=_ The eldest hand has the first say, and after examining his hand, and deciding on the bid most appropriate to it, if any, he makes his announcement. If his proposal is to win a certain number of tricks with a certain suit for trumps, he must name the suit, saying, “Eight Spades,” or “Seven Diamonds,” as the case may be. If he proposes to play without any trump suit, he announces, “Seven Grand,” or whatever the number may be. Such a bid over-calls one of the same number in diamonds. If the eldest hand has no proposal to make, he says, “I pass,” and the others in turn have an opportunity to bid. The bids outrank one another according to their order in the foregoing table, and the rank of the suits in which they are made. The players bid against one another, until all but one declare to pass, he then becomes the single player against the three others. A player having once passed cannot come into the bidding again, even to call a misère. In this respect the game differs from Boston. A player is not compelled to bid the full value of his hand, but it is to his interest to do so, and he should make the full announcement the first time he bids, because if he has had a good hand for ten tricks, and begins with a bid of seven, he cannot increase his proposal unless some player bids over him.
6._ +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | ♜ | | | | ♚ | | | ♜ | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | | ♛ | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | ♞ | ♟ | ♝ | ♞ | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | ♝ | | ♟ | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | ♗ | | ♙ | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | ♘ | ♙ | ♗ | ♘ | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | | ♕ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | ♖ | | | | ♔ | | | ♖ | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ ] If an adverse piece commands the square that would be passed over by the King in castling, the move is not allowed; because a King must not move into check, nor cross a square that is checked by an adverse piece nor castle out of check. In Diagram No. 7 the position that would result from castling with the Queen’s Rook is shown by the black men. [Illustration: _No. 7._ +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | ♚ | ♜ | | | | ♜ | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | | ♛ | ♟ | | ♟ | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | ♞ | ♟ | ♝ | ♞ | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | ♝ | | ♟ | | | | ] _=Queening Pawns.=_ If a passed Pawn succeeds in reaching the last or eighth square on any file, the player to whom the Pawn belongs may call it anything he chooses, from a Queen to a Knight. If the piece he chooses has already been captured, it must be replaced on the board, and on the square occupied by the Pawn, which is then removed. If not, some other piece must be put upon the board as a marker; a Rook upside down, or a Pawn with a ring on it, may represent a second Queen.
Come in, says the eldest sister. What do you want? Let me light my pipe at your fire? My fire s out. Yes! if you ll not dirty the hearth. No, certainly; I ll be careful. While the eldest sister pretends to look on the shelf for something, the Witch dirties the hearth, catches hold of Monday and runs off with her; and at this moment the pot boils over. The child who is the pot makes a hissing and fizzing noise. The daughter calls out-- Mother, mother, the pot boils over. Take the spoon and skim it. Can t find it. Look on the shelf.
_=Cutting Out.=_ As already observed, there is no change of partners, or of the rotation of the deal, until the completion of a rubber; but at the beginning of each rubber, dummy must deal the first hand. Should one side win the first two games in any rubber, the third is not played. At the end of the tournée, should any player wish to retire, and another offer to take his place, the cards must be shuffled and cut as at the beginning; a player’s position in one tournée giving him no rights in the next. There is nothing in the English game to recognize that there may be more than three candidates for dummy; as it is supposed that if four were present, they would prefer playing whist. _=Suggestions for Good Play.=_ As these are equally proper to any form of dummy, we shall postpone their consideration until we have described the other varieties of the game; French dummy, and Bridge; giving them all at the end of the chapter on “Bridge.” DOUBLE DUMMY. _=CARDS.=_ Double Dummy is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, ranking as at whist both for cutting and playing.
O ----, O ----, Your true love is dead; I send you a letter to turn round your head. --Cowes, Isle of Wight (Miss E. Smith). XII. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green, Said the fairest young damsel that ever I ve seen. O mother, O mother, my true-love is dead, He sent me this letter to turn round my head. O mother, O mother, do you think this is true? O yes, love! O yes, love! And what shall I do? I ll wash you in butter-milk, I ll dress you in silk, I ll write down your name with my gold pen and ink. --Isle of Man (A. W. Moore).
