their ideas are not identical, it is rather difficult to 
 find where the one begins, and the other ends." — IVest- 
 minster Papers. 
 
 *' I contend that there is no essential diflference be- 
 tween modern and old-fashioned whist ; i. e , between 
 Hoyle and Cavendish, Mathews and J. C."— Mogul. 
 
TDClbtet, or :©uml)lepupp^ 7 149 
 
 The attention, now always on the strain in look- 
 ing for its accidents, would have a spare mo- 
 ment or two to devote to its essentials : whether 
 it would do anything of the kind, is another 
 matter. 
 
 Those followers of Darwin and believers in 
 the doctrine of evolution, to whom it is a source 
 of comfort that an ascidian monad and not Eve 
 was their first parent, must find the whist-table 
 rather a stumbling-block : they will see there 
 uncommonly few specimens of the survival of 
 the fittest. 
 
 The philosopher of Chelsea long since arrived 
 at the unsatisfactory and sweeping conclusion, 
 that the population of these islands are mostly 
 fools ; and he has made no exception for the 
 votaries of whist. Still, it has the reputation of 
 being a very pretty game, though this reputation 
 must be based to a great extent on conjecture ; 
 for apart from its other little peculiarities, — on 
 some of which I have briefly touched, — its feat- 
 ures are so fearfully disfigured by bumblepuppy, 
 that it is as difficult to give a positive opinion 
 as to say whether a woman suffering from 
 
150 TObt6t mu^gete 
 
 malignant small-pox might or might not be 
 good-looking under happier circumstances. The 
 sublime self-confidence expressed in the 
 distich, — 
 
 '' When I see thee as thou art, 
 I'll praise thee as I ought," — 
 
 has not been vouchsafed to me ; but if ever I 
 obtain a clear view of it, I will undertake to 
 report upon it to the best of my ability. 
 
 You may have heard, that if you are ignorant 
 of whist you are preparing for yourself a miser- 
 able old age : it is by no means certain that a 
 knowledge of it — as practised at this particular 
 epoch — is to be classed with the beatitudes. 
 
 THE DOMESTIC RUBBER. 
 
 A third variety of whist, the domestic rubber, 
 I have passed over in silence. What takes 
 place in the sanctity of private life, it would 
 be as unbecoming for me to divulge as for you 
 to seek to know. 
 
 " O'er all its faults we draw a tender veil, 
 So great its sorrows, and so sad its tale." 
 
Mblat, or JSumblepupp^ ! 151 
 
 At the same time I don't think I am violating 
 any confidence in stating that you will neither 
 find there signalling, nor the penultimate of 
 five and its developments : yet, though free from 
 these annoyances, the game, even when miti- 
 gated by muffins, music, and the humanizing 
 influence of woman, is inexpressibly dreary, 
 and you had better keep out of it if you can ; 
 but should this not be practicable, — for some 
 relative from whom you have a reasonable 
 expectation of a tip may be staying in the 
 house, and you may be compelled to sacrifice 
 yourself either on the altar of duty or of self- 
 interest, — then never forget that sweetness of 
 temper is much more important here than 
 knowledge of whist, and, consoling yourself 
 with the two following reflections — 
 
 (i) That (according to Epicurus) prolonged 
 pain is rather pleasant than otherwise, extreme 
 pain always short * ; 
 
 (2) That those whom the gods love die 
 young — 
 
 * He is right to some extent : the domestic rubber 
 always closes early. 
 
152 
 
 TKIlbt6t n\XQQCt6 
 
 when your hour arrives, bare your throat to the 
 knife with a smile. 
 
 So shall your memory smell sweet and blos- 
 som in domestic circles. 
 
 ''PEMBRIDGE." 
 
CARDS SPIRITUALIZED. 
 
 THE following curious article is taken from 
 an English newspaper of the year 1773, 
 and is there called the '' Perpetual Almanack ; 
 or, Soldier's Prayer Book," by Richard Ivane, a 
 private soldier, belonging to the 42d regiment, 
 who was taken before the Mayor of Glasgow for 
 playing cards during divine service. 
 
 The sergeant commanded the soldiers to 
 church, and when the parson read his prayers 
 and took his text, those who had a Bible took 
 it out ; but this soldier had neither a Bible nor 
 a common prayer-book ; but pulling out a pack 
 of cards, he spread them out before him. He 
 first looked at one card and then at another. 
 The sergeant of the company saw him and 
 said : 
 
 153 
 
154 IKDibiet IRu^gets 
 
 " Richard put up the cards ; this is no place 
 for them." 
 
 ''Never mind that," said Richard. 
 
 When the service was over, the constable 
 took Richard prisoner and brought him before 
 the Mayor. 
 
 ''Well," said the Mayor, "What have you 
 brought this soldier here for? " 
 
 " For playing cards in church." 
 
 "Well, soldier, what have you to say for 
 yourself? " 
 
 " Much, sir, I hope." 
 
 " Very good ; if not I will punish you more 
 than ever man was punished." 
 
 " I have been," said the soldier, "about six 
 weeks on the march ; I have neither Bible nor 
 common prayer-book ; I have nothing but a 
 common pack of cards, and I hope to satisfy 
 your worship of the purity of my intentions." 
 
 " Very good," said the Mayor. 
 
 Then, spreading the cards before the Mayor, 
 he began with the ace : 
 
 "When I see the ace, it reminds me there is 
 but one God. 
 
Gar&6 SpttttualiseD 155 
 
 **When I see the deuce, it reminds me of 
 Father and Son. 
 
 ''When I see the tray, it reminds me of 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 
 
 *' When I see the four, it reminds me of the 
 four evangelists that preached, viz., Matthew, 
 Mark, Luke, and John. 
 
 ''When I see the five, it reminds me of the 
 five wise virgins that trimmed their lamps. 
 There were ten, but five were fools, and were 
 sent out. 
 
 " When I see the six, it reminds me that in 
 six days the Lord made heaven and earth. 
 
 "When I see the seven, it reminds me that 
 on the seventh day God rested from the works 
 He had made, and hallowed it. 
 
 "When I see the eight, it reminds me of the 
 eight righteous persons that were saved when 
 God drowned the world, viz., Noah and his 
 wife, his three sons and their wives. 
 
 "When I see the nine, it reminds me of the 
 nine lepers that were cleansed by our Saviour. 
 There were ten, but nine never returned 
 thanks. 
 
156 . 'MbiBt^'Unggcte 
 
 *' When I see the ten, it reminds me of the 
 ten commandments, which God handed down 
 to Moses on a table of stone. 
 
 ** When I see the king, it reminds me of the 
 great King of Heaven, which is God Almighty. 
 
 ** When I see the queen, it reminds me of the 
 Queen of Sheba, who went to hear the wisdom 
 of Solomon, for she was as wise a woman 
 as he a man. She brought with her fifty boys 
 and fifty girls, all dressed in boy's apparel, for 
 King Solomon to tell which were girls. King 
 Solomon sent for water for them to wash them- 
 selves ; the girls washed to the elbows, and the 
 boys only to the wrists — so King Solomon told 
 by this." 
 
 **Well," said the Mayor, "you have given a 
 description of every card in the pack except 
 one." 
 
 ** What is that? " asked the soldier. 
 
 "The knave," said the Mayor. 
 
 "I will give your honor a description of that, 
 too, if you will not be angry. " 
 
 " I will not," said the Mayor, " if you will 
 not term me to be a knave." 
 
Car06 SptritualtseD 157 
 
 *'Well," said the soldier, *' the greatest knave 
 that I know of is the constable who brought me 
 here/' 
 
 *' I do not know," said the Mayor, '' whether 
 he is the greatest knave, but I know he 's the 
 greatest fool." 
 
 " When I count how many spots in a pack, I 
 find three hundred and sixty-five — as many as 
 there are days in a year. 
 
 " When I count the number of cards in a 
 pack, I find there are fifty-two — as many weeks 
 as there are in a year ; and I find four suits — 
 the number of weeks in the month. 
 
 " I find there are twelve picture cards in the 
 pack, representing the number of months in 
 the year ; and counting the tricks, I find thirteen 
 — the number of weeks in a quarter. 
 
 " So you see, sir, the pack of cards serves for 
 a Bible, almanac, and common prayer-book to 
 me." 
 
 Anonymous. 
 
 
MRS. BATTLE'S OPINIONS ON 
 WHIST. 
 
 ** A CLEAR fire, a clean hearth, and the rigor 
 of the game." This was the celebrated 
 wish of old Sarah Battle (now with God), who, 
 next to her devotions, loved a good game of 
 whist. She was none of your lukewarm 
 gamesters, your half-and-half players, who 
 have no objection to take a hand, if you want 
 one to make up a rubber ; who affirm that they 
 have no pleasure in winning ; that they like to 
 win one game and lose another ; that they can 
 while away an hour very agreeably at a card- 
 table, but are indifferent whether they play or 
 no ; and will desire an adversary, who has 
 slipped a wrong card, to take it up and play 
 158 
 
/irsrs* :fi3attle'6 iS^ptnions on TKHbtat 159 
 
 another. These insufferable triflers are the 
 curse of a table. One of these flies will spoil 
 a whole pot. Of such it may be said that they 
 do not play at cards, but only play at playing 
 at them. 
 
 Sarah Battle was none of that breed. She 
 detested them, as I do, from her heart and soul, 
 and would not, save upon a striking emergency, 
 willingly seat herself at the same table with 
 them. She loved a thorough-paced partner, a 
 determined enemy. She took, and gave, no 
 concessions. She hated favors. She never 
 made a revoke, nor even passed it over in her 
 adversary without exacting the utmost forfeit- 
 ure. She fought a good fight — cut and thrust. 
 She held not her good sword (her cards) '* like 
 a dancer." She sate bolt upright, and neither 
 showed you her cards, nor desired to see yours. 
 All people have their blind side — their super- 
 stitions ; and I have heard her declare, under 
 the rose, that Hearts was her favorite suit. 
 
 I never in my life— and I knew Sarah Battle 
 many of the best years of it— saw her take out 
 her snuff-box w^hen it w^as her turn to play, or 
 
l6o 'MbiBt leinQQctB 
 
 snuflf a candle in ttie middle of a game, or ring 
 for a servant till it was fairly over. She never 
 introduced or connived at miscellaneous con- 
 versation during its progress. As she emphati- 
 cally observed, ** cards were cards** ; and if I 
 ever saw unmingled distaste in her fine last- 
 century countenance, it was at the airs of a 
 young gentleman of a literary turn, who had 
 been with difl&culty persuaded to take a hand, 
 and who, in his excess of candor, declared 
 that he thought there was no harm in unbend- 
 ing the mind now and then, after serious 
 studies, in recreations of that kind ! She could 
 not bear to have her noble occupation, to which 
 she wound up her faculties, considered in that 
 light. It was her business, her duty, the thing 
 she came into the world to do, — and she did it. 
 She unbent her mind afterwards over a book. 
 
 Pope was her favorite author ; his J^ape of 
 the Lock her favorite work. She once did 
 me the honor tb play over with me (with the 
 cards) his celebrated game of ombre in that 
 poem ; and to explain to me how far it agreed 
 with, and in what points it would be found to 
 
/Iftrs. J5attle'6 ©pinions on TKIlbist i6i 
 
 differ from, tradrille. Her illustrations were 
 apposite and poignant ; and I have had the 
 pleasure of sending the substance of them to 
 Mr. Bowles ; but I suppose they came too late 
 to be inserted among his ingenious notes upon 
 that author. 
 
 Quadrille, she has often told me, was her first 
 love ; but whist had engaged her maturer es- 
 teem. The former, she said, was showy and 
 specious, and likely to allure young persons. 
 The uncertainty and quick shifting of partners 
 — a thing which the constancy of whist abhors 
 — the dazzling supremacy and regal investiture 
 of spadille — absurd, as she justly observed, in 
 the pure aristocracy of whist, where his crown 
 and garter give him no proper power above his 
 brother nobility of the aces ; — the giddy vanity, 
 so taking to the inexperienced, of playing 
 alone ; above all, the overpowering attractions 
 of a Sans Prendre Vole, — ^to the triumph of 
 which there is certainly nothing parallel or ap- 
 proaching, in the contingencies of whist ; — all 
 these, she would say, make quadrille a game of 
 captivation to the young and enthusiastic. But 
 
162 TObtst Iftuggets 
 
 whist was the solider game — that was her word. 
 It was a long meal : not like quadrille a feast 
 of snatches. One or two rubbers might coex- 
 tend in duration with an evening. They gave 
 time to form rooted friendships, to cultivate 
 steady enmities. She despised the chance- 
 started, capricious, and ever- fluctuating alli- 
 ances of the other. The skirmishes of quadrille, 
 she would say, reminded her of the petty ephem- 
 eral embroilments of the little Italian states, 
 depicted by Machiavel, perpetually changing 
 postures and connection ; bitter foes to-day, su- 
 gared darlings to-morrow ; kissing and scratch- 
 ing in a breath ; — but the wars of whist were 
 comparable to the long, steady, deep-rooted, 
 national antipathies of the great French and 
 English nations. 
 
 A grave simplicity was what she chiefly 
 admired in her favorite game. There was 
 nothing silly in it, like the nob in cribbage — 
 nothing superfluous. No flushes — that most 
 irrational of all pleas that a reasonable being 
 can set up ; — that any one should claim four by 
 virtue of holding cards of the same mark and 
 
iTIbre* JSattle'6 ©pinione on TKHbiat 163 
 
 color, without reference to the playing of the 
 game, or the individual worth or pretensions of 
 the cards themselves ! She held this to be a 
 solecism ; as pitiful an ambition in cards as 
 alliteration is in authorship. She despised 
 superficiality, and looked deeper than the colors 
 of things. Suits were soldiers, she would say, 
 and must have a uniformity of array to distin- 
 guish them ; but what should we say to a foolish 
 squire, who should claim a merit from dressing 
 up his tenantry in red jackets, that never were 
 to be marshalled — never to take the field ? She 
 even wished that whist were more simple than 
 it is ; and, in my mind, would have stripped it 
 of some appendages, which in the state of 
 human frailty, may be venially, and even com- 
 mendably, allowed of She saw no reason for 
 the deciding of the trump by the turn of the 
 card. Why not one suit always trumps ? Wh}^ 
 two colors when the mark of the suits would 
 have sufficiently distinguished them without it ? 
 '* But the eye, my dear Madam, is agreeably 
 refreshed with the variety. Man is not a creat- 
 ure of pure reason — he must have^ his senses 
 
164 TObtst IFluggete 
 
 delightfully appealed to. We see it in Roman 
 Catholic countries, where the music and the 
 paintings draw in many to worship, whom your 
 Quaker spirit of unsensualizing would have 
 kept out. You yourself have a pretty collec- 
 tion of paintings, — but confess to me, whether, 
 walking in your gallery at Sandham, among 
 those clear Vandykes, or among the Paul Pot- 
 ters in the anteroom, you ever felt your bosom 
 glow with an elegant delight, at all comparable 
 to that you have it in your power to experience 
 most evenings over a well-arranged assortment 
 of the court-cards? — the pretty antic habits, 
 like heralds in a procession — the gay triumph- 
 assuring scarlets — the contrasting deadly-killing 
 sables — the 'hoary majesty of spades' — Pam 
 in all his glory I 
 
 ''All these might be dispensed with; and 
 with their naked names upon the drab paste- 
 board, the game might go on very well, pic- 
 tureless. But the beauty of cards would be 
 extinguished forever. Stripped of all that is 
 imaginative in them, they must degenerate into 
 mere gambling. Imagine a dull deal board, or 
 
/IBr6. JBattle'a (S^ptnlons on Wihiet 165 
 
 drum-head, to spread them on, instead of that 
 nice verdant carpet (next to Nature's), fittest 
 arena for those courtly combatants to play 
 their gallant jousts and tourneys in ! ^^x- 
 change those delicately-turned ivory markers 
 — (work of Chinese artists, unconscious of their 
 symbol, or as profanely slighting their true 
 application as the arrantest Ephesian journey- 
 man that turned out those little shrines for 
 the goddess) — exchange them for little bits 
 of leather (our ancestors' money), or chalk and " 
 a slate ! ' ' 
 
 The old lady, with a smile, confessed the 
 soundness of my logic ; and to her approbation 
 of my arguments on her favorite topic that 
 evening, I have always fancied myself indebted 
 for the legacy of a curious cribbage-board, made 
 of the finest Sienna marble, which her mater- 
 nal uncle (old Walter Plumer, whom I have 
 elsewhere celebrated), brought with him from 
 I^lorence ; — ^this, and a trifle of five hundred 
 pounds, came to me at her death. 
 
 The former bequest (which I do not least 
 value) T have kept with religious care ; though 
 
i66 mbist IRucjaet^ 
 
 she herself, to confess a truth, was never greatly 
 taken with cribbage. It was an essentially 
 vulgar game, I have heard her say, — disputing 
 with her uncle, who was very partial to it. She 
 could never heartily bring her mouth to pro- 
 nounce '' Go "—or *' That ^s a go^ She called 
 it an ungrammatical game. The pegging teased 
 her. I once knew her to forfeit a rubber 
 (a five-dollar stake), because she would not 
 take advantage of the turn-up knave, which 
 would have given it her, but which she must 
 have claimed by the disgraceful tenure of 
 declaring ** tivo for his heels.'''' There is some- 
 thing extremely genteel in this. sort of self- 
 denial. Sarah Battle was a gentlewoman born. 
 Piquet she held the best game at the cards 
 for two persons, though she would ridicule 
 the pedantry of the terms, — such as pique — re- 
 pique — the capot, — they savored (she thought) 
 of affectation. But games for two, or even 
 three, she never greatly cared for. She loved 
 the quadrate, or square. She would argue 
 thus : Cards are warfare ; the ends are gain, 
 with glory. But cards are war, in disguise of a 
 
/Iftr6, JBatt(c'6 iS>pinion6 on Wibiet 167 
 
 sport ; when single adversaries encounter, the 
 ends proposed are too palpable. By themselves, 
 it is too close a fight ; with spectators, it is not 
 much bettered. No looker-on can be interested, 
 except for a bet, and then it is a mere affair of 
 money ; he cares not for your luck sympatheti- 
 cally^ or for your play. Three are still worse ; 
 a mere naked war of every man against every 
 man, as in cribbage, without league or alli- 
 ance ; or a rotation of petty and contradictory 
 interests, a succession of heartless leagues, and 
 not much more hearty infractions of them, as 
 in tradrille. But in square games {she meant 
 whist)^ all that is possible to be attained in 
 card-playing is accomplished. There are the 
 incentives of profit with honor, common to 
 every species, — though the latter can be but 
 very imperfectly enjoyed in those other games, 
 where the spectator is only feebly a participa- 
 tor. But the parties in whist are spectators and 
 principals too. They are a theatre to them- 
 selves, and a looker-on is not wanted. He is 
 rather worse than nothing, and an imperti- 
 nence. Whist abhors neutralitv, or interests 
 
168 mbi6t mug^eta 
 
 beyond its sphere. You glory in some surpris- 
 ing stroke of skill or fortune, not because a 
 cold — or even an interested — bystander wit- 
 nesses it, but because your partner sympa- 
 thizes in the contingency. You win for two. 
 You triumph for two. Two are exalted. Two 
 again are mortified ; which divides their dis- 
 grace, as the conjunction doubles (by taking 
 off the invidiousness) your glories. Two losing 
 to two are better reconciled, than one to one 
 in that close butchery. The hostile feeling is 
 weakened by multiplying the channels. War 
 has become a civil game. By such reasonings 
 as these the old lady was accustomed to defend 
 her favorite pastime. 
 
 No inducement could ever prevail upon her 
 to play at any game, where chance entered into 
 the composition, for nothing. Chance, she 
 would argue, — and here again, admire the sub- 
 tlety of her conclusion, — chance is nothing, 
 but where something else depends upon it. It 
 is obvious that cannot be glory. What rational 
 cause of exultation could it give to a man to 
 turn up size ace a hundred times together by 
 
USsxB. J5attle'6 ©pinions on Mblet i6g 
 
 , himself? or before spectators, where no stake 
 was depending ? Make a lottery of a hundred 
 thousand tickets with but one fortunate num- 
 ber, and what possible principle of our nature, 
 except stupid wonderment, could it gratify to 
 gain that number as many times successively, 
 without a prize? Therefore she disliked the 
 mixture of chance in backgammon, where it 
 was not played for money. She called it fool- 
 ish, and those people idiots who were taken 
 with a lucky hit under such circumstances. 
 Games of pure skill were as little to her fancy. 
 Played for a stake, they were a mere system of 
 overreaching. Played for glory, they were a 
 mere setting of one man's wit, — his memory, or 
 combination- faculty rather — against another*s ; 
 like a mock engagement at a review, bloodless 
 and profitless. She could not conceive a game 
 wanting the spritely infusion of chance, the 
 handsome excuses of good fortune. Two peo- 
 ple playing at chess in a corner of a room, 
 whilst whist was stirring in the centre, would 
 inspire her with insufferable horror and ennui. 
 Those well-cut similitudes of Castles and 
 
T70 Mbiet 1Rug^et6 
 
 Knights, the imagery of the board, she would 
 argue (and I think in this case justly) were 
 entirely misplaced and senseless. Those hard 
 head-contests can in no instance ally with the 
 fancy. They reject form and color. A pencil 
 and dry slate (she used to say) were the proper 
 arena for such combatants. 
 
 To those puny objectors against cards, as 
 nurturing the bad passions, she would retort, 
 that man is a gaming animal. He must be 
 always trying to get the better in something or 
 other ; — that this passion can scarcely be more 
 safely expended than upon a game at cards ; 
 that cards are a temporary illusion ; — in truth, a 
 mere drama ; for we do but play at being might- 
 ily concerned, where a few idle shillings are at 
 stake, yet, during the illusion, we «;r as might- 
 ily concerned as those whose stake is crowns 
 and kingdoms. They are a sort of dream-fight- 
 ing ; much ado ; great battling and little blood- 
 shed ; mighty means for disproportion ed ends ; 
 quite as diverting, and a great deal more in- 
 noxious, than many of those more serious 
 games of life which men play, without esteeming 
 them to be such. 
 
UXsvB. :©attle'6 ©pinlona on Mbiat 171 
 
 with great deference to the old lady's judg- 
 ment in these matters, I think I have experi- 
 enced some moments in my life, when playing 
 at cards Jbr nothing has even been agreeable. 
 When I am in sickness, or not in the best 
 spirits, I sometimes call for the cards, and play 
 a game at piquet for love with my cousin 
 Bridget— Bridget Elia. 
 
 I grant there is something sneaking in it ; 
 but with a toothache, or a sprained ankle, — 
 when you are subdued and humble, — you are 
 glad to put up with an inferior spring of action. 
 
 There is such a thing in nature, I am con- 
 vinced, as sick whist. 
 
 I grant it is not the highest style of man — I 
 deprecate the manes of Sarah Battle — she lives 
 not, alas ! to whom I should apologize. 
 
 At such times, those terms ^ which my old 
 friend objected to, come in as something ad- 
 missible. I love to get a tierce or a quatorze, 
 though they mean nothing. I am subdued to 
 an inferior interest. Those shadows of winning- 
 amuse me. 
 
