file which includes the original illustrations4 ,see #edace-;h4htm or #edace-;h4zip3 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/cache_/epu b_/#edace_/pg#edace-;images4html7 or 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/files_/#ed ace_/edace-;h4zip7 ,images of the original pages are available through ,internet ,archive4 ,see https3_/_/archive4org_/details_/whistorb umblepu#jjunkngoog ,transcriber's note3 ,text enclosed by underscores is in italics 7italics74 ,text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face 7bold74 ,text enclosed by tilde characters is underscored 7underscored74 ,,whist ,,or ,,bumblepuppy ,thirteen ,lectures ,addressed to ,children4 by ,,pembridge4 8,ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes ,emollunt mores1 nec sinuisse feros40--,the ,newcomes4 ,revised and ,enlarged ,edition4 ,illustration ,london3 ,frederick ,warne ,co41 ,bedford ,street1 ,strand4 ,mudie ,sons1 #ae ,coventry ,street1 ,w4 #ahie4 ,london3 ,printed by ,geo4 ,w4 ,jones1 #ce ,st4 ,bride ,st41 ,e4,c4 ,,whist2 ,,or ,,bumblepuppy8 ------ 8,we have been rather lengthy in our remarks on this book1 as it is the best attempt we have ever seen to shame very bad players into trying to improve1 and also because it abounds with most sensible maxims1 dressed up in a very amusing and palatable form40--,the ,field4 8#8,whist2 or ,bumblepuppy8' is one of the most entertaining and at the same time one of the soundest books on ,whist ever written4 ,its drollery may blind some readers to the value of its advice2 no man who knows anything about ,whist1 however1 will fail to read it with interest1 and few will fail to read it with advantage4 ,upon the ordinary rules of ,whist #8,pembridge' supplies much sensible and thoroughly amusing comment4 ,the best player in the world may gain from his observations1 and a mediocre player can scarcely find a better counsellor4 ,there is scarcely an opinion expressed with which we do not coincide40--,sunday ,times4 8,lectures on the points most essential to the acquisition of a complete knowledge of the game4 ,the lessons here given will well repay perusal40--,bell's ,life4 8,all true lovers of ,whist will give a hearty welcome to this work4 ,it is a small book1 but full of weighty matter4 ,we have not space to analyse the positive rules laid down by #8,pembridge' for the guidance of those who wish to qualify as ,whist players4 ,suffice it to say that they are all sound1 and most of them worth committing to memory40--,sportsman4 8,it would be very easy to write at greater length than we have done in praise of #8,pembridge's' little book4 ,but we have said enough to indicate its nature and scope2 and we feel sure that any of our readers who may meet with it will endorse our verdict that it is a real addition to the literature of ,whist40--,australasian4 ,,contents4 ,,page ,,lecture ,i4--,,introductory #a ,,lecture ,,ii4--,,the ,,lead #aa ,,lecture ,,iii4--,,the ,,play ,,of ,,the ,,second1 ,,third1 ,,and ,,fourth ,,hand #bf ,,lecture ,,iv4--,,discarding1 ,,and ,,its ,,difficulties #cb ,,lecture ,v4--,,the ,,discard ,,from ,,the ,,strongest ,,suit 7,part ,i42 ,part ,,ii47 #df ,,lecture ,,vi4--,,the ,,eleven ,,rule #ee ,,lecture ,,vii4--,,the ,,peter ,,and ,,its ,,peculiarities #ei ,,lecture ,,viii4--,,false ,,cards1 ,,logic1 ,,luck #fi ,,lecture ,,ix4--,,whist ,,as ,,an ,,investment #gd ,,lecture ,x4--,,on ,,things ,,in ,,general #ha ,,lecture ,,xi4--,,thinking #ic ,,lecture ,,xii4--,,temper #ii ,,lecture ,,xiii4--,,deterioration ,,of ,,whist1 ,,its ,,causes ,,and ,,cure #aje ,,bumblepuppy ,,in ,,excelsis #aaa ,,the ,,domestic ,,rubber1 ,,double ,,dummy #aac ,,epilogue ,i4 #aae ,,epilogue ,,ii4 #aag ,,preface4 ---- ,,these remarks are addressed to the young1 in the hope that when they arrive at man's estate they will use their best endeavours to do away with ,law #ia4 ,to the present generation1 already acquainted with 8the ,game10 ,i should no more presume to offer advice than ,i should presume to teach my lamented ,grandmother to suck eggs1 if she were still alive4 8,to instruct them1 no art could ever reach1 ,no care improve them and no wisdom teach40 ,,proverbs1 chap4 #bg1 v4 #bb4 ,illustration ,,lecture ,i4 ---- ,,introductory4 ---- 8,vacuis committere venis ,nil nisi lene decet40--,eton ,grammar4 8,those that do teach young babes ,do it with gentle means and easy tasks40--,shakespeare4 ,,as1 humanly speaking1 you will probably play something for the next fifty years1 should you select either ,whist or ,bumblepuppy1#a it will be as well for your own comfort--the comfort of others is a minor consideration#b--to have some idea of their general principles2 but first you must decide which of these two games you intend to play1 for though they are often confounded together1 and are both supposed to be governed by the same ninety-one laws and a chapter on etiquette1 they differ much more distinctly than the chalk and cheese of the present day4 ,professor ,pole in his 8,theory of ,whist10 ,appendix ,b1 has made a very skilful attempt 7by modifying the maxims of ,whist7 to make the two games into a kind of emulsion4 ,i was rather taken with this1 and having been informed that the most incongruous materials will mix1 if you only shake them together long enough1 ,i have given this plan a fair trial1 and failed4 ,it may be that ,i had not sufficient patience and perseverance1 but the principal cause of failure ,i found to be this3 the ,bumblepuppist1 like ,artemus ,ward's bear1 8can be taught many interesting things but is unreliable20 he only admires his own eccentricities1 and if a person of respectable antecedents gets up a little pyrotechnic display of false cards for his own private delectation1 the ,bumblepuppist utterly misses the point of the joke1 he fails even to see that it is clever3 if such a comparison may be drawn without offence1 he doesn't consider that what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander4 ,in the face of this difficulty1 ,i should recommend you to treat them as separate games3 as you go down in one scale and up in the other they closely approximate2 that extremes meet is a law of nature1 and between the worst ,whist and the best ,bumblepuppy it is almost impossible to draw the line4 ,other elementary forms1 protozoa for instance1 are often so much alike that it is difficult to decide whether they are plants or animals2 but representative specimens of each game1 beyond being found at the same table1 7in scientific slang1 having the same habitat17 have scarcely one point in common1 you might just as reasonably mistake horse-radish for beef4 ,if you elect ,whist 7,i shall refer to the laws later on7 begin by learning the leads1 and the ordinary play of the second1 third and fourth hand1 which you will find in any ,whist ,book2#c this can be done in a few days2 then after cutting for partners 7see note to ,law #ad7 as soon as the cards are dealt1 not before 7see note to ,law #de71 7#a7 ,take up your hand2 7#b7 ,count your cards 7see notes to ,laws #db #df72 7#c7 ,sort them into suits2 7#d7 ,look them over carefully2 7#e7 ,fix firmly in your memory not only the trump suit but the trump card1 then 7#f7 ,give your undivided attention to the table1 it is there and not in your hand the game is played2 7#g7 ,see every card played in the order it is played2#d 7#h7 ,when you deal1 place the trump card apart from the rest of the suit1 that you may know at once which it is4 ,n4,b4--,knowing is always better than the very best thinking1 and generally much more easy3 by these simple means you get rid at once and for ever of all such childish interruptions as 8draw your card60 8who led80 8what are trumps80 8show me the last trick60 and so ad infinitum1 which1 by their constant repetition1 not merely worry and annoy the rest of the table1 but tend to destroy any clue to the game that you yourself might otherwise possess4 ,it is a good plan to sit clear of the table1 and then if you are constrained to drop a few cards1 they at any rate fall on the floor1 where they cannot be called4 ,so far1 ,i have assumed your object to be ,whist2 if your end and aim is ,bumblepuppy1 you need do none of these things2 you can learn the leads and the recognised play--more or less imperfectly--in a few years by practice1 or you can leave them unlearned2 8,build by whatever plan caprice decrees1 ,with what materials1 on what ground you please40 ,cowper4 ignorance imparts variety to the game1 and variety is charming4 ,you can set all laws at defiance1 and if any one objects--after much wrangling--you can refer the matter in dispute to the ,westminster ,papers1#e and hang it up for a month certain3 7this is a better plan than writing to the ,field1 for there you only get a week's respite74 ,should you be in any doubt whether ,whist or the other game is your vocation1 the first half-dozen times you play make it a rule never to look at the last trick-- 8,things that are past are done with40--,shakespeare4 and if at the end of that time you find the difficulty insuperable1 give up1 as hopeless1 all idea of becoming a ,whist player4 ,notes on some of the ,laws4 8,vir bonus est quis8 ,qui consulta patrum1 qui leges jaraque servat40--,eton ,grammar4 ,i have mentioned that there are ninety-one laws4 ,the wording of the first is not strictly accurate2 it ought to be 8,the rubber is generally the best of three games10 for though ,i myself have never seen more than four1 it may consist of any number1 as the following decisions show3 ,,decision ,a4--,the rubber is over when one side has won two games and remembers it has done so3 this memory must be brought to bear before the other side has won two games and remembers it has done so4 ,,decision ,b4--,if a game is forgotten1 it is no part of the losers' duty to remind the winners of the fact4 ,,law #e4--,this law is clear enough2 still the first time you revoke and are found out1 if your opponents hold honours and you have nothing scored--however many you have made by cards--they will claim a treble3 you should be prepared for this4 ,the claim is wrong1 but in spite of that--possibly because of it--8they all do it40 ,,law #g4--;,,decision4--,you must call your honours audibly1 but you are not obliged to yell because your adversaries are quarrelling4 ,,law #ad4--;,always get hold of the cards before cutting1 and place a high card at one end of the pack and a low one at the other1 then cut last and take either card you prefer3 by this means you select your partner1 this is an admirable coup and tends to the greatest happiness of the greatest number 7,note ,a1 page #b7 but it must be executed with judgment1 for if you are detected your happiness will not be increased1 rather the reverse4 ,some purists1 anxious to be on the safe side1 only keep an eye on the bottom card1 and take it when it suits them4 ,,law #cd4--,until the last few years1 after you had cut the cards into two distinct packets1 if the dealer thought fit to knock one of them over1 leave a card on the table1 or drop half-a-dozen or so about1 it was a mis-deal on the ground that these proceedings were opposed to one or other of the next two laws1 #ce and #cf1 but the latest decision is that the dealer can maltreat the pack in any way he likes and as often as he likes1 and compel you to keep on cutting de die in diem4 ,,old ,,decision4--8,you cannot make your adversary cut a second time2 when you left a card on the table it could not be said that there was a confusion in the cutting1 it is a mis-deal40 ,,new ,,decision4--8,there is nothing in the laws to make this a mis-deal4 ,the play comes under the term #8,confusion of the cards1' and there must be a fresh deal40 ,if you see a potent1 grave1 and reverend seignior carefully lubricating his thumb with saliva1 don't imagine he is preparing it for deglutition1 he is only about to deal4 ,even if he should swallow it1 why interfere8 he will not hurt you2 it is not your thumb4 ,should you suffer from acute hypersthesis you can follow the example of an old friend of mine1 who once rose from the table in his terror1 and returned armed with a large pair of black kid gloves which he wore during the remainder of the seance3 though the effect was funereal--not to say ghastly--it was attended with the best results in this case1 but it is just as likely to lead to ill-feeling1 and therefore to be deprecated4 ,leave the matter to time6 ,apart from the cards being glazed with lead1 a single pack has been found to contain a fifth of an ounce of arsenic1 and there is no known antidote4 ,even if not immediately fatal1 the practice must be very deleterious4 ,a whist enthusiast with a greater turn for mathematics than ,i can lay claim to1 has counted from six to seven thousand bacteria on each square centimetre of a playing card1 and makes this ghastly deduction3 8it is really dreadful to reflect upon the colony of microbes which a person who moistens his thumb before dealing may convey into his mouth1 and thence into his system40--,standard1 ,nov4 #bnd1 #ahic4 8,everything comes to the man who can wait10 and while you are waiting always sit on the dealer's right4 ,,law #cg4--;,an incorrect or imperfect pack is a pack containing duplicates or more or less than fifty-two cards1 but it is neither incorrect nor imperfect because you think fit to place any number of your own cards in the other pack1 or to supplement them with one from it4 ,vide ,laws #db1 #df4 ,,law #db4--;,if you take one card from the other pack1 it is clear that you subject yourself to a penalty2 if you take more than one the matter is not so clear2 possibly you may gain by it2 should you wish to have the point settled1 any time you have a bad hand add the other pack to it2 then complain that you have sixty-five cards1 throw them up1 claim a new deal under ,rule #cg1 and see what comes of it4 ,,law #de4--,taking up your cards during the deal has one advantage1 that if you can get your hand sorted and begin to play without waiting for the dealer1 you save time1 and time is reported to be money4 ,to counter-balance this there are two attendant disadvantages1 you prevent the possibility of a mis-deal1 and any card exposed by your officiousness gives the dealer the option of a new deal4 ,,law #df4--,under this law it is manifest that--the other hands being correct--your hand may consist of any number of cards from one to thirteen1 and if you once play to a trick--however many you may be short--you will have to find them or be responsible for them4 ,see ,law #gj4 ,,law #ia4--;,if this law1 which is the main cause of inattention and innumerable improper intimations1 were abolished1 ,whist would be greatly improved2 and ,i have never met with a good ,whist player who was not of the same opinion4 ,the chapter on etiquette is good sense and good ,english1 and is worthy of much more attention than is usually given to it4 ,in addition to their ambiguity and sins of commission1 there is also a sin of omission2 there is no limit as to time1 and it seems desirable there should be2 ,i would suggest--as allowing the hesitating player reasonable latitude--one of those sand glasses1 supposed to be useful for boiling an egg2 there is no sense in giving him time enough to addle his egg4 ,though these laws appear more difficult of access than ,i had imagined1 they are not the laws of which the only copy was destroyed by ,moses2 ,i have seen them myself in ,clay1 ,cavendish1 and the 8,art of ,practical ,whist10 and if you are unable to get any of these works from ,mudie's1 there are copies of each in the ,british ,museum1 ,great ,russell ,street1 ,bloomsbury4 ,before or immediately after breakfast is the best time to play2 then1 if ever1 the intellect is clear1 the attention undistracted2 in the afternoon you are exhausted by the labours of the day1 and your evenings should be devoted to the morrow's lessons or a quiet nap 7not the round game of that ilk74 ,,footnotes3 #a 8,that there are a large number of players who think they play ,whist1 and yet do not reason1 is too true1 but such play may be ,bumblepuppy1 or some other game2 it certainly is not ,whist40--,westminster ,papers4 ,,definitions ,,of ,,bumblepuppy4 ,bumblepuppy is persisting to play ,whist1 either in utter ignorance of all its known principles1 or in defiance of them1 or both4 ,hudibras has given another definition-- 8,a lib'ral art that costs no pains ,of study1 industry1 or brains40 8,bumblepuppy was played in low public houses40 8,here and there were ,bumblepuppy grounds1 a game in which the players rolled iron balls into holes marked with numbers40--,chronicles of ,newgate4 ,from which ,i infer that in the good old times this game first drove its votaries to drinking1 and then landed them in a felon's cell4 #b ,in all well regulated society1 your aim should be the greatest happiness of the greatest number1 and that number is notoriously number one4 #c 8,do not attempt to practise until you have acquired a competent knowledge of the theory40--,mathews1 ,a4,d4 #ahjj4 #d 8,the first ,whist lesson should be to keep your eye on the table and not on your own cards40 8,we cannot all have genius1 but we can all have attention2 the absence of intelligence we cannot help1 inattention is unpardonable40--,westminster ,papers4 #e ,since these words were written the 8,westminster ,papers0 is no more4 8,sit tibi terra levis60 ,illustration ,,lecture ,,ii4 ---- ,,the ,,lead4 ---- 8,dux nobis opus est40--,eton ,grammar4 8,i pray thee now lead40--,shakespeare4 ,,the play of the entire hand often depends upon the very first card led1 and the confidence your partner has that your lead is correct2 whatever then your original lead may be1 let it be a true and--as far as you can make it so--a simple lead3 never lead an equivocal card--that is one which may denote either strength or weakness--if you can1 lead a card about which no mistake is possible4#f ,with the original lead1 follow the books and lead your strongest suit2 if you have nothing at all1 do as little mischief as you can2 in this pitiable condition the head of a short suit--as a knave or a ten--is better than the lowest or lowest but one of five to the nine2 your partner1 when he sees the high card led1 knows at once 7assuming he knows anything7 that he will have to save the game himself if it can be saved1 and will take the necessary steps to that end4 ,though there is ancient and modern authority for this1#g ,i am perfectly aware that 7according to the latest theory7 it is heresy2 ,i am also aware1 and the reflection gives me quite as much pain as the heresy does1 that leading a long weak suit with a bad hand and no cards of re-entry is a losing game3 8,such courses are in vain ,unless we can get in again40 to lead your longest suit when you are neither likely to get the lead again1 nor to make a trick in it if you do1 is a 8short and easily remembered rule10 but is apt to bring its followers to grief2 if ,i do so1 ,i know perfectly well that after the game is over ,i shall probably be left with the two long cards of that suit1 or ,i may have an opportunity of discarding one or both of them before that crisis arrives1 but this is not the slightest consolation to me4 ,while on the subject of heresy1 ,i may as well refer to another lead which has a special orthodoxy of its own4 ,in all suits of four or more1 containing no sequence1 unless headed by the ace1 you either lead the lowest1 or1 if you wish particularly to exhibit your knowledge of the game1 the lowest but one2 but from king1 knave1 ten1 c41 you lead the ten1 and if your object is a quiet life1 you will continue to do so2 if you want to make tricks the advantage of the lead is not so clear3 if the second player holds ace1 queen1 c41 or queen and another1 you drive him into playing the queen1 and so lose a trick1 which if you had led your lowest in the usual way1 you might not have done4#h ,against this you have the set off that by leading the ten you insure having the king-card of the suit in the third round1 but it is scarcely worth your while to go through so much to get so little2 for such a lead pre-supposes your partner to have neither ace1 queen1 nor nine1 and it is two to one that he holds one of them2 if your partner's best card is below the nine1 the tricks you will make will be like angels' visits1 few and far between1 whatever you lead2 and why you should take such a desponding view of an unplayed suit ,i am not aware4 ,the advantage of opening a suit in which you hold tenace is not so great as to oblige you to handicap it by sending the town-crier round with a bell to proclaim what that tenace is2 late in the hand it is often advisable to lead the knave4 ,with ace and four small cards and a bad hand1 when weak in trumps1 ,i have found1 from long experience1 the ace to be a losing lead1 and being distinctly of the impression that for the ordinary purposes of life1 #ac_/d #b1 as ,i am not always anxious to proclaim the exact number of my suit1 ,i generally lead a small one4 ,i am aware that the suit does not always go twice1 or even once2 but that is the fault of the cards1 not of the equation4 ,of course1 if1 for any wise purpose1 you feel you must have one trick1 take it at the first opportunity1 irrespective of ,cocker or any other authority4 ,n4,b4--,when you1 second1 third1 or fourth player have won the first trick1 whatever you may think1 you are not the original leader1 and your lead then should be guided by your own hand2 if it is a bad one you are under no compulsion to open a suit at all1 one suit is already open1 go on with that2 if it also is a bad one1 one bad suit is a less evil than two bad suits1 or opening a doubtful