Paul Despatch, Milwaukee Journal, Baltimore American, Houston Post, Indianapolis Star, and the N.Y. Globe. These were all edited by R.F. Foster. Bridge Tournaments, offering prizes for the best play of certain hands were run by the N.Y. Evening Telegram, the N.Y.
Why, that s the witch! The Mother pretends to beat the eldest daughter, tells her to be more careful another time, and to be sure and not let the pot boil over. The eldest daughter cries, and promises to be more careful, and the Mother goes again to the wash-tub. The same thing occurs again. The Witch comes and asks-- Please, will you lend me your tinder-box? My fire s out. Yes, certainly, if you ll bring it back directly. You shall have it in half-an-hour. While the tinder-box is being looked for she runs off with Tuesday. Then the pot boils over, and the same dialogue is repeated. The Mother comes and finds Tuesday gone. This is repeated for all the seven children in turn, different articles, gridiron, poker, &c, being borrowed each time.
In the Queens, the mark of the suit is always above the figure, which has a single head; in the Jacks the suit mark is always under the figure. This distinction is necessary, because in the German cards the Queen is a male figure. The King has two suit marks, one on each side of the head. When the French or American double-head cards are used, with suit-marks in both corners, the words “ober” and “unter” have no meaning; Dame and Bube being used instead. _=Rank of the Suits.=_ In addition to the rank of the cards themselves, the suits outrank one another, except in Nullo, clubs being always the best, then spades, hearts and diamonds. The Germans have various names for the suits, that first given in each instance being in common use among modern Germans. _=Clubs=_: Kreuz, Trefle, Eicheln, Eckern, or Braün. _=Spades=_: Pique, Schüppen, Laub, or Grün. _=Hearts=_: Hertzen, Cœur, or Roth.
471). X. I come to see poor Jenny Joe, Jenny Joe, Jenny Joe, I come to see poor Jenny Joe, And how is she now? She s washing, she s washing, And you can t see her now. Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. I come to see poor Jenny Joe, Jenny Joe, Jenny Joe, I come to see poor Jenny Joe, And how is she now? She s folding, she s folding, And you can t see her now. Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. I come to see poor Jenny Joe, Jenny Joe, Jenny Joe, I come to see poor Jenny Joe, And how is she now? She s ironing, she s ironing, And you can t see her now. Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. [Then follow alternate questions and answers in the same manner for-- (1) dying, (2) dead. Then--] I come in my white dress, white dress, white dress, I come in my white dress, and how will that do? White is for wedding, wedding, wedding, White is for wedding, and that won t do.
For instance: A wants 4 points to win; B wants 10; and C wants 16. If A can see his way to win the game by cards or small honours, he should take the first opportunity of giving C the Ten; or allowing him to make it in preference to B. As the Ten counts first, cards and honours next, B may be shut out, even if he has the Jack. _=LAWS.=_ There are no special laws for Scotch Whist. The whist laws are usually enforced for all such irregularities as exposed cards, leading out of turn, etc. The most important matter is the revoke, and it should be clearly understood before play begins whether the revoke penalty is to be paid by the individual in fault, or by the side to which he belongs. Some players think there should be some regulation for penalties in such cases as that of a player taking up the wrong hand, when two or more are dealt to each player; but as no advantage can be gained by the exchange, it is hard to see what right the adversary would have to impose a penalty. ILLUSTRATIVE SCOTCH WHIST HAND. We give a simple example hand, as an illustration of the manner of playing with four persons; two being partners against the other two.
_=SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY.=_ The player should first carefully examine the exposed hands, and by comparing them with his own, suit by suit, should fix in his mind the cards held by his living adversary. This takes time, and in many places it is the custom to expose the four hands upon the table. Players who have better memories than their opponents object to this, for the same reason that they prefer sitting on the right of the living player. It is not at all uncommon for a player to forget that certain cards have been played, to his very serious loss. The hands once fixed in the mind, some time should be given to a careful consideration of the best course to pursue; after which the play should proceed pretty rapidly until the last few tricks, when another problem may present itself. There is nothing in the game beyond the skilful use of the tenace position, discarding, and establishing cross-ruffs. Analysis is the mental power chiefly engaged. There are no such things as inferences, false cards, finesse, underplay, speculative trump leads, or judgment of human nature. The practice of the game is totally different from any other form of whist, and much more closely resembles chess.