 That last game I had with my sweet cousin 
 (I capotted her)— {dare I tell thee, how foolish 
 
172 WibiBt IWu^^ets 
 
 I am ?) — I wished it might have lasted forever, 
 though we gained nothing, and lost nothing ; 
 though it was a mere shade of play, I would be 
 content to go on in that idle folly forever. The 
 pipkin should be ever boiling, that was to pre- 
 pare the gentle lenitive to my foot, which 
 Bridget was doomed to apply after the game 
 was over ; and, as I do not much relish appli- 
 ances, there it should ever bubble. Bridget 
 and I should be ever playing. 
 
 Chari.es Lamb. 
 
TOADIES' WHIST. 
 
 NOT many years ago there came from 
 America a treatise upon whist, containing 
 certain theories which were the subject of hot 
 debate among our whist-players at home, and 
 which are still known and referred to as 
 "American leads." The latest ideas that have 
 been contributed by the United States on the 
 subject of the game are hardly so useful or 
 worthy of discussion ; but as they throw a 
 curious and unexpected light upon a game 
 played by ladies — which is not whist, although 
 they call it by that name — we are unwilling to 
 let them pass altogether in silence. It would 
 appear from the American papers that the 
 ladies of New York have decided that whist is 
 an excellent opportunity for displaying the 
 173 
 
174 TDdbiet Iftu^gete 
 
 charms of their persons, and are become so 
 enamored of the game in consequence, that 
 there is a most unusual and fashionable de- 
 mand among them for professors of the art — an 
 art which, in their case, can not be learnt 
 from any treatises that are extant ; for neither 
 does the ancient Hoyle nor the more modern 
 Cavendish say a word about the elegances of 
 whist-playing, or the airs and graces to be 
 practised by the players. Their professors are 
 required to teach them, not how to play a hand, 
 but how to display a pretty hand and arm to 
 the greatest advantage ; a suit of diamonds is 
 not more necessary in the pack than a suit of 
 diamonds upon their fingers ; and the privilege 
 of dealing ranks second to that of shuffling 
 the cards. They require a professor to teach 
 them whist in the same way as Mr. Turveydrop, 
 late lamented professor of deportment, would 
 have taught them to play lawn tennis. In fact, 
 his art is merely supplementary to that of another 
 American professor, — the Manicure. This 
 latest development of whist-playing is not 
 likely to add to the science of the game ; but, 
 
%aMce* Wibiet 175 
 
 as it throws a curious side-light upon *' ladies' 
 whist '' in general, it is worthy of consideration. 
 
 What we call *' ladies' whist," what Charles 
 lyamb called **sick whist," and what we have 
 heard an elderly and morose whist-player de- 
 scribe as ** bumblepuppy " — a word with a dark 
 but suggestive meaning — are all practically the 
 same game, — a very pleasant game, but not 
 whist in the strictest sense of the word. We 
 would not suggest that ladies cannot play the 
 strict game ; on the contrary, some of them 
 play it remarkably well, — witness the celebrated 
 Sarah Battle, for instance. But it cannot be 
 denied that the average lady whist-player is 
 addicted to play that is rather peculiar than sci- 
 entific. We need not make mention of those dear 
 ladies who, on sitting down at the whist-table, 
 propound such riddles as — '*How many cards 
 do you deal to each person ? " or *' Does a king 
 count more than an ace ? " — for they are outside 
 the pale ; but we will content ourselves with 
 speaking of the average player, and by these 
 signs we may know her. 
 
 She will invariably try to cheat in cutting 
 
176 imbiet nmQcie 
 
 for partners, for she cannot bear to leave so 
 important a choice to be decided by chance. 
 In dealing, she will begin with the greatest care 
 and deliberation, but suddenly there will occur 
 to her mind a story, which, with much anima- 
 tion, she will proceed to relate until the trump 
 is turned up in the wrong place. She can never 
 be persuaded that she has misdealt until the 
 cards have been carefully counted at least three 
 times. Another time she will beg her partner 
 to deal for her, and overwhelm him with 
 reproachful glances should he turn up a small 
 card for the trump. It is easy to know whether 
 she has taken up a good or an indiflferent hand ; 
 if it be a good one, she never tires of contemplat- 
 ing it, will arrange and re-arrange it a hundred 
 times, while she fingers with ill-concealed im- 
 patience the card that she wishes to play ; if it 
 looks but an indifferent one, she, too, will 
 assume an air of indifference, will gaze with an 
 abstracted look into the farther corners of the 
 room, and drum upon the table with the fingers 
 of one hand while the other holds the cards 
 carelessly shut up in a pack. If she has five 
 
XaWee' mbt0t 177 
 
 trumps in her hand, she will not lead them, — 
 no, nothing will induce her to lead them, not 
 even if her partner has called for them. He 
 is ill-advised if he remonstrates with her after- 
 wards. She looks at him with the sweetest 
 wonder in her eyes, as she protests that she 
 never heard him. En revanche^ in the course 
 of the next game she will trump his best card, 
 and gather up the trick with a beaming smile 
 of genial triumph. To do her justice, she does 
 not often revoke ; when she does revoke, she 
 discovers her offence with the prettiest air of 
 defiance imaginable, and at least ten minutes' 
 discussion, combined with the display of all the 
 back tricks, are needed before it can be proved 
 to her satisfaction, — even then she has a great 
 deal to say, and leaves it to be finally under- 
 stood that not she herself, but her partner, has 
 been most to blame in this matter. Indeed, he 
 is fortunate if the matter is allowed to rest 
 then, and if he is not subjected to a spirited 
 homily on the misleading nature of his play. 
 She loves, above all things, to make what she 
 calls a good trick, — that is to say, a trick with 
 
178 Timbiat muggets 
 
 lots of court cards in it. If the two of spades 
 be led, followed by the four, she will play a 
 knave, even though she has the ace in hand, 
 because she cannot bear to waste the latter upon 
 two such insignificant cards ; and it is with feel- 
 ings of unbounded indignation that she sees 
 the trick fall to the queen of the fourth hand. 
 The feelings of her partner who led from a king 
 need not be described, because his feelings, of 
 course, are not worth mentioning. She also 
 loves to score by honors, but she cannot endure 
 that her adversaries should hold them ; if they 
 do so too often, she will have grave doubts as 
 to the advisability of counting honors at all, 
 and will give vent to some very serious reflec- 
 tions upon the relative value of good hands 
 and good play, of blind chance and science. 
 The simple rules of scoring she can never mas- 
 ter ; she generally requests her partner to mark 
 the score, but that does not prevent her from 
 challenging the correctness of the result, should 
 it not be in her favor. Of all her propensities, 
 the most curious, the most ineradicable, is the 
 one that prompts her to hoard her trumps. 
 
XaMes' Wibiet 179 
 
 Nothing, as we have already said, can induce 
 her to lead them. She prefers to save them up 
 as a kind of bonne bouche^ a display of fireworks 
 for the end of the game. She looks upon them 
 as things that are too precious for use ; she 
 regards them with a superstitious reverence. 
 Should her partner lead them, '* What ? 
 trumps!" she exclaims in a tone of pained 
 surprise at his wasteful audacity ; she will play 
 her card grudgingly, and take the trick perhaps, 
 but she will not return his lead, — no, she can- 
 not bring herself to return his lead. There was 
 an eminent whist-player, of whom it was re- 
 lated that, whenever he found himself seated 
 at the whist-table with ladies, he used to tell 
 them the following tale as a kind of prologue 
 to the game : '^ I once knew a lady who held 
 five trumps in her hand, and who failed to lead 
 them. She ended sadly " ; — and here his voice 
 sank to an impressive whisper — ''she died in 
 the workhouse." Whether or not this pre- 
 cautionary measure was attended with success 
 tradition does not say ; we should be inclined 
 to doubt its efficacy. But to sum up our lady 
 
ISO TObi6t 1Rugget6 
 
 whist-player : she is delightful, she is charming, 
 she is everything that is good and beautiful to 
 look upon, but she cannot be brought to regard 
 whist as a serious science ; as a partner of our 
 joys and our woes, as a partner of everything 
 else in life, she is immeasurably too good for 
 us, but as a partner at whist she leaves much to 
 be desired, — at whist one would gladly see her 
 the partner of one's worst enemy, and then 
 make the stakes as high as possible. 
 
 It is not thus that all ladies play. It was not 
 thus that Sarah Battle played. And who was 
 Sarah Battle ? Charles Lamb shall answer that 
 question in his own words: ''^A clear fire, a 
 clean hearth, and the rigor of the game.' This 
 was the celebrated wish of old Sarah Battle, 
 who, next to her devotions, loved a good game 
 of whist," — and who, it would appear, played 
 an uncommonly good game, too. One can 
 imagine the old lady sitting very upright in- 
 deed, with an eye as clear and flashing as her 
 'fire, with a mob-cap as white and spotless as 
 her hearth, and with a rigor of deportment that 
 was unequalled even by the rigorous laws of her 
 
XaDlee' TObiet i8i 
 
 favorite game. And one can imagine, also, 
 Elia sitting opposite to her, with his respectful 
 admiration a good deal tempered by the fearful 
 timidity and awe inspired by his uncompromis- 
 ing partner. To only one weakness did she con- 
 fess, and that only in the strictest confidence : 
 she confessed that hearts was her favorite suit. 
 This alone would serve to show how old- 
 fashioned she was, and how long ago she must 
 have lived. Nowadays, if any lady could be 
 brought to confess to such a preference, it 
 would be for diamonds. On the other hand, 
 she did not approve of playing for love ; she 
 considered, and rightly, too, that some kind of 
 stake was necessary to add a point and a zest to 
 the game. Whist she declared to be the best 
 of all games that she knew, because the partner- 
 ship of two players divided the losses while it 
 doubled the glory of winning. Probably old 
 Sarah Battle, as well as Talleyrand, would have 
 found a triste vieillesse without the solace of 
 cards. But even while he admired the thorough- 
 ness and soundness of Sarah Battlers views, 
 Blia could not refrain from putting in a plea 
 
iS2 Wbiet 1Klugc}et0 
 
 for what he called '' sick whist " ; aud we our- 
 selves must confess to a sneaking liking for 
 that humble game, although we may seem to 
 have pointed at it with the finger of scorn. It 
 was "sick whist" that the immortal Mr. Pick- 
 wick played at Dingley Dell with old Mrs. 
 Wardle for his partner ; but it was a very dif- 
 ferent whist that he played at Bath in company 
 with Lady Snuphanuph, Mrs. Colonel Wugsby, 
 and Miss Bolo, and probably he preferred the 
 first to the rigor of the second game. On the 
 latter occasion, if we remember rightly, his 
 partner, Miss Bolo, ''rose from the table con- 
 siderably agitated, and went straight home in a 
 flood of tears, and a sedan-chair.*' That is a 
 failing shared by all ladies, even the best 
 players ; though they are generally careless 
 of the stakes, they cannot bear to lose. But 
 what would Miss Battle or Miss Bolo have said 
 to the whist of New York ? What would they 
 have said ! 
 
 The Spectator, 
 
•"^is^My-Wi' 
 
 WHISTOI.OGY. 
 
 -the Play 's the thing 
 
 To touch the conscience of the king." 
 
 r^ROBABIvY human ingenuity has not dis- 
 ^ played itself in any discovery more than 
 by the various modes it has invented to read the 
 character, and detect the temperament, of indi- 
 viduals. This has been a favorite study from 
 the very earliest ages — chiromancy existed 
 among the Chaldeans, phrenology is of our own 
 day — while sect after sect preferred their claim 
 to attention, founding their several systems, 
 now upon physical attribute, now upon some 
 apparently adventitious element ; so that, from 
 the facial angle or the occipital ridge, to the 
 shape of a man's nails, there is nothing which 
 183 
 
i84 TObiat nnggcte 
 
 has not been admitted as evidence of his moral 
 tendencies, or his intellectual capacity. 
 
 We have given years of patient thought and 
 labor to this theme. We have revolved it long 
 and arduously, discussing much with the learned 
 of many lands, and our triumph it is at length 
 to declare, that we believe success has crowned 
 our life toil, and that we have arrived at the 
 test of all temperament, the gauge of morals 
 and the measure of mind. That we have, in 
 short, established an ordeal which no subtlety 
 can evade, no astuteness escape from ; an or- 
 deal, too, so comprehensive as to include the 
 whole nation of men subjected to it, giving 
 the measure of greatness and goodness, little- 
 ness or incapacity, as unerringly as the balance 
 decides upon weight, and thus supplying to the 
 world, bored with competitive trials and civil 
 service commissions, one sure and safe measure 
 by which it shall select its public men. 
 
 Among the many objections which will be 
 started against his plan, there will be none 
 more constantly put forward than its extreme 
 simplicity — the old stumbling-block of weak 
 
1imbi0tOlO515 155 
 
 minds, who require that truth not only should 
 see at the bottom of the well, but that the water 
 should be miiddy besides. To such persons, 
 however, he makes no appeal. To them he 
 says : *^ Lovers of the inexplicably confused— 
 ye men who worship complexity without con- 
 sistency, and moderation without a purpose — 
 go hence ! Your teachers are members of Par- 
 liament ! Your school-house is the British 
 House of Commons, or a botanical lecture-room. 
 The audience I seek is of those eager for truth, 
 even though it come in the humblest garb, and 
 with the smallest parade of pretension. To 
 them, then, do I declare, that whist is the touch- 
 stone of humanity — the gauge and measure of 
 man.'* *' Whist ! " exclaims some rash objector, 
 '* why, whist is a game — a mere game." Doubt- 
 less it is ; but is not law a game ? Is not medicine 
 a game ? Is not public life in its very highest 
 walks a game ? Is not literature a game — a 
 mere game, with all its accidents of good and 
 ill, its opportunities gained or lost, its poor 
 hands occasionally played fortunately, and its 
 trumps as often squandered ? To stippose that 
 
i86 mbiat mug^ete 
 
 b}^ the word ''game" deprecation must be 
 understood, is to make a gross mistake. All 
 the world is a vast play-table, with the heaviest 
 stake that can be played for on the board. In 
 the same way, but in a far more applicable 
 sense, that the chase is said to be mimic war, a 
 game may be the counterfeit of life, with all its 
 vacillating changes, its failures and successes, 
 its short-comings and its triumphs, its struggles 
 and its accomplishments. 
 
 " I concede also this," cries another and more 
 eager opponent; ''but what becomes of your 
 theory in the case of those — and a large major- 
 ity of people they make — who do not play, 
 never played, and probably never will play it ? " 
 To that I reply, that where a watch has no dial- 
 plate I do not pretend to tell the hour. For 
 the sake of that large and benighted class, I am 
 ready with my sympathy and my sorrow. I re- 
 gret heartfully that so much of intellectual 
 culture has been denied them, even to the pity- 
 ing expression of Prince Talleyrand to the un- 
 happy man who confessed he had never learned 
 the game: **Ah, my friend, what a wretched 
 
llHlbtetolo^l? 187 
 
 old age awaits you ! " To tell me that the test 
 is a fallacy, because it is not of universal appli- 
 cation, is absurd ; for what test is there that has 
 such conditions? School experiences, for in- 
 st?.nce, make sad work of one's occipital ridge. 
 I myself had four of them before I was on the 
 ** fifth form.'' Single-stick will do as much or 
 more for your facial angle. A rowing-match 
 against time will contribute generously to the 
 characteristic indications of the palm of your 
 hand ; and as to the shape of your hat, if you 
 wear a Gibus or a Jim Crov/, you may defy all 
 the *' experts " of Europe. 
 
 I go no further, remember, than saying that 
 whist is the test of those who play it ; and I no 
 more apply it to the outer barbarians who do 
 not, than I would prescribe the ascent of Mont 
 "Blanc to a bishop. I am ready, as I told you 
 above, to deplore tearfully that the number is 
 not millions. I 'd be pleased to think that even 
 in our own colonies, scattered as they are over 
 the universe, a rubber could always be found ; 
 and that while I write these lines — it is now 
 nearing miduight — men were scoring the hon- 
 
188 TObtet Iftu^^eta 
 
 ors at Newfoundland, and marking the trick at 
 Auckland. 
 
 Let no rash opponent burst in by saying : ''Is 
 it thus he speaks of a frivolous pastime ? Does 
 he want to dignify as a science a vulgar amuse- 
 ment, or establish as a test of capacity mere 
 skill at a game ? " Nothing of the kind, most 
 hasty and intemperate of critics. With the 
 amount of skill or ignorance a man may dis- 
 play at whist I have little concern. It is not of 
 whist as a game I am treating, though I may 
 add, in a parenthesis, that when I shall have 
 addressed myself to the subject, Hoyle and 
 Major A. will figure at a low mark in cheap 
 catalogues, and even Deschapelles may be had 
 for the ** binding.'' 
 
 No ; my present business is with whist ethi- 
 cally considered — whist regarded as the emblem 
 of the man whisting — and it is in the elimina- 
 tion of this as a theory that I lay claim to the 
 honor of a discoverer. There may be some who 
 will not accord me the patience, slight though 
 it be, I crave ; some are already throwing down 
 this paper ; some have arrived at the condemna- 
 
 I 
 
'Mbf0tolo^l5 159 
 
 tory ''Pshaw, what folly ! " But you, dear and 
 valued reader, are not like these men — you will 
 hear me for ''my cause.'* 
 
 Let me, then, start with the declaration that 
 whist includes a large range of high qualities, 
 and a great extent of acquirement. The great 
 whist-player must have patience, charity, for- 
 giveness, forbearance, promptitude, consider- 
 able readiness in emergency, fortitude under 
 calamity, a clear faculty to calculate probabili- 
 ties, an admirable memory, and a spirit at once 
 self-reliant and trustful. Not alone must he 
 be graced by these bright endowments, but be 
 bland in manner, and a courtier in demeanor, 
 and be able to exercise every one of these quali- 
 ties at the moment of requirement, showing 
 himself at the self-same instant of time mature 
 in thought, quiet in action — a Murat in pursuit, 
 a Massena in resistance, and a D'Orsay in 
 politeness ! Whist, you are aware, is a perfect 
 illustration of the law of evidence. You are 
 given certain facts as the basis by which others 
 are to be elicited. Your partner — I am speak- 
 ing, of course, of one deserving of that name, 
 
190 TDClbfet IFluggets 
 
 one versed in the game, educated in its wisest 
 precepts, himself a man of capacity, and ani- 
 mated by that spirit of responsibility which is 
 the very essence of a player, and which whis- 
 pers to him at each moment, *' It is not my own 
 fate that is alone at stake, there is a fellow- 
 creature associated with me here ; shall I by 
 this knave bring joy to his heart, or will that 
 club add another white hair to his whiskers?'* 
 Such a man as this, I say, gravely arranging his 
 cards with a mingled caution and quickness, 
 leads a card, as the French say, ''invites." 
 From that moment the issue of the cause opens : 
 his card is the first witness on the table ; that 
 witness may be a person of mark or note, he 
 may be one of the middle rank of life, or some 
 humble creature, some deuce of diamonds, 
 merely sent forward, like a picket, to fire a shot 
 and fall back. Whatever be the card, the ques- 
 tion of evidence is opened, and as speedily do 
 you ask yourself: "What does this imply?** 
 The resources of your own hand aid you in the 
 answer, and you are in an instant in possession 
 of the motive. Now it may be that, fully appre- 
 
Tirabt6tol091^ 191 
 
 dating the intention, and rightfully estimating 
 all your partner's resources, yet still the amount 
 of support he expects from you is not available. 
 Your object is, therefore, at once to show him 
 that you cannot come up to his aid, that you are 
 weak in that arm of the service, and that the 
 order of attack must be altered. 
 
 You were a chief justice a moment back — you 
 are a general in command now. The adversary 
 has played, and what a flood of light breaks in 
 upon you ! You perceive immediately the 
 indication of strength in a certain color, con- 
 sequently, the likelihood of weakness in some 
 other suit, since Fortune generally deals in 
 these caprices ; and thus thinking, your im- 
 agination soars upward on the speculation of 
 that strength and that weakness. He has this, 
 but not that ; he wishes for a club ; he is afraid 
 of the diamonds. The fancy thus exercised 
 attains an ease and pliancy you have not experi- 
 enced before, and you see, almost without know- 
 ing it, a pack ! Now comes the strong attack — 
 or is it really strong? Is not that king led out 
 so boldly a single card ? and is this pretended 
 
192 Timbiat Iftug^cts 
 
 strength not weakness, a mere bid of the oppo- 
 sition, which cannot deceive an old habitud of 
 the Treasury benches ? Ah, crafty politician 
 that you are, how you have detected the clever 
 bid for popular favor ! but you are not to be the 
 dupe of such an artifice. You are called on to 
 reply ; and now what a demand is suddenly 
 made upon your memory, not alone for every 
 card that has been played — that is a slight 
 effort — but for every motive and impulse that 
 suggested the play, and where the intention had 
 met success, where failure ; why your partner 
 discontinued this or persisted in that ; from 
 what cause did he slight that advance, why 
 seem to encourage that apparent failure. To 
 your gifts of Lord Campbell, Napier, and 
 Disraeli, you now add the calculating powers of 
 a Babbage, all shrouded under the benevolence 
 of a bishop, and the bland urbanity of a lord 
 in waiting. 
 
 As I must not rob my other and magnum 
 opus of details of this sort, you will excuse 
 my pressing this theme any further. I merely 
 mean, by these few and passing remarks, to 
 
Mbl0tologi^ 193 
 
 call your attention to the true nature of the 
 game, and the qualities it requires. If you see 
 by this that the great player must of necessity 
 be a man of varied and remarkable gifts, you 
 will also perceive how, in the deficiency of such 
 qualities, inferior performers exhibit manifold 
 traits of this nature, the wants of the intel- 
 lectual man being, so to say, eked out and sup- 
 plied by the resources of the moral man. The 
 great artist, perfect and complete, answering to 
 every demand, ready at any emergency, is a 
 grand and a very imposing spectacle. He stands 
 out like some faultless statue that you walk 
 around with ever-increasing admiration. Still, 
 in the high exercise of his genius, his true 
 nature is little revealed, for neither successes 
 elate nor reverses surprise him, and he is not the 
 profitable subject of contemplation. 
 
 It is your erring mortal, your whister, *' not 
 too good for human nature's daily food," your 
 man of weaknesses and frailties, yielding to 
 temptation here, trustful to rashness there ; 
 now credulous, now doubting ; over-confident 
 at one moment, over-cowardly the next ; spend- 
 13 
 
ig4 Timblst mug^ets 
 
 thrift to-day, miserly to-morrow ; rash with his 
 aces, and a niggard of some beggarly small 
 trump, that might have spared his partner 
 an *' honor." This is the man for our purpose ; 
 watch him, mark him, even for one rubber, and 
 you '11 know more of his real innate actual 
 nature than his wife knows, who has been 
 solacing and scolding him for five-and-twenty 
 years. Look at the very manual indecision with 
 which he extricates that card from his hand, 
 and seems, even as he plays, half to recall it. 
 Mark how his eyes follow it — his own card — 
 not the adversary's, nor his partner's, but his 
 own blessed four of spades, and a worthless 
 adventure, of no value to any one, but a whole 
 argosy to him, for it was once his^ and he 
 played it. That man's heart is all selfishness. 
 I know it. I see it. You may argue till you 
 are blue, but you '11 not persuade me to the con- 
 trary. Place him in a cabinet to-morrow, and 
 he '11 only have a thought for the measure he 
 initiates himself — a measure probably of equal 
 pretension with his four of spades. He is a 
 one-idea'd creature, and the one idea is himself. 
 