one in the dark2 return through strength up to declared weakness1 or if it was your partner who led1 why should you show a suit unless you hold a good sequence or strong trumps8 ,return his suit1 yours will be led sometime2 whatever you won the trick with1 he is in a better position to defend himself as third player than if he had to lead it again himself4 ,in returning your partner's lead1 if you had originally three1 you return the higher of the two remaining cards2 in returning through your adversary's lead1 if you hold the third best and another1 play the small one1 for your partner may hold the second best single and they would fall together4 ,whenever you hold a suit with one honour in it1 to lead that suit1 if you can avoid it1 is about the worst use you can make of it4 ,should you fail to see this1 devote ten minutes--not when you are playing whist1 but on some wet half-holiday or quiet ,sunday afternoon--to thinking the matter over2 even if you have a suit of king1 queen to three1 why not be quiet8 ,if anybody else opens the suit you will probably make two tricks1 if you open it yourself1 probably one2 there is no hurry about it1 you can always do that1 but why you should go out of your way to lead a suit in which you hold four to the knave or five to the ten is incomprehensible4 ,it is not generally known 7or if it is1 it is never acted on1 which comes to the same thing7 that neither in the ninety-one laws of whist1 nor in any of its numerous maxims1 are you forbidden to play the third round of a suit1 even though the best card is notoriously held by your opponent4 ,it is a common delusion to fancy that when a suit is declared against you1 you can prevent it making by leading something else1 whereas you merely postpone the evil day1 and do mischief in the interval4 ,many feeble whist-players are unwilling ever to let their opponents make a single trick2 now this is unnecessarily greedy2 under no circumstances1 at short whist1 is it imperative to make more than eleven4 ,allow your adversary to have two1 it amuses him and does not hurt you4 8,it is less mischievous1 generally1 to lead a certain losing card1 than to open a fresh suit in which you are very weak40--,what to ,lead1 by ,cam4 ,with trumps declared against you be particularly careful how you open new suits2 surely when you have just succeeded in knocking your partner on the head in one suit1 you might give him till the next hand to recover himself1 instead of trying to assault him again the very next time you get the lead4#i ,changing suits is one of the most constant annoyances you will have to contend against2 queer temper1 grumbling1 logic1 and so on1 if sometimes a nuisance1 are sometimes altogether absent1 but the determination to open new suits for no apparent reason--unless a feeble desire on the part of the leader to see how far the proceeding will injure his partner can be called a reason--is chronic4 ,never#aj lead a singleton unless you are strong enough in trumps to defeat any attempt either of your adversaries or your partner to get them out1 in which case it might be as well to lead them yourself2 whether you lead a sneaker or wait for others to play the suit1 the chance of ruffing is much the same1 and the certainty of making a false lead1 and the nearly equal certainty of deceiving your partner are avoided4 ,when a singleton comes off it may be nice1 it is certainly naughty2 when on the other hand you have killed your partner's king1 and he has afterwards got the lead1 drawn the trumps1 and returned your suit1 should the adversaries make four or five suits in it1 you must not be surprised if he gives vent to a few cursory remarks4 ,to succeed with a singleton1 7#a7 your partner must win the first trick in the suit1 7#b7 he must return it at once1 7#c7 on your next opening another unknown suit1 he must again win the trick1 and the odds against these combined events coming off are something considerable4 ,per contra1 he will probably be beaten on the very first round1 and even if he is not1 it is extremely likely that he will either lead trumps--unless he is aware of your idiosyncracy1 when he will never know what to do--for what he naturally imagines is your strong suit1 or open his own2 at the same time1 just as there are fagots and fagots1 so there are singletons and singletons1 and a queen or knave is by no means such a villainous card as anything below a seven4 8,the very worst singleton is the king40--,cam4 ,with five trumps and no cards1 lead a trump3 you have made a true lead1 you have led not merely your strongest suit1 but a very strong suit1 and if your partner has nothing1 you will lose the game whatever you play1 but you will lose it on that account1 and not because you led a trump2 if you open any of the plain suits you will make a false lead1 and it is two to one that the adversaries hold any of them against your partner4 ,you will often be told by the very people who will tell you to lead from five small cards in a plain suit1 that to lead a trump from five is too dangerous1 but if you inquire in what way it is too dangerous1 and receive any satisfactory reply1 you will succeed in doing what ,i have never done4 ,with five trumps and other cards1 a fortiori lead a trump4 ,towards the end of the game1 you will find it laid down by some authorities that if you hold nothing and have an original lead1 you should lead your best trump2 now if that trump is of sufficient size to warn your partner that it is your best1 this lead may not1 under the circumstances1 be much more injurious than any other2 but an original trump lead is usually supposed to indicate great strength either in trumps1 or in plain suits1 and if your partner infers from the size of your trump that your lead is from strength1 and acting on that inference returns it1 it is about the most murderous lead that can be made2 having been two or three times the victim of such a lead is almost as good a reason for not returning trumps as sudden illness or not having one4 ,if he holds seven tricks in his own hand he can make them at any time1 and any attempt of yours1 however able1 to deceive him at the outset will 7to say the least of it7 not assist him in doing so4 ,why add an additional element of confusion to the game8 ,why should your partner have to say to himself as well as 8,strong cards or strong trumps80 8,perhaps nothing at all40 ,he is compelled to wait about to see what is the meaning of this lead1 time is lost1 and an opportunity let slip which may never recur4 ,the ,bumblepuppist will here observe that time was made for slaves2 but the apophthegms on this subject are more numerous and contradictory than he is aware of4 ,as a general principle1 with the original lead and a very bad hand1 it is advisable to efface yourself as much as possible4 ,in such a case1 ,i always have a strong desire to get under the table--,i don't know that it is contrary to either the laws or the etiquette of whist to do so--and ,i firmly believe it is a better course than leading the trey of trumps2 at any rate it is not for the weak hand to dictate how the game should be played2 and to step boldly to the front and lead a small trump from two1 without a trick behind it1 is in my opinion the height of impertinence4 ,at certain states of the score it may be imperative1 in order to save the game1 that you should place all the remaining cards1 but that is another matter altogether1 and if you want to go into it1 read ,clay on the subject 7page #he71 though he nowhere suggests that you should commence operations by placing thirty-eight unknown cards4 ,if your partner has led you a trump1 and you--holding ace1 queen1 to four or more--have made the queen1 return the ace2 if you are playing ,bumblepuppy return a small one1 your partner thinking the ace is against him1 is almost certain to finesse and lose a trick--then call him names4 ,the reason assigned by the perpetrator of this return is that as he originally held four he is compelled to play the lowest1 and it curiously exemplifies his inability to apply even the little knowledge he is possessed of4 ,with ace1 king only1 it is customary to lead first the ace and then the king2 there is no authority for such a lead1#aa and nothing to be gained by it1 except that by leading in this way you probably prevent your partner from signalling in the suit1 but if you like to burden yourself with a useless anomaly1 you can make a note of it4 ,we started with the hypothesis1 that1 in the ordinary course of nature1 you have fifty years before you1 and if you wish to embitter and shorten those years1 you will invariably lead the lowest but one of five--it may be1 and ,i am informed is1 useful among a few assorted players1 8chock-full of science10 but it is caviare to the general#ab and 7unlike ,wordsworth's ,creature7-- 8,too bright and good ,for human nature's daily food40#ac ,for my part ,i only think it expedient to show five when1 with reasonable strength on the part of my partner1 ,i have a fair prospect of bringing in the suit4#ad ,it is often better to keep the knowledge of mere length of suit religiously to yourself4 ,length and strength are not always the same thing2 why are giants generally so weak about the knees8 ,length is often only one element of strength and a very poor one at that1 though it may be of use indirectly4 ,with four or five low cards and an observant opponent1 it is occasionally a good plan to bottle up the smallest4 ,i have known this missing link so to prey upon that opponent's mind as to cause him to forget matters of much greater importance4 ,in bumblepuppy all this is entirely different1 you can lead anything you like1 in any way you like2 here the safest lead is a long weak suit1 the longer and weaker it is1 the less is your partner able to do you a mischief4 ,with a weak partner1 strengthening cards are either futile or dangerous3 as he will in all probability at once disembowel himself1 the result of leading them is on all fours with the ,japanese ,hari ,kari2 whereas if you lead him a small card he will finesse into his boots4 ,you should also be very particular to lead the lowest but one of five1#ae it creates confusion1 and under cover of that confusion you may make a trick or two4 ,from this point of view you will often find the lead of the middle card of your suit extremely effective4 ,as to play false cards for the purpose of deceiving your partner is considered clever1 a very little practice will enable you to play them with facility4 ,with all deference to ,bret ,harte1 for ways that are dark1 the ,heathen ,chinee is not particular1 and for tricks that are vain1 the ,caucasian can give him points4 8,for when he'd got himself a name ,for fraud and tricks1 he spoil'd his game2 ,and when he chanced to escape1 mistook1 ,for art and subtlety1 his luck40 ,the ability to play false cards is not a proof of intelligence4 78,cunning is often associated with a low type of intellect40--,report of ,inspector-,general of ,military ,prisons47#af ,if you read your ,natural ,history1 you will find it is the weaker animals which betake themselves to anomalous modes of defence2 though the cuttle-fish and the skunk may be much looked up to in their respective domestic circles1 they are quite out of place at the whist-table4 ,it is also usual with ace to five or more trumps to lead the ace1 and if you see--by killing your partner's king1 or by his failing to play one--that he has no more1 to try something else1 for you can change the suit as often as you please4 ,it is a fine mental exercise for your partner to recollect the remaining cards of four unfinished suits1 all going simultaneously4 ,i often think1 when ,i see this game in full blast1 that whist-players are not sufficiently grateful to ,charles the ,sixth1 or whatever other lunatic invented playing cards1 for having limited himself to four suits2 he might have devised six--but the idea is too horrible4 8,in the time of ,charles the ,sixth there were five suits40--,field4 ,this not only proves my ignorance but my position1 for if five suits have been tried and found too much for human endurance1 then six would manifestly have been quite too awful6 ,q4,e4,d4 ,illustration ,,footnotes3 #f 8,it is highly necessary to be correct in leads40 8,never lead a card without a reason1 though a wrong one40 8,be particularly cautious not to deceive your partner in his or your own leads40--,mathews4 #g 8,according to the play that we see1 with great weakness the rule is rather to lead strengthening cards4 ,for our own part we should be inclined to say1 8,lead from your long suit only when you are sufficiently strong to bring in that suit with the aid of reasonable strength on the part of your partner40--,westminster ,papers4 8,when you have a moderate hand yourself sacrifice it to your partner40--,mathews4 8,with a bad hand lead that suit which is least likely to injure your partner4 ,do not1 therefore1 lead from four or five small cards40--,major ,a4 8,a lead from a queen or knave and one small card is not objectionable if you have a miserably weak hand2 your queen or knave may be valuable to your partner40--,clay4 8,the rule of always leading from the longest1 as distinct from the strongest suit1 is a rule which1 more frequently than any other1 sacrifices a partner's cards without any benefit to the leader1 and is in direct opposition to the true principles of combination40--,mogul4 ,even ,cavendish1 unless 8generally0 is synonymous with 8always10 admits the expediency of occasionally leading a short suit2 8the hand1 however weak1 must hold one suit of four cards1 and this should generally be chosen40 #h 8,the lead is quite exceptional1 and many good judges have doubted whether a small one should not be led40--,the ,field4 #i ,as intelligent children you will1 perhaps1 be tempted to observe that all this is so self-evident it is scarcely worth mentioning3 at your immature time of life such a mistake is pardonable1 but as you grow older you will find that a determination to open ragged suits in season and out of season--especially out--is one of the strongest impulses of our imperfect nature4 #aj ,as defined by ,captain ,corcoran1 ,r4,n4 ,in all treatises on ,whist 8never0 is invariably used in this sense4 ,perhaps in presence of the ,new ,whist which is now raging violently in ,america1 it would be more correct here to substitute 8was0 for 8is40 #aa ,peccavi6 the lead is given in ,what to ,lead1 by ,cam4 #ab ,never give 8the general0 an opportunity for thinking if you can avoid it2 this is a rule of universal application4 8,how oft the sight of means to do ill deeds makes ill deeds done60 #ac ,it was introduced as 8a proposed extension of principle10 but you had better stick to the old adage1 8first catch your principle10 and leave the extension of it to some future time4 ,theoretical advantages of this lead1 and also the echo of the signal1 you will find fully set forth in 8,cavendish40 ,in a letter to the ,field1 ,september #bgth1 #ahgi1 he appears to advocate varying its monotony by occasionally leading the lowest but two4 ,cam1 the original patentee of this invention1 and one of the finest players of his day1 directs you to lead the lowest but one only when you hold no honour in the suit4 ,by this plan you can not only count your partner's hand--the apparent end of most modern ,whist--but after you have made the queen and lost your king on the return1 you have the additional gratification of knowing to a certainty that he does not even hold the knave4 ,with regard to the echo1 ,i have no head for intricate mathematical calculations1 and therefore am unable to tell you at about what trick everything would be ready1 but speaking roughly1 ,i should be afraid that for all practical purposes the hand would occasionally be over before the signaller and the echoer had completed their operations4 ,in the 8,art of ,practical ,whist0 you are recommended to lead the lowest but two of six4 7,the advice of ,punch to those about to marry is applicable here47 ,mr4 ,f4 ,h4 ,lewis1 in the ,field1 ,january1 #ahhj1 has propounded a scheme for sub-dividing the echo into categories1 and it has recently been pointed out to me that by leading trumps in some irregular way--understood1 ,i presume1 by the inventor of the process--you can explain to your partner that you originally held four4 8,is there anything whereof it may be said1 see1 this is new8 it hath been already of old time1 which was before us40 ,when all these improvements are in use1 this is clear1 the elect will return to that fine old practice known as 8piping at whisk02 the rest of us to primval chaos4 #ad 8,these refinements of artifice are utterly opposed to the essence of scientific ,whist40--,westminster ,papers4 #ae 8,what with the if's and the mystification that would occur from playing the cards in this erratic manner1 we should do more to injure than improve the play in the present state of ,whist science40--,westminster ,papers4 ,the italics are mine4 #af 8,it puzzleth and perplexeth the conceits of many that perhaps would otherwise co-operate with him1 and makes a man walk almost alone to his own ends40--,bacon4 ,illustration ,,lecture ,,iii4 ---- ,,the ,,play ,,of ,,the ,,second1 ,,third1 ,,and ,,fourth ,,hand4 ---- 8,the play is the thing40--,shakespeare4 ,,second hand with king and another1 or queen and another1 never play the honour either in trumps or plain suits1 unless you particularly want the lead1 and then you will probably not get it1 and throw away a trick4 ,by not playing the honour1 7#a7 ,the chance of trick-making in the suit is greater 7this has been proved to demonstration by ,mogul74#ag 7#b7 ,the possible weakness of the third hand is exposed--a very important point4 7#c7 ,your own weakness is concealed from the leader1 and he is able to finesse against your partner2 these three reasons ought to be tolerably conclusive1 but if a high card is led1 head it6 ,if1 holding knave1 ten1 and another1 you are afraid of trumps being led1 and your partner is devoid of common sense1 don't play the ten1 or it will be taken for a signal 7that it neither is one1 nor at all like one1 does not affect the petrolater in the least72 it is almost equally dangerous with queen1 knave1 and another to play the knave4 ,a high card second hand has exactly the same effect on many players as a red rag has on a bull2 and if you have an objection to being gored1 you should keep it out of their sight as long as possible--subject to this important qualification--8,put an honour on an honour1 with only three of a suit2 with four or more you should not do it40--,mathews4 ,except to save or win the game1 whether you are weak in trumps1 or strong1 don't ruff a doubtful card unless you have a distinct idea what to do next2 if you are only going to open a weak suit1 let it go4 ,don't ruff a suit of which your partner clearly holds the best1 in order to announce1 urbi et orbi1 that you are weak in trumps2 depend upon it urbis and orbis will take advantage of this1 not to mention that you take the lead out of your partner's hand at a critical moment1 and prevent him from developing any game that he may have4 8,why for the momentary trick be perdurably fined80 ,shakespeare4 ,in bumblepuppy1 with ace1 king1 and others1 or king1 queen1 and others1 the trick is often passed1 and with knave led1 if the second player holds ace1 queen1 etc41 he usually plays the queen2#ah holding the same cards1 if instead of the knave a small card is led1 he occasionally produces the ace4 ,these proceedings may be the eccentricities of genius2 if they are not1 the only other explanation ,i can suggest for them1 is a desire to lose a trick4 ,third hand4--,don't finesse against your partner1 unless you have reason to believe you are stronger in his own suit than he is1 or that he has led from weakness4 ,don't finesse against yourself4 ,if you have led from ace1 knave1 etc41 and your partner has made the queen1 the king is certainly not on your right4 ,if1 on the other hand1 you have led from king1 and your partner again has made the queen1 it can be of no use to put on the king1 the ace must be over you4 ,though ,clay described the finesse obligatory before you were thought of1 ,i am afraid that after you are forgotten1 these two simple cases will continue to be reversed--that people will finesse against1 and not for1 themselves4 ,in bumblepuppy this is de rigueur2 also at this game1 with king1 queen1 and another in your partner's lead1 it is customary to play the king1 and1 if it wins1 to open a new suit4 ,ruff a winning card of the adversaries6 ,what possible benefit can you derive from allowing your opponent to discard1 and by that discard show his partner the suit he wishes led8 ,if you are too stingy to use a high trump1 surely you might play a little one just to keep the trick going4 8,it is much better to play a small trump with the certainty it will be overtrumped than to let the trick go40--,westminster ,papers4 ,when your partner has opened a suit with the ace1 and on the third round eleven are out1 he holds the other two1 and whenever he leads one of them--whether it is the queen or the four--it is a winning card2 but if you fail to grasp this1 and feel disposed to play the thirteenth trump on it1 don't waste time either in invoking the immortal gods1 inspecting the last trick1 or looking prternaturally intelligent--trump it at once1 and put him out of his misery4 ,the idea is not new1 for it occurred to ,macbeth when about to perpetrate the very same coup3 8,if 'twere done when 'tis done1 then 'twere well ,it were done quickly40 ,my only claim is to have expressed