If after the first trick has been turned and quitted on the overplay of a deal, a player is found to have less than his correct number of cards, and the others have their correct number, such player shall be answerable for the missing card or cards and for any revoke or revokes which he has made by reason of its or their absence. LAW VI.--PLAYING, TURNING AND QUITTING THE CARDS. SEC. 1. Each player when it is his turn to play, must place his card face up before him and towards the center of the table and allow it to remain in this position until all have played to the trick, when he must turn it over and place its face down and nearer to himself, placing each successive card as he turns it, so that it overlaps the last card played by him and with the ends towards the winners of the trick. After he has played his card and also after he has turned it, he must quit it by removing his hand. SEC. 2. The cards must be left in the order in which they were played and quitted until the scores for the deal are recorded.
As in all other matters largely controlled by chance, there is no system, as a system, which will win at whist. One cannot succeed by slavish adherence to either the long or the short-suit game; by the invariable giving of information, or the continual playing of false cards. The true elements of success in whist lie in the happy combination of all the resources of long and short suits, of finesse and tenace, of candour and deception, continually adjusted to varying circumstances, so as to result in the adversaries’ losing tricks. _=HOW TO STUDY WHIST.=_ Any person, anxious to become an expert whist player, may attain to considerable proficiency in a short time, if he will content himself with mastering the following general principles one at a time; putting each into practice at the whist table before proceeding to the next. The science of modern whist may be divided into two parts: 1st. _=Tactics=_; or the purely conventional rules for leading, second and third hand play, returning partner’s suits, etc., all of which may be learnt from books, or gathered from more experienced players. 2nd. _=Strategy=_; or the advantageous use of the information given by the conventional plays.
ELLER Tree. Ezzeka. FATHER S Fiddle. Feed the Dove. Find the Ring. Fippeny Morrell. Fire, Air, and Water. Fivestones. Flowers. Follow my Gable.
=_ There are several methods of scoring at whist. The English game is 5 points, rubbers being always played. Besides the points scored for tricks, honours are counted; the games have a different value, according to the score of the adversaries; and the side winning the rubber adds two points to its score. In scoring, the revoke penalty counts first, tricks next, and honours last. _=The Revoke.=_ Should the adversaries detect and claim a revoke before the cards are cut for the following deal, they have the option of three penalties: 1st. To take three tricks from the revoking player, adding them to their own. 2nd. To deduct three points from his game score. 3rd.
In the first group are those containing two or more of the best cards. In this and all following notation, the exact size of any card below a Ten is immaterial. [Illustration: 🂡 🂮 🂭 🂫 | 🂱 🂾 🂻 🂷 🃁 🃎 🃍 🃆 | 🃑 🃞 🃔 🃓 ] So far as trick-taking is concerned, it is of no importance which of the winning cards is first led; but for the past hundred years it has been the custom for good whist players to lead the _=King=_ from all these combinations, in order that the partner may be informed, by its winning, that the leader holds the Ace also. In the second group are those containing both the second and third best, but not the best. [Illustration: 🂮 🂭 🂫 🂪 | 🂾 🂽 🂺 🂸 🃎 🃍 🃋 🃄 | 🃞 🃝 🃗 🃖 ] The _=King=_ is the proper lead from these combinations. If it wins, the partner should have the Ace; if it loses, partner should know the leader holds at least the Queen. Both these groups, which contain all the King leads, may be easily remembered by observing that the King is always led if accompanied by the Ace or Queen, or both. Beginners should follow this rule for leading the King, regardless of the number of small cards in the suit, unless they hold the sequence of K Q J, and at least two other cards. [Illustration: 🂮 🂭 🂫 🂪 🂤 | 🃎 🃍 🃋 🃄 🃃 ] From this combination the _=Jack=_ is the usual lead, in order to invite partner to put on the Ace, if he has it, and get out of the way, thus establishing the suit in the leader’s hand. This is the only high-card combination from which the Jack is led.
See Banger, Cots and Twisses. Buzz and Bandy A local name for Hockey, which was formerly a very popular game among the young men of Shrewsbury and Much Wenlock. Called simply Bandy at Ludlow and Newport.--_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 525. Cache-pole The game of Tennis. --Jamieson. Caiche The game of Handball. Thocht I preich nocht I can play at the caiche. I wait thair is nocht ane among you all Mair ferilie can play at the fute ball.