•Mbtstolog^ 195 
 
 " Who led that card ? How is all this ? What 's 
 to play?*' exclaims the sandy-eyebrowed man, 
 with his long upper lip, and you see one who is 
 always asking his way in life : begging this 
 man to explain that leader in the Times, and 
 beseeching every one to guide him somewhere. 
 He is a bore, too, of that terrible category, the 
 lackadaisical, making physical cold-blooded- 
 ness stand for breeding, and thinking himself 
 the pink of fashion when supremely imperti- 
 nent. Well, he '11 meet his reward from that 
 sharp-nosed old gentleman with the upstanding 
 hair, and who has just turned the trick, as he 
 would turn the key on a prisoner. Watch the 
 unrelenting severity of that wicked old face as 
 he leads out his trumps. Would n't he burn 
 heretics ! Would n't he thrash his nigger, think 
 ye ! No, he'll not leave you one — not one, sir ; 
 his memory has not begun to fail him yet, and 
 he remembers you have the ten, though you 
 have just played the knave. There is a savage 
 sort of haste, too, in the way he gathers up the 
 tricks — he is afraid your sufferings might have 
 even a second's respite. And oh, poor benighted 
 
i9<5 Wibiet mugget6 
 
 little man with the large cravat and the mosaic 
 pin, what possessed you to keep all your good 
 cards to be trumped, holding back your notes till 
 the bank broke ? You were a miser, that *s the 
 secret of it, and you thought to carry off your 
 wealth with you at last. At all events, you 
 could n't part with it. It was so pleasant to 
 turn it over and look at it, and mutter, '* Oh, I 
 could make a show if I would ; but I won't. I '11 
 leave it to those silly fools there to squander 
 their substance ; but I '11 die rich ! " 
 
 We now come to the distrustful player, the 
 man who has no faith in his partner, and who, 
 forgetful that his efficiency is entirely depend- 
 ent upon a thorough good understanding 
 with his colleague, bores along alone and un- 
 seconded. This is a lamentable spectacle, and 
 full of its moral teaching. You see such a man 
 exactly as he would figure in the real world of 
 life, ever encountering difficulties which only 
 need the slightest amount of assistance to com- 
 bat, but which, unaided, were insurmountable. 
 You see him marring and deranging what 
 might have proved skilful combinations but for 
 
TObfetolo^^ 197 
 
 his dogged and stubborn self-reliance. Next in 
 order of hopelessness is the uncertain, wavering 
 player ; the man deterred by every chance 
 obstacle, and continually altering his plans to 
 suit some supposed necessity. He flies from 
 hearts to spades, and from spades to diamonds ; 
 and if you watch him in the actual world, you will 
 see such a man desert his party in the House, or 
 his friends out of it, whenever an adverse in- 
 cident seems to threaten them with misfortune. 
 Ivook at that careless fellow with the merry 
 eye and the laughing mouth, and tell me, as he 
 plays out all his best cards one after the other, 
 if you do not recognize the spendthrift, that 
 only lives on the present, and takes no heed for 
 the future ? One half of that abundance he is 
 dissipating would have achieved a victory if 
 only expended with judgment and discretion ; 
 but he does n't care for that ; does n't care 
 when his melancholy partner explains how and 
 and why they have been beaten, but, with some 
 wise saw about being jolly under difficulties, is 
 quite ready to begin again, and be worsted, as 
 he was before. 
 
198 mbiat IRucjgets 
 
 Is there a mood of man, is there an element 
 of mind, or quality of temper, we have not here 
 before us? The sanguine, the hopeless, the 
 rash, the timid, the impetuous, the patient, the 
 forgiving, the relentless, the easily baffled, and 
 the stubbornly courageous man, are all there ; 
 and there is also the man of memory and the 
 man of none. The man playing out his game — 
 just as he lives — from hand to mouth ; no calcu- 
 lation, no foresight, no care for the future in his 
 heart ; and there is, sad spectacle ! the wretched 
 creature who loses his game rather than play 
 some paltry trump ; and that man — take my 
 word for it — would not spend sixpence in a 
 cordial to restore life to the poor fellow rescued 
 from drowning. Don't tell me this judgment 
 of him is harsh, hasty or cruel. I have made 
 these men my study. I have tracked them 
 home at night, and seen them walk drearily 
 back to their lodgings in the rain, rather than 
 bestow a shilling for a cab, though the rheuma- 
 tism and the cough will turn out to be a costlier 
 luxury afterwards. 
 
 Another variety also deserves mention, and it 
 
TObl6t0l09^ 199 
 
 is one with which every whister must be famil- 
 iar. The man who cares nothing about the 
 game and everything for the stake ; the man 
 who has no interest in the changeful fortunes 
 of the fight, but is intently interested in the 
 result, and everlastingly inquiring, '* "What was 
 the amount of the rubber ? " as if the arithmetic 
 was the real subject for anxiety. Such are, I 
 grieve to own, the class who form successful 
 men in the world. They look only to ''what 
 pays," and in this one-idea'd pursuit of the 
 profitable, they always beat out of the field 
 those poor souls who have notions of credit, 
 character, and distinction. 
 
 As for that sanguine but not strong-headed 
 individual who never suspects the adversary's 
 strength, in the suit he has just led, because it 
 has been suffered to go round once unmolested, 
 I see the germs of an unfortunate speculator, 
 the victim of Spanish " Threes" — " Poyais pre- 
 ference shares." 
 
 But as "there are manners of men," so are 
 there whist-players, and it would only be to 
 catalogue the moods of the one to enumerate 
 
the types of the other : The blindly hopeful 
 creature, that will play his game out without 
 the faintest shadow of a chance in his favor, 
 true emblem of the fellow who actually does 
 not know he is ruined till he reads his name as 
 bankrupt in the Gazette ; and his antitype, the 
 melancholy, despondent man, who, with four 
 by honors, expects defeat, portraying the rich 
 annuitant, who awakes every morning with the 
 horror that he is to end his days in a poor-house. 
 And let us not forget the plodding, hesitating, 
 long-meditating player, who will not lay down 
 on the table some miserable deuce of clubs 
 without five minutes of what he fancies to be 
 consideration. Go not to that man with a sub- 
 scription-list for a poor family, ask not him to 
 join you in a little effort to buy winter clothing 
 for the naked, or firing for the shivering and 
 destitute ; he will listen to you for an hour, if 
 you like, but he will never give 3'ou a farthing. 
 I have taken all the dark sides of the medal 
 here, as my readers will perceive. I have re- 
 corded none of those grand, heroic, self-devot- 
 ing traits with which whist abounds ; I have 
 
1KIlbi6tol05B 201 
 
 said nothing about those noble bursts of con- 
 fidence with which this man will sacrifice 
 his all that his partner may be triumphant ; as 
 little mention have I made of those beautiful 
 little episodes of charity, those touching in- 
 stances of tender pity with which your great 
 player overlooks the irregularities of some weak 
 and erring adversary. Wonderfully affecting 
 incidents, too, when one remembers that they 
 come out in the very ardor of conflict : it is 
 giving quarter in the thick of the battle, and 
 amidst the dead and the dying. In fact, I am 
 only fearful that if I but venture out farther on 
 the vast ocean of Illustration, I may never see 
 land again. Perhaps, however, I have set the 
 stone in motion, and other stronger hands will 
 nov^ lend it the impulse of a push. Perhaps the 
 great moralist of the age, whoever he be, will 
 revolve this theory in his mind, and render its 
 application popular and easy. Perhaps who 
 knows but the wise men they call Civil Service 
 Commissioners may introduce whist into the 
 list of subjects for examination, and tide-waiters 
 be questioned on the " odd trick " ? 
 
mbi6t IWug^ets 
 
 At all events, I trust that I have shown that 
 whist has its ethical phase : that no man play- 
 ing it can, no matter what his proficiency or his 
 ignorance, no matter how eager or indifferent 
 he may be, no matter how subtle to subdue 
 emotion, or how guarded to cloak his wishes, — 
 no man, I repeat, can shroud his real nature in 
 obscurity, but must stand out revealed, and de- 
 clared in his true character. The test is one 
 that no subterfuge can escape from, no inge- 
 nuity evade. 
 
 ^' Le style c^est Phommey^^ was the old maxim 
 of a once famed philosopher, but a wiser age 
 repudiates the adage, and proclaims that it is 
 "whist is the man." With this declaration I 
 have done. '^ Exegi monumentum "; to others 
 I bequeath all the benefit of my researches, all 
 the profit of my labors. The rubber is over. 
 Good night ! 
 
 All The Year Round, 
 
WHIST AT OUR CI.UB. 
 
 A T our club, which is a most respectable 
 ^*^ club, a good deal of whist has been 
 played during the last ten or twenty years. 
 The time was when men used to meet together 
 o' nights for the sake of cards and gambling. 
 It was thus that Pox and his friends used to — I 
 was going to say amuse themselves, but I fear 
 that with them the diversion went beyond 
 amusement. But with us at our club there is 
 nothing of that kind. There are perhaps a 
 dozen gentlemen, mostly well stricken in years, 
 who, having not much else to do with their 
 afternoons, meet together and kill the hours 
 between lunch and. dinner. I do not know 
 that they could find a wiser expedient for 
 relieving the tedium of their latter years. I 
 203 
 
204 timbtat mug^ets 
 
 have said that they have nothing to do with 
 their afternoons. I doubt whether many of 
 them have much to do with their mornings. 
 Breakfast, the newspaper, perhaps a letter or two, 
 with a little reading, carry them on to lunch 
 and their glass of sherry. After that there may 
 be a little walking, or perhaps some gentle exer- 
 cise on an easy cob, a slight flutter of impati- 
 ence, and then at length the hour of delight has 
 come. Between three and four the party is as- 
 sembled, and the delight is reached which, for 
 us, makes easy the passage to the grave. 
 
 Every one knows how Talleyrand, the re- 
 puted father of all modern French good say- 
 ings is supposed to have remarked that he who 
 did not learn to play cards was preparing for 
 himself a melancholy old age. In looking 
 round at these bald, gray, wrinkled, and some- 
 what infirm companions of mine, who are 
 gentlemen, and have, some of them, done some- 
 thing in the world, I am often disposed to 
 declare to myself that whoever said that saying 
 spoke the truth. If we were not playing whist, 
 what should we be doing ? 
 
Mbist at ©ur Club 205 
 
 There comes a time of life when the work of 
 life naturally ceases. The judge becomes deaf 
 and resigns. The active civil servant is active no 
 longer, and either takes a pension, or escapes 
 early from his desk. The lawyer has made 
 his fortune, or is forced to give way to newer 
 men. The capacity for twelve hours of labor 
 is at any rate gone. Books cannot be read for 
 ever. If the mind would stand it — which it 
 will not — the eyes would fail. Cricket, rowing, 
 deer-stalking, even hunting and shooting are 
 all gone. The women will not let you make 
 love to them — unless you are rich and a bache- 
 lor, and then the love-making is soon over. 
 What else should an old gentleman do ? If he 
 can say his prayers all the time, or give him- 
 self up to continued meditation and the " label- 
 ling of his thoughts'* — if he can dream 
 Platonic Utopias, or theorize in his arm>chair 
 on that still undiscovered '* greatest good" — 
 then he may sink down quietly without the 
 assistance of a card-table. To some, but only 
 to a few, can it be given to relieve the tedium 
 of a /ainSaut existence by the consciousness 
 
2o6 TDGlblet Budgets 
 
 of the dignity of a parliamentary bench. If 
 you can become a legislator, you may get 
 through your hours, uneasily indeed, but with 
 the satisfaction of self-importance. But if 
 none of these things sufl&ce for you or be open 
 to you, it will be well for you when you are old 
 that you shall know something of the rules of 
 whist and belong to such a club as ours. 
 
 I do not think that there is among us much 
 propensity to gambling. Some have, indeed, a 
 keen eye to their money ; but they look rather 
 to holding themselves harmless, and having 
 their amusement for nothing, than to the mak- 
 ing of any profit. One or two are perhaps 
 buoyed up with the hope that the day may 
 come when they shall make something, though 
 the day never seems to come. Some are mani- 
 festly indifferent, taking and pajdng their shil- 
 lings without a feeling. I do not think that 
 these get so much amusement out of the pro- 
 ceeding as it ought to give. We have one old 
 gentlemen who evidently likes to pay. The 
 glory of making a trick is all the world to him ; 
 but though he has played cards for many years. 
 
Wibiet at ®ur GIuD 207 
 
 he never seems quite to have reconciled him- 
 self to the idea of taking money out of another 
 man's pocket. 
 
 We play shilling points. Any member of 
 the club who comes into that room can join 
 any table which is not yet full at shilling 
 points. And, as a rule, this modest limit is 
 preserved. If, now and again, two gentlemen 
 choose to bet a sovereign, no complaint is 
 made. The habit is distasteful to the majority ; 
 but a club is a club, and men like to feel them- 
 selves free. As long as the rules of the club 
 are not broken, the co-partners at the table can- 
 not complain. In this way occasionally a little 
 excitement is added ; but I do not think that the 
 life, the spirit, the noise, the evident vivacity, 
 and the generally happy disposition of the 
 room, depend upon the gambling. If it did, 
 there would be no content ; for I know no one 
 who wins, and no one who loses. In spite of 
 these sovereign bets, which perhaps are becom- 
 ing a little more frequent than they used to be, 
 I do not think that in our club anybody is ever 
 injured in the way of money. They can afford 
 
2o8 TUflbtst muggct0 
 
 to pay the stakes they lose, and are none the 
 better for what they win. It is not thence that 
 the excitement comes, and yet there is a great 
 deal of excitement. 
 
 Excitement is a great step towards happiness, 
 particularly to those who are over sixty. Cicero 
 has put into the mouth of the orator Antony an 
 opinion which certainly was not his own. He 
 makes Antony say that leisure — the doing of 
 nothing — is the sweetest resource of old age. 
 Old men have often said so ; but foxes also have 
 often said that grapes were sour. Old men are 
 as fond of activity, as much given to excite- 
 ment, as prone to keep themselves busy, and 
 to have what w^e may call a full life, as their 
 juniors ; but these delights do not come easily 
 to them. 
 
 The failure in our powers, which envious 
 nature prepares for us, affects our body, and 
 perhaps unfortunately our minds, before it 
 touches our wills. The lean and slippered 
 pantaloon would be as full of wise instances as 
 the justice, if he could get any one to hear him ; 
 and the justice would, but for shame, be as full 
 
TKHbtst at ®ur CluD 209 
 
 of strange oaths, and as jealous in honor, if not 
 as quick in quarrel, as the soldier. The old man 
 likes excitement if he can find it ; and they who 
 frequent the next room to the whist-room at our 
 club say that we have been successful in our 
 search. Voices could not be so loud, contradic- 
 tions so frequent, rebukes so rife — there could 
 not be such rising storms, nor then such silent 
 lulls, unless the occupation in hand were one 
 on which those occupied were very much intent. 
 The silence is as notable as the voices — and they 
 are very notable ; a dozen men could not be so 
 suddenly and so awfully silent unless engaged 
 on something which fills their very souls with 
 solicitude. And certainly no dozen men could 
 make such a row — gentlemen too, old gentle- 
 men, respectable old gentlemen — unless they 
 were very much in earnest. 
 
 I think the charm in our club comes from the 
 fact that no one plays very well, but that we 
 know enough of the rules to talk about them 
 and to think that we play in accordance with 
 them. All the recognized treatises on the game 
 are in the room. We have taken great care on 
 
2IO mblet muggete 
 
 that point ; and our allusions to Clay, Cavendish, 
 and the great professors are so frequent as to 
 make an unaccustomed bystander suppose that 
 not one of us is ignorant of any one enunciated 
 law. But the knowledge of laws and the 
 practice of them are different things, especially 
 when the practice has to be instantaneous, and 
 when its efficacy depends on the memory of 
 all that has gone before. Now I find that at our 
 club everybody remembers his own cards, or, 
 at any rate, those on which he has based his 
 hopes of success, while no one remembers his 
 partner's cards. But that the latter is the 
 special memory which his partner expects from 
 him. Therefore, there is often a diversity of 
 opinion. 
 
 I take it for granted that the injustice of each 
 is never apparent to himself — the injustice of 
 always demanding from another exactly that 
 trouble which the unjust player never takes 
 
 himself. **Good ! I played you the 
 
 eight of spades, and you trumped it with the 
 last trump, though you must have known that 
 the seven was the only one left ! '* Then the 
 
TDQlbtet at ©ur CluD 211 
 
 enraged speaker tears his hair and looks around. 
 Or perhaps he is of a saturnine nature — more 
 severe, but less demonstrative. '' Well, Dr. 
 Pintale, if you call that whist, I don't." Upon 
 that the severe one purses his lips together and 
 is silent, intending to impress upon the com- 
 pany around a conviction that Dr. Pintale's 
 capacity for whist is of such a nature that words 
 would be altogether thrown away upon him. 
 Dr. Pintale for the moment is cowed. There is 
 not a word to be said in excuse. No doubt he 
 has thrown away a trick which a good player 
 would have saved. He knows in his own heart 
 that his dear friend, Sir Nicholas Bobtail, the 
 partner who has just so severely punished him, 
 and who, in any other matter, would move 
 heaven and earth to succor him, never remem- 
 bers the sevens and eights himself. Sir Nicholas 
 makes as many blunders as anybody in the 
 club, but has a sharp way of snarling, which 
 often saves him from the criticism of his friends. 
 Poor Dr. Pintale is meekness itself, till roused 
 by exaggerated injuries, when sometimes he 
 will say a word. '' I do call that rather hard," 
 
Timbl6t 'Unggcte 
 
 continues Sir Nicholas, turning to one of his 
 adversaries. '* With that trick we should just 
 have been out, and I have n't won a rubber this 
 afternoon." Poor Pintale sits quiet and repent- 
 ant, but patting his soft fat hands together under 
 the table as the irritation rises to his gentle 
 heart. *'I wish you 'd tell me why you did it, 
 Dr. Pintale?" asks Sir Nicholas, as though he 
 really wanted information on the matter. 
 
 Pintale would not have minded it so much 
 had he not been called " Doctor." The Doctor 
 and Sir Nicholas have been friends for the last 
 thirty years. For all these years they have 
 been '' Bobtail " and '* Pintale " to each other, 
 long before any decorative letters, any D. C. L. 
 or K. C. B. had been appended to their names. 
 Either would have been prepared to write an 
 epitaph for the other, attributing to him all the 
 virtues which can adorn a man, a friend, and a 
 Christian. But when you have petted up your 
 penultimate best card, and have succeeded in 
 extracting all the trumps except that happy 
 remnant in your partner's hand ; when all your 
 manoeuvres have been successful, and fortune 
 
TIGlblst at Q\AV Clul) 213 
 
 has sat square upon your brow ; when the 
 delightful moment has come for showing to 
 friends and foes how complete has been your 
 strategy, — then to be crushed by the fatuous 
 inattention of your own ally — that is too much 
 for human friendship ! It is as though one's 
 own wife should turn against one in one's own 
 profession. 
 
 "I wonder why he did do it?" said Sir 
 Nicholas, turning round to one of the expectant 
 bystanders. 
 
 " I 've seen you make the same mistake 
 yourself fifty times," says the Doctor, pressed 
 beyond his bearing. 
 
 *'That 's a mere tu quoque^''^ says the K. C. B. 
 
 "I *ve seen you do it a hundred times — two 
 hundred times," rejoins the D. C. I^., very red 
 in the face. Then the door is opened, and 
 somebody looks in from the passages ; after 
 which the matter is allowed to drop, the Doctor 
 having evidently become a little ashamed 
 of himself. 
 
 The wonderful thing in whist is this, — that 
 ignorance of any of those intricate rules by 
 
214 TObiat 1Ru^geti5 
 
 which the game is governed is regarded as so 
 disgraceful that nobody will admit it ; nor will 
 any one allow that he is wanting in that perfect 
 and prolonged practice without which no pro- 
 ficient in any art can bring his rules to bear at 
 the moment in which they are wanted ; and y«t 
 players generally would be ashamed to have it 
 supposed that they had devoted to a mere game 
 of cards so great a proportion of their intellect 
 and their time as to have mastered these rules, 
 and to have familiarized themselves with the 
 practice. Who would not be ashamed to be 
 known as a first-class billiard-player, and to con- 
 fess an intimacy so close with pockets, chalk, 
 and ivory balls as to have left himself time for 
 no more worthy pursuit ? For to play billiards 
 as billiards can be played requires the energy of 
 a life. Nor even will an ambitious man, or one 
 who desires success in a profession, be anxious 
 to be accounted among the grand chess-players 
 of the day. The art of chess-playing, excellent 
 as it is, does not lead to results great enough in 
 themselves to justify the expenditure of labor 
 and intelligence which is necessary for perfec- 
 
Mblet at Qm Club 215 
 
 tion. We may say the same of all those amuse- 
 ments which have by means of their own 
 success so run over their original boundaries as 
 to have become the subject of scientific study. 
 Here and there a man has the leisure and the 
 intellect, and in. the absence of a higher ambi- 
 tion he devotes his life to elucidate a game. 
 We admire his ingenuity, but we do not think 
 very much of his career. There is something 
 better to be done in the life of all of us than 
 chess, or billiards, or whist. In regard to the 
 two former, no one demands that others shall 
 play well. But in whist it seems to be implied 
 that if a man does nof know and practise all 
 the rules which have ever been invented, he 
 ought to be ashamed of himself ! This is car- 
 ried so far in our club that every player is pre- 
 sumed to know all the rules — and to depart 
 from them, not from inexperience, not from 
 ignorance, not from temporary aberration of 
 mind, but from some devilish malignity which 
 has induced him at that moment to do evil that 
 others might be tormented. 
 At our club the main rules are known. They 
 
2i6 imbiet Mnggcte 
 
 are so frequently discussed that it is impossible 
 that we should forget them. Clay and Caven- 
 dish are in our hands at every turn. With five 
 trumps, the worst amongst us would lead a 
 trump. When we are weak ourselves, we do 
 not force our partners. We know how \.o finesse 
 a queen, and I think we generally count the 
 trumps, — at any rate, early in the afternoon. 
 There are laws the keeping of which does not 
 require the player to travel much beyond the 
 consideration of his own cards. But we have 
 not arrived at the reading of our partner's hands, 
 and hence chiefly come those angry words and 
 fiery looks, which do upon the whole, I think, 
 increase rather than diminish our enjoyment. 
 If I throw away a card from a weak suit, it is 
 certainly a grievous thing to have a low card 
 in that very suit at once led me, and to know 
 that this has been done because my partner 
 would not take the trouble to watch the card as 
 it fell from my hand. The stormiest five minutes 
 that I ever remember came from such a cause 
 as this. Our Mr. Polden — everybody knows 
 old Dick Polden as one of the softest-hearted 
 
Mbt6t at ©ur CluD 217 
 
 human beings that ever became the prey to 
 begging letter-writers and weeping women — 
 does not play very well himself. He is an eager, 
 excitable man, whose mind never remains fixed 
 long on the same thing, and who, I may say, 
 almost invariably forgets to practise the care 
 which he expects others to exercise in his 
 behalf. I do not think that he is really chol- 
 eric, but he has an unfortunate tone of voice 
 and a trick of eyebrow which make a bj^stander 
 think sometimes that he will very soon proceed 
 to blows. Those who know him are aware that 
 he is not himself conscious at these moments 
 of exceeding the mildest forms of friendly re- 
 monstrance. He was playing not long since with 
 Admiral Green as his partner. The Admiral is 
 a very constant attendant at our club, and per- 
 haps the best player that we have. He is gen- 
 erally a quiet man, but he has a nasty habit of 
 looking round and smiling when his partner 
 makes an egregious blunder, which some of us 
 dislike worse even than being objurgated. On 
 this occasion, Dick Polden had two strong suits 
 in his hand, and one was weak ; but on the 
 
2i8 llXUbiet IRuGgets 
 
 whole he was playing what he considered a 
 great game. He had called for trumps, and had 
 thrown away a card from his weak suit. We 
 who were playing against him, I and poor, dear 
 Grimley — Sir Peter Grimley, who has since been 
 taken away from us — knew well what Polden 
 was about. At such moments he wriggles in his 
 chair, raises his body a couple of inches in tri- 
 umphant expectation, and tells the whole tale 
 of his heart to those who watch him. 
 