myself without such an involved use of auxiliary verbs4 ,if you have more than two of the suit1 don't play the ace on your partner's knave2 it may be a short suit1 or the head of a sequence1 and you throw away the power of passing the ten second round1 even if it is from king1 queen1 knave to five1 there is nothing to be gained by covering2 with ace and another win the trick and return it at once1 unless you lead trumps4 ,though frequently done1 it is not good whist to decline to win a trick1 either on the ground that you want a guard for your king of trumps1 or because you hold six4 ,in the other game both these proceedings would be correct4 ,fourth hand4--,win the trick1 and endeavour1 if possible1 to do so without playing a false card4 ,like all things that are difficult at first1 you will find it become comparatively easy by practice4 ,you might suppose that the exponent of bumblepuppy--who always considers a trick of his own making worth at least two made by his partner--would get into no difficulty here2 but he does4 ,he has a firmly-rooted belief that his strong suits are under the protection of a special ,providence which will never allow them to be ruffed1 and uttering his wretched shibboleth1 8,part with my ace1 sir8 never60 he contrives to lose any number of tricks by keeping up his winning cards to the last possible moment and a shade longer4 ,i imagine he is under the erroneous impression that this in some way compensates for cutting in with a small trump when he is not wanted4 8,it is a good plan when you have the thirteenth trump to pass winning cards4 ,the reason of this is not apparent1 but in practice ,i know several players who do so1 and in the multitude of counsellors there is wisdom40--,westminster ,papers4 ,illustration ,,footnotes3 #ag ,i have worked it out myself in more than four thousand cases by rule of thumb 7,field1 ,october #ahhb71 and obtained the same result2 if in the teeth of this1 early in the hand1 a decent ,whist-player plays the king second on a small card led1 it is an unnecessarily high card2 and as unnecessarily high cards are not played without an object1 that object is presumably a call for trumps4 #ah 8,with ace1 queen1 etc41 of a suit of which your right hand adversary leads the knave1 put on the ace invariably4 ,no good player1 with king1 knave1 ten1 will begin with the knave3 of course1 it is finessing against yourself to put on the queen1 and1 as the king is certainly behind you1 you give away at least the lead1 without any possible advantage40--,mathews4 ,this advice as a rule is sound1 but you must bear in mind that towards the end of a hand the knave is often led from king1 knave1 ten1 or king1 knave alone1 and if you1 holding ace1 queen1 are obliged to make two tricks in the suit1 in order to win1 or save the game1 you will have to play the queen4 ,if the king is held by your left-hand adversary1 you will lose the game whatever you play4 ,when you play the queen under these circumstances1 and it comes off1 don't imagine that you are inspired1 or prternaturally intelligent2 you are only playing to the score2 and you will find that most instances of irregular play1 which at first sight suggest inspiration1 resolve themselves into this4 ,illustration ,,lecture ,,iv4 ---- ,,discarding1 ,,and ,,its ,,difficulties4 ---- 8,this the vain purpose of his life to try1 ,still to explore what still eludes his eye40 ,,discards are of two distinct kinds3-- 7#a7 ,ordinary4 7#b7 ,forced4 7#a7 ,when your partner2 7#b7 ,when your adversary shows strength4 ,in the first case1 you naturally point out to your partner which is your strong suit by discarding from your weak suits1 your object being to win the game1 and there is an end of that matter4#ai ,in the second case it is just the reverse4 ,you have to save the game1 and you discard from your best guarded suit1 by no means necessarily your strongest1 with a view1 as far as you can1 of blocking every suit1 and so preventing the adversary from establishing his long cards4 ,these two kinds of discards are1 or ought to be1 of importance to three very different classes of players3-- 7#a7 ,the ,scientific4 7#b7 ,the ,commonly ,decent4 7#c7 ,the ,exponents of ,bumblepuppy4 7#a7 ,the ,scientific4--,here1 with trumps declared against you1 you discard1 as already said1 from your best guarded suit4 ,your partner knows this is probable1 but he does not know how strong you are in that suit2 he also knows it may very possibly be a suit in which you hold three small cards1 and a second discard of it only gives him the further information that you had either three or five--he must infer which from his own hand--he assumes you did not originally hold two1 for you would not have left yourself entirely bare of the suit4 ,it is not everybody who is in the proud position which ,i once occupied1 when a trump being led by the adversary1 ,i found myself with no trump1 the best nine cards of one suit1 and two other aces4 ,among good players1 then1 the forced discard amounts to this3 that though you are aware your partner is discarding with the best possible motives1 and he is aware that you are doing the same1 neither can depend upon the other's discard as showing anything for certain4 ,with trumps declared against you1 you must place unknown cards to the best of your ability1 and in such an unpleasant conjuncture1 if you are exceptionally fortunate1 you may sometimes save the game1 and the skill displayed in doing so may be a joy for ever3-- 8,forsan et hc olim meminisse juvabit40 ,observe the discretion of the poet in his choice of the word 8forsan40 ,but when1 on the other hand1 you look at the improbability of this coming off1 when you reflect that your partner has occasionally given you two discards1 and that you1 in the exercise of that right of private judgment inherent in every ,protestant1 led one of those very suits1 and by so doing lost the game2 when you recall what then took place1 the epea pteroenta1 the mutual--but the subject is too painful2 let us leave it1 and pass on to ,class #b4bj ,this class has two divisions1 they both see your discards1 but--without any reference to their own hands or anything that has been played--one division assumes your discard is invariably from weakness1 and at once knocks on the head the very suit you have sedulously been attempting to guard2 the other has got hold of the pernicious axiom that the original discard is necessarily your strongest suit1 and always leads that4 ,here we have again a pretty considerable element of confusion4 ,class #c4--,these1 with an unerring instinct that might almost be mistaken for genius1#ba will put you in a hole1 whatever you do4 ,the safest plan is1 under all circumstances1 to discard from your weakest suit2 you cannot be cut to pieces there1 and1 whatever happens1 you have the letter of the law on your side4 ,when you have not followed suit to the second round of the opponent's trumps1 when1 as a rule1 your discard 7being forced7 is not to be depended on and is of no importance to them1 this is the only time they ever see it2 for having no winning cards in their own hands to attract their attention1 they are able to devote a little more time to seeing the cards on the table4 ,the number of times they will have that wretched trick turned1 and their anxiety to be quite sure of the suit1 are painful to the sensitive mind 7especially if that sensitive mind is sitting opposite to them and happens to belong to yourself74 ,well might ,sophocles observe1 8,many things are dreadful1 but nothing is more dreadful than man40 ,that the first discard is from the weakest suit is one of those half-dozen cast-iron rules--three of them wrong1 and the remainder invariably misapplied--which make up their stock-in-trade2#bb but if they hold ace1 king1 queen to five trumps--say clubs--you see them come well up to the table with an air of triumph1 and begin to lead4 ,again you don't follow suit2 what do they care8 they drive gaily on1 but1 as they finish the third round1 the idea just begins to dawn upon them--perhaps you have discarded something4#bc ,a careful inspection of the last trick affords them the pleasing intelligence that somebody has discarded a diamond and somebody else a spade2 the light fades from their eye1 their jaw drops1 and they are such a picture of hopeless misery1 that if they were not in the habit of informing you--scores of times a day--that they play whist only for amusement1 you might almost doubt the fact4#bd ,after prolonged contemplation of the chandelier and a farewell look at the spade and diamond1 they eventually produce a heart--your original discard6--have their remaining trumps drawn1 and lose the game4 ,ordinary discards are simple in the extreme1 and might be very useful2 unfortunately 7as the general public will persist in confining its attention to its own hand1 as long as there is anything in it71 the only discard usually seen is the last1 and this detracts from their utility4 ,forced discards are always difficult 7not to the discarder1 but to his partner71 and to a duffer1 unintelligible1 for this reason1 they require common-sense--far be it from me to teach it--it is like poetry1 8nascitur non fit10 and these remarks have not been made with any such intention1 but to endeavour to accentuate that ,cavendish in his treatise on ,whist1 and a letter which ,i append1 has said everything on the subject likely to be of use4 ,the ,principles of ,discarding4 8,the old system of discarding1 though unscientific1 had at least the merit of extreme simplicity4 ,it was just this3 when not able to follow suit1 let your first discard be from your weakest suit4 ,your partner in his subsequent leads is thus directed to your strong suit1 and will refrain from leading the suit in which1 by your original discard1 you have told him you are weak4#be ,several years ago some whist enthusiasts1 amongst whom were ,mogul and myself1 played a number of experimental rubbers1 the cards of each hand being recorded as they were played1 and the play being fully discussed afterwards4 ,in the course of the discussion it was observed first1 ,i think1 by ,mogul1 that in several hands the discard from a weak suit1 when the adversaries evidently had in their hands the command of trumps1 had resulted very disastrously4#bf ,this caused us to consider whether the weak suit should not be protected under these circumstances1 and we finally came to the conclusion that discards should be divided into two classes1 viz41 ordinary discards and forced discards4 ,these ,i proceed to distinguish4 ,the reason a weak suit is chosen for the discard is1 that when a strong suit is broken into1 the number of long cards which might be brought in1 if the suit is ever established1 are lessened1 and so many potential tricks are thus consequently lost4 ,but little harm1 certainly none of this kind of harm1 is done by throwing away from a weak suit1 in other words1 from a suit that can never be brought in4 ,but when the adversaries have declared great strength in trumps1 the chance of bringing in a suit is reduced to a minimum4 ,on the assumption that you can never bring it in1 the small cards of your long suit are valueless to you4 ,that suit will protect itself so far as its high cards are concerned1 but the weak suits require protection4 ,thus1 by guarding honours1 or by keeping four cards to a ten or nine1 a trick is often won1 or the establishment of an adverse suit prevented4 ,it was this point1 indeed1 which first led us to condemn the invariable discard of the weak suit2 the remark was frequently made1 8,i was obliged to deceive you then1 partner1 and to throw my long suit in order to keep my king guarded in another suit40 ,this1 of course1 when the game was in danger4 ,honours in weak suits may be freely unguarded by the players who have strong trump hands1 but the guards should be religiously preserved by those who are weak4 ,our discussions resulted in our laying down the following rules for our own guidance1 viz41 when you see from the fall of the cards that there is no probability of bringing in your own or your partner's long suit1 discard originally from your best protected suit4 ,this ,i may call the foundation of the modern system of discarding2 it has been adopted by all the best players with whom ,i am acquainted4 ,for the sake of having a short and easily remembered rule1 however1 it is the fashion to say1 8,discard originally from your strong suit when the adversaries lead trumps40#bg 8,no doubt you will be right in your discard in most cases1 but this aphorism does not truly express the conditions40 7,query1 then why use it874444 8,the conclusion ,i have arrived at is that the modern system of discarding requires so much judgment in its application as to be rather a stumbling-block than an assistance to the ordinary run of players10--rough on the neophyte6--8,this is a pity1 as there can be no doubt but that the classing of discards into ordinary and forced is sound in principle1 and adds beauty to the game4 ,i have been prompted to write this letter in the hopes of seeing this classification more generally adopted1 and its limitations more distinctly observed and acted on40--,cavendish4 ,i have met with the same conclusion and the same regret in a metrical form3 it is short1 and may be useful to any of you troubled with bad memories3 8,if seven maids1 with seven mops1 ,swept it for half-a-year1 ,do you suppose10 the walrus said1 8,that they could get it clear80 8,i doubt it10 said the carpenter1 ,and shed a bitter tear4 ,resumption of ,note ,c1 page #cf4 ---- ,,playing ,,for ,,amusement4 ,if this principle were carried out to its logical result1 and everybody played for amusement in the ludicrous sense in which this word is generally understood1 it is manifest that--as no one would ever see either a card led or played1 or know what suit was trumps--it would be useless continuing to ask each other for information on those abstruse points2 and unless1 by some alteration in the laws of whist1 an intelligence department outside the table were provided to supplement the precarious knowledge acquired by looking at the last trick1 the game would shortly collapse from its innate absurdity2 unfortunately we seldom arrive at this point2 what usually takes place is this3 ,four people sit down nominally to play whist1 when suddenly one of them announces1 to the consternation of his partner1 that he is not there with any such intention1 but solely for his own amusement2 he altogether ignores the possibility of the others wishing to play whist for their amusement1 and lays down his stale proposition with such an air of originality that he often deludes the unwary bystander into the belief that he is somehow superhuman1 and much superior to the other three1 who are consequently looked down upon as mean and sordid individuals2 this is not the case4 ,if yelling when he is trodden upon1 and crying if he loses1 are proofs of humanity1 he is essentially human4 ,now1 no one has the slightest objection to your amusing yourself as long as you do not annoy anybody else4 ,i go further than this1 and admit your abstract right to amuse yourself at your partner's expense1 but ,i protest against your expecting him to rejoice with you in his own discomfiture4 ,because eels are accustomed to being skinned1 it does not at all follow that they should like it--at any rate1 whether they do so or not1 it is not expected of them4 ,again1 the practice of vivisection may be both amusing and instructive to the vivisector1 while it may be neither the one nor the other to his victim4 ,though ,i have no practical acquaintance with this pursuit1 ,i have often seen large portraits of the vivisectee pasted on hoardings1 and judging from the expression of his countenance1 and the uncomfortable position in which he is always depicted1 ,i should imagine that the entire proceedings were supremely distasteful to him4 ,from the time when ,cain was short-coated1 and tipcats1 pea-shooters1 catapults1 and other instruments of torture appeared on the scene1 there have been peculiar ideas of amusement4 ,fortunately--with the exception of your doting mammas--public opinion has been against you4 ,a gentleman found in the street with a tipcat embedded in his eye is usually conducted to the nearest chemist1 and the malefactor given in charge4 7,the crafty ,ulysses1 before he performed a very similar operation on ,polyphemus1 made every preparation to escape from the room as soon as it was over1 and took uncommonly good care not to originate the now trite witticism1 8there you go with your eye out10 till he was well beyond his reach4 ,he was far too intelligent a man to expect the ,cyclops to take it pleasantly47 ,but if this occurs at ,whist1 and the victim even hints an objection1 he is looked upon as a bear1 and sometimes the verdict is 8served him right10 while at other times he seems to be expected to 8rub it in40 ,there ,i draw the line2 annoy your partner as much as you like1 but don't expect that6 ,it is contrary to nature2 still1 while fully and freely admitting your right of annoying1 and also your right to throw away your own property if you please1 you are not privileged to treat your partner's in the same way4 ,this borders closely on theft1 and before taking such a liberty1 in order to be on the safe side1 ,i think you ought first to obtain his consent in writing4 ,it is all very well for ,shakespeare to call his purse trash 7he knew the contents of it1 and his description may have been most accurate71 but whether things are trash or not1 if they don't belong to you1 you must not make away with them 7as the poet himself experienced when he took to deer-stealing71 and unless you wish1 like him1 to fall into the clutches of the criminal law1 you had better take ,captain ,cuttle's advice1 and overhaul your catechism1 with special reference to your duty to your neighbour4 ,you will find it a safer guide4 ,i ought to apologise for the length of this note1 but ,i have suffered myself1 and although ,i never killed an albatross1 and am by nature most inoffensive1 8,since then at an uncertain hour ,that agony returns1 ,and till my ghastly tale is told ,the heart within me burns40 ,illustration ,,footnotes3 #ai ,in ordinary discarding1 your strong suit is your long suit3 except to deceive your partner1 and get your king prematurely cut off1 it can be no use to discard from four or five small cards in one suit1 in order to keep king to three in another4 #bj ,if there are a 8few words0 going about1 and you are not concerned1 don't put your oar in-- 8,they who in quarrels interpose1 ,must often wipe a bloody nose40 #ba ,genius has been defined to be 8an unlimited capacity for taking pains10 and the pains they will take to circumvent you are assuredly unlimited1 but their capacity for anything is so doubtful1 that their claim to genius on this score must be left in abeyance4 #bb ,the excitement of the moment has led me into exaggeration here2 let me give the bumblepuppist his due1 the exact number is ten1 as you will find later on4 #bc 8,the strong hand is leading trumps1 and he gets them all out1 and has the lead2 nine times out of ten he will have forgotten his partner's first discard1 and play on the assumption his last discard is his first1 and so certain is this to come about that1 we believe1 with some players1 it is best to endeavour to calculate how many discards we shall get1 and let the last discard be our weakest suit40--,westminster ,papers4 #bd ,if they were slightly to vary this statement1 and say1 8,they pitched thirteen cards about only for their own amusement10 the position would be much more inexpugnable4 ,unless my memory deceives me1 in 8,the ,whist ,player10 by ,col4 ,blyth1 they are recommended to confine themselves to playing 8,beggar my ,neighbour0 with their grandmothers2--as most of those ladies must in the ordinary course of nature have gone over to the majority1 this would be hard on them--but they might adopt a middle course1 and play that fascinating game with each other2 they could pitch the cards about equally well1 and would have more cards to pitch4 ,i shall resume this topic at the close of this lecture4 #be ,will he8 8,hope springs eternal in the human breast40 ,and you can hope anything you like1 if you don't mind the subsequent disappointment3 ,first1 he has to see it1 and after you have got over that difficulty1 if he only holds two small cards in that suit1 and has a tenace in the other--according to my experience--he will lead his own4 ,with king singly guarded in your suit1 instead of being delighted to play it1 wild horses are powerless to drag it from him4 #bf ,absorbed in their discoveries1 they appear to have forgotten that1 8,vixerunt fortes ante ,agamemnona40 8,if weak in trumps1 keep guard on your adversary's suits4 ,if strong1 throw away from them40--,mathews4 #bg ,that young and curly period when ,i was influenced by the fashions has passed away4 ,eheu fugaces1 etc4 ,it may be easier to remember 8strong0 than 8best protected02 one epithet is certainly three syllables shorter than the other1 but it seems a pity1 for the sake of those three syllables1 to use an expression which is utterly misleading4 ,in 8,the ,art of ,practical ,whist0 also 8strongest0 is used without any qualification whatever1 and here you only save two syllables2 although the ,commination ,service is seldom read now--even if1 like ,royal ,oak ,day and ,herr ,von ,joel1 it should cease altogether to be retained by the ,establishment--to make the blind man go out of his way would still be inexpedient1 unless you make him go out of your own way as well1 