In such case, if the second hand be void of the suit led, the declarer in lieu of any other penalty may call upon the second hand to play the highest card of any designated suit. If he name a suit of which the second hand is void, the penalty is paid.[17] 81. If any one, except dummy, omit playing to a trick, and such error be not corrected until he has played to the next, the adversaries or either of them may claim a new deal; should either decide that the deal stand, the surplus card (at the end of the hand) is considered played to the imperfect trick, but does not constitute a revoke therein.[18] 82. When any one, except dummy, plays two or more cards to the same trick and the mistake is not corrected, he is answerable for any consequent revokes he may make. When the error is detected during the play, the tricks may be counted face downward, to see if any contain more than four cards; should this be the case, the trick which contains a surplus card or cards may be examined and such card or cards restored to the original holder.[19] THE REVOKE.[20] 83. A revoke occurs when a player, other than dummy, holding one or more cards of the suit led, plays a card of a different suit.
That was all she had said. Yet it had cut him like a knife. What did she think he was--a fool, a loafer, a uniformed nonentity? Didn t she know that for every half hour of pinlighting, he got a minimum of two months recuperation in the hospital? By now the set was warm. He felt the squares of space around him, sensed himself at the middle of an immense grid, a cubic grid, full of nothing. Out in that nothingness, he could sense the hollow aching horror of space itself and could feel the terrible anxiety which his mind encountered whenever it met the faintest trace of inert dust. As he relaxed, the comforting solidity of the Sun, the clock-work of the familiar planets and the Moon rang in on him. Our own solar system was as charming and as simple as an ancient cuckoo clock filled with familiar ticking and with reassuring noises. The odd little moons of Mars swung around their planet like frantic mice, yet their regularity was itself an assurance that all was well. Far above the plane of the ecliptic, he could feel half a ton of dust more or less drifting outside the lanes of human travel. Here there was nothing to fight, nothing to challenge the mind, to tear the living soul out of a body with its roots dripping in effluvium as tangible as blood.
_=METHOD OF PLAYING.=_ The winning declaration settled, whether doubled or not, the player on the left of the declarer leads for the first trick, and dummy’s cards go down, the declarer playing the combined hands. The declarer gathers the tricks for his side, but either adversary may gather for the other. The first six tricks taken by the declarer make a book, and all over the book count toward his contract. The adversaries have a book as soon as they reach the limit of the tricks they may win without “setting” the contract. If the contract is four hearts, the declarer must win ten tricks, so that his opponents have a book when they get home three tricks. All tricks should be laid so that they may be readily counted by any player at the table. _=DUMMY.=_ Until a card is led by the proper player, the declarer’s partner has all the rights of any other player, but as soon as the player to the left of the declarer leads and dummy’s cards are laid on the table, dummy’s duties and rights are restricted to the following: He may call attention to few cards played to a trick; correct an improper claim of either adversary; call attention to a trick taken by the wrong side; ask his partner if he have none of a suit to which he renounces; correct an erroneous score; consult with the declarer as to which penalty to exact for a revoke; and, if he has not intentionally overlooked the hand of another player, he may call his partner’s attention to an established revoke made by the adversaries, or to a card exposed by them or a lead out of turn made by them. _=The Revoke.
This says to Y, “Go no trumps if you can stop the spades.” When A passes, having bid his hand on the first round, Y goes two no trumps and makes game. B leads the top of his partner’s declared suit, and A leads a fourth round, hoping to get in with the club jack. At tricks 8 and 9, B signals control in hearts. A keeps the protection in clubs to the end and saves a trick by it. Y keeps two clubs in dummy, so that if club is led, he will have one to return after he has made his diamonds. In the second example, they are playing nullos, Y declaring. The points in the play are holding the spade queen, so as to lead a diamond or a spade at trick 6. This B prevents, hoping to force two clubs on Y and Z and set the contract. At trick 7, if the hearts are split, the queen must win the ten.