 How it was that such a player as the Admiral 
 should at such a moment have led from the dis- 
 carded suit, none of us could understand. 
 
 Grimley declared that it was intended as a 
 rebuke to poor Polden's somewhat noisy antici- 
 pation. I never could believe that, as the 
 Admiral is fond of his money, which on this 
 occasion he not only risked, but lost. As soon 
 as the peccant card showed itself on the table, 
 
 Polden lost all control. ''Good !" he 
 
 exclaimed, raising both his hands, quite indiffer- 
 ent to the fact that he was thus showing all his 
 cards. ** Polden,'' said the baronet, "that is 
 not whist.'* **No," said Polden, very hotly; 
 
1imbl6t at ©ur Glub 219 
 
 **No; certainly it is not whist. Of course he 
 saw my heart ; he could n't but see it. Every- 
 body knows that he sees everything. I wonder, 
 Grimley, what you would have said if that had 
 happened to you ? ' ' 
 
 " I should have sworn horribly ; but it would 
 have been inwardly, so that no one would have 
 heard me," said Grimley. 
 
 *' And what would he have said if I had done 
 it to him ? " continued Polden. Perhaps of all 
 forms of abuse, that of addressing yourself to 
 a third person, and of calling your sinning 
 partner ** he " or '* him," is the most provoking. 
 During all this time the game was going on, and 
 the Admiral had only smiled. At every new 
 contortion of Polden 's face the Admiral smiled 
 again ; and as Polden became all contortions, so 
 did the Admiral become all smiles. At last the 
 climax was reached. A queen from Polden 's 
 long suit of spades was taken by the king, and 
 then his ace was trumped. All this misfortune, 
 no doubt, had come from the Admiral's blunder. 
 Polden's case was one of great hardship, but 
 when he flung down his cards, declaring that 
 
220 Timbi6t 'Uxxggcte 
 
 he could n't play against three adversaries, and 
 when his cards were therefore called, and when 
 the Admiral quietly showed that had they been 
 kept up the game might have been saved, — then 
 it was evident, even to Polden himself, that he 
 had been in the wrong. And he was a man 
 who could dare anything while hot passion gave 
 him the consciousness of right, but who was 
 cowed at once when a feeling that he was in 
 fault had crept in upon him. When the proof 
 had been made perfect that the game might 
 have been saved, he passed his hand over his 
 bald head, and sank back, tamed, upon his 
 chair. 
 
 ** No doubt,'' said the Admiral, taking the two 
 packs of cards under his two hands, so as to 
 prevent the immediate continuation of the play ; 
 *' no doubt I made a mistake with that heart." 
 
 *'Iyet us say no more about it," said Polden. 
 
 " A few words, if you please. We will wait 
 half a minute, if you do not object, Sir Peter." 
 For Grimley, knowing what was coming, had 
 made an attempt to get at one of the packs, so 
 as to lessen, by action, the strength of the 
 
 1 
 
 md I 
 
TObist at ©ur Club 
 
 Admirars coming attack. ** I made a foolish 
 mistake. But I do not think that that justified 
 you in throwing your arms about like a de- 
 mented windmill. I was driven by your words 
 and actions and looks to think whether in kind- 
 ness we ought not to speak to your friends." 
 Had the Admiral spoken in an angry tone there 
 would have been nothing in it. We are so used 
 to angry tones, and have become so conscious 
 that they are to be regarded as merely an organ 
 accompaniment to our generally pleasant music, 
 that had the Admiral condescended to be noisy, 
 we should simply have been anxious to get hold 
 of the cards and begin again. But his tranquil- 
 lity afflicted us all, and absolutely quelled poor 
 old Polden. 
 
 "You 're making too much of it," said the 
 Baronet. 
 
 "Not at all," said the Admiral. "I shall 
 expect Mr. Polden to apologize." 
 
 Apologize ! that was more than any of us 
 could stand. A crowd of men from the other 
 tables had now congregated round us. Among 
 us all Dick Polden was, perhaps, the most gen- 
 
Iimbist 1Flugget6 
 
 erally popular. Who but he would give up his 
 right to a place to another player ? Who but 
 he would remain beyond his time to make up 
 a rubber for others ? Who but he would take 
 the chair close to the fire if it were hot, or expose 
 his shoulder to the window if it were cold ? 
 When did Polden willingly tread on any man's 
 com, or fail to soothe any man's vanity ? When 
 little subscriptions have had to be raised, who 
 has everknowm Polden to refuse his guinea? It 
 was out of the question that he should be 
 reduced to the ignominy of an apology. And, 
 moreover, the very fact of an apology having 
 been demanded and given would be evidence of 
 a quarrel, and it had always been a point with 
 us to declare that, though we were loud, we 
 never quarrelled. We should have been ashamed 
 of our excitability as respectable old gentlemen 
 had we not always been able to assert that each 
 loud enunciation had been simply an amusing 
 incident of our game. When the Admiral spoke 
 of an apology, we all felt that he was ignorant 
 of the very nature of the bond which united us. 
 If we could not bear each other's ways without 
 
Wibiet at ©ur Club 223 
 
 apologies, the whist must be given up. And 
 from dear old Polden too, who at this moment 
 was almost in tears ! 
 
 '*I don't think that can be necessary," said 
 Dr. Absolom. Dr. Absolom had once been one 
 of the royal doctors, and is a man of authority. 
 By dint of a commanding brow and a loud, 
 steady voice he has acquired a sort of influence 
 over us. His whist is not good, but no one 
 ventures to scold him much. * ^ Perhaps, doc- 
 tor, if you had played so and so," is the extent 
 to which we go with him. '*If I had, the 
 event might perhaps have been different," he 
 will reply with dignity. . The altercation with 
 Dr. Absolom is never carried beyond that. 
 
 ^* Perhaps, Dr. Absolom, you did not hear the 
 remarks which were made," said the angry 
 Admiral. 
 
 If I love any one, I love Polden. 
 
 ^* I heard them," said I, *' and they were very 
 fierce. But I should have thought that we all 
 understood Polden's ferocity by this time." 
 
 '' Was I fierce ? " asked Polden piteously. 
 
 *' I should think you were," said the Baronet, 
 
224 'Mbiet IWuggete 
 
 *' and so should I have been. But as for apolo- 
 gies, bless my soul ! if we come to that we had 
 better give it all up." Then there was a general 
 acclamation that nothing more was to be said 
 about it, during which the Admiral subsided. 
 For the next day or two he was rather stiff in 
 his manner to Mr. Polden, but before the end 
 of the week everything was right again. 
 
 That, I think, was the nearest approach to a 
 quarrel that we ever had, and a rumor of it I 
 fear, got through the club. But in answer to 
 all questions we have all of us been firm in our 
 assertions that there was no quarrel. 
 
 That system of *' calling" is, of all self-im- 
 posed torments, the most tormenting. Readers, 
 no doubt, will understand what ''calling" 
 means. When you wish your partner to lead 
 you a trump, you play your cards from some 
 other suit out of their proper course — throwing 
 down, say, the ten on the first round, and the 
 deuce on the second. Players, I think, are 
 generally of opinion that it injures the game — 
 and no doubt it does more harm than good if the 
 partner who is called to does not see the call. 
 
mbist at Qux CluD 225 
 
 But it has this advantage, that it gives an indif- 
 ferent player a great facility for playing a game 
 of his own, and for scolding his partner for not 
 assisting him. It creates an equality. For 
 though it may be difficult to observe a call, 
 nothing can be easier than calling itself. ** You 
 did n't see my call," says the injured one after- 
 wards — or very frequently not waiting till 
 afterwards. 
 
 " Did you call ? " 
 
 **Well, rather. It would have made two 
 tricks' difference — that 's all." 
 
 Then the offending one, knowing that this 
 must be an exaggeration, goes to work — not to 
 defend himself, but to prove that at the outside 
 one trick only would have been saved, had he 
 been attentive. 
 
 It seems to me that at our club one's partner 
 never sees a call, but that it is very often seen 
 by the adversaries. Therefore, at our club, if 
 you are particularly anxious that trumps should 
 not be led, so that you may ruff this suit or the 
 other, then is the time to call. 
 
 You have two adversaries, but only one part- 
 's 
 
226 mbist muggets 
 
 ner. If you know your man, you may perhaps 
 be almost sure that he will be blind ; — and in 
 this way you stop your enemy from playing his 
 game, and get him to play yours. 
 
 ** You have no right to look like that when 
 you call,** Sir Nicholas said the other day to 
 Dr. Pintale. 
 
 ** I may look as I please," said the Doctor. 
 
 " Certainly not. When you put down your 
 second card in that way, and then look up at 
 your partner, you might just as well say out 
 loud what you want. I appeal to the table." 
 
 Dr. Absolom and Mr. Poser were playing. 
 Mr. Poser is a young man under fifty, who has 
 come in among us I hardly know why, and who 
 writes poetry, which I hope is better than his 
 whist. He is an amusing man, and we rather 
 like having a poet. 
 
 *^ My friend, Dr. Pintale, is perhaps a little 
 demonstrative," said Dr. Absolom. 
 
 *' Ivcsbia hath a calling eye," sang Mr. Poser; 
 ** and some of us know for what he calleth." 
 
 Then it was presumed that the evidence had 
 been adverse to Dr. Pintale ; and he was con- 
 
TKIlbiet at Qnt Club 227 
 
 strained to promise that he would henceforth 
 keep his features in better order. 
 
 Mr. Thompson's objection to the practice — a 
 practice which he never could bring himself in 
 the least to understand — was, I think, both true 
 and picturesque. Mr. Thompson is a clergyman 
 who, in former days, did the light work of a 
 city parish, whose church has been pulled down, 
 and who therefore, feeling that his own clerical 
 position has been, as it were, stolen from him, 
 disports himself, very quietly, like a layman. 
 It is he who is so greedy of making tricks, and 
 is so unwilling to take the money that he wdns. 
 He is an old man, of a sweet temperament, and 
 much tinged with romance. *^Why graft 
 another thorn upon the rose ? " said he — *^ and 
 a sharper thorn than those with which nature 
 has surrounded her ? " 
 
 But in very truth it is the presence of the 
 thorns which constitutes the delight of our 
 whist. I used to think, when I would walk 
 home from our club after a bout of scolding 
 which had lasted the whole afternoon, that there 
 was something in our eager words derogatory 
 
228 TlClblet IFluagets 
 
 to the dignity of old age, and I have asked 
 myself more than once whether it would 
 not become me to abandon a pursuit which 
 evidently could not be followed without hard 
 words. 
 
 For I was soon convinced that whist without 
 scolding was altogether out of the question. 
 But after a little I began to think that the exer- 
 citation was in itself healthy. As a lot of boys 
 on a playground together can hardly make too 
 much noise as long as they do not fight, so in 
 regard to old men, if they do not quarrel, why 
 should they be restrained from that manifesta- 
 tion of interest which eager loud words evince ? 
 To sit and play whist dumb, or with casual 
 word about the fire, or the table, or the state of 
 the atmosphere, w^ould be so dull that men could 
 only be kept at it by some desire of making 
 money. Of that stain there is, I think, nothing 
 at our club. And therefore, when I found how 
 strong was the determination to silence the Ad- 
 miral when he talked about an apology — how 
 resolute we all were that there should be no 
 
mbiat at ®ur CIuD 
 
 22C) 
 
 acknowledgment of the evidence of a quarrel — 
 I reconciled myself to the noise, and took 
 comfort in assuring myself that whist, as played 
 at our club, is a wise resource for old gentlemen. 
 Blackwood^ s Magazine, 
 
A HAND AT CARDS.* 
 
 CAVKNDISH in his Card Essays gives us 
 the story of ''The Duffer Maxims," and 
 some anecdotical matter of an amusing nature 
 about the talkers. By way of appendix to sober 
 instruction, we have thought to introduce the 
 conversation verbatim during a single hand of 
 four persons seated for the purpose of "playing 
 whist/' as each of them called the performance, 
 — r-literally, however, a rollicking exhibition 
 that should be named 
 
 Pl^AYING AT Pl^AYING WHIST. 
 
 The play is by the five-point game. The 
 score is o. C. deals and turns the 9 of hearts. 
 
 * By permission of the author and of Messrs, Hough- 
 ton, Mifflin, & Co. 
 
 230 
 
B IbanD at CarDa 231 
 
 '* There," says C, '' That 's the way you treat 
 me, I never get an honor in the world, but 
 when / cut, somehow, I always cut for some- 
 body else." 
 
 B. takes up his hand, sorts it. It is composed 
 of ace and 2 of spades, kn., 6, and 3 of hearts, 
 qu., kn., 9, and 7 of diamonds, and 7, 6, 5, and 
 4 of clubs, and he begins the usual growl : ' * I 
 should like to know how anybody is going to 
 get anything out of this. I never can get a 
 hand." [That is to say, he does not hold ace, 
 k., and qu. of three plain suits, and the four 
 honors in trumps. Give him these cards every 
 time and he would be pleased to play whist.] 
 *'I suppose I must play something. There's 
 a diam9nd ; that 's according to rule, anyhow," 
 and throws the 7. 
 
 ** You don't strike me very heavily," says D., 
 **but I can follow suit," and throws the 6. He 
 holds the k., 10, 8, 7, 6 of spades, the kn. and 
 7 of hearts, the ace, k., qu., and 2 of clubs, and 
 the k. and 6 of diamonds. 
 
 " I can take that," says A., throwing the ace, 
 *'that is, unless it 's trumped." He holds the 
 
232 Wibiet 'Unggcts 
 
 5, 4, and 3 of spades, the ace, qu., 10, 4 and 2 
 of hearts, the ace, 10, 8, 3, and 2 of diamonds, 
 and no club. * 'Are you going to trump that, C. ? " 
 
 *'No,'* says G., *'l can't trump anything, 
 nor take anything either, I guess,'' and plays 
 the 4. He holds the qu., kn., and 9 of spades, 
 the 9, 8, and 5 of hearts, the kn., 10, 9, 8, and 3 
 of clubs, and the 5 and 4 of diamonds. 
 
 *' Now," says A., '* let 's try a little trump," 
 and throws the 4 of hearts. 
 
 " Coming at us early, are you ? " says C, and 
 he plays the 5. 
 
 ** I '11 try to get that," says B., and throws 
 the kn. 
 
 "No you don't," says D., and bangs the k. 
 upon the trick. ^ 
 
 ** Well, I did n't expect it," says B., ** It was 
 the best that I had. If we get out of this with- 
 out losing the whole thing /shall be glad." 
 
 ** Now," says D., "there's a club for you," 
 throwing the k. 
 
 A. determines, "I'll let that travel," and 
 throws the 3 of spades ; C. 3 of clubs, B. 4. "I 
 didn't know but you might have the ace," said 
 
B IbauD at CavD6 . 233 
 
 A. to B. "He might have led from king and 
 queen." 
 
 '*Yes, that*s so," said B.; '* of course you 
 could n't tell." [N. B. Trumping the trick 
 would have made no difference in result.] 
 
 *' Well, I '11 have one of your trumps, any- 
 way," says D., and throws the queen of clubs. 
 A. trumps unwillingly with the 2 of hearts ; C. 
 plays the 8 of clubs, and B. the 5. 
 
 ** Now, we'll see about this," says A., and 
 plays the 10 of hearts. He remembers that the 
 k. and kn. have fallen, and thinks he knows 
 whist pretty well to lead the 10 now instead of 
 the ace. C. plays 8, B. 3, and D. 7. **You 
 have another,'* says A. to C, for he remembered 
 the 9 was turned — another positive proof to 
 himself of great proficiency in whist. A. qu., 
 C. 9, B. 6, D. 6 of spades. 
 
 " Now I '11 give my partner his suit." Proof 
 number three of skill and information about 
 the game ; and he throws the 3 of diamonds, C. 
 5, B. kn., D. k. 
 
 ** I '11 have that trump anyhow," says D., and 
 plays the ace of clubs, displaying Ms embracing 
 
234 mbi6t IHuggets 
 
 knowledge of whist, that will not only not let 
 a trump remain in the opponent's hand, but 
 dares to sacrifice a high card to bring it out. 
 D. ace of clubs, A. ace of hearts, C. 6 of clubs, 
 
 B. 5 of clubs. Then A. plays 2 of diamonds, 
 
 C. 9 of clubs, B. qu. of diamonds, D. 2 of clubs • 
 B. 9 of diamonds, D. 7 of spades, A. 10 of dia- 
 monds, C. 10 of clubs ; A. 8 of diamonds, C. 8 
 of spades, B. 7 of clubs, D. 9 of spades. Three 
 rounds in silence. No help for it. 
 
 **Now," says D., **we '11 have something 
 else." A. leads the 5 of spades, C. plays qu., 
 B. ace, and D. 10. 
 
 " Any more aces ? " says D. 
 
 ** No, only a little spade that I suppose you 
 will get," says B., and plays the 2, taken by 
 D.'s king. 
 
 ** All right, we 're three by card," says B. ^' I 
 should never have guessed it by the looks of 
 7?iy hand," 
 
 ** You must remember I helped you a little," 
 says A. 
 
 " We stopped you from going out, that 's all 
 that I thought we C02ild do," says C. 
 
B IbanD at GarDe 235 
 
 "Well, we got all that there was; there 
 did n't any of them get away," says A. 
 
 **Come on, it 's my deal," says B., " cut the 
 cards. ' ' 
 
 "Yes, and I suppose cut you an honor," 
 says C. 
 
 And so the game goes charmingly on. 
 
 This and like to this, is the talk or the thought 
 of hundreds of card-handlers. These players 
 had no idea of what the cards they held were 
 capable, and thought they were really playing 
 them in accordance with their value. 
 
 IvCt us place the same cards in the hands of 
 good American whist-players, who read them as 
 they fall, drawing the inferences they offer, but 
 under the law of their game speaking not a 
 word, and I see how A. and B., from the same 
 beginning, compel the entire game before the 
 adversaries secure a trick. 
 
 B. throws the 7 of diamonds, the correct lead, 
 from his hand ; D. plays the 6. A. instantly 
 reasons this wise : ' ' My partner must have 
 three higher cards. He cannot have k. andqu.. 
 
236 TObt6t ViuggctB 
 
 or he would have led the k.; he cannot havek. 
 and kn., or he would have lead the 9 ; he holds 
 the qu., kn., and g. The 6 is played on my 
 right. D. is probably not calling, for I have 
 five trumps. Either the k. is there alone, or D. 
 has no more. If he has no more, k. with 
 another held by C. will take at any rate. I 
 must pass the trick to catch the card upon 
 my right." 
 
 All this that takes so long to write and to 
 read flashes instantaneously through the mind 
 of a good player. 
 
 A throws the 3 of diamonds, for not only 
 must he not play the ace, but he must not 
 take the trick because he must not have the 
 lead ; C. throws the 4. B. at once takes in the 
 situation and leads the highest of his trumps. 
 D. can gain nothing by refusing to throw k. 
 If A. has ace, and k. is not played, it will not 
 cover kn.; and if C. has neither ace nor qu. 
 (for B. can have neither of these), C. is to be 
 helped by D.'s play, calling, in trumps, two 
 honors for one. If A. holds both ace and qu., 
 of course D.'s play is fruitless. B. kn. of hearts, 
 
a IbanD at GatD6 237 
 
 D. k., A. ace, C. 5. A. draws the other trumps 
 with qu. and 10, plays the ace of diamonds on 
 which the k. must fall, and continues the dia- 
 monds, — B. having thrown the kn. on ace that 
 he may be out of A.'s way, for from C.'s play 
 of the 4 and 5 the rest of the diamonds are 
 marked with A. B. having taken the small 
 diamond next led with the qu., throws the ace 
 of spades, as he sees that with A.'s diamonds 
 and trumps the game is won. B. leads the 9 of 
 diamonds, A. takes with the 10, plays the 8, 
 and then the trumps; claiming five points 
 and game. 
 
 As we close this text-book devoted to the 
 students of the wondrous game, we kindly 
 recommend those who are careless about the pro- 
 prieties, to contrast the manner of this play of 
 the same cards, to consider the folly of making 
 remarks while the game is in progress, and to 
 derive such satisfaction as they may from the 
 illustration, that defines the difference between 
 Pi^AYiNG WHIST and playing at playing whist. 
 American Whist Illustrated by G, W, P 
 
A WHIST PARTY * 
 
 MR. GAL ANT (who is an authority at his 
 club). — Are you fond of whist, Mrs. 
 Bland ? 
 
 Mrs. Bi,and [his hostess and partner),— 0\i, 
 immensely ! I fear, though, I am a little out 
 of practice. 
 
 Mr. GaIvAnt [who has his misgivings about 
 ladies' whist). — Perhaps you would prefer a 
 game of euchre ? 
 
 Mrs. Bi,and. — Oh, no, indeed ! I know how 
 devoted you are to whist. Mr. Bland often 
 speaks of your prowess. 
 
 Miss Fichu [07ie antagonist). — Oh, we must 
 play whist. I shall be too proud if we win ; and 
 if we lose, it is only what we ought to expect. 
 
 * By permission of Messrs. Chas. Scribner's Sons. 
 238 
 
B Wimet part^ 239 
 
 Young Darby {another antagonist). — Why, 
 you know, Mr. Galant, it is really awfully 
 plucky our standing up against you at all ! 
 
 Mr. Gai^ant {who does n't see much sport 
 ahead for himself), — Well, then, we '11 get to 
 work. Will you ladies cut for the deal ? 
 
 Mrs. Bi,and {cutting an ace). — Oh, dear, low 
 deals, and I *ve the very highest card in the# 
 pack ! 
 
 Mr. Gai^anT. — The deal is yours ; ace is low 
 in the deal cut 
 
 Mrs. Bi,and. — Oh, yes, I remember now. 
 How stupid of me ! 
 
 Mr. GAiyANT {involuntarily). — Don't men- 
 tion it ! 
 
 Mrs. Bi,and {looking at her cards). — Fancy 
 my dealing such a hand to myself ! Mr. Galant, 
 I hope I 've treated you better. 
 
 Mr. GAI.ANT {dryly).— "Thsinks. 
 
 Miss Fichu.— Have I got to lead ? I do so 
 hate to do that. 
 