for you may cut him for a partner2 if you have no respect for the blind1 surely you have some regard for your pocket-money4 ,illustration ,,lecture ,v4 ---- ,,the ,,discard ,,from ,,the ,,strongest ,,suit4 ---- 8,monstrum horrendum1 informe1 ingens1 cui lumen ademptum40--,eton ,grammar4 ,,part ,i4 ,,the last lecture went thoroughly into the forced discard and1 after looking at it in every possible light1 left it exactly at the point where it was left by ,mathews nearly a hundred years ago3 8,,if ,,weak ,,in ,,trumps1 ,,keep ,,guard ,,on ,,your ,,adversary',s ,,suits4 ,,if ,,strong1 ,,throw ,,away ,,from ,,them ,,and ,,discard ,,as ,,much ,,as ,,possible ,,from ,,your ,,partner',s ,,strong ,,suits ,,in ,,either ,,case40 ,here ,i should gladly have let the matter rest--as the boy said when he saw the wild cat4 ,it is a thorny subject2 but the ,new ,man will not permit it4 8,the ,decline and ,fall of ,whist0 contains a view of him and his game1 which is very widely entertained in this country1 and though it may or may not be a better game1 it is not ,whist in the ,english sense of the word4 ,our subject being the ,whist or ,bumblepuppy of our native land1 the invariable lead of the longest suit1 fourth-bests1 eleven rule1 ,american leads1 and all the subsequent proceedings have no more interest for the ,british school-boy wishing to learn ,whist than they had for ,abner ,dean of ,angels on a well-known occasion4 ,to give the ,american ,whist-players their due1 ,i am bound to admit that1 in addition to their having devised a new set of leads1 new play of second and third hand1 a new mode of scoring1 and having done away with the honours--greatly to their credit for common sense and intelligence2 their idea of our modern forced discard is3 8,it is a curious notion that an original discard should always be from the strongest suit0 7,a ,practical ,guide to ,whist1 by ,fisher ,ames71 and also they have compiled a new code of laws which is an enormous improvement upon the singular jumble of laws1 definitions1 and arbitrary decisions under which we impotently writhe4 8,on ashes1 husks1 and air we feed1 ,and spend our little all in vain40--,wesley4 ,law #cg of their code runs as follows3 8,when a trick is turned and quitted it must not be seen again until the hand has been played4 ,a violation of this law subjects the offending side to the same penalty as a lead out of turn40 ,they may have been driven to abolish our ,law #ia in order to make the intricacies of their game humanly possible1 still1 8for this relief much thanks40 ,considering the cheapness of freight1 and that there is no import duty1 why ,law #cg has not been introduced into this country is one of the greatest mysteries of the end of the nineteenth century4 ,we are flooded with all the other ,american ,whist innovations1 and the key of the position is conspicuous by its absence4 8,why should ,english ,whist-men retain an antiquated1 ill-constructed and ambiguous code1 when they have in the code of the ,american ,whist ,league laws as free from such defects as human ingenuity can devise80--,whist4 ,and echo answers1 ,why8 ,but to return to our muttons4 ,on one point it is incumbent to make a stand4 ,if the ,new ,man had only been satisfied to concentrate his mischievous attentions on his ,new ,game1 we might have agreed to differ and gone our several ways in peace and harmony3 dis aliter visum4 ,unfortunately1 8in his craze for uniformity10 he has tampered with the forced discard1 which is our common grazing ground1 and has deluded himself and the whole of ,bumblepuppydom into a wild and erroneous belief that the first discard--when unable to follow suit to an adverse trump lead--is always the suit he wants led4 8,in all the fabric ,you shall not see one stone or a brick1 ,but all of wood40 ,now1 ,i have dealt myself innumerable hands--it is a favourite amusement of mine when ,i have a little spare time--and taking the shortest and weakest suit for trumps1 have carefully calculated how often ,i could discard a suit ,i wanted led2 how often ,i should feel justified in dictating to my partner to make me third player in it4 ,it comes out well under fifty per cent4 ,hands of this kind are constantly turning up4 ,diamonds 7trumps7--#i1 #g4 ,hearts--,kg41 ,qn41 #c4 ,spades--,qn41 ,kn41 #i4 ,clubs--#aj1 #h1 #f1 #c1 #b4 ,here ,i must discard a club1 but ,i don't necessarily want it led4 ,diamonds 7trumps7--,qn4 and another4 ,hearts--,kn4 and three small ones4 ,spades--,kn4 and three small ones4 ,clubs--,three small ones4 ,as ,i am not going to unguard either of these knaves1 again ,i discard a club1 and again ,i don't want to dictate to my partner to lead it1 and so ad infinitum4 ,the simple faith that1 whenever the adversary leads trumps1 you are bound to hold a strong suit1 may be better than ,norman blood4 ,if it is1 it only tends to prove of how singularly little value that fluid may be4 ,therefore1 in my own case1 this is the way the rule works out3 8,when we are in a very tight place1 and trumps are declared against us1 my first discard always shows clearly the suit ,i want led20 only1 in more than half the instances1 it does nothing of the kind4 ,this is a pretty sort of universal rule4 ,whatever view you may take of it1 it scarcely comes up to my idea of a sheet anchor4 8,lex non cogit ad impossibilia40 8,kind ,fortune1 come1 my woes assuage1 ,bend down and mark a modern moan1 ,and bear me through the golden age1 ,through age of iron1 bronze1 and stone2 ,back1 back1 before the men with tails1 ,a million years before the flood2 ,to where the search of science fails1 ,and leave me happy in the mud40 ,but if ,i prefer to wallow there1 don't let me thrust my opinions on you--you may object to mud2 your cards may be better than mine2 judge for yourselves6 ,deal a few hands1 and if you find once in five times1 or once in ten times1 that the rule won't work1 then you have this formula for your guidance3 8,we always discard from the suit we want led1 except when we have no such suit10 and mind this1 the first time you fail1 all the fat is in the fire2 there is no retreat4 ,when once you cast judgment and common-sense to the four winds of heaven1 and submit yourselves body and soul to the rule of thumb--and such a thumb6--you cannot play fast and loose with it2 you must take it for 8all in all1 or not at all40 ,like a wife1 which you may have some day1 you take it for better or worse1 till death do you part2 and this is all worse2 it is an utterly unworkable arrangement1 8,that1 like a wen1 looks big and swells1 ,is senseless1 and just nothing else40 ,if you are to have an always in this most intricate and difficult affair 7which ,i strongly deprecate71 and are unable to sit comfortably at a whist-table without a crutch of some kind to lean upon--and this in such a position seems uncalled for--you will find discarding from your longest suit a safer plan1 though this is not always available4 ,why cannot you leave good old best-guarded alone8 ,after all ,i have said1 should you still persist in running your heads against 8strongest0 and 8the suit ,i want led10 these lines of ,moore undoubtedly 8touch the spot0-- 8,behold your ,light1 your ,star-- 8,ye would be dupes and victims1 and ye are60 ,,part ,,ii4 8,post tenebras lux40--,pintsch4 ,,there is one method of forced discarding which is often extremely useful2 it is simple to a degree and always practicable2 it has been in use for some years1 and is approved of by all the good whist-players ,i have ever come across4 ,if you have a really strong suit to discard from--a suit that you can order your partner to lead you--signal in it1 and throw away the highest card you safely dare4 ,this was first brought to my notice by ,mr4 ,proctor1 and--like ,newton's apple1 ,columbus's egg1 and many other great discoveries--is almost obtrusively obvious when it is once pointed out4 ,it is no new invention1 for it has been the well-known practice of whist from primval times4 ,possibly known in the cave of ,neanderthal4 ,its inhabitants1 when they had a really powerful suit1 discarded an unnecessarily high card4 ,with a quint major1 they discarded the ace2 with a quart to a king1 they discarded the king1 and so forth4 ,here is a declaration of absolute strength at the very moment it is required2 no uncertainty as to whether it is a protective discard1 or mere length2 it is also flexible1#bh for you can use your own judgment2 give the information2 conceal it for a time if you think fit1 or withhold it altogether4 ,minor details--such as that when only one discard is available1 a high card would in all probability indicate strength1 while a low one 7though it might indicate length7 would do nothing of the kind1 but rather the opposite2 and its use under many circumstances1 even when your partner is leading trumps--if not at once obvious to your own unassisted intelligence1 are better left to the professional development-mongers4 ,having a rooted antipathy to formulating an interminable series of minute regulations for exceptional cases1 a practice which has done irreparable injury to whist1 far be it from me to trench upon their preserve4 ,the convention ,i have shown to be venerable1 and ,i believe it to be perfectly legitimate4 ,here ,i begin to tread upon delicate ground1 for though whist is entirely made up of conventions1 many different views are held as to what a convention is 7see note page #fj71 and when it is and is not legitimate4 ,between the ,albert ,club and the ,bloomsbury back parlour there is a great gulf fixed-- 8,virginibus puerisque canto10 and it would be a life-long regret to me if ,i seduced them from the paths of rectitude4 ,still1 for practical purposes1 ,i should imagine that a mode of play which is known1 or open to be known by all players1 and which contravenes neither the laws nor the etiquette of whist1 fulfils all the necessary conditions2 at all events1 it satisfies my moral sense4 ,if1 in addition1 it is conducive to trick making1--as it undoubtedly is--,i hail it with effusion4 ,with innumerable treatises2 treatises on developments1 on counting number1 on exceptional play2 treatises philosophical and treatises mathematical2 with exercises in simple addition2 with arrangements for exorcising superfluous winning cards as elaborate as if winning cards were enemies of the human race1 and a direct emanation from the evil one1 the time has arrived1 if possible1 to import a little common-sense into the game1 and to make an effort to win an occasional trick4 ,illustration ,,footnotes3 #bh ,this is one of the numerous points where the new man and the man of the stone age--now politely termed 8fossil0--come into collision4 8,we do not think that a hard and fast rule1 7the italics are mine7 such as you propose1 can be laid down40 ,even if it were a hard and fast rule--which it is pre-eminently not--his objecting to it on that ground would be most inconsistent-- 8,and yet he thinks what's pious in ,the one1 in th' other is a sin40 ,illustration ,,lecture ,,vi4 ---- ,,the ,,eleven ,,rule 7by desire74 ---- 8,three wise men of ,gotham ,went to sea in a bowl2 ,if the bowl had been stronger ,my tale had been longer40 ,,this lecture1 though quite irrelevant1 is given to gratify the curiosity of many youthful enquirers4 ,the eleven rule 7which only applies to ,american leads7 is simply this3 that1 if under favourable circumstances1 you add certain integers together and the result should be eleven1 then you shall see what you shall see4 7,it can scarcely be called a novelty1 for it seems to have been well known to ,virgil1 8,magnus ab integro sclorum nascitur ordo407 ,bearing this cardinal fact firmly in mind1 supposing a deuce is led--and it is ex rei necessitate a fourth best2 this is the favourable circumstance just referred to--then1 if you hold nine higher cards of the suit1 you add nine to the pips on the deuce1 and if you add it correctly and it comes to eleven1 you play the lowest of your superior cards1 and 7with the proviso the suit is trumps7 win the trick4 ,though it is scarcely an epoch-making discovery1#bi still it is true1 and that in these days of the new journalism is something to be thankful for4 ,there is one example of this rule in the 8,field0 which is to me a source of perennial joy4 ,the second player who holds the ace1 the king1 the queen1 the knave1 and the eight of hearts1 to his own enquiry which card he ought to play on the six led1 replies1 8,i say the eight60 ,now1 though certainly #f #e #aa1 and the rule--as ,i have already admitted--is true1 this play does not commend itself to my intelligence1 and ,i should advise you not to trouble your youthful brains about the later rounds of a plain suit--when the leader1 to your own certain knowledge1 has from four to eight1 and you yourself follow holding five1 including a quart major4 ,if you win the first four tricks in it1 you will do as much as you can reasonably expect1 and will have done enough for glory4 ,o sancta simplicitas6 ,that eight1 so innocently stepping to the front1 has done more to reconcile me to human nature than anything that was ever done by ,jonas ,chuzzlewit4 ,may it continue to retain its evergreen faith unspotted of the world6 8,may no ill dreams disturb its rest1 ,no deeds of darkness it molest10 and that it may never be rudely awakened to find a serpent in its ,eden1 and the harmless looking six a singleton1 is my fervent prayer4 ,i have mentioned that this kind of thing is not whist as played in this country1 and it is by no means certain it will long be the whist of any country2 for ,i hear that in the ,american ,whist ,club of ,boston1 8they have now quite chucked the ,american leads10 and one of the later ,cavendishes has propounded this singular view2 8,i have the craze for giving information in such an acute form that ,i should like to be allowed to show my whole hand to the whole table before the first lead1 on the condition that my cards are not to be called40 ,i presume all the hands must be exposed1 otherwise this is merely an offer to back his partner against his two opponents at single dummy1 and there is nothing particularly sporting in that4 ,if1 then1 this doctrine and position is a rule of faith and not merely a pious opinion--and pious opinions have a nasty knack of becoming extended into principles--the devotees of the new game will1 it is to be hoped1 at once relegate its uninviting literature to the nearest dust-bin1 and all with one accord1 in pairs 7like the wooden animals in your ,noah's ark71 betake themselves to double-dummy2 where1 happily1 elaborate schedules of leads are not required2 where extensions of principle are unknown1 and where 8faith is lost in sight40 ,illustration ,,footnotes3 #bi 8,about as remarkable as the rule that if you want to ascertain how much you have spent out of a shilling1 you must subtract the number of pence left from twelve4 8,if the court cards and the ace of a suit are pipped according to their values1 the knave would be eleven1 the queen twelve1 the king thirteen1 and the ace fourteen2 and everybody would see that the difference between the pips on any card and fourteen would show the number of cards in the suit of higher value than the card in question4 8,thus1 there are nine higher than the five1 and seven higher than the seven4 8,they would see1 also1 that if they could place three1 and three only1 of those cards in any one player's hand--as can be done when the fourth best is led--the number of higher cards not in his hand would be fourteen1 less three1 that is eleven less the pips40--,mogul4 8,the mountain groaned in pangs of birth1 ,great expectation filled the earth1 ,and lo1 a mouse was born60 ,illustration ,,lecture ,,vii4 ---- ,,the ,,peter ,,and ,,its ,,peculiarities4 ---- 8,petrus nimium admiratur se40--,eton ,grammar4 8,the base vulgar do call40--,shakespeare4 ,,some years ago a simple piece of mechanism1 to which somehow or other very undue importance has been attached1 was introduced to the ,whist world2 you play a higher card before a lower one--unnecessarily--to indicate that you hold good trumps1 and want them out4#cj ,you can want this for two reasons3 7#a7 ,because you have the seven best trumps4 ,there is no objection to your signalling here1 though it is quite uncalled for2 if you have the game in your own hand1 you can either lead the lowest but two of six1 stand on your head1 or execute any other--what it is the odd fashion to call--convention the authority of the day may think fit to invent1 as long as you do not come into collision with law #e4ca 7#b7 ,because you have a good trump hand1 and the fall of the cards shows that unless you get them out1 your winning cards or your partner's will be ruffed4 ,here is a good legitimate reason1 but when everything is going nicely1 and your partner making the tricks1 that you should interfere with this merely because you have five trumps--or nine for the matter of that--is the height of absurdity4 ,it may be an interesting fact for him to know1 on the second round of a plain suit1 that you hold five trumps1 just as there are numerous other interesting facts which he may also ascertain at the same time1 e4g41 that you have led a singleton1 that you hold no honour in your own suit1 and so on1 but none of them justifies him in ruining his own hand and devoting his best trump to destruction4 ,you ought to understand the signaller to say1 8,get the lead at any cost the first moment you can1 play your highest trump1 and you shall see something remarkable40#cb ,this is rather a large order1 and when you find as the result of your best attempts to execute it1 that that promised something is not uncommonly the loss of the rubber1 though it will be a shock to you at first1 you will soon get accustomed to it4 ,it is even a dangerous practice to signal when the adversaries will most likely have the lead on its completion2 they at once adapt their play to the circumstances4 ,i have seen innumerable games of whist not won1 and many a game lost1 by absurd signalling2 still ,whist players suffering from ,peter on the brain constantly refuse to ruff a winning card in order to disclose a signal in the discard4 ,if they wanted trumps led1 it occurs to the ordinary mind that the simplest plan would be to win the trick and lead them1 and as they decline to do so1 the only conclusion is that they regard signalling for the mere sake of signalling to be in itself so noble an end that1 to attain it1 it is worth while to announce to their opponents that they had better save the game at once1 and at the same time to present them with at least one trick towards it4#cc 8,o scenes surpassing fable1 and yet true40 8,by ,heaven6 he echoes40--,othello4 ,if you only want the odd trick1 signalling is about the safest way to miss it4 ,any two decent players would1 in a vast majority of cases1 get on exactly as well if the ,peter had never been invented1 while two bad players--assuming they can possibly miss the game with all the trumps--generally do so by its assistance4#cd ,where it would be useful is when1 with moderate strength in trumps1 and the cards declared in your favour1 you want trumps led at all hazards4 ,unfortunately1 if at such a crisis as this1 your partner is not equal to leading them without a call1 he is certain not to see it1 although he is missing all the other points of the game in what he calls looking for it4 ,this looking for a ,peter is an oddly-named and peculiar form of amusement appertaining not only to ,bumblepuppy1 but also to ,whist4 ,among all those people who have attended the ,university ,boat ,race during the last half-century1 ,i apprehend not one went to look for it1 they went to see it1 and just as you would see that race1 so you should see the signal4 ,never look for it6 look at it6 ,it is just as obvious as any other circumstance that occurs in the play2 instead of this1 after much looking1 it is generally overlooked altogether4 ,spectatum veniunt1 veniunt spectentur ut ips4 ,they come to look1 and end by making spectacles of themselves4#ce ,if you must look for it1 at any rate don't look for it in the last trick2 you would scarcely look for the ,boat ,race as you were going to church the next day4 ,still1 ,cowper--though he clearly disapproves of the signal and calls it senseless--seems1 if he is to be annoyed with it1 to advocate this-- 8',tis well if look'd for at so late a day ,in the last scene of such a senseless play40 ,what the signal for trumps ought to be1 and what strength in trumps justifies a signal are clearly laid down by ,clay4 ,if you see a call and hold the ace and any number of trumps1 play the ace--there can be no danger of dropping your partner's king--and if you had originally more than three1 continue with the lowest2 but if you are quite sure that leading trumps is the only way to miss or lose the game1 don't lead them at all4 ,often as1 in obedience to my partner's call1 ,i slam in an ace and play my best trump1 ,elaine's despairing cry rises to my lips1-- 8,call and ,i follow1 ,i follow1 let me die40 ,this important fact is too much lost sight of3 that the object of ,whist is not so much to lead the lowest but one of five1 or to signal1 as to win the game2 these and other fads may or may not be means to that end1 but the end itself they emphatically are not2 in their inception1 at any rate1 they were intended to be your instruments4 ,don't let this position be reversed2 whether1 like fire1 they are always good servants may be open to argument1 but their resemblance in the other respect is perfect4 ,one aspect of signalling has been overlooked in all the treatises on ,whist4 ,i have seen a