The positions of the three and four are sometimes reversed to enable sharpers to distinguish fair dice from those which have been doctored. At the beginning of any dice game, it is quite unnecessary to examine the dice to be used, because they are always fair. Crooked dice are _=rung in=_ during the game, and the player should make it a point to examine the dice frequently if he has any suspicions. First see that each die has all six figures upon it, for some dice are _=dispatchers=_, made with double numbers, so as to secure higher throws than the natural average. Double fives are great favourites with backgammon sharps. The next thing is to place the dice together in pairs, to be sure that they are exactly the same height each way. If dice are not square they can be made to roll over and over on the same faces. The faces should then be tested to see that they are not convex, even in the slightest degree. Shaped dice are usually flat on the ace and six faces, especially in crap shooting. Each die should be held between the thumb and forefinger at its longest diameter, to see if it has any tendency to swing on a pivot, for if it does it is loaded.
In addition to this, the individual player in fault must pay four red counters as forfeit to the pool. In some places he is made to double the pool; but this is manifestly unfair, as he could not win the amount in the pool in any case, and therefore should not lose it. In a Misère Partout, the revoking player pays five red counters to each adversary, and deposits a forfeit of four red counters in the pool. The hands are immediately thrown up if the revoke is claimed and proved. _=CARDS PLAYED IN ERROR.=_ The single player is not liable to any penalty for cards played in error, or led out of turn, except those taken back to save a revoke; but his adversaries are liable to the usual whist penalties for all such irregularities. The single player can forbid the use of an exposed trump for ruffing, and can demand or prevent the play of an exposed card in plain suits, provided he does not ask the adversary to revoke. If a suit is led of which an adversary has an exposed card on the table, the single player may call upon him to play his highest or lowest of that suit. If a player has announced Little Misère, and one of the adversaries leads before the others have discarded, the caller may immediately claim the pool and stakes. If any adversary of a misère player leads out of turn, or exposes a card, or plays before his proper turn in any trick, the bidder may at once claim the pool and stakes.
SOLO. Under the name of Solo, the Germans play a great many variations of card games, of which the following is the best known. _=Cards.=_ Solo is played with a pack of thirty-two cards, which rank A K Q J 10 9 8 7. One suit is always first preference, or _=colour=_, and the suit usually selected is clubs. Any suit may be made the trump, but whatever the suit, the club Queen, _=Spadilla=_, is always the best trump; the Seven of the trump suit, _=Manilla=_, is always the second-best trump; and the spade Queen, _=Basta=_, is always the third-best trump. _=Players.=_ Solo is played by four persons, who throw round the cards for the first club turned up to deal eight cards to each player; 3-2-3 at a time. _=Objects.=_ The object of the game is to secure the privilege of naming the trump suit, and of playing, either alone or with a partner, to make five tricks, _=solo=_, or eight tricks, _=tout=_.
=_ When only four players are engaged at a single table, the game is called Memory Duplicate; which is forbidden in all first-class clubs. The players retain their seats until they have played an agreed number of hands, which are laid aside one by one in trays. No trump is turned in Memory Duplicate; one suit being declared trumps for the entire sitting. Instead of the players changing positions for the overplay, the trays are reversed. If the indicators pointed N & S on the original deals, they must lie E & W for the overplay. [Illustration: A A +---------+ +---------+ | ^ | | | | | | | | B| | |B B| DE --- |B | | | AL | | DEALER| | ER | +---------+ +---------+ A A ORIGINAL POSITION OF TRAYS. POSITION FOR OVERPLAY. ] _=Scoring.=_ The E & W hands only are scored, the card being laid aside after the original play is completed, and a new card used for the overplay. The difference in the totals of these two sets of score-cards will show which pair gained the most tricks.
xvii.), a little boy stands in the middle of a circle of girls who sing the first verse. At We ll all cou don together, all crouch down, as if in profound respect, then rising slowly, sing the next verse. After My pitcher and my can, each child mentions her own name. At Isn t ---- as nice as her? each mentions her sweetheart s name, and the child thus chosen goes into the circle. At the end of the fourth verse they all clap hands, and the one that is sweetheart to him in the middle kisses him. The crouching down is also done in the Forest of Dean version when singing the fourth line. The last one to stoop has to name her sweetheart. When this is done, the children all dance round and sing the other lines. (_d_) The analysis of the game-rhymes is on pp.