 Young Darby {encouragingly). —IS you '11 
 lead any one of three suits I '11 agree to take 
 it. 
 
240 'mbiet IFluggets 
 
 Mrs. BIvAND. — But beware how you lead the 
 fourth, for that I shall win. 
 
 Mr. Gai^ant (onuses to himself). — Three 
 aces on my left and one in my partner's hand. 
 This is whist. 
 
 Mrs. BiyAND (later in the same hand). — Well, 
 there 's the queen, too. I like to use up a suit 
 ,while its fresh. 
 
 Miss Fichu.— So do I ; it 's so easy to re- 
 member about it then. 
 
 Young Darby (trumping the trick). — Your 
 queen is doomed, though, Mrs. Bland. 
 
 Mrs. Bi,and.— Oh, Mr. Darby, that is n't 
 polite at all. Now, that I think of it, you played 
 the knave on my king, did n't you ? 
 
 Mr. Gai^ant (faintly).— Y^s, ma'am. 
 
 Mrs. Bi^and.— Oh, how stupid of me ! I 
 might have known. 
 
 Mr. Gai^ant {at the end of the hand). — You 
 had good trump cards, Mrs. Bland. I presume 
 you did not notice my trump signal ?. 
 
 Mrs. Bi,and. — Oh, I had forgotten all about 
 that. I must watch next time ! 
 
B mbtet pavt^ 241 
 
 Miss Fichu. — Oh, is it my lead again? I^et 
 me see — '' When in doubt lead trumps.'* 
 
 Young Darby {approvingly). — A very good 
 play, Miss Fichu. 
 
 Mrs. Bi,and. — But the trick is ours with my 
 ace. Now, {fingering a card,) you led me 
 something, Mr. Galant. What in the world 
 was it ? 
 
 Mr. GaIvAnT {whose misgivings have become 
 certainties). — I can hardly tell you that, you 
 know\ 
 
 Mrs. BiyAND. — Of course not. How unfor- 
 tunate that I do not recall it, though ; it was a 
 heart or a diamond. 
 
 Miss Fichu {facetiously).— h^o^di. both. 
 
 Mrs. Bi,and.— I wish I might. I '11 follow 
 your example, and solve my doubt in trumps. 
 
 Young Darby. — How charming of you, Mrs. 
 Bland ; I was so hoping you might. 
 
 Mrs. Bi,and. — Oh, Mr. Darby, did you want 
 it? 
 
 Mr. Darby. — Above all things. Did n't you 
 hear me applaud Miss Fichu's trump lead? 
 
242 Tllllbiet IRu^gete 
 
 Mrs. Bi^and. — Of course you did. How very 
 stupid ! 
 
 Mr. Darby (complacently leading his cards 
 with a jerk), — I believe the trumps are all out, 
 and all ray spades are good. Can you take this 
 — or this — or this — oH, I miscounted. Mr. 
 Gal ant has the last spade. 
 
 Mrs. Bi,and (eagerly),— 0\i, what does that 
 do? 
 
 Mr. Gai^ant (dryly), — It gives them four 
 instead of five. 
 
 Mrs. Bland (quite relieved), — Oh, you have 
 saved the day, Mr. Galant ! 
 
 Miss Fichu. — And we have won the game, 
 with two to spare. 
 
 Mrs. Bland. — Oh, is that really so ? 
 
 Miss Fichu (on Young Darby's arm later, 
 promenading the rooms), — We have been play- 
 ing whist with Mr. Galant. Do ask us who 
 won four games out of five ; we 're too modest 
 to proffer the information. 
 
 * ^ * 
 
B TObiet ipart^ 
 
 243 
 
 Miss Parachute: {to watting friends), — Oh, 
 dear, I felt sure Mr. Galant could make a fourth 
 hand at our game of whist, and I just begged 
 him to do so ; but he says he does n't know 
 one card from another ! 
 
 Phiup H. Wei^ch. 
 
AT BOVOR.-PIvAY A GREAT 
 GAME OF WHIST.* 
 
 T^ VBNING after dinner. On the moat in a 
 ^ punt with Knglefield. Dark night : cold : 
 damp : romantic but for this. Englefield says, 
 abruptly, ''Capital point." I ask here, what? 
 He replies, " Two fellows, one the Villain, the 
 other Injured Innocence, in punt : real water 
 easily done on the stage. Villain suddenly 
 knocks Injured Innocence into the water : he 
 sinks : is caught in the weeds below : never 
 rises again. Or, on second thought, is n't 
 drowned, but turns up somehow in the last 
 Act." I own it a good idea, and propose going 
 in-doors, as I see Mrs. Childers making tea. 
 
 * By permission of the author and of Messrs. Bradbury, 
 Agnew, & Co., London, and of Messrs. Roberts Brothers, 
 Boston. 
 
 244 
 
Bt JBovot 245 
 
 In-doors. — Stenton, the philosopher, says, 
 **Tea is an incentive. So much tea is found 
 in every man's brain." Poss says it ought to 
 be a caution to anybody not to use hot water 
 to his face, or he might turn his head into a 
 tea-pot. I 'm sorry Poss turns this interesting 
 theme into ridicule, as I like hearing Stenton's 
 conversation. He has a deep bass voice which 
 is very impressive. There is a pause. Con- 
 sidering that we are all more or less clever 
 here, it is wonderful how dull we are. I sup- 
 pose that the truth is we avoid merely friv- 
 olous and commonplace topics. Knglefield, 
 who is a nuisance sometimes, suddenly looks 
 at me, and asks me *'to say something funny." 
 I 'm glad they know nothing of the Pig- 
 squeaking song. 
 
 I smile on him pityingly. Childers says, 
 ''Come, you 're last from town, have n't you 
 got any good stories ? " This poses me : I know 
 fellows who could recollect a hundred. I know 
 fellows, merely superficial, shallow men, who 
 are never silent, who have a story or a joke for 
 everything. I consider, ''L,et me see " : I try 
 
246 limbiet mucjgeta 
 
 to think of oue. The beginningvS of twenty 
 stories occur to me mistily. Also the com- 
 mencement of riddles as far as '* Why is a — ," 
 or ** When is a — ," I 've got some noted down 
 in my pocket-book, if I could only get out of 
 the room and refer to it quietly in the passage. 
 I can't take it out before everybody ; that 's 
 the worst of an artificial memory. 
 
 Happy Thought. — To read two pages of Mac- 
 millan's Jest Book every morning while dress- 
 ing, committing at least one story to memory. 
 
 Childers proposes ^' Whist." I never feel 
 certain of myself at whist : I point to the fact 
 that there are four without me. Poss Felmyr 
 says if I '11 sit down he '11 cut in presently. *' I 
 play?" I reply, **Yes, a little." I am Sten- 
 ton's partner : Bnglefield and Childers are 
 against us. Sixpenny points, shilling on the 
 rub. Stenton says to me, "You '11 score." 
 Scoring always puzzles me. I know it 's done 
 with half a crown, a shilling, a sixpence, and a 
 silver candlestick. Sometimes one bit of money 
 is under the candlestick, sometimes two. 
 
Bt :fl3ovor 247 
 
 Happy Thought. — To watch Englefield scor- 
 ing : soon pick it up again. 
 
 First Rubber, — Stenton deals : Childers is 
 first hand, I 'm second. Heart trumps : the 
 Queen. It 's wonderful how quick they are in 
 arranging their cards. After I 've sorted all 
 mine carefully, I find a trump among the clubs. 
 Having placed him in his position on the right 
 of my hand, I find a stupid Three of Clubs 
 among the spades : settled him. Lastly, a King 
 of Diamonds upside down, which seems to 
 entirely disconcert me ; put him right. Engle- 
 field says, **Come, be quick'' : Stenton tells 
 me **not to hurry myself." I say I 'm quite 
 ready, and wonder to myself what Childers 
 will lead. 
 
 Childers leads the Queen of Clubs. I con- 
 sider for a moment what is the duty of second 
 hand ; the word ** finessing " occurs to me here. 
 I can't recollect if putting on a three of the 
 same suit is finessing : put on the three, and 
 look at my partner to see how he likes it. He 
 is watching the table. Englefield lets it go, my 
 partner lets it go ; the trick is Childers'. I feel 
 
248 mbi6t mucj^ets 
 
 that somehow it 's lost through my fault. His 
 lead again : spades. This takes me so by sur- 
 prise that I have to rearrange my hand, as the 
 spades have got into a lump. I have two spades, 
 an ace and a five. Let me see, *' If I play the 
 five I — " I can't see the consequence. "If I 
 play the ace it must win unless it 's trumped." 
 Stenton says in a deep voice, ''Play away." 
 The three look from one to the other. Being 
 flustered, I play the ace : the trick is mine. I 
 wish it was n't as I have to lead. I 'd give 
 something if I might consult Poss, who is 
 behind me, or my partner. All the cards look 
 ready for playing, yet I don't like to disturb 
 them. Let me think what 's been played 
 already. Stenton asks me, "If I 'd like to 
 look at the last trick ? " As this will give me 
 time, and them the idea that I am following out 
 my own peculiar tactics, I embrace the offer. 
 Childers displays the last trick. I look at it. I 
 say, "Thank you," and he shuts it up again. 
 Immediately afterwards I can't recollect what 
 the cards were in that trick : if I did it would n't 
 help me. They are becoming impatient. 
 
m :J5o\?or 249 
 
 About this time somebody's Queen of Dia- 
 monds is taken. I was n't watching how the 
 trick went, but I am almost certain it was fatal 
 to the Queen of Diamonds ; that is to say, if it 
 7£jas the Queen of Diamonds ; but I don't like 
 to ask. The next trick, which is something in 
 spades, trumped by Kngleiield, I pass as of not 
 much importance. Stenton growls, " Did n't I 
 see that he 'd got no more spades in his hand." 
 No, I own I did n't. Stenton, who is not an 
 encouraging partner, grunts to himself. In a 
 subsequent round, I having lost a trick by lead- 
 ing spades, Stenton calls out, *' Why, didn't 
 you see they were trumping spades?" I de- 
 fend myself ; I say I did see him, Englefield, 
 trump one spade, but I thought that he had n't 
 any more trumps. I say this as if I 'd been 
 reckoning the cards as they 've been played. 
 
 Happy Thought. — Try to reckon them, and 
 play by system next rubber. 
 
 I keep my trumps back till the last ; they '11 
 come out and astonish them. They do come 
 out and astonish me. Being taken by surprise 
 
250 TObiet IKlua^ete 
 
 I put on my king when I ought to have played 
 the knave, and both surrender to the ace and 
 queen. I say, ** Dear me, hov7 odd ! " I think 
 I hear Stenton saying sarcastically in an under- 
 tone, '*0 yes; confoundedly odd." I try to 
 explain, and he interrupts me at the end of the 
 last deal but two by saying testily, *'It's no 
 use talking, if you attend, we may just save the 
 odd." 
 
 Happy Thought, — Save the odd. 
 
 My friend, the Queen of Diamonds, who, I 
 thought, had been played, and taken by some 
 one or other at a very early period of the game, 
 suddenly reappears out of my partner's hand, 
 as if she were part of a conjuring trick. Second 
 hand can't follow suit and can't trump. I think 
 I see what he intends me to do here. I 've a 
 trump and a small club. *' When in doubt," I 
 recollect the infallible rule, * * play a trump. ' ' I 
 don't think any one expected this trump. Good 
 play. 
 
 Happy Thought — Trump. I look up diffi- 
 dently ; my partner laughs, so do the others. 
 
Bt :fiSovor 251 
 
 My partner's is not a pleasant laugh. I can't 
 help asking, ''Why? isn't that right: it's 
 ours?" "Oyes," says my partner, sarcasti- 
 cally * * it is ours. " ' ' Only, ' ' explains little Bob 
 Bnglefield, "you've trumped your partner's 
 best card." 
 
 I try again to explain that by my computa- 
 tion, the Queen of Diamonds had been played a 
 long time ago. My partner won't listen to rea- 
 son. He replies, " You might have seen that it 
 wasn't." I return, **Well, it couldn't be 
 helped, we '11 win the game yet." This I add 
 to encourage him, though, if it depends on me^ 
 I honestly (to myself) don't think we shall. 
 
 Happy Thought, — After all, we do get the odd 
 trick. Stenton ought to be in a better humor, 
 but he is n't ; he says, '* The odd ! we ought to 
 have been three." Bnglefield asks me how 
 honors are ? I don't know. Stenton says, 
 '* Why, you (meaning me) had two in your own 
 hand." ''O yes, I had." I'd forgotten it. 
 "Honors easy," says Stenton to me. I agree 
 with him. Now I 've got to score with this 
 
252 Timbtet mu^cjete 
 
 confounded shilling, sixpence, half-crown, and 
 a candlestick. 
 
 Happy Thought. — Ask Bob Bnglefield how 
 he scores generally. 
 
 He replies, *'0, the usual way," and as he 
 doesn't illustrate his meaning, his reply is of 
 no use to me whatever. How can I find out 
 without showing them that I don't know ? 
 
 Happy Thought {while Childers deals), -:-Vt^- 
 tend to forget to score till next time. Bngle- 
 field will have to do it, perhaps, next time, then 
 watch Bnglefield. Just as I am arranging my 
 cards from right to left — 
 
 Happy Thought. — To alternate the colors 
 black and red, beginning this time with black 
 (right) as spades are trumps. Also to arrange 
 them in their rank and order of precedence. 
 Ace on the right, if I 've got one — yes — king 
 next, queen next, — and the hand begins to look 
 very pretty. I can quite imagine Whist being 
 a fascinating game. — Stenton reminds me that 
 I 've forgotten to mark " one up." 
 
m JSovor 253 
 
 Happy Thought. — Put sixpence by itself on 
 my left hand. Stenton asks, ''What's that 
 for?" 
 
 Happy Thought, — To say it's the way I 
 always mark. 
 
 Stenton says, '*0, goon." I look round to 
 see what we 're waiting for, and Bnglefield 
 answers me, ** Go on, it 'sr you; you're first 
 hs^nd." I beg their pardon. I must play some 
 card or other and finish arranging my hand 
 during the round. Anything will do to begin 
 with. Here 's a Two of Spades, a little one, on 
 my left hand ; throw him out. 
 
 *' Hallo ! " cries Bnglefield, second hand, 
 '' Trumps are coming out early." I quite for- 
 got spades were trumps ; that comes from that 
 horrid little card being on the left instead of 
 the right. 
 
 Happy Thought. — Not to show my mistake ; 
 nod at Bnglefield, and intimate that he '11 see 
 what 's coming. 
 
 So, by the way, will my partner. In a polite 
 moment I accept another cup of tea. I don't 
 
254 TKHbiet IFlUQ^eta 
 
 want it, and have to put it by the half-crown, 
 shilling and candlestick on the whist-table, 
 where I'm afraid of knocking it over, and am 
 obliged to let it get quite cold as I have to at- 
 tend to the game. 
 
 Happening to be taking a spoonful, with my 
 eyes anxiously on the cards, when my turn 
 comes, Stenton says, ^^ Do play, never mind 
 your tea." Whist brutalizes Stenton: what a 
 pity ! 
 
 Happy Thought. — Send this game, as a 
 problem, to a Sporting Paper. 
 
 Happy Thought. — Why not write generally 
 for Sporting papers ? 
 
 Stenton says, ** Do play ! " I do. 
 
 Happy Thought. — Write a Treatise on Whist, 
 so as to teach myself the game. 
 
 FINISHING THK RUBBER— NEW GAME— 
 CONVERSATION. 
 
 We finish a second game, and Stenton says, 
 '* We win a single." This I am to score: 
 
Bt JBovor 255 
 
 having some vague idea on the subject, I hide 
 my half-crown under the candlestick. When 
 our adversaries subsequently win a double, 
 and there is some dispute about what we 've 
 done before, I forget my half-crown under the 
 candlestick, until asked rather angrily by 
 Stenton if I did n't mark the single, when I am 
 reminded by Poss Felmyr that I secreted the 
 half-crown. This I produce triumphantly as a 
 proof of a single. 
 
 Happy Thought. — Buy Hoyle^s Laws of 
 Whist. Every one ought to know how to mark 
 up a single and a double. 
 
 I get very tired of whist after the second 
 round of the third game. Wish I could feel 
 faint, so that Poss Felmyr might take my 
 place ; or have a violent fit of sneezing which 
 would compel me to leave the room. 
 
 Happy Thought. — If you give your mind to 
 it, you can sneeze sometimes. I talk about 
 draughts and sneezing, while Knglefield deals. 
 Bnglefield says, apropos of sneezing, that he 
 
256 Wibiet nnggcte • 
 
 knew a man who always caught a severe cold 
 whenever he ate a walnut. If a fact : curious. 
 
 Old Mrs. Childers has woke up (she has been 
 dozing by the fire with her knitting on the 
 ground) and begins *Uo take notice," as they 
 say of babies. She zatll talk to me : I can't 
 attend to her and trumps at the same time. I 
 think she says that she supposes I 've a great 
 deal of practice in whist-playing at the clubs. 
 I say, **Yes; I mean, beg her pardon, no," 
 and Stenton asks me, before taking up the trick, 
 if I have n't got a heart, that being the suit I 
 had to follow. I reply, " No," and my answer 
 appears to disturb the game. On hearts com- 
 ing up three hands afterwards, I find a two of 
 that suit, which, being sticky, had clung to a 
 Knave of Diamonds. 
 
 Happy Thought. — ''Heart clinging to dia- 
 monds"; love yielding to the influence of 
 wealth ; or, by the way, vice versa, but good 
 idea, somehow. Won't say it out, or they 'U 
 discover my revoke. 
 
Bt :fl3ovor 257 
 
 Happy Thought. — Keep the two until the 
 end of the game, and throw it down among the 
 rubbish at the end. I suppose the last cards 
 which players always dash down don't count, 
 and mine will go with them unobserved. 
 
 Happy Thought. — One act of duplicity neces- 
 sitates another, just as one card will not stand 
 upright by itself without another to support it. 
 [Put this into ''Moral Inversions," forming 
 heading of Chapter 10, Book vi., Vol. xii. of 
 Typical Developments. Must note this down 
 to-night.] 
 
 The game is finishing. Luckily, our oppo- 
 nents have it all their own way, and suddenly, 
 much to my surprise and relief, they show their 
 hands and win, we only having made one 
 trick. 
 
 Happy Thought. — Poss Felmyr takes my 
 place. 
 
 On reckoning up I find that somehow or 
 other I 've lost half a crown more than I ex- 
 pected. You can lose a good deal at vsixpenny 
 17 
 
258 TDmbtet IFlug^ets 
 
 points. Stenton, who hears this remark made 
 to Mrs. Childers, observes, ''Depends how you 
 play." I do not retort, as I am fearful about 
 the subject of revoking coming up. Moral 
 Query. — Was w^hat I did with my Two of Hearts 
 dishonesty or nervousness ? Would n't it lead 
 to cheating, to false dice, and ultimately to the 
 Old Bailey? I put these questions to myself 
 while eating a delicate piece of bread-and-butter 
 handed to me by Mrs. Felmyr. I smile and 
 thank her, even while these thoughts are in my 
 bosom. Ah, Bob Bnglefield has no such stage 
 for his dramas as the human bosom, no curtain 
 that hides half as much from the spectators as 
 a single-breasted waistcoat. More tea? thank 
 you, yes. 
 
 Happy Thought, — Single-breasted waistcoat ! 
 Ah, who is single-breasted? Is that the fashion ! 
 [Note all this down in cipher in my book, 
 "Moral Inversion" chapter, Typical Develop- 
 ments. "^ 
 
 I pick up old Mrs. Childers' knitting. I 
 take this opportunity of saying, jocosely, that 
 
Bt :fl3ovor 259 
 
 I suppose that 's what ladies call *' dropping a 
 stitch. ' ' No one hears it, except the old lady, 
 who does n't understand it. I shall repeat this 
 another day when they 're not playing cards, or 
 talking together, as the ladies are. 
 
 Happy Thought, — To tell it as one of Sheri- 
 dan's good things. Then they 41 laugh. 
 
 Old Mrs. Childers says she thinks the moat 's 
 rising, and that the baker will have to come over 
 in the punt. Childers, at the table, says : ** Non- 
 sense, mother." She appeals to me as to 
 whether it is n't damp, and whether the rain 
 won't make the moat rise? And do I think, 
 from what I 've seen of it, that the punt is safe 
 for the baker ? Yes, I do think so. She observes 
 that I 'm too young to have rheumatism, or 
 suffer from cold in the ears. I don't know why 
 I should feel offended at the old lady's remark, 
 but I do. I feel inclined to say (rudely, if she 
 was n't so old) that I 'm not too young, and have 
 had the rheumatics: the latter proudly. She 
 dares say I don't remember the flood there was 
 in Leicestershire in 1812 ! No, I don't : "War. 
 
26o Mbist mug^etg 
 
 it bad? " I ask— not that I care, but I like to be 
 respectful to old ladies. **Ali!" she replies, 
 shaking her head slowly at the fire, as if it was 
 its fault, I get nothing more out of her. 
 
 Mrs. Childers is working something for the 
 children. Mrs. Poss asks about a peculiar sort 
 of trimming for her dress. Mrs. Childers stops 
 to explain, and point her remarks with the 
 scissors. They are deep in congenial subjects, 
 and don't mind me. No more does old Mrs. 
 Childers, who has dropped her knitting, and is 
 asleep again, quite upright, in her chair. 
 
 Happy Thought. — To ask the ladies to play on 
 the piano. 
 
 It will disturb the game, Mrs. Childers thinks. 
 Two of the players seem of the same opinion, 
 but they 're losing, I discover. The two others 
 are smiling, and would like a tune to enliven 
 them. Childers calls out " Mother !" loudly, 
 which makes the old lad}^ wake with a start, and 
 on finding that the moat has not risen and that 
 the baker has n't come in the punt (*' which she 
 was dreaming of, curious enough," she says), she 
 
at :ffiowr 261 
 
 begs Mat not to call like that again, and I pick 
 up her knitting for her. She thanks me, and 
 asks if I recollect the great floods in I^eicester- 
 shire in 1812. I reply, as I did before, that I 
 don't. It leads to no information. Wonderhow 
 old she is ? 
 
 She rises, and thinks, my dears, that it is time 
 for Bedfordshire, which is her little joke ; she 
 gives it us every night at exactly the same time, 
 and in exactly the same manner. It always 
 ' commands a laugh. The ladies did n't know it 
 was so late, and put up their work, hoping I '11 
 excuse them not playing this evening. They 're 
 afraid I 've found it very dull. 
 
 Happy Thought.— "To say, '' More dull when 
 you 're away. ' ' Just stopped in time, and turned 
 it off with a laugh and a good night. I must 
 have looked as if I was going to say something, 
 as Mrs. Poss says, " What? " and I reply, '' Oh, 
 nothing," vaguely, and she laughs, and I laugh, 
 and Mrs. Childers laughs, and says good night 
 laughing, and old Mrs. Childers smiles and 
 repeats her joke about Bedfordshire, which she 
 
252 mbiet nwQCicXB 
 
 evidently thinks we are all still laughing at, 
 and this makes us all laugh again, and Stenton 
 and Engle field, who, having lost, are fondly 
 clinging to the whist-table, laugh as well, and 
 saying good night becomes quite a hysterically 
 comic piece of work, so much so that I wonder 
 we don't all sit down in our chairs, or on the 
 carpet (old Mrs. Childers on the carpet !) and 
 have convulsions ; and all this because I didnH 
 say w^hat I was going to say. They did n't 
 laugh when I did make a really good joke this 
 evening. 
 