player of great common-sense and acute observation signal having three small trumps and a short suit1 and by this means induce his watchful opponents to force him to make them all4 ,i do not recommend such devious courses to you1 even if they are lawful in a ,christian country 7of which ,i have doubts72 they are only practicable when you are playing very good ,whist1 and this1 as ,clay says1 can only be the case when you thoroughly know your men4 ,hair-splitting about the legitimacy of the ,peter is beyond the scope of these remarks2 what is lawful is not necessarily expedient3 this the ,apostle ,paul pointed out1 long before either the foundations of ,new ,orleans were laid1 or ,columbus discovered ,america2 but when ,professor ,pole--who appears to have been acquainted with the present mode of signalling for forty years 7,fortnightly ,review1 ,april1 #ahgi71 and for nine has advised learners with five trumps always to ask for them 7,theory of ,whist1 page #fe7--;begins at this eleventh hour to find fault with the practice1 and to have his suspicions that it is immoral2 this is the ,gracchi complaining of sedition with a vengeance4 8,a merciful ,providence fashioned him holler1 ,a purpose that he might his principles swaller40 ,in this year of grace1 good players have long known that signalling is by no means an unmixed benefit1 but rather an edge-tool dangerous to play with1#cf while it has been so long rampant that it has permeated the very lowest strata4 ,if at such a time as this--when all the tenth-rate ,whist players in ,christendom and ,jewry not only think they know all about it1 and consider it in itself the quintessence of science1 when many of them by constant practice have actually acquired such skill that their hesitation in playing first a ten and then a deuce is sometimes scarcely perceptible--the professor imagines that any words of his can put a stop to it1 his courage is only equalled by that of the well-known ,mrs4 ,partington with her mop4 ,a child may start an avalanche2 but once started it runs its appointed course1 and in one respect it is preferable--it is sooner over--for there is no instance recorded in history of an avalanche keeping on for forty years4 ,in bumblepuppy the proceedings are so complicated and peculiar1 they must be seen to be appreciated2 but there are five common forms you should be acquainted with4 7#a7 ,after you have had a lead or two and got rid of your winning cards1 you can begin signalling for somebody to lead a trump2#cg if somebody obliges you1 and you win the trick1 lead another suit1 and wait till somebody else leads trumps again--continuing to signal in the intervals4 7#b7 ,you can signal in your own lead1 and ,i don't know that there is any objection to your expecting that your partner will attend to it--assuming he ever comprehends what you are driving at4 7#c7 ,you can signal without any trump at all4 7#d7 ,you can signal without intending to do so4 7#e7 ,if by any odd chance there should be no signal about1 you can imagine there is and act accordingly4 ,to obviate the evident disadvantages and mutual recrimination which might ensue from such vagaries1 if you really intend to signal1 it is usual to take the following precautions3 7#a7 ,always signal with your highest card4 7#b7 ,pause before you play it4 7#c7 ,put it down not only with emphasis1 but in a special corner of the table mutually agreed upon beforehand4 7,note1#cj page #ei47 7#d7 ,as soon as the trick is turned1 ask to see it4 7,see note to ,law #ia74 8,why the wicked should do so1 ,we neither know1 nor care to do40 ,illustration ,,footnotes3 #cj ,the origin of the signal is as clear as mud1 and the very name of the inventor of the well-known dodge of playing an unnecessarily high card to induce the opponents to lead him a trump1 is lost in the mists of antiquity4 #ca ,people do not seem at all agreed what a convention is4 ,i used to be under the impression myself that it was an assembly of notables--a sort of liberal four hundred1 or what is called in ,america a caucus4 ,it is described by ,childe ,harold as a dwarfish demon that foiled the knights in ,marialva's dome1 while ,i find in the ,fortnightly ,review1 ,april1 #ahgi1 8,conventions are certain modes of play established by preconcerted arrangement20 by whom established1 preconcerted1 or arranged is not mentioned2 and ,i am very much afraid that this definition leaves a loop-hole for winking at your partner when you want trumps led--of course 8by preconcerted arrangement0--otherwise it would be unfair and 7as he might mistake it for a nervous affection of the eyelid7 absurd4 ,at ,whist you can call anybody or anything whatever you please2 ,i have been told1 but ,i scarcely believe it1 that you can call the knave of hearts 8,jakovarts40 ,poets 7also an irritable race7 have the same licence1 and for general purposes1 according to ,mr4 ,squeers1 there is no ,act of ,parliament against your calling a house an island2 but when you come to definitions1 you must be more particular1 or you will land in a hole4 #cb ,it is only right that ,i should state here that these are not modern opinions1 they are the opinions of ,clay1 and ,i am informed he is rapidly becoming obsolete4 ,this may be the case4 ,i know the practice of numbers who call themselves ,whist-players is entirely opposed to his theory2 still1 though ,i don't like to prophesy 7having a high respect for the proverb that it is dangerous to do so1 unless you know71 ,i am open to make a small bet that the ,peter will be obsolete first4 #cc ,i have seen a player signal twice consecutively1 and lose a treble each hand4 ,with the score three all1 ,i have seen the original leader1 holding ace1 knave1 nine1 to five trumps1 and the ten turned up--play a singleton1 knock his partner's king on the head1 and then begin to signal1 while the adversaries were making the next two tricks in that very suit3 his partner ruffed the fourth1 and with king and queen of the two unopened suits1 led the queen of trumps1 killed the king in the second hand1 and the signaller then proceeded to wait about1 and with all the remaining trumps on his right1 eventually lost three by cards4 ,i have seen another player of many years' standing first lead a plain suit and then call2 his partner echoed it1 and they lost four by cards1 and ,i have been told that some time after a table had broken up1 and three of the party had left the house1 one of the club servants1 entering the card-room1 found the fourth still sitting at the table1 and continuing to signal4 #cd 8,signalling has placed a dangerous weapon in the hands of an injudicious player4 ,weak players avoid leading a trump1 watching for some invitation from their partner4 ,weaker players still are constantly examining the tricks2 and finding in the position of the cards1 accidentally disarranged in turning1 an indication of a call1 lead trumps1 perhaps to the ruin of the game40--,mr4 ,f4 ,h4 ,lewis4 8,we do not know whether anyone has ever kept a record of the number of tricks lost by ,petering4 ,during the past year in the ,whist we have witnessed we feel confident that more tricks have been lost than won by this practice40--,westminster ,papers4 ,after many years' further experience ,i am quite of the same opinion4 #ce 8,they are looking for ,peters and the lowest but one1 but they never think of the real points of the game40 8,they are always on the look out for it1 and they spend more time and trouble about the signal than about all the rest of the play40--,westminster ,papers4 #cf ,even in board schools forcing the strong hand is a part of the ordinary curriculum4 8,always force the strong40--,mathews4 ,there used to be some difficulty in ascertaining which was the strong trump hand1 but the signal has done away with that4 #cg 8,many times this kind of signal comes after the player has had the lead1 and when nothing of importance1 speaking from our own knowledge1 has taken place to justify a signal4 ,we are very careless about leading trumps when our partner has had the chance and did not lead them40 8,it is a sign of weak play if you first lead out your winning cards1 and then lead trumps2 it shows ignorance of the principles of the game4 ,if it was advisable to lead trumps at all1 it should be done before you led out your winning cards40--,westminster ,papers4 ,these are noble sentiments6 how any sane human being can imagine he has the right to tell me to destroy my hand and do for him--after he has drawn his own teeth--what he was afraid--before that operation--to do for himself1 ,i have never been able to understand4 ,illustration ,,lecture ,,viii4 ---- ,,false ,,cards1 ,,logic1 ,,luck4 ---- 8,and shall we turn our fangs and claws ,upon our own selves without cause1 ,for what design1 what interest1 ,can beast have to encounter beast80--,hudibras4 ,,there are three kinds of false cards-- 7#a7 ,those that deceive everybody2 7#b7 ,those that deceive your opponents only2 7#c7 ,those that deceive your partner only2 and a sparing use of the two first--especially towards the end of a hand--is often advantageous2#ch but in playing cards that deceive everybody1 you must be prepared to take entire charge of the game yourself1 or you will probably have your conduct referred to afterwards4 ,the third is sacred to bumblepuppy4 ,one thing is very certain1 that the original leader is never justified in playing a false card4 ,clay's conclusion does not altogether harmonize with his premises--a very unusual circumstance with him--for after objecting strongly to false cards on high moral grounds1 and prefacing his remarks by the expression of a touching belief that in no other position of life would anybody tell him what is untrue1 he ultimately arrives at the delicious non sequitur1 that if your partner is very bad1 or holds miserably weak cards1 or towards the end of a hand1 you may often play a false card with advantage3 why you should do what you know to be wrong1 because another person is bad1 or weak1 or because you hold four cards and not thirteen1 or even because such nefarious conduct may benefit yourself1 he does not explain1 and in default of that explanation he appears stronger as a whist player than a moralist4 ,but the logic of whist is a thing per se1 utterly dissimilar to any known form of argument2#ci it finds vent in such syllogisms as 8,you ought to have known ,i had all the spades1 ,i led a diamond10 or1 8,i must have the entire suit of clubs1 ,i discarded the deuce20 though the usual reply is 8the deuce you did10 this is merely paltering with a serious subject2 the only effective argument is to throw something at the speaker's head--the argumentum ad hominem--7of course this would create more or less unpleasantness at first1 but the speaker would soon find his level1 if you hit him hard enough7 8unfortunately this discipline by which such persons were put to open penance and punished in this world--that others admonished by their example might be afraid to offend0--has fallen into desuetude2 until the said discipline be restored again1 which--although it is much to be wished#dj--;can never be until the present reprehensible practice of screwing candle-sticks1 match-boxes1 and all reasonable missiles into the table be done away with1 you have two courses open to you3 7#a7 ,you can give an evasive answer2#da 7#b7 ,you can pretend to be deaf2 this is a capital plan1 as it gives you the option either of being unaware anybody spoke1 or of totally misunderstanding him4#db ,there is an utter inability to see that any question can possibly have two sides1 evidenced by such remarks as 8,my finesse was justifiable1 yours was bad play40#dc ,the two prepositions1 post and propter1 are constantly mistaken for one another--it seems to be thought that because they both govern the accusative case1 their meaning is identical1 or1 to speak more correctly1 convertible4 ,but you must be prepared to contend against other things besides false cards and curious logic2 there is a fiend often reported to be present in the card-room1 known by the name of 8,luck10 and you ought to be acquainted with two of the common stratagems for circumventing him2 it is by no means unusual to see two obese elderly persons--who have just lost a rubber by revoking1 ruffing each other's winning cards with the thirteenth trumps1 forgetting to score honours et id genus omne--after first roundly anathematizing this malefic spirit1 taking precautions against such things happening again by slowly and painfully rising from their respective chairs1 and at great personal inconvenience1 changing places with each other2 this is one way2 another is to throw away several additional shillings in the purchase of new cards2 turning your chair round and sitting down again is also supposed to have an emollient tendency4 ,that there is such a thing--though stupidity is often mistaken for it--is1 to my mind1 as undoubted as that there are birds2 but whether one or the other is to be caught by putting salt on its tail--without taking other precautions--must be left to that right of private judgment already mentioned4 7,page #cd47 ,it is true the ,swan of ,avon sings-- 8,our remedies oft in ourselves do lie ,which we ascribe to ,heaven10 but he was only a literary person1 not a whist player2 and if a careful exercise of your judgment satisfies you that either calling 7and paying7 for new cards1 or wearing out the seats of your knickerbockers by dodging from chair to chair1 is a specific for want of memory and attention1 so let it be3 whatever conclusion you arrive at1 it is your duty to respect your seniors4 ,,footnotes3 #ch 8,when it is evident the winning cards are betwixt you and your adversaries1 play an obscure game2 but as clear a one as possible if your partner has a good hand40--,mathews4 #ci ,the defence is quite as singular as the attack2 for instance1 if you should be taken to task for any alleged criminality arising from defective vision2 instead of making either of the obvious answers that it never took place at all1 or that you regret it escaped your notice and will endeavour to keep a better look out in future1 the ordinary plea in extenuation is 8the noise in the room10 also 8because your cards are so bad10 is often assigned as a satisfactory reason4 #dj ,even a few days of this discipline at the beginning of ,lent would be better than nothing4 #da ,evasive answers are of two kinds2 those 7#a7 ,for the ordinary platitude1 for which you will find good examples in ,card ,table ,talk4 7#b7 ,for the blatant absurdity2 these are more difficult1 for while modestly asserting your own individuality1 you must at the same time guard against 8,heating a furnace for your foe so hot1 ,that you do singe yourself40 ,the following remark admirably fulfils both these conditions3-- 8,for the matter of that10 said ,colonel ,quagg1 8,rot60--,sala4 ,it should be addressed1 kindly but firmly1 to a point about eighteen inches above your partner's head4 #db ,a well-known whist-player who is really deaf is reported to aver that he never knew what comfort was till that misfortune befell him4 #dc ,bad play is any kind of solecism perpetrated by somebody else2 if by yourself1 it may be either just your luck1 pardonable inattention1 playing too quickly1 drawing the wrong card1 or--in a very extreme case--carelessness1 but it is never bad play2 sometimes the difference is even greater than this1 and what would be bad play in another1 in yourself may be the acme of skill4 ,illustration ,,lecture ,,ix4 ---- ,,whist ,,as ,,an ,,investment4 ---- 8,none alive can truly tell ,what fortune they must see40--,sedley4 ,,in 8the ,art of practical ,whist0 you will see capital invested in ,whist compared to consols2 don't run away with the idea that there is any such resemblance2 those numerous foreign securities or limited companies nearer home where you receive no interest and lose your principal--or those public conveyances suggested by the elder ,mr4 ,weller--would be much closer analogues4 ,whist is not a certainty2 neither is it true that you will every year find your account exactly square on the thirty-first of ,december--it is a popular fallacy devised by those who win1 to keep the losers in good spirits4 8,maxima vis est phantasi40 ,an old friend of mine--veracious as men go1 and always considered of fairly sound mind and free from delusions1 though a very inferior whist-player--has often assured me that he won over three thousand points for three years running 7close on ten thousand in the aggregate72 if this statement is correct1 and ,i have no reason to doubt it--,i often played with him1 and he almost invariably won--it is manifest that1 after paying for the cards1 some of us when we called at the bank for our dividends1 must have had to go empty away4 ,i have played whist--club1 domestic1 or bumblepuppy--pretty regularly for a quarter of a century1 and the only conclusion ,i have arrived at so far1 is the very vague one that ,i shall either win or lose--,i don't know at all which--for five years in succession1 or multiples of five4 ,for the first ten years ,i won considerably1 for the next five ,i lost considerably1 then for another five ,i won slightly1 and the last five 7,i am thankful to say ,i am now getting well into the fifth7 ,i have lost again4#dd ,i have no doubt things equalise themselves in the long run1 the difficulty is that ,i am unable to give you any idea1 even approximately1 what the duration of a long run is4#de ,during a part of that first period1 extending over a year and a quarter1 ,i played long whist--five points to the bumper--more than fifty times1 and never but once won less than twelve points4 ,if we may believe ,herodotus1 in his day the end was not always visible from the beginning1 and so it is now4 ,i have won rubbers against all the cards1 and with all the cards ,i have lost them4 ,sometimes ,i cannot lose a rubber1 sometimes ,i cannot win one2 at one time cards will beat their makers1 at another the makers will beat the cards1 and these results occur without rhyme or reason1 in defiance of any system of play4 ,don't imagine for a moment that ,i suggest play is of no consequence1 ,i merely say that you will frequently see the cards or the players run wild1 and that the actual result--winning or losing--is beyond your own control4 8,in the reproof of chance lies the true proof of man40 ,shakespeare4 ,i have known twenty-four successive rubbers lost1 and ,i have won seventeen more than once4 ,i have lost nine hundred and thirty points in two months1 and a hundred and fifty-four in two days4 ,i have lost a bumper in two deals1 holding one trump each hand and with the same partner1 the same seats1 and the same cards won the next rubber but one in two deals1 again holding one trump in each hand4 ,i have seen a player with no trump and no winning card lose a treble1 and the very next hand1 again with no trump and no winning card--assisted to some extent by his partner--score nine1 and on one melancholy occasion my partner and myself were unable to raise a trump between us2 as a set-off to this1 ,i ought to admit that we once held them all4 ,though ,i have never seen it myself1 that the dealer should give each member of the parti an entire suit is becoming as common an object of the sea-shore as our old friend the sea-serpent4 ,fortunately1 overpowering cards do not always win4 ,a hand of thirteen trumps has been known to make only one trick2 it occurred in this wise4 ,a1 ,b1 ,y1 and ,z were playing in a train1 and ,a dealt himself the whole suit of hearts3 ,y led the king of spades2 ,b played the ace2 ,z followed suit1 and ,a ruffed4 ,b1 8an arbitrary gent10 ejaculated 8,trump my ace60 at once took up the trick and1 with his own twelve cards1 threw the lot out of the window4 8,the rest is silence40 ,i have held three ,yarboroughs in two hours 7a ,yarborough is a hand containing no card above a nine71 and a hand with no card above a seven at least twice4 ,there was a hand recently at ,surbiton with no card above a six4 ,with ace1 knave1 to five trumps1 two kings1 and trumps led up to me1 ,i have lost by five cards1 and with queen1 knave1 #aj1 #h1 #c1 #b1 diamonds 7trumps71 spade king1 ace and king of hearts1 ace1 king1 queen and another club1 and the original lead1 ,i lost the odd trick2 and1 most incredible of all1 ,i know a very good player who1 on three consecutive ,saturdays1 lost an aggregate of over three hundred points4 ,i have played a set match1 and1 although ,i never bet1 as ,i fancied we had a shade the best of the play1 and the other side made the liberal offer of six to four1 it tempted me1 ,i took it and won five rubbers running4 ,i once cut about the best player ,i know six times consecutively4 ,my partner laid six to five to commence with1 and as we won the first game--a single--he gave five to two1 and that was the only game we won in those six rubbers4 ,one of the two finest players ,i ever met lost twenty-eight consecutive rubbers2 feeling aggrieved at this ill-treatment he swore off for a fortnight1 and then lost twelve more4 ,busses--not ,funds--is much nearer the mark4 ,irrespective of the time of day1 you can either go to bed when you have won two rubbers1 or when you have lost them2 you can persevere to the bitter end either when you are winning or when you are losing2 you can take any of the measures mentioned in the last lecture1 or adopt any other system you please2 but there is one rule with no exception3 though no earthly power can prevent your winning or losing1 the actual amount of that gain or loss always depends upon yourself and your partner2 if you should ever lose eighty or a hundred points at one sitting1 that deplorable result will never take place without your active connivance2 a trick lost here and a trick lost there1 an exposed card or something of that kind--the consequence is always intensified when you are losing--will just make the difference every now and then between winning and losing a rubber4 ,during the bad forty-eight hours ,i had when ,i lost a hundred and fifty-four points1 ,i was attending carefully to the play1 the cards were abominable1 and1 making no allowances for what might have happened if my partner and ,i had only been omniscient1 simple little mistakes of the kind just mentioned accounted for thirty-two of those points4 ,if there is such a thing as luck--and ,i believe there is--don't lie down and let it kick you4 ,always play with reasonable care and attention3--if a thing is worth doing at all1 it is worth doing well--and when you hold cards which you do not consider quite equal to your deserts1 instead of playing worse on that account--as most people do--take a little extra care4 ,if your pocket money gives out1 or you feel that your cards are too bad for endurance1 give up playing altogether2 but if you continue to play don't exacerbate your misfortunes by your own shortcomings2 it is bad enough to retire to your crib with empty pockets1 without a guilty conscience in addition4 ,illustration ,,footnotes3 #dd ,to the sneer that ,i lose now because ,i play worse1 ,i reply it is quite possible ,i do not play so well as ,i did five years ago1 ,i make the sneerer a present of the admission1 but ,i play better than ,i did twenty years ago1 when--playing against as good players as ,i do now--if ,i did not win every time ,i sat down ,i was astonished4 #de 8,an experiment that does not go on to millions is very little use in determining such propositions4 ,it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of everyone that the odds1 after having won the first game in a rubber1 in favour of winning one of the next two games is three to one4 ,yet ,mr4 ,clay considered that five to two was a bad bet1 and we have lost not only at five to two but at two to one1 and on one occasion we actually lost the long odds in two hundred bets1 a hundred and three times1 so that if we were to take this result as of any value1 the odds would be slightly in favour of losing a rubber when you had won the first game1 which is absurd40--,westminster ,papers4 ,illustration ,,lecture ,x4 ---- ,,on ,,things ,,in ,,general4 ---- 8#8,the time has come1' the walrus said1 ,to talk of many things4'0 ,,to become a fair whist-player#df no wonderful attributes are required2 common sense1 a small amount of knowledge--easily acquired--ordinary observation of facts as they occur1 and experience1 the result of that observation--not the experience obtained by repeating the same idiotic mistakes year after year--are about all4 ,to save you trouble1 the experience of all the best players for the last hundred years has been collected into a series of maxims1 which you will find in any whist book4 ,these maxims you should know1#dg but though you know every maxim that ever was written1 and are 8bland1 passionate1 deeply religious1 and also paint beautifully in water-colours10 if among your other virtues the power of assimilating facts as they occur is not included1 this will not avail you in the least4 ,bumblepuppy--according to its own account--demands much more superfine qualities1 e4g41 inspiration1 second-sight1 instinct1 an intuitive perception of false cards and singletons1 and an intimate acquaintance with a mysterious and ,protean ,bogey called 8the ,game0--in short everything but reason#dh--7;all these fine words1 when boiled and peeled1 turn out sometimes to mean ordinary observation1 but more usually gross ignorance74 ,so much for its theory2 its practice is this-- ,practice of ,bumblepuppy4 8,this is an anti-,christian game1 ,unlawful both in thing and name40--,hudibras4 7#a7 ,lead a singleton whenever you have one4 7#b7 ,with two small trumps and no winning card lead a trump4 7#c7 ,ruff a suit of which your partner clearly holds best1 if you are weak in trumps4 7#d7 ,never ruff anything if you are strong4 7#e7 ,never return your partner's trump if you can possibly avoid it1 unless he manifestly led it to bring in a suit of which you led a singleton4 7#f7 ,deceive him whenever you get a chance4 7#g7 ,open a new suit every time you have the lead4 7#h7 ,never pay any attention to your partner's first discard1 unless it is a forced discard 7page #cb72 lead your own suit4 7#i7 ,never force him under any circumstances unless you hold at least five trumps with two honours2 even if you lose the rubber by it1 play 8the ,game60 7#aj7 ,devote all your remaining energies to looking for a signal in the last trick4 ,if you are unable to discover which was your partner's card--after keeping the table waiting for two minutes--enquire what trumps are1 and lead him one on suspicion4 99 99 99 99 99 ,play all your cards alike without emphasis or hesitation2 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 yourself8 ,if your partner renounces1 and you think fit to enquire whether he is void of the suit1 do so quietly2 don't offer a hint for his future guidance by glaring or yelling at him4 ,don't ask idiotic questions2 if you led an ace1 and the two1 three1 and four are played to the trick1 what is the use of asking your partner to draw his card8 ,if you hold all the remaining cards of a suit1 why enquire whether he has any8 ,don't talk in the middle of the hand4#di ,however 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 8humanum est irasci10 the antidote grows near the bane1 for--at the bottom of the very preceding page--it also says 8pi orant taciti40 8',tis best sometimes your censure to restrain40--,pope4 ,according to the wisest man who ever lived1 8he that holdeth his peace is counted wise1 and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding40 ,such a reputation appears cheap at the price2 but--if you are of the opinion of ,j4 ,p4 ,robinson that 8they didn't know everything down in ,judee0--you can call your partner any names you like as soon as the hand is over4#ej ,you need not be at all particular what for1 any crime of omission or commission1 real or fancied1 will do2 if1 after the game is ended1 you discover that it might have been saved or won by doing something different1 however idiotic1 grumble at him4#ea ,it is quite legitimate to revile him for not playing cards he never held2 if he should have the temerity to point out that the facts are against you1 revile the facts4 ,if there is a really diabolical mistake in the case1 and you happen to have made it yourself1 revile him with additional ferocity4 ,but never forget this6 ,before you proceed to give your partner a piece of your mind1 always call your honours6 for by neglecting this simple precaution1 you will often lay yourself open to a crushing rejoinder2 experto crede6 ,failing any other grievance1 you can always prove to demonstration--and at interminable length--that if his cards1 or your cards1 or both your cards1 had been just the reverse of what they were1 the result would have been different2 this certainly opens a wide field for speculation1 but it is neither an instructive nor entertaining amusement1 though it kills time4 8,oh1 take one consideration with another1 the whist-player's lot is not a happy one40 ,there is a theory which1 according to some evil-disposed persons1 may easily be made too much of--the injury to yourself being remote and doubtful1 while the gratification of annoying him is certain and immediate--that abusing your partner1 as having a tendency to make him play worse1 is a mistake from a pecuniary point of view2 of course it is a mistake1 but not for such a paltry reason as that2 take a higher stand-point6 ,whether you are winning or losing 8,you should never let ,your angry passions rise40--,watts4 ,don't cry6 8,ill betide a nation when ,she sees the tears of bearded men40 ,and you will have a beard yourself some time1 if you don't lead the penultimate of five4 7,see page #ba47 ,without exciting the slightest sympathy on the part of an unfeeling public1 crying deranges the other secretions2 the ,laureate says tears are idle1 and professes ignorance of their meaning2 if he played whist he would know that they injure the cards and make them sticky4 ,don't play out of your turn1 nor draw your card before that turn comes4 ,don't ride a hobby to death6 ,in ordinary whist three prevailing hobbies are so cruelly over-ridden that ,i am surprised the active and energetic ,mr4 ,colam has never interfered3 these are-- 7#a7 ,the penultimate of a long suit4 7#b7 ,the signal for trumps4 7#c7 ,not forcing your partner unless you are strong in trumps--under any circumstances4 ,the first is1 in the majority of cases1 a nuisance2#eb the second is stated to simplify the game and to cause greater attention to be paid to it--practically the entire time of the players is taken up1 either in devising absurd signals or in looking for and failing to see them3 the third is responsible for losing about as many games as anything ,i am acquainted with1 though the constant and aimless changing of suits runs it close4 ,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 one8 ,if he has them all1 you cannot injure him2 if he has not1 the adversaries will play through him and strangle him3 why is it that you are afraid to let your partner make a certain trick1 though you are never afraid to open a new suit8 ,an impression is abroad that there is somewhere a law of whist to this effect3 8,never force your partner at any stage of the game unless you yourself are strong in trumps40 ,now there is no such thing4 ,let us see what the authorities say on the point4 8,keep in mind that general maxims pre-suppose the game and hand at their commencement1 and that material changes in them frequently require that a different mode of play should be adopted40 8,it is a general maxim not to force your partner unless strong in trumps yourself4 ,there are1 however1 many exceptions to this rule1 as 7#a7 ,if your partner has led a single card4 7#b7 ,if it saves or wins a particular point4 7#c7 ,if great strength in trumps is declared against you4 7#d7 ,if you have a probability of a saw4 7#e7 ,if your partner has been forced and did not lead trumps4 7#f7 ,it is often right in playing for an odd trick4 ,if your partner shows a weak game force him whether or not you are otherwise entitled to do it40--,mathews4 ,with a weak trump hand force your partner3 87#a7 ,when he has already shown a desire to be forced1 or weakness in trumps4 87#b7 ,when you have a cross ruff4 87#c7 ,when you are playing a close game as for the odd trick1 and often when one trick saves or wins the game or a point4 87#d7 ,when great strength in trumps has been declared against you40--,cavendish4 8,do not force your partner unless to make sure of the tricks required to save or win the game2 8,or1 unless he has been already forced1 and has not led a trump2 8,or1 unless he has asked to be forced by leading from a single card1 or two weak cards2 8,or1 unless the adversary has led1 or asked for trumps40--,clay4 8,unless your partner has shown great strength in trumps1 or a wish to get them drawn1 or has refused to ruff a doubtful card1 give him the option of making a small trump1 unless you have some good reason for not doing so1 other than a weak suit of trumps in your own hand40--,art of ,practical ,whist4 ,with these extracts before you1 perhaps you will dismiss from your mind the popular fallacy1 that you are under any compulsion to lose the game1 because your trumps are not quite so strong as you could wish4 ,make a note of this4 ,maxims were not invented for the purpose of preventing you from either saving or winning the game1 though it is their unfortunate fate to be epitomized and perverted out of all reasonable shape3 the ill-advised dictum1 8,suppose the adversaries are four1 and you1 with the lead1 have a bad hand4 ,the best play is1 in defiance of all system1 to lead out your best trump20 was comparatively innocuous till some ingenious person1 with a turn for abbreviation1 altered it into 8,whenever you hold nothing1 lead a trump60 ,use your common sense4#ec ,i have gone into this matter at considerable length1 because ,i am convinced that however many people1 once affluent1 are now in misery and want1 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 condition1 by changing suits and refusing on principle to save the game by forcing their partner4 ,before quitting the subject1 there is another branch of it worthy of a little consideration3 when your partner by his discard has shown which is his suit1 and you hold two or three small cards in it1 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 player8 though it is usual to play in this absurd way1 is there any objection to first playing his suit and--as1 ex hypothesi1 you are strong in trumps--forcing him afterwards8 ,play always as simply and intelligibly as you can6 ,in addition to your partner not being able to see your cards--in itself a disadvantage--he is by an immutable law of nature1 much inferior in perception to yourself2 you should bear this in mind and not be too hard on the poor fellow4 ,never think6#ed ,know6 ,leave thinking to the ,teuton3 8,a ,briton knows1 or if he knows it not1 ,he ought40--,cowper4 ,after the game has begun1 the time for thinking has passed3 as soon as a card is led it is the time for action1 the time to bring to bear your previously acquired knowledge4 ,,footnotes3 #df ,not a fine whist-player1 for this is a rare bird1 much more rare than a black swan 7these can be bought any day at ,jamrach's by the couple1 but even in the present hard times when1 ,i am informed1 the markets are glutted with everything1 he has not one fine whist-player in stock72 essential to him1 in addition to common sense and attention1 are genius and a thorough knowledge of ,cavendish4 #dg 8,although these maxims may occasionally speak of things never to be done1 and others always to be done1 you must remember that no rules are without exception1 and few more open to exceptional cases than rules for whist40--,clay4 #dh ,just as orthodoxy has been defined to be your own doxy1 so 8the ,game0 usually means 8your own idea of the game at the time40 ,i have called it ,protean because it assumes so many different forms 7being mainly based on results71 and like the nigger's little pig--runs about to such an extent that it is impossible to get a clear view of it4 #di ,though whist is reported to be an old ,english word meaning silence1 and though it is advisable for many reasons that it should be played with reasonable quiet1 it is not at all compulsory to conduct yourself as if in the monastery of ,la ,trappe2 you have a perfect right--as far as the laws of whist are concerned--to discuss at any time the price of stocks1 the latest scandal1 or even the play going on1 8provided that no intimation whatever1 by word or gesture1 be given as to the state of your own hand or the game40--,etiquette of ,whist4 ,at bumblepuppy you had better waive this right altogether1 for if under any circumstances you open your mouth1 you will infallibly put your foot into it4 ,even here1 the bumblepuppist is not consistent1 for while constantly laying down the extraordinary law--in a very loud voice--that whist is silence1 he considers the carrying out of that law much more incumbent on the rest of the table than himself4 #ej 8,avoid playing with those who instruct1 or rather find fault while the hand is playing4 ,they are generally unqualified by ignorance1 and judge from consequences2 but if not1 advice while playing does more harm than good40--,mathews4 8,the empty vessel makes the greatest sound40--,shakespeare4 8,talking over the hand after it has been played is not uncommonly called a bad habit and an annoyance1 ,i am firmly persuaded it is one of the readiest ways of learning whist40--,clay4 #ea 8,o dreary life60 we cry1 8,o dreary life60 ,and still the generation of the birds ,sing through our sighing1 and the flocks and herds ,serenely live while we are keeping strife4 8,the education of the whist-player is peculiar4 ,how he becomes a whist-player nobody knows4 ,he never learns his alphabet or the catechism or anything that he ought to do4 ,he appears full-grown1 mushroom-like4 ,he remembers someone blowing him up for doing something he ought not to have done1 and somebody else blowing him up for doing something else1 and he is blown up to the end of the chapter4 ,this phase of being blown up is varied by grumbling sometimes aloud1 sometimes sotto voce2 so that the whist-player is reared on scolding and grumbling as other youngsters are reared on pap4 ,truly this is a happy life4 ,some men grumble on principle because it is a national privilege1 and they avail themselves of the ,englishman's birthright40 8,a sect whose chief devotion lies ,in odd perverse antipathies3 ,in falling out with that or this1 ,and finding somewhat still amiss1 ,more peevish1 cross1 and splenetic ,than dog distract1 or monkey sick40--,hudibras4 8,some do it because they believe that if they grumble enough1 it will bring them luck4 ,some do it in the hope that they will excite sympathy1 and that their friends will feel for their ill-fortune1 which1 by-the-bye1 whist-players never do4 ,some grumble to annoy their friends1 and we are bound to say these succeed40--,westminster ,papers4 8,the croaking nuisance lurked in every nook2 ,and the land stank--so numerous was the fry40--,cowper4 #eb 8,they are intent on some wretched crotchet like the lowest but one40 8,every time he can lead a lowest but one1 no matter what the state of the game or the score1 that lead he is sure to make1 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 one40--,westminster ,papers4 #ec 8,common sense 7which in truth is very uncommon7 is the best sense ,i know of4 ,abide by it2 it will counsel you best40--,chesterfield ,letters4 #ed ,this is at first sight a rather appalling proposition1 but the advice ,i give you ,i have always endeavoured to follow myself1 and ,i am not a solitary case1 for in the ,nineteenth ,century ,review for ,may1 #ahgi1 ,i find the writer of one of the articles is in the same boat2 this thoughtful writer--he must have been thoughtful1 otherwise his lucubration would not have been accepted--says3 8,i have given up the practice of thinking1 or it may be ,i never had it40 ,illustration ,,lecture ,,xi4 ---- ,,thinking4 ---- 8,with some unmeaning thing1 that they call thought40--,pope4 8,think1 and die40--,shakespeare4 ,,never think6 ,unless you have some remarkably good reason for taking your own course1 do as you are told4 ,if your partner leads a small trump1 and you win the trick1 return it at once3 8,gratia ab officio1 quod mora tardat1 abest40 ,this is a much more simple and satisfactory plan than to proceed to think that he may have no more1 or that the fourth player must hold major tenace over him2 no one will admit more readily than ,i do that you are much the better player of the two1 still1 allow him to have some idea of the state of his own hand4 ,don't think whenever you see a card played that it is necessarily false4--8,nil sapienti odiosius acumine nimio40--,seneca4 ,as1 on the whole1 true cards are in the majority1 you are more likely to be wrong than right1 and the betting must be against you in the long run4 8,my business and your own is not to inquire ,into such matters1 but to mind our cue-- ,which is to act as we are bid to do40--,byron4 ,if you are blest with a sufficiently sharp eye to the left1 you may occasionally know that a card is false1 but knowledge acquired in that way ,i should not describe as thinking2 ,i should use a quite different expression4 ,with the military gentleman who anathematized intellect ,i deeply sympathize4 ,profound thought about facts which have just taken place under your own eye is the bane of whist4 ,why imitate ,mark ,twain's fiery steed8 ,why1 when it is your business to go on1 8lean your head against something1 and think80 ,whether you have seen a thing or not seen it1 there can be no necessity for thought2 recondite questions--such as whether the seven is the best of a suit of which all the others but the six are out1 or whether a card is the twelfth or thirteenth--can be answered by a rational being in one of two ways1 and two only2 either he knows1 or he does not know1 there is no tertium quid2 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 information1 and imposes upon some people1 is no answer at all2#ee this1 in whist circles1 is called1 or miscalled1 thinking4 ,it is not a new invention1 for it has been known and practised from the earliest times4 8,there is a generation1 ,o how lofty are their eyes2 and their eyelids are lifted up40--,proverbs1 chap4 #cj1 verse #ac1 ,b4,c4 #a1jjj4 ,pecksniff1 who had an extensive acquaintance with the weaknesses of human nature1 knew it2 you and all other schoolboys are adepts at it4 ,in ,greek the very name of man----was derived from this peculiar method of feigning intelligence1 and it was by no means unknown to the ,romans4 8,pronaque cum spectent animalia ctera terram1 ,os homini sublime dedit clumque tueri40 ,but1 however ancient and venerable the practice may be1 it is one of those numerous practices more honoured in the breach than in the observance2 surely1 looking on the table is more in accordance with the dictates of common sense than attempting to eliminate unknown quantities from a chandelier4 ,in the one you have gas and probably water2 on the other--lying