 The ladies have gone. * ' Now, ' ' says Childers, 
 *' how about pipes and grogs? " Carried nem. 
 con. Kuglefield proposes we stop whist and play 
 Bolerum. What is Bolerum ? Does n't any one 
 know ? Childers knows, it appears ; he and 
 Bnglefield will show it us : and to begin with, 
 he and Englefield (this, they say, will simplify 
 matters) will keep the bank. 
 
 The game, they explain, is very simple : so it 
 appears. In fact its simplicity hardly seems to 
 be its great charm to those who do not happen 
 to be the bank. The players back their six- 
 
at :fiSo\>or 263 
 
 pences against the bank, and the bank wins. 
 Childers calls it ^* a pretty game." 
 
 **One, two, three, four, — bank wins," cries 
 E)nglefield ; '' pay up ! " And we give him six- 
 pence apiece. 
 
 "One, two, three, four, five, — bank again," 
 cries Childers ; "tizzies round," by which he 
 means that we are again to subscribe sixpence 
 apiece. Poss says, after five times of this, that 
 he doesn't see it. Stenton, the philosopher, 
 taking a mathematical view of it, attempts to 
 show how many chances there are in the players 
 favor, but ends in demonstrating clearly that it 
 is at least a hundred to one on the bank each 
 time. This argument occupies a quarter of an 
 hour, and three pieces of note paper, which 
 Stenton covers with algebraic signs. Childers 
 still sticks to it, that " it 's a pretty game." We 
 admit that it is very pretty, but we get up from 
 the table. What game shall we play ? We 
 decide (and sixpences are at the bottom of our 
 decision), "None." 
 
 "Quite cold," observes Stenton. We gather 
 in front of the fire. 
 
264 WibiBt nnggcts 
 
 Poss suddenly wonders that I 've not yet seen 
 the ghost in my room. Childers says **Ah," 
 and then we all stare at the fire, wondering at 
 nothing : silence. 
 
 Childers turns quietly to Knglefield, and 
 inquires, '*if he knows Jimmy Flewter?" 
 ^nglefield does. Childers asks " if he heard 
 about his row with Menzies ? ' ' Bngl efield, with 
 his pipe in his mouth, and embracing his knee, 
 nods assent. '' It 's settled," says Childers, and 
 stares at the fire again. "Foolish of him," 
 observes Poss. "Very," says Stenton, in his 
 deep bass. It would be rude to ask who Flewter 
 is, but this sort of conversation is very irritating. 
 
 Childers anticipates me by saying, "You 
 don't know Jimmy Flewter?" I do not, but 
 signify I am ready to hear anything to his 
 advantage or disadvantage for the sake of 
 conversation. 
 
 " Ah, then," returns Childers, " you would n*t 
 enjoy the story." 
 
 " Must know the man," puts in Stenton, "to 
 enjoy the story." Poss assents, and smiles as if 
 at a reminiscence. They all chuckle to them- 
 
Bt :fi5ovot 265 
 
 selves. I wish I had a story to chuckle over to 
 myself. I wish I knew Flewter. 
 
 "Seen my lord, to-day?" asks Knglefield of 
 Childers. Wonder who " My lord " is. 
 
 *' No, comes to-morrow," is the answer. 
 
 "Paint?" asks Poss. "Sketch," answers 
 Childers. 
 
 " Odd fish," observes Bob Knglefield, putting 
 on his spectacles to wind up his watch. ' * Very, ' ' 
 says Poss. We knock out our ashes, and, 
 finishing our grog, go to bed. 
 
 Happy Thought,— %\i2X\ find out who "My 
 lord" is to-morrow. Hang Flewter! Rain, 
 violent : no ghost. Room seems darker. Win- 
 dow troublesome. Think of Fridoline. Wish 
 it was Valentine's Day, 1 'd send her a sonnet. 
 Too sleepy to think of it now\ * * * Jimmy 
 Flewter. * * * 
 
 F. C. BURNARD. 
 

 < ^^^^^^^^^^'=^^fy^^^^ , 
 
 EDWARD EVERETT AT THE 
 COURT OF ST. JAMES * 
 
 A RKCBNT statement that a newly nominated 
 **' minister to England did not play any game 
 at cards reminded the Easy Chair of a little 
 incident which it remembered to have heard 
 related by one of the most accomplished of our 
 foreign ministers— Edward Everett. Mr. Ever- 
 ett's accomplishments were different from those 
 of an American minister who w^as once sent to 
 the Court of France, and of whom an admiring 
 attache remarked, with enthusiasm, that he 
 could '' smoke and chew perfectly at the same 
 time." Presumptively the same gentleman 
 could play an excellent game at whist. But 
 this, as Mr. Everett said, was very much more 
 * By the courtesy of George William Curtis. 
 265 
 
E^warD JBvcvctt 267 
 
 than he could do. According to the story, Mr. 
 Everett was to present his credentials to the 
 Queen on the same day with the presentation 
 of the Italian Minister, and repaired at the 
 proper hour, in the costume of ceremony, to the 
 palace, where he found his Italian <:olleague, 
 also officiall}' and splendidly arrayed. The 
 presentation took place in due form, and the 
 ministers having been bidden to dinner, were 
 informed by the Prime Minister that the Duchess 
 of Kent, the Queen's mother, desired them to 
 join her in a game of whist. 
 
 *'I am sorry for either of you who may be 
 my partner," said the Prime Minister, smiling, 
 as he rose to lead the way to the Duchess, *' for 
 I know very little about the game." 
 
 As they passed along, Mr. Everett turned to 
 his diplomatic companion, and said, with lofty 
 urbanity: "I also must entreat your Excel- 
 lency's forbearance if you should have the 
 misfortune to be allotted tome as a partner, for 
 I have very little practice in the game." The 
 Italian Excellency bowed courteously, and 
 gravely assured the American Minister that 
 
268 TObiat Bu^^ets 
 
 the necessity of forbearance was mutu&l, for he 
 also had very little acquaintance with the game. 
 The Duchess received her guests with all cere- 
 mony, and having indicated who was to be her 
 partner, the three dignified personages who 
 were not very familiar with whist seated them- 
 selves, and the game was about to begin, when 
 a lady of honor placed herself by the chair of 
 the Duchess, who graciously remarked to her 
 companions: ''Your Excellencies will excuse 
 me, but, to prevent embarrassment to you, I 
 have requested this lady to prompt me, as, 
 indeed, I am not very familiar with the game." 
 The Excellencies bowed profoundly, and the 
 ceremonial game of whist proceeded. 
 
 Se non e vero^ ^ ben trovato. Mr. Everett 
 had a keen sense of humor, and he said that in 
 all his official life he had seen nothing more 
 absurd than that game. He was an excellent 
 story-teller, and the narrative lost nothing 
 in the telling that Washington Irving was one 
 of the amused listeners. The recent Con- 
 gressional debate upon diplomatic appropri- 
 ations revealed the fact that there is a great 
 
iBDwarD iSvctctt 269 
 
 deal of this kind of dummy whist in diplo- 
 matic life, a great deal of playing at playing 
 at cards, solemnly and in fine clothes. It is 
 perhaps no serious disadvantage to an American 
 minister that he is not an accomplished whist- 
 player, nor even an expert in simultaneous 
 smoking and chewing. The Easy Chair has 
 seen in other years an American minister driv- 
 ing through the streets of a great city, during a 
 festival, with one leg hanging over the side of 
 an open carriage, and a cigar protruding from 
 his mouth at the familiar Bowery angle. Within 
 the range of the same memory another Ameri- 
 can minister stood in the balcony of a hotel in 
 the costume of the King of the Cannibal Isl- 
 ands, haranguing the wondering crowd in the 
 street with the tearful pathos of Senator Dil- 
 worthy. Still another received two American 
 ladies by appointment in his chamber at an inn 
 in the morning, wearing his hat, and with a 
 half-emptied bottle of whiskey standing upon 
 the table. Expressive silence may muse the 
 moral. But it is pertinent for the Easy Chair, 
 which deals with the minor morals and manners. 
 
270 mibiet nnQQcte 
 
 to suggest that they should always be reckoned 
 as necessary parts of the outfit of every Ameri- 
 can minister, as indeed, they conspicuously 
 have been in the instance of Mr. Everett him- 
 self and some of his illustrious successors. 
 Gkorge W11.1.1AM Curtis, 
 
 in ''Editor's Easy Chair,'' Harper^ s 
 Monthly Magazine, 
 
METTERNICH'S WHIST. 
 
 13 B sure, too, that the pursuit of this en- 
 *^ chanting game does not tempt you to 
 neglect your duties in other respects. Do all 
 your work thoroughly before you sit down. 
 Without putting the matter upon higher ground, 
 there is nothing that injures an honest man's 
 game more than the reflection that he has left 
 a duty unfulfilled ; his conscience whisks away 
 his attention, and his money and his temper 
 are then pretty sure to follow. Whist embit- 
 tered the death-bed of the great Metternich. 
 
 Fifteen years before his death, that great 
 statesman knew little of the wondrous game, as 
 full of wiles and stratagems as his own crafty 
 mind. 
 
 271 
 
272 Timblst muQciete 
 
 I was walking with him at that period in a 
 gallery of his own house at Vienna, and 
 through an open door we perceived some ladies 
 of his family playing at whist. 
 
 '* That is a game," remarked he, *'only fit for 
 women and fools." 
 
 I smiled and shook my head. 
 
 **I have played whist for fifty years, I tell 
 you," continued the prince, a little heated by 
 my pantomimic contradiction, '^and I think I 
 am capable of forming an opinion." 
 
 '* You have played something for fifty years, 
 prince," returned I, pityingly, **but you never 
 played whist in your life." 
 
 The astute Austrian was so struck with the 
 audacious confidence of my assertion, that he 
 submitted to become my pupil in the science. 
 
 I do not say that he surpassed his tutor, for 
 that would be gross flattery ; but he very soon 
 ^^/^learned what he knew, and got to play a 
 most admirable game. lie threw himself into 
 the new art with his accustomed energy, and 
 soon became passionately attached to it. Years 
 afterwards an express arrived with despatches 
 
/IBettcniicb'6 TObi6t 273 
 
 for him from Galicia and found him engaged 
 at his favorite game. 
 
 He placed the papers on the mantel-piece 
 and went on playing throughout that night and 
 far into the morning. When the party broke 
 up he was horrified to discover that upon his 
 immediate reply depended the fate of two 
 thousand persons. 
 
 The infamous *' Galician Massacre " would 
 
 never have taken place if Metternich had not 
 
 loved whist ^^not wisely, but too well.'* 
 
 Chamber's JournaL 
 18 
 
LORD LYTTON AS A WHIST- 
 PLAYER. 
 
 T ORD LYTTON was very fond of whist, and 
 -■— ' he and I both belonged to the well-known 
 Portland Club, in which were to be found many 
 of the celebrated players of the day. He never 
 showed the slightest disposition of a gambler. 
 He played the game well, and without excite- 
 ment or temper, and apparently his whole 
 attention was concentrated upon it ; but it was 
 curious to see that at every interval that oc- 
 curred in the rubbers he would rush ofif to a 
 writing-table, and with equally concentrated 
 attention proceed with some literary work until 
 called again to take his place at the whist-table. 
 There was a member of the club, a very harm- 
 less, inoffensive man, of the name of Townend, 
 274 
 
Xor^ X^tton a6 a Mbietsspla^et 275 
 
 for whom lyord lyytton entertained a mortal 
 antipathy, and would never play whist while 
 that gentleman was in the room. He firmly 
 believed that he brought him bad luck. I was 
 witness to what must be termed an odd coinci- 
 dence. One afternoon, when Lord I^ytton was 
 playing, and had enjoyed an uninterrupted run 
 of luck, it suddenly turned, upon which he 
 exclaimed, '^ I am sure that Mr. Townend has 
 come into the club." Some three minutes 
 after, just time enough to ascend the stairs, in 
 walked this unlucky personage. lyord Lytton, 
 as soon as the rubber was over, left the table 
 and did not renew the play. 
 
 SKRJKANI* Bali^anTine'S 
 Experiences of a Barrister's Life, 
 
SOME LITERARY RECOLLEC- 
 TIONS.* 
 
 * * * For the last five- and- twenty years of 
 my life I have only had three days of consecu- 
 tive holiday once a year ; while all the year 
 round (from another necessity of the pen) the 
 Sundays have been as much working-days with 
 me as the week-days. 
 
 Such from -day-to-day labors, though not, it is 
 true, extending to long hours, w^ould perhaps 
 have been impossible but for the relief afforded 
 by some favorite amusement. This, in my case, 
 as it has been in that of much greater men, has 
 been the noble game of whist, which I have 
 played regularly, for two or three hours a day, 
 for the last thirty years. It does not, indeed, 
 much matter what it is, so that the relaxation is 
 an attractive one, but I pity that man from the 
 * Bj- permission of Messrs. Harper & Brothers. 
 276 
 
Some Xlterar^ IRecoUectlons 277 
 
 bottom of my heart who can find no interest in 
 a game. It is not every one who, like Sarah 
 Battle, can relax their minds over a book, and 
 least of all those who write books. I have 
 noticed that those of my own calling w^ho read 
 the most are not the best students of human 
 nature, and fall most often into the pit of plagi- 
 arism. How often have I heard it said— too 
 late — by those who have most certainly earned 
 their play -time : ** How I wish I had an amuse- 
 ment ! " The taste for such things must be 
 caught early (like the •measles) and indulged 
 (like the patient). 
 
 What position, for example, is more unsatis- 
 factory than that of the man who has only 
 played whist occasionally — say once a week — 
 and " makes up a rubber to oblige " ? 
 
 In a partner's eyes, at least, such a person 
 will never meet his obligations. Mackwortli 
 Praed must have been a whist-player, or he 
 never could have depicted Quince : 
 
 " Some public principles he had, 
 But was no flatterer nor fretter ; 
 He rapped his box when things were bad 
 And said, * I cannot make them better.' 
 
278 Wihiet nuQQcte 
 
 And much he loathed the patriots' snort, 
 And much he scorned the placeman's snuffle, 
 
 And cut the fiercest quarrel short 
 With ' patience, gentlemen, and shuffle.' " 
 
 Men of letters are rarely good card-players — 
 I^ord Lytton and Lever are almost the only 
 exceptions I can call to mind, — but some of 
 them have been fond of whist, and have en- 
 livened it by their sallies. A few of these, 
 which I have happened myself to hear, seem 
 worthy of record. 
 
 A guest being asked to a dinner-party, which 
 was to precede an evening at cards, thus apolo- 
 gized for coming in morning costume : " The 
 suit is surely no matter, so long as one is a 
 trump.'* 
 
 A man who had his foot on a gout-rest was 
 holding very bad cards, and complaining alike 
 of his luck and his malady. Upon being re- 
 proached by his more fortunate adversary for 
 his irritation, he suddenly exclaimed : ** It 's 
 all very well for you, but a ' game hand ' is a 
 very different thing from a ' game leg.' " 
 
 On another occasion the same gentleman 
 (whose temper, gout or no gout, was always a 
 
Some ILiterai^ IRecollectiona 279 
 
 little short), jumped up from the seat where he 
 had been losing and declared that he would 
 play no more. *' But you '11 break up the 
 table/* pleaded the others pathetically. "If it 
 is broken up there will still be three ' legs * 
 left,'* was his uncompromising reply. 
 
 A whist-player, who, even though a loser, 
 ought to have known better than to have jested 
 upon such a tender subject, once remarked, 
 in reference to the considerable number of 
 novels for which I have been responsible : 
 * ' Nobody can deny, my dear fellow, that you 
 have great * numerical strength.' " 
 
 T remember a little poem called Dumby, 
 
 written by a brother novelist, who has himself, 
 
 alas ! left a vacant place at the four-square 
 
 table forever, which has a pathetic singularity 
 
 about it : 
 
 " I see the face of the friend I lost 
 Before me as I sit, 
 His thin white hands, so subtle and swift, 
 And his eyes that gleam with wit. 
 
 ** I see him across the square g^reen cloth 
 That 's dappled with black and red ; 
 Between the luminous globes of light 
 I watch the friend long dead. 
 
280 mbist IRuMcta 
 
 '* It is only I who can see him there, 
 With victory in his glance, 
 As, the cross ruflf stopped, he strides along 
 lyike Wellington through France. 
 
 ** He died years past in the jungle reeds, 
 But still I see him sit, 
 Facing me with his fan of cards, 
 And those eyes that beam with wit." 
 
 JAMKS PAYN. 
 
ANECDOTES FROM CAVENDISH'S 
 CARD-TABLE TALK. 
 
 WHBN my book on whist was first pub- 
 lished the authorship was kept a profound 
 secret. I sent a copy, *' with the author's com- 
 pliments,*' to my father, and great was the 
 amusement of my brother (who knew all about 
 it) and myself at the '* Governor's " guesses as 
 to where it could have come from. 
 
 One evening, when about to play a family 
 rubber for love, we proposed to the '' Gov- 
 ernor '* to play one of the hands in the book, 
 *' to see if the fellow knew anything about it." 
 He consented. We sorted one of the hands 
 (Hand No. xxxvi., p. 246, 12th edition), giving 
 my father Y's hand, others of our circle taking 
 the other hands, and my brother sitting out 
 281 
 
282 mbiet nnggcte 
 
 book in band, to see whether we followed the 
 **book " play. 
 
 The ** Governor" played the hand all right 
 till he came to the coup at trick 9, when he 
 went on with his established diamonds. 
 
 Frater. (interrupting). — The book says that 
 is wrong. 
 
 Pater, — Well, what does the book say ? 
 
 Frater. — The book says you should lead a 
 trump. 
 
 Pater, — But there are no more trumps in ! 
 (Hesitates, and seeing that he has two trumps, 
 and that leading one of them will not do any 
 harm, leads it, and then turns round triumph- 
 antly and says) : Now w^hat does the book say ? 
 
 Frater (very quietly). — The book says you 
 should lead another trump. 
 
 This was too much. I^ead a thirteenth trump 
 when you can give your partner a discard ! 
 Oh ! no ! So the ^* Governor " would not and 
 did not lead the trump, and he scored four. 
 
 We then persuaded him to play the hand 
 again, and to lead the thirteenth trump. To 
 his surprise he scored five. 
 
CavenM6b'6 CarD^^^able tTalh 283 
 
 He then admitted it was "very good," but 
 could not think who in the world had sent him 
 that book. 
 
 Clay told me that when he first played whist 
 at a Ivondon club he was horrified to see an old 
 gentleman deliberately looking over one of his 
 adversaries' hands. Mr. Pacey, the player 
 whose hand was overlooked, was, as it hap- 
 pened, an old friend of Clay's, and, the rubber 
 being over. Clay took an immediate opportunity 
 of advising him to hold up his hand when 
 
 playing against P , adding : 
 
 '* The last hand he saw every card you held." 
 "Oh ! no ! he did n't ! " replied Mr. Pacey, 
 
 who was well aware of P 's peculiarities, 
 
 " he only saw a few I put in the corner to puzzle 
 him." 
 
 Cavendish's Card-Table Talk, 
 
ADVANTAGE OF SKILL AT 
 WHIST. 
 
 IN the latter part of the winter of 1857, during 
 ^ an after-dinner conversation, it was re- 
 marked by some of the party that whist is a 
 mere matter of chance, since no amount of 
 ingenuity can make a king win an ace, and so 
 on. This produced an argument as to the 
 merits of the game ; and, as two of the dispu- 
 tants obstinately maintained the original posi- 
 tion, it was proposed to test their powers by 
 matching them against two excellent players 
 in the room. To this match, strange to say, 
 the bad players agreed, and a date was fixed. 
 Before the day arrived it was proposed to play 
 the match in double, another rubber of two 
 good against two bad players being formed in 
 an adjoining room, and the hands being played 
 284 
 
n^vmtngc of Sl^m at 'Mbiet 2S5 
 
 over again, the good players having the cards 
 previously held by the bad ones, and vice versa, 
 the order of the play being, of course, in every 
 other respect preserved. The difficulty now 
 was to find two players sufficiently bad for this 
 purpose ; but two men were found, on condition 
 of having odds laid them at starting, which 
 was accordingly done. 
 
 On the appointed day a table was formed in 
 room A, and as soon as the first hand was 
 played, the cards were re-sorted and conveyed 
 into room B. There the hand was played over 
 again, the good players in room B having 
 the cards that the bad players had in room A. 
 At the end of the hand the result was noted for 
 comparison, independently of the score, which 
 was conducted in the usual way. Thirty-three 
 hands were played in each room. In room A 
 the good players held very good cards, and won 
 four rubbers out of six ; in points, a balance of 
 eighteen. In room B the good players had, of 
 course, the bad cards. They played seven rub- 
 bers, with the same number of hands that in 
 the other room had played six, and they won 
 
286 mbtet IFluggets 
 
 three out of the seven, losing seven points on 
 the balance. The difference, therefore, was 
 eleven points, or nearly one point a rubber in 
 favor of skill. 
 
 A comparison of tricks only showed some 
 curious results. In seven of the hands the 
 score by cards in each room was the same. In 
 eighteen hands the balance of the score by 
 cards was in favor of the superior players ; in 
 eight hands in favor of the inferior. In one 
 of these hands the bad players won two by 
 cards at one table, and three by cards at the 
 other. 
 
 The most important result is that at both 
 tables the superior players gained a majority of 
 tricks. In room A they won on the balance 
 nineteen by tricks ; in room B they won two 
 by tricks. 
 
 It will be observed that this experiment does 
 not altogether eliminate luck, as bad play some- 
 times succeeds. But by far the greater part of 
 luck, viz.y that due to the superiority of win- 
 ning cards, is, by the plan described, quite 
 got rid of. 
 
B^vantage of S^ill at Timbl6t 287 
 
 Dr. Pole (the Field, June i6, 1866) arrives at 
 nearly the same result by a statistical method. 
 He writes to this effect : 
 
 **It is very desirable to ascertain the value 
 of skill at whist. 
 
 " The voluntary power we have over results 
 at whist is compounded of— i. The system of 
 play. — 2. The personal skill employed." 
 
 The modern system, which combines the 
 hands of the two partners, as against no system 
 (the personal skill of all being pretty equal), is 
 worth— Dr. Pole thinks— about half a point a 
 rubber, or rather more. About nine hundred 
 rubbers played by systematic against old-fash- 
 ioned players gave a balance of nearly five 
 hundred points in favor of system. 
 
 The personal skill will vary with each indi- 
 vidual, and is difficult to estimate ; but, looking 
 at published statistics, in which Dr. Pole had 
 confidence, he puts the advantage of a very 
 superior player (all using system) at about a 
 quarter of a point a rubber ; consequently the 
 advantage due to combined personal skill (/. e., 
 two very skilful against two A^ery unskilful 
 
288 1imbi0t muggete 
 
 players, all using system), would be more than 
 half a point a rubber. 
 
 The conclusion arrived at by Dr. Pole is that 
 '' the total advantage of both elements of power 
 over results at Whist may, under very favorable 
 circumstances, be expected to amount to as 
 much as one point per rubber." 
 
 Now, at play-clubs, nearly all the players 
 adhere more or less closely to system, and the 
 great majority have considerable personal skill. 
 Consequently, only the very skilful player can 
 expect to win anything, and he will only have 
 the best player at the table for a partner, on an 
 average, once in three times. It follows from 
 this that the expectation of a very skilful player 
 at a pla3^-club will only average, at the most 
 say a fifth or a sixth of a point a rubber. 
 
 Cav^e^nbish's Card' Table Talk, 
 
SOME WHIST CHAT. 
 
 A FEW months ago an essay of mine on the 
 American card game, poker, appeared in 
 these pages. I have been since told by Amer- 
 icans, with that frankness which is so engaging 
 a quality of theirs, that though I may be able 
 to calculate to a nicety the chances of the vari- 
 ous poker hands, and those on which the draw- 
 ing of fresh cards at poker depends, I should 
 be everlastingly beaten if I played at poker in 
 America. I think it exceedingly likely, for pok- 
 er is not a game at which I have ever played. 
 I shall probably escape crushing defeat at the 
 game, because I am never likely to play it. It 
 is a game expressly invented for betting pur- 
 poses, and betting has always seemed to me 
 a foolish and degrading habit ; so that I am not 
 19 289 
 
290 TObist IRu^geta 
 
 likely to find myself at the same table with 
 American poker-players. Moreover, if news- 
 paper notes do them justice, some of the most 
 successful exponents of the game in America 
 modify their chances by manipulative processes 
 which I had not taken into account in my poker 
 essay. The chance of a hand with four aces, 
 for example, is by no means what is indicated 
 in that essay if the dealer is able by dexterity 
 of hand to deal himself any cards he may 
 please. In the company of ordinary players, 
 again, a full hand is doubtless a very good hand 
 to stand on, but a man of guileless type would 
 be wise not to stand on a hand even of four kings 
 if he found a dexterous opponent putting money 
 down heavily, lest it should presently appear 
 that the four kings had been dealt him specially 
 to make him wager freely by an opponent who 
 had at the same time dealt himself four aces or 
 a straight flush. Such things have been ; and 
 it is by no means uncommon in some parts of 
 America for a man to lay down with a sigh, a 
 hand of four knaves, queens, or kings (face 
 downwards be it understood, lest he should be 
 
Some mbtet Cbat 291 
 
 shot for the implied suspicion, even though four 
 aces should lie under the shooter's hand). It is 
 even said, I know not with what degree of 
 truth, that in some Western States you must 
 not be unduly pained if you should find four 
 aces beaten by five jacks ; still less must you 
 question whether five jacks belong naturally to 
 a normal pack. 
 
 What a relief it is to turn from a game like 
 poker, associated with greed and lying bluster 
 and brag, to the noble game which every Eng- 
 lishman loves (though few play it well) — the 
 best if not the oldest of card games — whist ! 
 It is played indeed for money, as poker is ; but 
 with what a difference ! At poker the money is 
 everything ; no one would think of playing at 
 the game except to win or lose money ; at whist, 
 the chief reason why money is staked is that 
 the game may be well and truly played. No 
 true lover of whist would like to hear such 
 stories of money lost and won at whist as are 
 told of exciting poker games. The author of 
 Guy Livingstone^ in \ns Belle Dame sans Merci, 
 introduces a story originally told about the skil- 
 
292 TOblet 1Flugget0 
 
 ful whist-player James Clay, which seems to im- 
 ply that many fortunes have been lost by bad 
 whist play. A partner of Clay's had lost a game 
 by leading from a plain suit, though holding five 
 trumps, one honor. At the close of the hand 
 he asked Clay (who loved him not) whether a 
 trump lead would not have been wiser. *' It is 
 computed," slowly and gravely answered the 
 great whist-player, "that eleven thousand men, 
 once heirs to fair fortunes, are now wandering 
 abroad in a state of destitution because they 
 would not lead trumps from five, one honor." 
 But either Clay was savage at the foolish play 
 of his partner, in which case a man will say 
 anything, or he purposely Americanized the 
 truth, which, correctly expressed, would have 
 been less amusing and effective. For where 
 would have been the interest of such a rejoinder 
 as this ? ** It is computed that by failing to take 
 the chance of a great game which the posses- 
 sion of five trumps, one honor gives you and 
 your partner, you lose about one point out of 
 23tt o^ those which, but for this fault of play, 
 you would have made in the course of a sufl&- 
 
some mbiet Cbat 293 
 
 ciently long run ; supposing 2,318 points lost 
 and as many won each year (a very fair allow- 
 ance of play), but for this fault, then 2,218 only 
 would be won and 2,418 lost, a balance of 200 
 to the bad, by a player who committed the 
 fault into which you have just fallen, partner. 
 At a sovereign each, which is higher play than 
 I recommend for neophytes like you, you 
 would probably lose ^200 per annum. But 
 then (also probably) you would correct the 
 fault of play before the year was out. However, 
 we must not keep the table waiting. Mr. 
 Vincent Flemyng, it is your turn to deal." 
 
 It is singular that, being so fine a game as it 
 is, whist should be so little known. I have just 
 said, indeed, that every one in England loves 
 whist. I should have said that every one loves 
 a game which is supposed to be whist. But 
 ninety-nine out of a hundred of those who sup- 
 pose they play whist hardly know what the game 
 is. The game at which they really play has 
 been called by the ingenious Pembridge ' ' bum- 
 blepuppy." It is a sort of a blunder-blindfold 
 game, which must be interesting, I suppose, 
 
294 Tixablst 1Ru^^et6 
 
 since so many play it. Nay, let us be honest. 
 E)ven we who know what whist is (which is by 
 no means claiming to play finely) have most of 
 us had a period of bumblepuppy. Can we not 
 remember how we sat gravely down to what we 
 called whist ? When our hands were delivered 
 to us, we set down in our minds each ace as a 
 card to be led at the first opportunity. We 
 had little fear about our kings, for we knew 
 that the aces over them would be led out by 
 the other players just as frankly as we should 
 lead out our own. Bven queens had a fair 
 chance. But the single card was our chief de- 
 light. That was led out at once, and so our 
 little trumps were safely made ; for no one 
 would think of leading out trumps while there 
 seemed to be a chance of using any in ruffing. 
 Somehow, a trick made by ruffing seemed worth 
 two made in any other way. If no chance came 
 for a ruff, trumps were reserved to the last. But 
 even then our game retained its beautiful sim- 
 plicity of character. The ace came out first, 
 then in due order the king and the queen. To 
 have led a small card from ace, queen, and 
 
Some Mblet Cbat 295 
 
 others, would have seemed wild audacity, which 
 might indeed succeed at times, but was too 
 imprudent to be encouraged. 
 
 This game, however, the whist of the home 
 circle and of Western America (in the Eastern 
 States many Americans know true whist "real 
 well"), is not whist at all. It owes its interest 
 solely to chance. A player of this bumblepuppy 
 game, who has been lucky in getting a number 
 of good hands, does indeed arrogate to himself 
 the character of a good player. He seems to 
 regard his luck as something due to personal 
 influence. Indeed, oddly enough, while a good 
 whist-player, even if, with a good partner, he 
 has to play against two bumblepuppy players, 
 will never be assured of success, knowing how 
 uncertain the chances are, you will generally 
 find one of these know-nothings boasting con- 
 fidently that he will win. Another way of 
 recognizing the whist duffers is by their manner 
 when the cards favor them. A good player, 
 when he and his partner have made five or six 
 by cards, will not be loudly jubilant, though, 
 touching on the help received from the cards. 
 
296 Wibi&t nnggcte 
 
 he may congratulate his partner on some suc- 
 cessful stroke of strategy ; but the player of 
 bumblepuppy, when he and his partner, having 
 all the honors , and five out of six of the re- 
 maining high cards, have won the odd trick 
 and so made a treble, will say : *' He knew they 
 would win," ** He always does win," and other- 
 wise take credit for a success which not even 
 the skill of a Deschapelles could have managed 
 to avert. 
 
 But though domestic whist, or bumblepuppy, 
 has " these violent delights" for its exponents, 
 it is not a game worth playing or talking about. 
 
 Majora canamus ! 
 
 What is the real game of whist then, the 
 reader may ask, if domestic whist is not whist 
 at all? Is not the object the same ? No doubt 
 it is. The object of whist is to secure as many 
 tricks as possible. High cards tell at whist as 
 at bumblepuppy (I thank thee, Pembridge, for 
 teaching me that word !) Nay, in quite a num- 
 ber of hands, luck tells as much at one game 
 as at the other, and if the whist player is of 
 sordid mind, as many are, he rejoices at the dull 
 
Some WibiBt Cbat 297 
 
 hands in which he has only had to play out 
 winning cards as much as the veriest duffer of 
 domestic whist at the way in which aces and 
 kings take tricks. But whist is a game of 
 science, a game calling for the exercise of keen 
 perception, watchfulness, memory, patience and 
 trust in the established laws of probability. It 
 may sound like exaggeration to say that whist 
 is far better calculated to develop the mind than 
 many things taught at school, yet many a man 
 can perceive a real gain to his mental qualities 
 from whist practice, who would find it hard to 
 recognize any good which he has obtained from 
 learning how to write I^atin verses with due at- 
 tention to the niceties of the ccBSura, A course 
 of whist play is a capital way of training the 
 memory, the powers of attention, and the 
 temper ; but nine boys out of ten gain nothing 
 from a course of practice in determining the 
 greatest common measures and the least com- 
 mon multiples of algebraical quantities. 
 
 Indeed, many of our best whist-players are 
 complaining that whist is becoming too full of 
 points requiring to be noticed and kept in the 
 
298 Timbt6t IRu^^ets 
 
 memory. A system has come into existence 
 within the last thirty or forty years by which a 
 player can convey information to his partner in 
 various ways ; and it is urged that instead of 
 giving their minds to points of whist strategy, 
 players now^ have to be constantly looking out 
 for this signal or that indication. Many of the 
 old players determine to have nothing to do with 
 all this signalling ; but, alas for them ! they 
 have no choice. It is too strong for them. 
 Though they may never signal themselves ; 
 though they may resolutely decline to respond 
 to any signal made by their partner, they must 
 notice the signals alike of their partner and of 
 the adversaries, or all sorts of disasters will hap- 
 pen, for which their partners will properly hold 
 them responsible. Thus, a plaj^er signals for 
 trumps, and presently his partner responds by 
 leading him a trump. Suppose now one of the 
 other players has failed to notice the signal. 
 He falls naturally into the mistake of supposing 
 that the player who has led trumps is strong in 
 them and that the other adversary is presum- 
 ably weak. Under this mistake he presently 
 
Some Mblst Cbat 299 
 
 forces what tie supposes to be the strong trump 
 hand, but in reality enables the weak hand to 
 make trumps which would otherwise have fallen 
 idle. Or, on the other hand, having a chance 
 of forcing the strong trump hand, the player 
 who has failed to notice the signal refrains 
 religiously from doing so, imagining that he 
 would be helping the enemy instead of cutting 
 down his trump strength. Under these circum- 
 stances, partner, if of the reproachful sort, can 
 rebuke much more effectively than where his 
 own signal has merely been revoked. To the 
 reproach, ** Why did you not lead me a trump 
 when I signalled?" there is always the ready 
 answer, ''I saw your signal, and I declined to 
 respond to it, because I object to the signalling 
 S3^stem." But what answer can be made when 
 your partner says, " My good sir, you played the 
 enemy's game? there was Y signalling for 
 trumps, and you deliberately forced Z, giving 
 him just the trick which made their game ; or 
 you failed to force Y, though that was the only 
 way to save our game." You cannot answer 
 that you saw the signal, but preferred to sacri- 
 
300 TDOlblet IRuQ^eta 
 
 fice the game rather than act upon it. You are 
 obliged to tell the truth (and what could be 
 more painful?) that you had failed to notice 
 the enemy's signal. 
 
 Whist — the real game of whist, I mean — de- 
 rives its interest entirely from strategy, by 
 which either tricks are made by cards which 
 would not, but for such strategy, have power to 
 take those tricks, or by which the plans of the 
 adversaries to achieve such ends are detected 
 and foiled. Tricks may be made by high cards, 
 but there is no interest in that. Any one can 
 take a trick with the ace of trumps. Tricks 
 may be made by finesse — that is, by playing, 
 instead of the best card, a lower card, which 
 may or may not take the trick according as the 
 intermediate card or cards lie to the right or 
 left. This is better ; but the finesse pure and 
 simple is a matter of mere chance, and so far as 
 the actual gain of a trick is concerned there is 
 no more scientific joy in the success of a finesse 
 than in the capture of a trick by a high card. 
 There is science in the finesse ; but the scien- 
 tific interest does not depend on the direct sue- 
 
Some Wibiet Cbat 301 
 
 cess or failure of the finesse at the moment, 
 but on its bearing upon the general play of the 
 hand. Again, tricks may be made by trumping 
 winning cards of plain suits. There is often 
 good science in bringing this about properly, 
 not by the coarse lead of a single card or from 
 a two-card suit, but by so arranging matters 
 that the ruff, when made, shall not impair, but 
 utilize the trump strength which lies between 
 you and your partner. Special pleasure is there 
 in the cross-ruff when ingeniously secured and 
 properly employed ; still more pleasure in 
 tempting the enemy to a cross-ruff, which, while 
 not lasting long enough to give them more than 
 three or four tricks, just destroys their superior 
 trump strength. But the great delight of whist 
 strategy lies in the manoeuvres by which small 
 cards are made to conquer large ones, as when 
 a long suit is successfully brought in, or the 
 enemy forced by skilful strategy to lead up to 
 a tenace. Nor is there less pleasure in noting 
 and foiling the plans of the adversary for achiev- 
 ing these same ends. Nay, to the true player 
 there ought to be pleasure even in noting the 
 
302 TKIlbist IFluggete 
 
 skill by which the enemy achieves success ; but 
 I fear me this is more than most players of whist 
 attain to, however earnest may be their whist 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 Of course chance has its part even in scien- 
 tific whist. In playing 30,000 rubbers one af 
 the finest living players of the game lost 
 nearly 15,000, gaining only a balance of about 
 600 rubbers. Among the thousands of rub- 
 bers, a goodly proportion must have been lost 
 against bad play and by the sheer influence of 
 cards, that is, of chance. There must be some 
 villainous whist-players living who can boast 
 that they have played several rubbers against 
 this fine player and won every rubber they 
 played. Then, again, there is such a thing as 
 good cards being beaten by sheer bad luck. 
 Thus, there is that famous hand in which the 
 Duke of Cumberland held ace, king, queen, 
 and knave, in one plain suit ; ace, king, queen in 
 another ; ace, king, in the third ; while in trumps 
 he held king, knave, nine, and seven ; yet with 
 this perfectly magnificent hand and the lead, 
 leading also quite correctly, he did not make a 
 
Some Mbist Cbat 303 
 
 single trick. Yet, although chance thus plays 
 an important part in whist, and is, indeed, re- 
 garded by many as the element which gives to 
 whist its great interest, the game even in its ' 
 partial dependence on chance is a scientific 
 one. Only science can answer the questions 
 which the chance element introduces. Only 
 science can avail to get the best results which 
 the different components of the hands leave 
 open to a player and his partner. When to 
 scientific acumen are added a good memory, a 
 careful and attentive mind, readiness in obser- 
 vation, brilliance of conception and aptitude in 
 execution, we get the elements of fine play. 
 But it is not true of the whist-player that he is 
 born, not made. Practice alone can combine 
 these elements to form a really fine player. 
 
 Chance, indeed, in whist causes good play 
 often to fail and bad play to succeed. This is 
 little understood by bad players. They judge 
 only by immediate results, and if a sound rule 
 leads to disaster, as must inevitably happen in 
 a certain proportion of cases to which it is 
 applied, they vow that the rule is a bad one, 
 
304 WibiBt 'UWQQCte 
 
 and are apt thenceforth to follow the unsound 
 converse rule. For instance, it may be shown 
 that in a majority of cases leading a small card 
 * from ace, three small ones, will be successful, 
 the ace taking the second trick and the two 
 first tricks going far to clear the suit. But 
 sometimes this sound lead turns out badly. 
 Your partner holds, perhaps, the queen, fourth 
 player the fourchette to the queen — i.e., knave, 
 king ; the first trick falls to the king, your ace 
 is trumped second round and when trumps are 
 exhausted the holder of the knave is found to 
 have two more of the suit, both of which he 
 makes, besides the knave (and the king which 
 he had made the first round) or four tricks in 
 the suit, besides the trick made by the ruff on 
 your ace. This is rough on the sound lead, and 
 some players can never forget such a contre- 
 temps. They forthwith adopt the system of 
 leading the ace first from a suit of four to the 
 ace. Now, in this case, there is really some- 
 thing to be said in favor of the ace lead, which 
 is adopted on the Continent. The balance of 
 advantages in favor of the small card lead is 
 
Some TlXIlbi0t Gbat 305 
 
 not heavy. Still the odds are in its favor. 
 Now, suppose there were a teetotum with 
 eleven faces, six marked with an A, five with a 
 Z, and a small bet depended on the selection of 
 the face which would come uppermost. Any- 
 one who wagered on the A systematically 
 w^ould be bound to win in the long run of many 
 trials. If there were i, loo trials he would be 
 right about? 600 times and wrong about 500 
 times, or would gain about 100 times the 
 amount of his wager. In 11,000 trials he 
 would be still more certain that he would win 
 his wager by about one-eleventh of the total 
 number of trials. Yet he would lose a number 
 of times. It would often happen that he would 
 lose ten or twelve times in succession. If he 
 had been assured that the rule ^iven to him 
 was a sound one, but had not been allowed to 
 look at the teetotum, and it so chanced that his 
 first ten trials were all, or most of them unfa- 
 vorable, it would be natural for him to begin to 
 doubt whether the rule were really sound. 
 But if the teetotum were shown to him, and he 
 found there were six A faces to only five B 
 
3o6 TObist IRugciets 
 
 faces, with an equal chance of any one of 
 these faces showing, he would certainly be 
 unwise to give up the sound A selection and 
 adopt the unsound Z selection merely because 
 it had happened that a few chance trials had 
 given results unfavorable to the better choice. 
 Now this is precisely what those whist play- 
 ers do who reject sound for unsound play, 
 because sound play has occasionally turned out 
 badly. 
 
 But, of course, it must happen in a certain 
 proportion of cases that the right lead turns out 
 unluckily. In two cases out of three the king 
 falls to the enemy's ace, and the short-sighted 
 seeing no farther, thinks this proves the lead to 
 be bad. But even in the further play of the suit 
 the result may be unfortunate. From a rough 
 computation which I have made, I find reason 
 to conclude that leading king from king, queen, 
 and two others turns out well in about five cases 
 out of nine. If my computation is right (the 
 difficulty lies in taking into account the multi- 
 tudinous varieties of arrangement outside the 
 suit), then the lead turns out ill in four cases 
 
Some TlGlbtet Gbat 307 
 
 out of nine. Depend upon it, cavillers will pay 
 much more attention to those four ninths of all 
 the cases in which the lead fails than to the 
 cases, though twenty-five per cent, more num- 
 erous, in which the lead turns out well. But, 
 of course, the sound whist-player systematically 
 adopts the lead which will turn out well in the 
 majority of cases ; he would do so even though 
 the odds in his favor were not more than loi 
 to 100. 
 
 In the course of the reasoning just given, I 
 have touched on the chance that a suit will go 
 round such and such a number of times. Most 
 of the rules for leading at whist depend on 
 this particular chance, the calculation of which 
 is easy enough, so far as principles are con- 
 cerned, though laborious in practice. The 
 whist-player cannot conveniently run through 
 these calculations while the rest of the table 
 wait for him to play. But rules of play, based 
 either upon calculation or on long practice 
 leading to the same conclusions, should be 
 adopted systematically, as bound to be best in 
 the long run. Of course, circumstances alter 
 
3o8 Wibiet nnggctB 
 
 cases. Among the forty games I have collected 
 in How to Play Whist, there is one in which 
 that fine player, Mr. F. G. I^ewis, ran counter 
 to two rules in the very first card he played (the 
 opening lead) : having five trumps, he did not 
 lead a trump, and leading from a plain suit of 
 five cards headed by the ace he led the lowest 
 but one (the customary lead when the suit is 
 not headed by the ace) instead of the ace, the 
 usual and generally the best lead. But that 
 was because a higher rule overrode both those 
 other rules — viz., the rule that you should play 
 to win. 
 
 I proceed to state some of the chances of par- 
 ticular arrangements of the cards in a particular 
 hand, or of the cards of any suits in diflferent 
 hands. I shall not, as I did in my essay on 
 poker, indicate the reasoning by which the 
 various results have been obtained, for that 
 reasoning was found rather difficult by those 
 unacquainted with the methods of calculation 
 considered, while those acquainted with the 
 laws of combination can reason out the matter, 
 I have no doubt, for themselves. 
 
Some TOblat Cbat 309 
 
 SOm:e of the chances of whisi^. 
 
 There are no less than 635,013,559,600 ways 
 in which a hand can be made. That all the 
 cards in the hand may be trumps (the dealer's 
 of course, must be taken), the chance is but one 
 in 158,753,389,900 (one fourth of the number 
 just mentioned). A few years ago (see " Whist 
 Whittling," in How to Play Whist, pp. 190, 
 191) two cases of the kind were recorded, and 
 many seemed to suppose that there must be 
 something wrong in the mathematical compu- 
 tation of the chance. For, they said, in 158,- 
 753,389,900 cases only one would give this 
 particular hand, and yet two cases occurred 
 .within a few years of each other, within which 
 time so many hands could not possibly have 
 been dealt. Now there was here, at starting, 
 the fallacy that because but one case in so many 
 is favorable, so many trials must be made to 
 give an even chance of the event occurring. As 
 a matter of fact, a much smaller number of 
 trials is necessary to give an even chance. Take 
 a simple case — the tossing of a coin. Here 
 
310 TObiat mu^gets 
 
 there are two possible results, but it does not 
 take two trials to give an even chance of tossing 
 head — one trial suffices for that ; and the chance 
 of tossing head once at least in two trials 
 instead of being one half is three fourths ; the 
 odds are not even, but three to one in favor of 
 tossing a head. In like manner, if 158,753,389,- 
 900 hands were dealt, the odds are not even, but 
 largely in favor of a hand of thirteen trumps 
 being among them. Moreover, if the odds were 
 shown to be ten or even twenty to one against 
 the event occurring in a much smaller given 
 number of trials, yet there is nothing very sur- 
 prising in an event occurring when the odds 
 against it are ten or twenty to one. But large 
 though the number just mentioned may seem, 
 the number of whist-players is also large. It 
 would not be much out of the way to suppose 
 that among all the whist-playing nations of the 
 earth a million whist parties play per diem^ and 
 to each we may fairly assign twenty deals. On 
 this assumption it would require only 7,950 days 
 or not much more than twenty years, to give 
 159,000,000,000 trials, or much more than an 
 
Some Wibiet Gbat 311 
 
 even chance of the remarkable hand in question. 
 Then, too, there are cases where the trumps are 
 more likely to be distributed to one hand than 
 if the distribution were absolutely at random. 
 Thus suppose a cross-ruff has been established 
 in a game, and five or six tricks taken that way ; 
 then it can readily happen that the five or six 
 trumps which have thus fallen take the same 
 position in each of the five or six tricks gath- 
 ered by the same player. Suppose such a thing 
 to happen, with five trumps only, once in a thou- 
 sand games. Then it can be shown that the 
 chance of the remaining cards of that suit all 
 falling into the same hand is one in 2,629,575, 
 making the chance of both events coming off, 
 and all thirteen cards falling into one hand, one 
 in 2,629,575,0a), or the odds only 2,629,574,999 
 to I (instead of 158,753,389,899 to i) against all 
 thirteen trumps being in one hand. I^arge even 
 as these odds are, the real odds must be much 
 larger ; otherwise, with the great number of 
 whist hands constantly being dealt, we should 
 bear of all-trump hands two or three times a 
 year at least. 
 