open before you--the data required4 ,i have now endeavoured1 not to teach you either whist or bumblepuppy1 but to point out a few of the differences between them1 and to start you on the right road4 ,the first is a game of reason and common sense1 played in combination with your partner2 the second is a game of inspiration1 haphazard1 and absurdity1 where your partner is your deadliest enemy4 ,i have made a few extracts from ,mathews--partly because ,i do not like novelties merely because they are novelties--partly to convince the bumblepuppist 7if anything will convince him7 that when he tells me the recognised plan is a new invention1 introduced by ,cavendish for his especial annoyance1 he does not know what he is talking about2 and partly to show you that since that book was written--eighty years ago--the main principles of ,whist are almost unaltered4 ,the chapter on etiquette is since his time2 but1 although the game has been cut down one-half1 take away from ,mathews his slight partiality 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 present1 and the consequent necessity for playing more on the defensive 7for leading singletons1 whatever else it may do1 and however it may damage the firm1 does not injure the leader7#ef take away from the play of to-day its signal1 its echo1 and its penultimate of a long suit2 7all excrescences of doubtful advantage for general purposes1 and the last two more adapted to that antediluvian epoch when human life was longer7--and the continuity of the game is clear4#eg ,whether ,whist would gain anything by their omission ,i am unable to say2 the attention1 now always on the strain in looking for its accidents1 would have a spare moment or two to devote to its essentials2 whether it would do anything of the kind is another matter4 ,those followers of ,darwin and believers in the doctrine of evolution1 to whom it is a source of comfort that an ascidian monad and not ,eve was their first parent1 must find the ,whist table rather a stumbling block3 they will there see uncommonly few specimens of the survival of the fittest4 ,a cynic with whom ,i was once conversing on this subject1 remarked that they were much more likely to come across the missing link4 ,the philosopher of ,chelsea long since arrived at the unsatisfactory and sweeping conclusion1 that the population of these islands are mostly fools1 and he has made no exception of the votaries of ,whist4 ,still1 it has the reputation of being a very pretty game1 though this reputation must be based to a great extent on conjecture2 for apart from its other little peculiarities--on some of which ,i have briefly touched--its features are so fearfully disfigured by bumblepuppy1 that it is as difficult to give a positive opinion as to say whether a woman suffering from malignant small-pox might or might not be good looking under happier circumstances4 ,the sublime self-confidence expressed in the distich-- 8,when ,i see thee as thou art1 ,i'll praise thee as ,i ought10 has not been vouchsafed to me1 but if ever ,i obtain a clear view of it1 ,i will undertake to report upon it to the best of my ability4 ,you may have heard that if you are ignorant of ,whist you are preparing for yourself a miserable old age3 it is by no means certain that a knowledge of it--as practised at this particular period--is to be classed with the beatitudes4 ,illustration ,,footnotes3 #ee ,making passes in the air with your hand1 as if you were about to mesmerise the table1 is another favourite stratagem4 #ef ,the difference here is more apparent than real2 ,mathews1 with considerable limitations1 advocates leading singletons2 now-a-days the practice is decried1 but ,i regret to say that as far as my experience goes1 the principal obstacle to leading a singleton is not having a singleton to lead4 #eg 8,we expect that ,cavendish very often must have objected to that ancient plagiarist ,mathews for stealing his ideas40 8,if their ideas are not identical1 it is rather difficult to find where one begins and the other ends40--,westminster ,papers4 8,i contend that there is no essential difference between modern and old-fashioned whist1 i4e41 between ,hoyle and ,cavendish1 ,mathews and ,j4 ,c40--,mogul4 ,illustration ,,lecture ,,xii4 ---- ,,temper4 ---- 8,o tempora6 ,o mores60 8,to seek to extinguish anger utterly is but a bravery of the ,stoics40--,bacon4 ,i ,,am afraid that you will hear at the whist table a good deal about temper1 unless you are particularly fortunate2 that so-and-so is good-tempered1 or the reverse2 that if we were all better tempered1 something or other might be different1 and similar platitudes4 ,now these mostly start on the utterly false assumption that everybody is equally subject to the same annoyances4 8,tender and delicate persons must needs be oft angry2 they have so many things to trouble them1 which more robust natures have little sense of40--,ibid4 ,that the greatest exponent of ,bumblepuppy has necessarily the longest temper goes without saying--of course he has6 ,he has nothing to ruffle him1 for he has everything his own way2 he plays as he thinks fit 7supposing him to think at all1 or ever to be fit72 if his partner makes a mistake it is any odds he never sees it2 de non existentibus et non apparentibus eadem est ratio2 here is one cause of equanimity4 ,if it is any amusement to him--and ,i presume it is1 otherwise he would not do it--from his cradle to his grave to play a game of which he knows absolutely nothing1 and if in pursuit of that amusement he thinks it worth his while to take a certain amount of his own and his partner's capital1 and to throw it in the street1 why should he lose his temper8 ,although he has paid his money1 he has had his choice--another cause of equanimity4 ,ah ,sin played a game he did not understand1 and remained quite calm and unperturbed1 though he was a heathen and an ,asiatic2 while his antagonist disgraced our common ,christianity by letting his angry passions rise because things were going against him4 ,if both partners1 then1 are of the same mind and the same calibre--either bad or good--to quote an ,american author1 8all is peas10 and like the place 8,where brothers dwell and sisters meet ,quarrels should never come40 ,the difficulty begins to arise when one of the partners fails to see things altogether in the same light as the other4 ,he may be so unfortunately constituted 7cross-grained the other would say7 that he is unable to derive any amusement from the game unless it is played with a modicum of intelligence2 it is just possible that instead of considering gold as dross1 as an accursed thing to be got rid of at the earliest opportunity1 he may be actuated by a depraved love of filthy lucre1 and a sordid desire for gain2 such conditions are to be deplored1 but they exist and must be reckoned with4 ,when his partner proceeds to run amuck1 he misses the point of the joke2 his perverted moral sense revolts against paying half the money1 and the other man having all the choice2 probably1 for a time1 he keeps his mouth tightly shut1 but his collaborateur is not to be eluded in that way2 he demands not merely the passive1 but the active assent of his victim1 and sooner or later1 after the perpetration of some particularly atrocious coup1 inquires with the bland and childlike smile of the heathen already referred to1 8,partner1 ,i think we could not have done better there80 ,what is to be done now8 ,silence is not an answer2 it used to be1 but has been disestablished4 ,are you to agree with him8 ,are you to state what is false8 ,are you to dissent and be informed you are always finding fault8 7,shakespeare's retort is neat and worthy of him3 8,you have always been called a merciful man1 partner20 but we are not all ,shakespeares47 ,or is it the best course at once to resort to active measures1 and throw at him the first thing that comes to hand8 ,the worm must turn some time or other2 it may turn the other cheek1 but that is only temporising2 no worm has more than two cheeks1 and when it has had them both slapped1 what is it to do then8 ,we come to an impasse4 ,the copy-books used to tell us--for anything ,i know they may do so yet--copy-book aphorisms have a marvellous vitality1 and you have seen them since ,i have--that 8patience is a virtue0 7,i think virtue ought to have a capital ,v71 and1 as an abstract proposition1 the statement is probably as true and more grammatical than 8,there's milestones on the ,dover ,road02 but what is the use of it8 ,the question is1 will it wash8 ,the two best known examples of this virtue are the ,patriarch ,job and the patient ass4 ,whether the ,patriarch was well advised in enduring his friends so long1 and whether he endured them on account of his patience1 or whether the bodily affliction from which he was notoriously suffering at the time1 incapacitated him from taking energetic steps to expel them from his bed-room1 are questions difficult to decide so long after the event4 ,i express no opinion of my own2 let the dead past bury its dead3 de mortuis nil nisi bonum2 but the donkey is a different matter2 he lives in our own times1 and ,i know him well2 he touches me nearly2 and ,i unhesitatingly affirm that the only benefit--if benefit is the proper term--he has ever derived from his long-suffering1 has been to be invariably imposed upon in consequence4 ,casa ,bianca on the burning deck is another case in point2 he did score to a certain extent1 for owing to his patience his widowed mother escaped an undertaker's bill1 while he himself is known to this day in the nursery as 8the noble boy02 but to the more mature observer1 in whom the ambition to be called names is dead1 the game is hardly worth the candle2 while you yourselves will be called quite enough names at the whist table without being cremated2 not to mention that the majority of you probably prefer pudding to praise4 ,some irritable people go so far as to apply language of a condemnatory character to the inanimate cards2 as it is impossible to arouse any emotion either of pleasure or anger in their breasts1 this seems absurd and a waste of energy4 ,it must be bad form to excite yourself without causing annoyance to others1 and should certainly be avoided4 ,believing luck to be strictly personal1 it appears to me that calling for new cards is an unnecessary display of temper and throwing good money after bad4 ,we may take it1 speaking generally--for it is not always the case--that the worse a man plays1 the less visible is his bad temper2 the converse fortunately does not hold good1 for many good players have really wonderful tempers4 ,one curious circumstance is that want of perception and thickness of mental cuticle are usually looked upon by the unfortunate possessors as proofs of good temper1 and boasted of as such4 ,this is not the case in other afflictions4 ,i once knew a man with a ,barbadoes leg1 and though its circumference much exceeded that of mine1 he never made any offensive comparisons4 ,in ,bath ,i have seen scores of invalids--mostly naval and military men1 naturally warlike--they were all seated decorously in the local chairs2 and when they dismounted and hobbled into the club1 they did not go about brandishing their crutches and bragging that they had refrained from assaulting us innocent civilians2 on the contrary1 ,i always found them most courteous and friendly4 ,to sum up the matter2 we are all worms of some kind1 and we all turn more or less when we are trodden upon1 if we perceive it4 ,the denser the worm1 the more slowly he turns4 ,while some ill-conditioned ones turn under all circumstances1 some of the most highly-organised are scarcely ever known even to wriggle4 ,apparently harmless ones sometimes turn most suddenly and ferociously4 ,those most trodden upon--unless quite hors de combat--turn most4 ,finally1 many congenitally mal-formed worms1 and worms suffering from amaurosis1 cerebral ramollissement1 myxdema1 and other dreadful diseases1 are not only unaware of their critical state1 but are actually proud of it1 and look upon it as a proof of their amiable disposition4 ,illustration ,,lecture ,,xiii4 ---- ,,deterioration ,,of ,,whist1 ,,its ,,causes ,,and ,,cure4 ---- 8,past and to come seem best2 things present worst40--,shakespeare4 ,,in my time ,i believe ,whist has on the whole deteriorated1#eh it mistakes means for ends1 is more tricky1 more difficult1 more cantankerous2 with regard to common mistakes--inability to hold a few cards without dropping them on the table1 or to play them one at a time2 inability to count thirteen1 to recollect the best card1 or whether it was your opponents1 your partner1 or yourself who first led a suit2 winning your partner's trick1 or not winning your adversary's2 leading out of turn1 revoking1 and so on--there is not much difference4 ,as long as ,i can recollect1 ,whist has been gorged with these1 and neither the hydraulic ram nor any other of the improved mechanical appliances of the present day can squeeze into a thing more than it will hold4 ,architects of card-rooms are to blame for a good deal of this bad ,whist2 it is impossible to play in a badly lighted1 or a badly ventilated room4 ,whist players have often told me exactly what they require1 and it is very odd they cannot have it4 ,with a large fire1 the room hermetically sealed1 and everybody smoking1 the temperature should never exceed sixty-one-and-a-half degrees1 nor be below sixty4 ,there must be neither doors 7they admit draughts7 nor windows3 windows are open--allow me to withdraw that offensive word--windows are exposed to two objections1 7#a7 some scoundrel1 regardless of consequences1 might lower or raise the sash2 7#b7 instead of being placed in the ceiling or the floor--where you would naturally expect to find them--they are always at the side of the room1 and no whist player can see a card with the windows in such a position4 ,candles do not give sufficient light1 and gas is unbearable2 a suggestion to try an attic with a skylight fell through 7not through the skylight--,i mean the suggestion failed71 because no one was able to go upstairs2 a lift would overcome that objection1 but the temperature difficulty remained4 ,this only applies to clubs2 curiously enough1 in small stuffy back-rooms in private houses1 gas never causes head-ache1 and neither a mephitic atmosphere nor a temperature of #abj is at all disagreeable4 ,joking apart1 the fons et origo mali is ,law #ia1 and not only the head and front of the offending1 but its barrel and hind quarters as well4#ei ,since the introduction of signalling1 the subsequent petrolatry1 and all the elaborate functions of that cultus1 an exaggerated importance 7increasing in geometric ratio with every additional convention7 has been attached to the last trick--the only place where1 by universal consent1 anything can reasonably be 8looked for0--and if you1 after seeing the cards played1 informing your partner which is yours 7of course1 in answer to his enquiry71 gathering the trick and arranging it neatly1 should imagine you have done with it1 you will be the victim of a fond delusion--using 8fond0 in the old acceptation of the word4 ,first1 your partner will ask to see it at least twice1 then your opponents1 one or both1 will probably grab at it without asking1 and put it back in a dishevelled condition2 it is useless to specify what their mental state must be1 and unfortunately1 by the time all these irritating performances have been gone through and you have again arranged the trick symmetrically1 you will find yours is not all you could wish4 ,you can avoid some of these annoyances by allowing your partner to gather the tricks1 but from his slovenly mode of doing so1 you will never be able to see how many he has2 and just as you are endeavouring to concentrate your attention at a critical point1 it will be distracted by your having to make an intricate calculation how the game stands1 the data being the cards remaining in your hand1 and two confused heaps on the table2 as long as this is permitted1 whist is out of the question1 and you feel inclined to say with the ,divine ,williams1 8,let him have a table by himself40 ,one of the principal uses of the new method of suspended animation will turn out to be1 that all decent whist players will have to submit themselves to it1 and remain1 arranged in rows on shelves1 until that law is abrogated4 ,the number of shelves required will not appreciably affect the timber trade4#fj ,in the good time coming1 promised by the poet to those of you who wait a little longer1 when the present inspired1 convention-ridden1 and last-trick-inspecting generation is in the silent tomb or cremated1 as the case may be1 and a new school--basing its play on common sense and attention--has arisen1 there may be an improvement2 but as ,i am not an optimist ,i cannot join in the aspiration of the little girl whose world was hollow and whose doll was stuffed with sawdust2 therefore1 though this improvement1 like the millennium1 may be looming in the more or less remote future1 ,i see no sign of it at present4 ,if 8to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the sun10 also 8a time to lose and a time to cast away40--,ecclesiastes1 chap4 #a1 verse #a-f3 it seems clear to me there must be a time for bumblepuppy4 ,some people deny this1 they say that the argument proves too much2 they point out that ,shakespeare says there are 8,tongues in trees1 books in the running brooks1 ,sermons in stones1 and good in everything40 and that as this could not apply to bumblepuppy1 these passages only show that it was unknown when they were written4 ,another argument of theirs against the antiquity of bumblepuppy1 based on the passage 8in all labour there is profit10 is altogether fallacious and unworthy of consideration2 they admit the labour but deny the profit4 ,this must have had its origin east of ,temple ,bar1 where it is held there is no profit unless it assumes a pecuniary form4 ,but the repressing your innate tendency to profane swearing1 curbing your evil passions generally1 and the cultivation--under considerable difficulties--of nearly all the cardinal virtues1 as inuring to your moral well-being1 are a profit of the most positive kind2#fa to be able to give a definite answer to the long-standing conundrum 8is life worth living80 is something4 ,however1 you can draw your own conclusion1 the extract from ,shakespeare is--,i confess--difficult to get over1 still1 when ,solomon makes use of these remarkable words 8a time to lose and a time to cast away10 ,i fail to see what he could have had in his mind1 unless it was this very game4 ,at any rate one thing is clear1 bumblepuppy exists now1 and is not a pretty game 7there can be no two opinions about that72 neither--judging from the demeanour and language of its exponents--is it a pleasant game4 ,i append a hand1 which is1 ,i think1 the finest specimen of it ,i ever saw4 ,judge for yourself4 ,i had jotted down a few further remarks on this repulsive subject1 but on reading them over1 they seem to be not only inconsistent with that extreme reverence which is due to the young1 but absolutely unfit for publication4 8,quod factu fdum est1 idem est et dictu turpe40 ,r4 ,i4 ,p4 ,the two games are now before you1 let me conclude the lecture with one more extract from my favourite classic4 ,utrum horum mavis accipe4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,specimen ,,of ,,bumblepuppy ,,in ,,excelsis4 8,here's a pretty state of things6 ,here's a how-de-do60 ,score love all4 ,trumps diamond #i4 ,z is a bumblepuppist with the highest opinion of himself4 ,a4 ,y4 ,b4 ,z4 #a ,h#e ,h#f ,h#b ,h#d #b ,d#b ,d#e ,d#d ,,dk6 #c ,s#c ,,sk ,,sa ,s#d66 #d ,s#g ,,sj ,s#b ,,sq #e ,d#h ,d#aj ,s#aj ,s#i666 #f ,d#c ,d#g ,d#f ,,dq6666 #g ,c#c ,,dj ,,da ,d#i66666 #h ,c#d ,h#h ,s#h ,c#b #i ,c#f ,c#h ,s#f ,c#i #aj ,c#g ,,hq ,s#e ,,cj #aa ,h#aj ,,ha ,h#c ,h#i #ab ,h#h ,,ca ,c#e ,,ck #ac ,,hj ,,cq ,c#aj ,,hk ,this is the worst hand ever played1 without exception2 it is a microcosm1 complete in itself1 and contains examples of stupidity1 selfishness1 duplicity1 defiance of all recognized principles1 and every conceivable villainy4 ,trick #b4--,the misplaced ingenuity in deceiving ,y as to the position of the ,qn is worth notice4 ,trick #c4--,the lead of the only weak suit1 in preference to the strong suit of clubs1 playing up to declared weakness in hearts1 or returning the trump is very neat4 ,trick #e4--,the force here of the trump leader1 inducing him to believe that ,z at any rate holds the remaining spades1 an illusion carefully fostered by ,b1 is especially good4 ,trick #g4--,the return of the trump at this point with the best trump 7probably7 and three long spades 7certainly7 declared against him in one hand1 is a real gem4 ,illustration ,,the ,,domestic ,,rubber4 8,let the doors be shut upon him1 that he may play the fool nowhere but in his own house40--,shakespeare4 ,a third variety of whist1 the domestic rubber1 ,i have passed over in silence2 what takes place in the sanctity of private life it would be as unbecoming for me to divulge as for you to seek to know2 8,o'er all its faults we draw a tender veil1 ,so great its sorrows and so sad its tale40 ,at the same time ,i don't think ,i am violating any confidence in stating that you will find there neither signalling1 nor the penultimate of five and its developments3 yet1 though free from these annoyances1 the game1 even when mitigated by muffins1 music1 and the humanizing influence of woman is inexpressibly dreary1 and you had better keep out of it if you can2 but should this not be practicable1--for some relative from whom you have a reasonable expectation of a tip may be staying in the house1 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 ,whist1 and consoling yourself with the following two reflections3 7#a7 ,that 7according to ,epicurus7 prolonged pain is pleasant rather than otherwise1 extreme pain always short2#fb 7#b7 ,that those whom the gods love die young2 when your hour arrives1 bare your throat to the knife with a smile4 ,so shall your memory smell sweet and blossom in domestic circles4 ,,double ,,dummy4 ,double dummy is not ,whist1 nor anything like it1 it much more closely resembles chess2 one is a game of inference1 the other is an exact science1 where the position of every card is known4 ,often1 in the course of a controversy on ,whist1 you will hear one of the disputants challenging the other to play double dummy1 imagining that he has clenched the matter2 it would be quite as germane to suggest trial by battle1 or to move an adjournment to a good dry skittle alley4 8,the bearings of these observations lays in the application of them4 ,that an't no part of my duty4 ,avast then1 keep a bright look out for'ard1 and good luck to you40 ,illustration ,,footnotes3 #eh 8,the game is not the simple straightforward game it was1 it is more erratic and more difficult40 8,whist is more and more1 and year by year1 a game of brag1 a game for gambling1 a game in which we have to study the idiosyncrasies of the players as well as the cards themselves4 ,we have to deduce from imperfect data1 and when our inference is wrong we have a great chance of a scolding from an infuriated partner40 8,modern whist in a nutshell--signs and signals and a short supply of brains40--,westminster ,papers4 8,we are by no means peculiar in the opinion that signals and the so-called developments are destroying whist40--,cornhill ,magazine4 8,whist1 as a game1 is in a fair way of being ruined40--,knowledge4 #ei 8,let players1 if they wish to play a decent game1 and avoid a mischievous and annoying practice1 give up the privilege accorded by ,law #ia40--;,home ,whist4 #fj 8,this refuge against boredom has fallen through4 ,seeing an article on suspended animation in the ,contemporary ,review for ,november #ahgi1 ,i pounced upon it1 thinking it might contain the recipe1 and found to my disgust that the process1 so circumstantially narrated1 was a hoax40 #fa 8,while practising these virtues you are not obliged to look pleasant unless you feel so--this would be dissimulation4 ,heine's plan fulfils all reasonable requirements4 ,once ,i said in my despairing1 ,this must break my spirit now1 ,but ,i bore it and am bearing1 ,only do not ask me how40 #fb ,he is right to some extent2 the domestic rubber always closes early4 ,,epilogue ,i4 ---- ,,as my present aim is confined to purveying food for babes in an elementary and easily assimilable form1 and to calling your attention to ,law #ia1 any lengthened disquisition on the more recent conventions would be out of place4 ,more competent critics than myself flatly deny that they are food for anybody1 and have denounced them1 lock1 stock1 and barrel1 in ,the ,field1 ,longman's1 ,cornhill1 ,knowledge1 ,whist1 and numerous daily and weekly papers4 ,having given my opinion elsewhere1 ,i would merely remark that though1 in your allotted span of three-score years and ten--after deducting a reasonable time for rest and refreshment1 say eight hours a day--you may possibly master such an intricate absurdity as the plain suit echo1 that result is highly improbable1 and most assuredly not worth the trouble4 ,still1 though the thanes have revolted1 they are not immortal1 and must shortly join the great men who have gone before2 the future is in your hands1 and if you wish ,whist to endure you must bestir yourselves at once2 there is no time to lose4 8,the times have been1 that when the brains were out1 the man would die20 those times may return at any moment and where will the modern game be then8 ,already its authors have provided you with the following dogmata3-- the lead of uniformity2 the discard of uniformity2 the suit of uniformity2 all three of them rooted in error--a melancholy tripod to hang the fine old game upon1 with a strong family likeness to the ,manx emblem1 three legs all abroad and no head-piece--if you give these iconoclasts a little more rope1 they have only to formulate the hand of uniformity1 and the corpus or rather the cadaver of ,whist will be complete4 ,illustration ,,epilogue ,,ii4 ---- ,,some readers of these lectures have complained that it is often difficult to discriminate when they are serious and when they 8attempt to be funny10 and have suggested that the attempts should be indicated clearly by a note1 thus ,illustration 8this is a goak06--and the remainder printed in red ink4 ,while fully recognizing their difficulty and sympathizing with them1 ,i am unable to entertain either proposal2 the first is an ,american innovation utterly at variance with the conservative character of the work2 and it is a fatal objection to the other that if whatever is important were picked out in red1 many well-disposed children would at once rush to the natural--but highly erroneous--conclusion1 that they had got hold of a ,prayer ,book4 ,another complaint1 that my advice to ,bumblepuppists is likely to lead them further astray is beside the question1 even assuming--for the sake of this argument--such a thing to be possible2 the point is whether ,i have described 8the game0 correctly1 and ,i am prepared to stake my reputation as an experienced ,bumblepuppy player1 that ,i have done so without manifesting fear1 favour1 or affection4 ,,advertisement4 ,whist ,the ,monthly ,journal devoted to the interests of the ,game4 -------- ,illustrated--,price1 #e_/- per ,annum4 ,postage free4 ,payable in advance4 -------- ,this ,magazine1 which was founded in ,june1 #ahia1 has already attained an established reputation1 and a world-wide circulation4 ,it will continue the publication of recorded games1 portraits and biographies1 news and correspondence relating to current topics1 in addition to reviews of new ,whist ,literature1 ,problems1 ,questions and ,answers1 c4 ,the ,editor's department is directed by one of the foremost players in ,america4 ,correspondence ,columns are open for the discussion of any interesting point4 -------- ,a ,specimen ,copy will be sent on receipt of #f;d4 -------- ,,mudie ,,sons1 ,,agents1 #ae ,coventry ,street1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,foster',s 7,patent7 ,self-,playing ,whist ,cards4 ,,second ,,series4 ,illustration -------- ,the ,cleverest and most ,practical invention for teaching good ,whist4 -------- ,,exercises ,,in ,,the ,,leads ,,and ,,in ,,inference4 99 99 99 99 99 ,one1 two1 or three persons can play with them exactly as if four were present2 the absentees' cards1 though dealt face down and unknown1 will play themselves exactly as if experts were present and held them4 ,the faces are exactly as others1 and the instruction is conveyed by means of the inferences4 ,no hurry1 no flurry1 no ill-tempered criticism4 -------- ,,good ,,for ,,the ,,student ,,or ,,the ,,expert ,,player4 -------- ,each ,pack in a ,box1 with ,directions and ,analysis of the ,games4 ,price #b_/f4 ,sent postage free on receipt of the price4 -------- ,,mudie ,,sons1 ,sole ,agents for ,great ,britain and ,colonies1 #ae ,,coventry ,,street1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,foster',s ,,whist ,,manual1 ,,illustrated4 ,illustration3 #bnd ,edition4 8,the book teaches the ,english game by means of a system that is at once lucid and striking40--,scotsman4 8,at last we have a book on ,whist that anyone can understand4 ,the whole presentation of the subject is novel40--,illustrated ,american4 8,a complete system of instruction presented in an intelligible manner40--,morning ,post4 8,i have been favoured with a copy of the ,lessons4 ,the system 7which includes all the latest developments7 is most ingenious4 ,i regret that ,i am not at liberty to reproduce it40--,cavendish 7,the ,field1 #bhth ,dec41 #ahhi74 8,in the ,manual we find practically the series of lessons with additional details and more complete analysis40--,the ,field4 -------- ,cloth bound4 ,price #c_/f4 ,sent postage free on receipt of the price4 -------- ,,mudie ,,sons1 ,publishers1 #ae ,,coventry ,,street1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,writes ,,as ,a ,,quill4 ------------ ,,the ,,squeezer ,,pen ,,suits ,,every ,,hand4 ------------ ,the wide popularity of this ,,bullion ,,pen is attributable to its ,,flexibility1 ,,great ,,durability1 and ,,universal ,,utility4 ---------------- ,,it ,,is ,,the ,ready ,writer's ,ideal4 ------------ ,the word ,,squeezer is the ,registered ,trade ,mark of the ,new ,york ,consolidated ,card ,company1 by whose permission it is used for the ,squeezer ,pen4 ------------ ,bullion ,gilt3 ,in boxes of #a-;gross at #e_/-1 and -gross1 #b_/f2 also in sample box1 #a_/- ,also in ,,grey ,,steel1 #b_/f per gross4 ,sent on receipt of the ,price4 ------------ ,,mudie ,,sons1 #ae ,coventry ,street1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,illustration3 ,reduced4 ,,american ,,squeezers ,the best ,cards in the ,world4 ,price1 #b_/f2 or with ,gilt ,edges1 #c_/- per pack4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is claimed for these ,cards that they neither warp nor split1 and that they can be shuffled and dealt with more rapidly than all imitations4 ,illustration3 ,,actual ,,size4 ,the ,,new ,,patience 444 ,,cards3 ,,squeezers4 99 99 99 99 99 ,price1 #b packs for #b_/f1 in a box1 or with ,gilt ,edges1 #b packs for #c_/f4 99 99 99 99 99 ,recommended for their ,novel and practical size1 ,high ,quality1 ,legible ,index-pips1 ,rounded ,corners1 and ,easy shuffling4 ,manufactured solely for ,,mudie ,,sons1 #ae ,coventry ,street1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,mudie',s 444 ,whist ,library4 ,in addition to their own publications1 ,mudie ,sons make it their aim to hold in stock all the recent books on ,whist and kindred ,games2 besides those of older date1 which are of interest to ,collectors of ,whist ,literature4 ,of the former class are the works of ,cavendish1 ,drayson1 ,foster1 ,pembridge1 ,pole1 ,proctor2 also those of the ,american authors ,ames1 ,coffin1 and ,hamilton4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,evolution ,,of ,,whist4 ,price #e_/- ,,the ,,philosophy ,,of ,,whist4 ,by ,dr4 ,pole1 ,f4,r4,s4 ,price #c_/f4 ,,the ,,theory ,,of ,,whist4 ,by ,dr4 ,pole1 ,f4,r4,s4 ,price #b_/f4 ,,clay ,,on ,,whist 7,the ,laws of ,short ,whist1 by ,j4 ,l4 ,baldwin1 with ,treatise on the ,game1 by ,james ,clay74 ,price #c_/f4 ,,foster',s ,,whist ,,manual--,the ,course of ,lessons4 ,by ,r4 ,f4 ,foster4 ,price #c_/f4 ,,foster',s ,,duplicate ,,whist ,,and ,,whist ,,strategy4 ,price #e_/- ,,foster',s ,,pocket ,,guide ,,to ,,modern ,,whist4 ,by ,r4 ,f4 ,foster4 ,price #f;d4 ,,the ,,correct ,,card4 ,by ,lt4-,colonel ,campbell-,walker4 ,price #b_/f4 ,,whist2 ,,or ,,bumblepuppy8 ,by ,pembridge4 ,enlarged ,edition4 ,price #b_/f4 ,,the ,,art ,,of ,,practical ,,whist4 ,by ,major-,general ,drayson1 ,f4,r4,a4,s4 7,enlarged ,edition74 ,price #e_/- ,,home ,,whist4 ,by ,r4 ,a4 ,proctor4 ,price #a_/- ,,how ,,to ,,play ,,whist4 ,by ,r4 ,a4 ,proctor4 ,price #c_/f4 ,,practical ,,guide ,,to ,,whist4 ,by ,fisher ,ames4 7,american47 ,price #b_/f4 ,,modern ,,scientific ,,whist4 ,by ,c4 ,d4 ,p4 ,hamilton4 7,american47 ,profusely ,illustrated4 ,price #i_/- ,,how ,,to ,,play ,,solo ,,whist4 ,by ,wilkes ,pardon4 ,illustrated4 #b_/f4 ,,patience ,,games4 ,by ,hoffman4 ,illustrated4 ,price #e_/- ,,tricks ,,with ,,cards4 ,by ,hoffman4 ,illustrated4 ,price #b_/f4 ,,handbook ,,of ,,poker4 ,by ,w4 ,j4 ,florence4 ,illustrated4 ,price #e_/- ,,encyclop,,dia ,,of ,,card ,,and ,,table ,,games4 ,by ,hoffman4 ,price #g_/f4 ,,one ,,shilling ,,handbooks3 ,piquet1 ,poker1 ,solo ,whist1 ,whist 7,dr4 ,pole71 ,patience 7#c volumes71 ,skat1 ,modern ,hoyle1 ,card ,tricks1 ,index to ,whist ,laws4 ,,the ,,proceedings ,,of ,,the ,,first ,,american ,,whist ,,congress1 ,,with ,,the ,,games ,,there ,,played4 ,price #e_/- ,any of the above will be sent postage free on receipt of the price4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,mudie ,,sons1 #ae ,coventry ,street1 ,london1 ,w4 ,,the ,,new ,,game ,,of ,,penchant4 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustrated1 ,cloth ,bound1 ,gilt ,extra1 ,price #c_/f4 ,illustration 99 99 99 99 99 ,this is the first new game for two players1 played with ordinary cards1 since the introduction of ,bezique about thirty years ago4 ,it is easily learned1 is full of interest1 and has several quite new features--notably the mode of originating or preventing ,trump1 and the ,bar4 ,this ,volume contains all that is needed for self-instruction1 including a complete game played and explained1 and illustrated by card diagrams4 8,an interesting game of the ,bezique order40--,daily ,telegraph4 8,should be a valuable addition to the rather limited number of card games for two players40--,land and ,water4 8,the game belongs to the ,bezique family1 but there is more variety in it1 more play1 and much more amusement can be got out of it40--,lady's ,pictorial4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,mudie ,,sons1 ,publishers1 #ae ,,coventry ,,street1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,mudie',s ,improved ,,foster',s 7,,patented7 ,,whist ,,marker4 ,illustration3 ,illustration showing 8a double and three up40 ,,price1 #g_/f ,a ,,pair4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the only ,spring-acting ,marker that shows nothing but the ,score4 99 99 99 99 99 ,three great ,advantages3-- ,a constant level surface4 ,the score conspicuous in every position4 ,difference in shape between tricks and points4 99 99 99 99 99 ,press the ,keys and ,ivory faces instantly appear4 99 99 99 99 99 ,manufactured expressly for ,,mudie ,,sons1 #ae ,coventry ,street1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,foster',s ,,duplicate ,,whist4 ,not a ,new ,game2 but an ,invention for eliminating the luck from ,whist ,playing4 ,illustration ,this most simple and effective apparatus does away with the need for any sorting of the hands afterwards4 ,it permits a record of the play if required for analysis1 and provides the means of testing different methods of strategy4 ,the hands played by ,a-,b and ,y-,z during a series of twelve games are afterwards transposed for the after-play1 so that each side should be able to win an equal number of tricks4 ,for the after-playing1 the games may or may not be taken in consecutive order2 each side has the same number of deals and original leads1 and therefore any advantage in the score must be the result of superior play4 ,brilliant games constantly escape the attention they deserve1 owing to the inconvenience of spending time in sorting the cards to their original position4 ,by the use of this ,invention such games are preserved1 and can be played again either at once or subsequently4 ,the entire apparatus is easily portable1 measuring 7with the cards7 only #i #d #b-;inches4 99 99 99 99 99 ,match ,set for #ab ,games1 with ,counters1 ,score ,cards1 and ,directions ,price #ab_/f ,ditto1 including #ab packs ,american ,squeezer ,cards ,price #be_/- 99 99 99 99 99 ,,mudie ,,sons1 #ae ,coventry ,st41 ,london1 ,w4 ,,mudie',s ,,squeezer ,,card ,,table 7,,registered74 ,illustration ,the legs are made to fold together flat against the table1 so that it may be put away unencumbered1 ready for immediate use2 and1 when opened1 the space beneath is free from obstructions4 ,it has no complicated mechanism1 but can be set up or closed in a moment2 and it stands as firmly as a billiard table4 ,illustration ,,the ,,squeezer ,,card ,,table has been designed ,,in ,,one ,,piece specially for the use of ,piquet1 ,bezique1 and ,whist ,players4 ,made in best ,walnut1 ,inlaid ,cloth1 with ,rolled ,border4 ,size for ,piquet1 #bf #ca1 #bg;in4 high ,price #ej_/- ,size for ,whist1 #ca #ca1 #bg;in4 high ,price #ee_/- ,for ,bezique 7lower1 for use with ,easy chairs7 #bh #bh1 #bb;in4 high ,price #de_/- ,securely packed and delivered1 carriage paid1 to any station in the ,united ,kingdom4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,mudie ,,sons1 #ae ,,coventry ,,st41 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,the ,,works ,,of 8,,cavendish40 ,,laws ,,and ,,principles ,,of ,,whist4 ,illustrated in ,red and ,black4 ,new ,edition1 #hvo1 ,cloth1 ,gilt ,extra4 ,price #e_/-4 ,,whist ,,developments3 ,american ,leads and the ,plain ,suit ,echo4 ,new ,edition1 #hvo1 ,cloth1 ,gilt extra4 ,price #e_/-4 ,,whist1 ,,with ,,and ,,without ,,perception4 #hvo1 ,cloth1 ,gilt4 ,price #a_/f4 ,,patience ,,games4 ,with ,examples ,played ,through4 ,demy oblong #dto4 ,illustrated in ,colours1 ,cloth1 ,gilt extra4 ,price #af_/-4 ,,the ,,laws ,,of ,,piquet4 ,the ,standard ,treatise1 adopted by the ,portland and ,turf ,clubs4 ,new ,edition1 #hvo1 ,red and ,black1 ,cloth1 ,gilt extra4 ,price #e_/-4 ,,the ,,laws ,,of ,,ecarte4 ,the ,standard ,treatise1 adopted by the ,portland and ,turf ,clubs4 ,new ,edition1 #hvo1 ,red and ,black1 ,cloth1 ,gilt extra4 ,price #b_/f4 ,,the ,,laws ,,of ,,rubicon ,,bezique4 ,with a ,treatise on the ,game4 #hvo1 ,cloth1 ,gilt4 ,price #a_/f4 ,,round ,,games ,,at ,,cards4 ,new ,edition1 #hvo1 ,cloth1 ,gilt extra4 ,price #a_/f4 ,,pocket ,,handbooks1 ,by ,cavendish4 ,price #f;d4 each4 ,cribbage2 ,euchre2 ,bezique2 ,rubicon ,bezique2 ,polish ,bezique2 ,,whist 7#f7 ,guide1 ,laws1 ,leads1 ,second ,hand1 ,third ,hand1 ,american ,leads ,simplified2 ,piquet2 ,ecarte2 ,spoil ,five2 ,calabrasella2 ,sixty-,six2 ,imperial2 ,dominoes2 ,draughts2 ,chess2 ,backgammon2 ,turkish ,draughts4 99 99 99 99 99 ,any of the above works will be sent by ,post on receipt of the ,price4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,mudie ,,sons1 #ae ,coventry ,street1 ,,london1 ,w4 ,,whist ,,tactics4 ,a ,,complete ,,course ,,of ,,instruction ,in the ,methods which make some ,players so much more skilful than others4 ,illustrated with #aab ,hands at ,duplicate ,whist1 played by ,correspondence1 between sixteen of the best players in the world4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,by ,,the ,,author ,,of 8,,foster',s ,,whist ,,manual40 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is generally admitted that the most popular and useful book on ,whist ever written is 8,foster's ,whist ,manual40 ,another work1 by the same author1 entitled 8,whist ,tactics0 is intended to carry players a step farther1 and should enable them to become past-masters of whist strategy4 ,the methods which ensured the success of the 8,manual0 are followed in the present work1 the author first giving the examples to be practised with the actual cards1 and then explaining the principles underlying their proper management4 ,in the 8,manual0 only the simple elements of the game are treated of1 such as the leads #bnd and #crd hand play1 etc42 but in 8,whist ,tactics0 the general management of the entire hand is examined2 the relations of the plain suits to each other and to the trumps are shown2 and certain simple1 clear1 and well-defined rules are given1 which will enable any player immediately to judge which course it is best to pursue when he finds the plain suits and the trumps in certain proportions to each other4 ,it is also shown that after one or more tricks have been played the hand must no longer be treated on its own merits1 but must be considered in its relation to the known or inferred peculiarities of those of the three other players4 ,the examples which the author uses throughout the work consist of #aab hands at ,duplicate ,whist1 which were played by correspondence between sixteen of the finest players in ,america4 ,for every card played in this match1 each of the players had a week in which to think over the situation2 and the result has provided #aab examples of the very best and most carefully studied whist ever played4 ,the author continually refers to these illustrative hands in order to show that certain general principles of tactics are followed by all the best players1 and that it is neither more nor less than the proper understanding and use of these tactics which make their play so much better than that of the others4 ,the arrangement and presentation of the subject are quite original1 and entirely different from that pursued in any other work on whist2 and the publishers are confident that it will be welcomed as the most comprehensive work ever written on the game4 ,illustrated in two colours1 cloth bound1 gilt edges4 ,price #es4 ,sent ,postage ,free on ,receipt of the ,price4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,mudie ,,sons1 ,publishers1 #ae ,coventry ,street1 ,w4 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's note3 ,obvious punctuation errors were corrected4 ,sometimes the errors were not able to be corrected as in a few opening quotes that never closed4 ,page #bg1 8urbs0 changed to 8urbis0 7upon it urbis7 ,page #bh1 8lead0 changed to 8led0 7is led1 he occasionally7 ,page #da1 the citation 8,cameron0 was changed from small capitals to italics to match the rest of the text's layout4 7--,cavendish47 ,page #ee1 8suits0 changed to 8suit0 7the suit is trumps7 ,page #hj1 ,footnote #de1 repeated word 8of0 removed from text 7one of the next7 ,page #aji1 8millenium0 changed to 8millennium0 7like the millennium7 ,page #aji1 8passsge0 changed to 8passage0 7based on the passage7 ,page #aac1 8at0 changed to 8,at0 7,at the same time7 ,page #abc1 advertisement1 8,egdes0 changed to 8,edges0 7with ,gilt ,edges7