3ia TObtat IRu^^eta 
 
 Turn now from this very rare hand to the ar- 
 rangements which occur most frequently. It 
 then might seem as though the commonest of 
 all arrangements would be the one by which the 
 cards are distributed most uniformly among the 
 suits — /. e., four of one suit, and three of each of 
 the other suits. But this is not the case. In 
 one sense, indeed, this is the commonest kind 
 of hand. If you take a given suit — say clubs, for 
 the four-card suit — then there are 16,726,464,040 
 possible arrangements, giving four clubs, three 
 hearts, three diamonds and three spades ; and 
 there are not so many arrangements for any 
 hand in which each particular suit is assigned 
 a particular number of cards. But as the four- 
 card suit can be chosen in four different ways, 
 we get 66,905,856,160 possible arrangements of 
 a hand with four of one suit and three of each 
 of the others. Now, taking a hand with four 
 of each of two suits, three of another, and two 
 of the fourth suit, we find that if we assign defi- 
 nite suits for the three cards and for the two 
 cards — say we have three hearts and two dia- 
 monds in each hand — there are only 11,404,- 
 
Some Timbtet Gbat 313 
 
 407,300 possible arrangements giving four clubs, 
 three hearts, three spades and two diamonds. 
 This is considerably less than the number giv- 
 ing four clubs, three hearts, three spades, and 
 three diamonds, to which, as a special arrange- 
 ment for those suits, it comes next in frequency. 
 But, instead of having only four ways in which 
 to distribute our suits, we now have twelve. 
 We can have any one of the four suits for our 
 two-card suit, and combine with any one of the 
 three remaining suits for our three-card suit, 
 giving four times three, or twelve, possible ways 
 of distributing the suits. Thus we have twelve 
 times the above number, or 136,852,887,600 dif- 
 ferent arrangements of the cards in a hand giv- 
 ing two of one suit, three of another, and four 
 of each of the two remaining suits. This is of 
 all arrangements the commonest. Out of any 
 large number of hands dealt to any one in a 
 long course of whist-play more than a fifth, or 
 more exactly 342,132,219 out of 1,587,533,899, 
 will be hands containing two four-card suits, a 
 three-card suit and a two-card suit. 
 
 Next in frequency come hands containing 
 
314 Mbi6t 1Flu5aet6 
 
 one five-card suit, two three-card suits and one 
 two-card suit. Of these there are in all 98,534,- 
 079,072, or, roughly, about three hands in twenty 
 are of this kind. Given the suits, which are to 
 have five cards and two cards, there are 8,211,- 
 1 73*256 possible arrangements ; but each can 
 be taken twelve different ways by distributing 
 the suits. 
 
 The third kind of hand in order of frequency 
 is one containing five of one suit, four of an- 
 other, three of a third, and one of the fourth. 
 Of such hands there are in all 82,111,732,560; 
 rather more than one hand in eight is of this 
 kind. But when the suits are given to which 
 these several members are to be assigned, we 
 find a very much smaller number of possible ar- 
 rangements than in the preceding or even than 
 in the next case. For the largeness of the num- 
 ber just mentioned arises from the circumstance 
 that as each suit has a different number of 
 cards, we can distribute the suits in twenty-four 
 instead of twelve different ways (as in each of 
 the last two cases). Thus we can have any one 
 of the four suits for the five-card suit, and com- 
 
Some Mblat Gbat 315 
 
 bine each of these four with any one of the 
 remaining three suits for the four-card suit, giv- 
 ing twelve combinations, each of which can be 
 combined with two arrangements of the remain- 
 ing suits as the three-card and one-card suits, 
 giving twenty-four combinations in all. Thus 
 the number of possible arrangements, when the 
 suits are assigned beforehand to the several 
 numbers, is only one twenty-fourth of the num- 
 ber just mentioned, or 3,421,322,190. 
 
 The hand coming fourth in order of frequency 
 is one containing one five-card suit, one four- 
 card suit, and two two-card suits. Of such 
 hands there are 67,182,336,640, or about two 
 hands in nineteen are of this kind. But as 
 there are only twelve ways in which the suits 
 can be distributed, we have only to divide this 
 number by twelve instead of by twenty-four, as 
 in the preceding case, to give the number of 
 arrangements when the suits are assigned. We 
 thus get 5,598,527,220 arrangements, a consid- 
 erably larger number than in the preceding case. 
 
 Only fifth in order of frequency comes the 
 hand which many suppose the most frequent. 
 
3i6 TKIlblet mu50et6 
 
 viz.y the hand of greatest uniformity of distri- 
 bution, already considered. The total number 
 of such hands, 66,905,856,160, is very near to 
 the number in the last case ; but the number of 
 arrangements when the several suits are as- 
 signed is very much greater, being no less than 
 16,726,464,040. 
 
 Here we may stop, noting only that the sixth 
 hand in order of frequency, with a six-card 
 suit, a three-card suit and two two-card suits, 
 comes very far behind the fifth, its number being 
 only 35,830,574,208, or little more than half the 
 number for a four, three, three, three hand. In 
 How to Play Whist ^ the numbers for all possi- 
 ble arrangements of hands are given (p. 196). 
 
 But now we should notice that the numbers 
 of ways in which the thirteen cards of a hand 
 may be distributed among the four suits are 
 also the numbers of ways in which the thirteen 
 cards of a suit may be distributed among the 
 four hands. We see, then, that the most prob- 
 able arrangement is that there will be four cards 
 of the suit in each of two hands, three in an- 
 other hand, two in the fourth. The next most 
 
Some Timbtet Gbat 317 
 
 probable arrangement is that there will be five 
 cards of the suit in one hand, three in each of 
 two other hands, and two in the fourth ; and so 
 on, precisely (so far as numerical statistics are 
 concerned) as in the corresponding cases con- 
 sidered above with regard to the distribution of 
 cards in a suit. Only fifth in order of frequency 
 comes the case of what is familiarly called *'an 
 honest suit" — that is, a suit which will go 
 round three times. It is more than four and 
 one third times as likely that at least five of a 
 suit will be in one hand (corresponding to the 
 second, third, and fourth cases considered above, 
 and to seven other cases of less frequency, down 
 to the case of eight cards of the suit in one hand 
 and five in another) as that there will not 
 be less than three of the suit in each hand. 
 The chance even that no hand will hold more 
 than four of the suit is less than the chance 
 that there will be five cards in one hand at 
 least. There are about thirteen cases of the 
 former kind to seventeen of the latter. 
 
 If any one holds four of a suit, the chance 
 that the suit will go round three times h: about 
 
3i8 TObi6t niXQQCtS 
 
 149 to 1,000. But this is not (as has been incor- 
 rectly stated of late) the chance that the suit 
 will escape ruffing third round ; for that will 
 happen even though the suit does not go around 
 thrice, if partner holds the short suit. A suit, 
 of which the original leader holds four, will es- 
 cape ruffing by the enemy, if partners hold two, 
 and the adversaries four and three, if partner 
 holds one and the adversaries five and three, or 
 four and four ; and lastly, if partner holds none 
 and the adversaries five and four or six and 
 three. The chance is one third in each case 
 that it is partner and not one of the adversaries 
 who holds the short suit. 
 
 One other case may be considered. Nearly 
 every one who has played whist much must 
 have had at times a Yarborough hand — that is, 
 a hand in which there is no card above a nine. 
 Pembridge says he has held three of these hands 
 in the course of two hours ; but this is, of course, 
 altogether unusual. The name given to a hand 
 of this sort is derived from a certain Lord Yar- 
 borough, who used to offer the attractive but 
 really very safe wager of ^1,000 to £1, that a 
 
Some Wibiet Cbat 319 
 
 hand of this sort would not be dealt. If Lord 
 Yarborough had not calculated the chances (or 
 had them calculated for him) he acted with 
 little wisdom in betting at all on such a matter ; 
 but if he knew them he acted with little fair- 
 ness in offering the odds he did. It will be found 
 that one hand in about 1,828 is a Yarborough, 
 so that lyord Yarborough ought to have wagered 
 ;^i,827 to ;^i, instead of ^1,000 to j^i. It is said 
 that he laid this wager many thousands of times. 
 Supposing he offered ^1,000 to ;^i, to each 
 member of a whist party, for ten deals, on about 
 ninety-one or ninety-two nights, in each of ten 
 years, making in all about 36,560 wagers — i. e,, 
 twenty times 1,828 — he would have lost about 
 twenty times, or ;^2o,ooo, and won about ;^36,- 
 500, making a clear profit of about ;^i6,5oo, or 
 ;^i,65o per annum, by this seemingly reckless 
 system of wagering. 
 
 An instance, lastly, is on record of a hand 
 containing four twos, four threes, four fours 
 and one five. Any one holding such a hand 
 might well believe himself especially selected 
 for punishment by the deities or demons^ who- 
 
320 Wibiet 'UnggclB 
 
 ever they may be, who preside over the for- 
 tunes of whist-pla^^ers. Yet such a hand is 
 bound to occur from time to time, when so 
 many play whist. The chance of holding such 
 a hand is, in fact, exactly the same as the chance 
 of holding all the trumps, z^lz., one in 158,753,- 
 389,000. For there are only four possible ways 
 in which such a hand can be made up. It must 
 hold the twelve lowest cards in the pack, and 
 one five, which may be of any of the four suits ; 
 hence there are four hands having no card 
 higher than a five out of 635,013,559,600, or one 
 chance of such a hand in 158,753,389,090. Yet 
 I have no manner of doubt — so foolish are men 
 in regard to betting — that if a Lord Yarborough 
 of to-day were to offer ;^io,ooo to £1 (instead 
 of ;^i58,753,389,ooo to i) against the occur- 
 rence of such a hand he would find many 
 
 ':akers. 
 
 R. A. Proctor, 
 in Longman'' s Magazine^ 
 
 THE) KND, 
 
Iknlcfterbocfter IRuggjete. 
 
 Nugget. — *^A diminutive mass of precious metal." 
 
 " Little gems of bookmaking." — Commercial Gazette^ Cin. 
 cinnati. 
 
 '' For many a long day nothing has been thought out or 
 worked out so sure to prove entirely pleasing to cultured 
 book-lovers." — The Bookmaker. 
 
 I. — Gesta Romanorum. Tales of the old 
 monks. Edited by C. Swan . . . $i oo 
 
 *' This little gem is a collection of stories composed by the 
 monks of old, who were in the custom of relating them to 
 each other after meals for their mutual amusement and infor- 
 mation." — Wzlliajns* Literary Monthly. 
 
 *' Nuggets indeed, and charming ones, are these rescued 
 from the mine of old Latin, which would certainly have been 
 lost to many busy readers who can only take what comes to 
 them without delving for hidden treasures." 
 
 II. — Headlong Hall and Nightmare Abbey. 
 By Thomas Love Peacock . . . $i oo 
 
 '* It must have been the court librarian of King Oberon 
 who originally ordered the series of quaintly artistic little 
 volumes that Messrs. Putnam are publishing under the name 
 of Knickerbocker Nuggets. There is an elfin dignity in the 
 aspect of these books in their bindings of dark and light blue 
 with golden arabesques." — Portland Press. 
 
 III. — Gulliver's Travels. By Jonathan Swift. 
 A reprint of the early complete edition. Very fully 
 illustrated. Two- vols. . . . . $2 50 
 
 *• Messrs. Putnam have done a substantial service to all 
 readers of English classics by reprinting in two dainty and 
 artistically bound volumes those biting satires of Jonathar. 
 Swift, Gulliver'' 5 Travels.^'' 
 
•RnlcF^erbocfier IRuggcta. 
 
 IV.— Tales from Irving. With illustrations. 
 Two vols. Selected from **The Sketch Book," 
 *' Traveller," " Wolfert's Roost," *' Bracebridge 
 Hall." $2 oo 
 
 '^ The tales, pathetic and thrilling as they are in themselves, 
 are rendered winsome and realistic by the lifelike portraitures 
 which profusely illustrate the volumes. . . . We confess our 
 high appreciation of the superb manner in which the publish- 
 ers have got up and sent forth the present volumes — which 
 are real treasures, to be prized for their unique character." — 
 Christian Union. 
 
 " Such books as these will find their popularity confined to 
 no one country, but they mu?t be received with enthusiasm 
 wherever art and literature are recognized." — Albany Argus. 
 
 v.— Book of British Ballads. Edited by S. 
 C. Hall. A fac-simile of the original edition. 
 With illustrations by Creswick, Gilbert, and 
 others . . . . . . . $i 50 
 
 *'This is a diminutive fac-simile of the original very valu- 
 able edition. . . . The collection is not only the most com- 
 plete and reliable that has been published, but the volume 
 is beautifully illustrated by skilful artists." — Pittsburg 
 Chronicle. 
 
 " Probably the best general collection of our ballad literature, 
 in moderate compass, that has yet been made." — Chicago Dial. 
 
 VI. — The Travels of Baron Munchausen. 
 
 Reprinted from the early, complete edition. Very 
 fully illustrated |i 25 
 
 *'The venerable Baron Munchausen in his long life has 
 never appeared as well-dressed, so far as we knew, as now in 
 this goodly company." 
 
 *' The Baron's stories are as fascinating as the Arabian 
 Nights." — Church Union. 
 
Iftnlcfterbocket IRu^gete* iii 
 
 VII. — Letters, Sentences, and Maxims. By 
 Lord Chesterfield. With a critical essay by C. 
 A. Sainte-Beuve $1 oo 
 
 " Full of wise things, quaint things, witty and shrewd 
 things, and the maker of this book has put the pick of them 
 all together. — London Worlds 
 
 " Each of the little volumes in this series is a literary gem." 
 — Christian at Work. 
 
 VIIL— The Vicar of Wakefield. By Gold- 
 smith. With 32 illustrations by William Mul- 
 READY $1 00 
 
 " Goldsmith's charming tale seems more charming than 
 ever in the dainty dress of the Knickerbocker Nuggets 
 series. These little books are a delight to the eye, and their 
 convenient form and size make them most attractive to all 
 book-lovers." — Tne WriteVy Boston. 
 
 "A gem of an edition, well made, printed in clear, read- 
 able type, illustrated with spirit, and just such a booklet as, 
 when one has it in his pocket, makes all the difference be- 
 tween solitude and loneliness." — Independent. 
 
 IX. — Lays of Ancient Rome. By Thomas 
 Babii^gton Macaulay. Illustrated by George 
 
 SCHARF $1 GO 
 
 " The poems included in this collection are too v^ell known 
 to require that attention should be drawn to them, but the 
 beautiful setting which they receive in the dainty cover and 
 fine workmanship of this series makes it a pleasure even to 
 handle the volume." — Yale Literary Magazine, 
 
 X. — The Rose and the Ring. By William M. 
 Thackeray. With the author's illustrations. $i 25 
 
 *' The Rose and the Ring^ by Thackeray, is reproduced 
 with quaint illustrations, evidently taken from the author's 
 own handiwork."— y?i7c>^^^/^r Post-EA/>ress. 
 
IknicF^erbocker IRucjgeta* 
 
 XI. — Irish Melodies and Songs. By Thomas 
 Moore. Illustrated by Maclise . . $i 50 
 
 '* The latest issue is a collection of Thomas Moore's Irish 
 Melodies and Songs^ fully and excellently illustrated, v/ith 
 each page of the text printed within an outline border of 
 appropriate green tint, embellished with emblems and figures 
 fitting the text." — Boston Times. 
 
 XII. — Undine and Sintram. By De La Motte 
 FouQUfi. Illustrated . . . . $1 00 
 
 " Undine and Sintram are the latest issue, bound in one 
 volume. They are of the size classics should be — pocket 
 volumes — and nothing more desirable is to be found among 
 the new editions of old treasures." — San Jos^ Mercury. 
 
 XIII. — The Essays of Elia. By Charles 
 Lamb. Two vols. . . . . $2 00 
 
 ''The genial essayist himself could have dreamed of no 
 more beautiful setting than the Putnams have given the 
 Essays of Elia by printing them among their Knickerbocker 
 Nuggets." — Chicago Advance. 
 
 XIV.— Tales from the Italian Poets. By 
 Leigh Hunt. Two vols. . . . $2 00 
 
 " Ihe perfection of artistic bookniak'.nc;."— ^rt« Francisco 
 Chronicle. 
 
 "This work is most delightful literature, which finds a 
 fitting place in this collection, bound in volumes of striking 
 beau t y . ' ' — Troy Tim es . 
 
 '' Hunt had just that delightful knowledge of the Italian 
 ■poets that one would most desire for one's self, together with 
 an exquisite style of his own wherein to make his presentation 
 of them to English readers perfect."— iV^7t' I'ork Critic. 
 
 The first series, comprising the foregoing 
 eighteen volumes, in handsome case, $19.00 
 
fcntcherbocJ^er IRuggete; 
 
 XV.—Thoughts of the Emperor Marcus 
 Aurelius Antoninus. Translated by George 
 Long $i oo 
 
 '' The thoughts of the famous Roman are worthy of a new 
 introduction to the army of readers through a volume so 
 dainty and pleasing." — Intelligencer. 
 
 *'' As a book for hard study, as a book to inspire reverie, as 
 a book for five minutes or an hour, it is both delightful and 
 profitable." — Journal of Education. 
 
 '^ It is an interesting little book, and we feel indebted to the 
 translator for this presentation of his work." — Presbyieria?i. 
 
 XVI. — iEsop's Fables. Rendered chiefly from 
 original sources. By Rev. Thomas James, M.A. 
 With loo illustrations by John Tenniell. %i 25 
 
 " It is wonderful the hold these parables have had upon 
 the human attention ; told to children, and yet of no less 
 interest to men and women." — Chautauqua Herald. 
 
 '* For many a long day nothing has been thought out or 
 worked out so sure to prove entirely pleasing to cultured 
 book-lovers." — The Bookmaker . 
 
 '' These classic studies adorned with morals were never 
 more neatly prepared for the public eye." — The Milwaukee 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 XVII. — Ancient Spanish Ballads. Historic 
 and Romantic. Translated, with notes, by J. G. 
 LoCKHART. Reprinted from the revised edition 
 of 1 841, with 60 illustrations by Allan, Roberts, 
 SiMsoN, Warren, Aubrey, and Harvey. $i 50 
 
 '' A mass of popular poetry which has never yet received 
 the attention to which it is entitled." — Boston Journal of 
 Education, 
 
 '^ The historical and artistic settings of these mediaeval 
 poetic gems enhance the value and attractiveness of the 
 book." — Bujfalo Chronicle Advocate. 
 
IknicherbocJ^cr IKluggete* 
 
 XVIII.— The Wit and Wisdom of Sydney 
 Smith. A selection of the most memorable pas- 
 sages in his Writings and Conversations . $i (X) 
 
 XIX. — The Ideals of the Republic; or, 
 Great Words from Great Americans. Com- 
 prising : ** The Declaration of Independence, 1776"; 
 ''The Constitution of the United States, 1779"; 
 "Washington's Circular Letter, 1783," etc. $1 00 
 
 XX. — Selections from Thomas De Quincey. 
 Comprising: *'0n Murder Considered as One of 
 the Fine Arts"; Three Memorable Murders"; 
 ''The Spanish Nun." . . . . $1 00 
 
 XXI. — Tales by Heinrich Zschokke. Com- 
 prising : "A New Year's Eve"; "The Broken 
 Pitcher"; ''Jonathan Frock"; "A Walpurgis 
 Night." Translated by Parke Godwin and 
 William P. Prentice . . . . $1 00 
 
 XXII. — American War Ballads. A selection 
 of the more noteworthy of the Ballads and Lyrics 
 which were produced during the Revolution, the 
 War of 1 81 2, the Mexican War, and the Civil War. 
 Edited, with notes, by Geo. Gary Eggleston. 
 With original illustrations. Two vols. . $2 50 
 
 XXIII. — The Autobiography of Benjamin 
 Franklin. Edited, with notes, by John Bige- 
 low . . . . . . . $1 00 
 
 XXIV. — Sofigs of Fairy Land. Compiled hr 
 Edward T. Mason, with illustrations from designs 
 by Maud Humphrey . . . . $1 25 
 
XXV. — Sesame and Lilies. By John Rus- 
 KIN $1 oo 
 
 XXVI. — The Garden, as considered in literature 
 by certain polite writers. Edited by Walter Howe, 
 with portrait of William Kent . . $r oo 
 
 XXVII.— The Boyhood and Youth of Goethe. 
 Comprising the first thirteen books of his Autobiog- 
 raphy ("Truth and Poetry from my own Life"). 
 Two vols. . . . . . . $2 GO 
 
 XXVIII.— The Sayings of Poor Richard. 
 Being the Prefaces, Proverbs, and Poems of Benja- 
 min Franklin, originally printed in Poor Richard's 
 Almanacs for 1733-1758. Collected and Edited by 
 Paul L. Ford. With portrait of Franklin. $r 00 
 
 XXIX. — Love Poems of Three Centuries. 
 Compiled by Jessie F.O'DoNNELL. Two vols. $2 00 
 
 XXX. — Chesterfield's Letters. Second 
 Series. Letters of Philip Dormer, Fourth Earl of 
 Chesterfield, to his Godson and Successor. Now 
 first edited from the originals, with a Memoir of 
 Lord Chesterfield by the Earl of Carnarvon. With 
 portraits and illustrations. Two vols. , $2 00 
 
 XXXL— Representative Irish Stories. Com- 
 piled, with Introduction and Notes, by W. B. Yeats. 
 Two vols $2 00 
 
 XXXII. —French Ballads. Printed in the 
 original text. Edited by Prof. T. F. Crane. 
 Illustrated . $r 50 
 
 XXXIIL— Eothen. Pictures of Eastern 
 Travel. By W. A. Ktnglake. . . $i 00 
 
Iknickerbocftcr IRuggete* 
 
 XXXIV.— stories from the Arabian Nights. 
 Selected and edited by Stanley Lane-Poole, with 
 additions newly translated from the Arabic. Three 
 volumes. Each volume contains a frontispiece in 
 photogravure and other designs . . $3 oo 
 
 XXXV.— A Selection from the Discourses of 
 Epictetus ; with the Encheiridion. Translated 
 by George Long $i oo 
 
 XXXVL — Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia. By 
 Samuel Jqhnson $i oo 
 
 XXXVIL— Cranford. By Mrs. Gaskell. $i oo 
 
 XXXVIIL— German Ballads. Printed in the 
 original text. Edited by Prof. H. S. White. 
 Illustrated $i 50 
 
 ■51 
 
 G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, Publishers 
 New York and London