1; that to the right of it is No. 2; to the left, No. 3; the pin farthest from the string line is No. 4; and the central or black pin, No. 5. These numbers may be chalked on the cloth in front of each particular pin. Neither carroms nor hazards count; for pocketing a ball (when playing on a pocket table), or causing it to jump off the table or lodge on the cushion, or for missing altogether, nothing is forfeited other than the stroke. The only penalty is that the ball so offending shall be spotted upon the white-ball spot at the foot of the table, or if that be occupied then on the nearest spot thereto unoccupied. When the pins are arranged, the rotation of the players is determined in like manner as in Fifteen-Ball Pool, after which each player receives from the marker a little numbered ball which is placed in the player’s cup on the pool board, and the number of which is not known to any of his opponents. The object of the player is to knock down as many pins as will count exactly thirty-one when the number on the small ball held by him is added to their aggregate; thus, if the small ball is No.
Addy (_Sheffield Glossary_) says knur is a small round ball, less than a billiard ball. It is put into a cup fixed on a spring which, being touched, causes the ball to rise into the air, when it is struck by a trip-stick, a slender stick made broad and flat at one end. The knur is struck by the broad part. The game is played on Shrove Tuesday. Brogden (_Provincial Words of Lincolnshire_) gives it under Bandy. It is called Knur, Spell, and Kibble in S.-W. Lincolnshire.--Cole s _Glossary_. The following letter relating to this game is extracted from the _Worcestershire Chronicle_, September 1847, in Ellis s edition of Brand:-- Before the commons were taken in, the children of the poor had ample space wherein to recreate themselves at cricket, _nurr_, or any other diversion; but now they are driven from every green spot, and in Bromsgrove here, the nailor boys, from the force of circumstances, have taken possession of the turnpike road to play the before-mentioned games, to the serious inconvenience of the passengers, one of whom, a woman, was yesterday knocked down by a _nurr_ which struck her in the head.
The odds against drawing two aces in succession from a pack of 52 cards are 220 to 1; but after an ace has been drawn the odds against the second card being an ace also are only 16 to 1, although some persons would be mad enough to bet 1000 to 1 against it, on the principle that the first draw was a great piece of luck and the second ace was practically impossible. While the four aces were in the pack the probability of drawing one was 4/52. One ace having been drawn, 3 remain in 51 cards, so the probability of getting the second is 3/51, or 1/17. Before a card was drawn, the probability of getting two aces in succession was the product of these fractions; 1/13 × 1/17 = 1/221. On the same principle the odds against two players cutting cards that are a tie, such as two Fours, are not 220 to 1, unless it is specified that the first card shall be a Four. The first player having cut, the odds against the second cutting a card of equal value are only 16 to 1. _=Dice.=_ In calculating the probabilities of throws with two or more dice, we must multiply together the total number of throws possible with each die separately, and then find the number of throws that will give the result required. Suppose two dice are used. Six different throws may be made with each, therefore 6 × 6 = 36 different throws are possible with the two dice together.
Pairs and triplets are the only combinations of any value, and of course three aces is the best hand; two aces and the club Jack being the next best. If none of the hands shown contains either a natural pair or a bragger, the highest card wins, the ace ranking above the King. In case of equal natural pairs, the highest card outside the pair wins. Should the pairs tied both be made with a bragger, the highest bragger wins. Two odd cards, seven high, with the club Jack, would beat two cards seven high with the diamond nine. _=Three Stake Brag.=_ In this variation each player puts up three equal amounts to form three equal pools. These amounts must be invariable, and should be agreed upon before play begins. The dealer then gives two cards to each player, one at a time, face down; and then a third card to each, face up. The highest card turned up in this manner wins one of the pools, the ace being the highest and the deuce the lowest.
Discarding the second-best is an indication that the player has not the best; and in general, the discard of any small card shows weakness in that suit. _=Forcing.=_ We have already observed that a player who is weak himself should not force his partner. An exception may be made in cases where he has shown weakness, or has had a chance to lead trumps and has not done so. On the contrary, an adversary should not be forced unless he has shown strength, or the player forcing him is weak. The hope of a player with a good suit is to defend it by leading and exhausting the trumps. His adversary tries to keep his trumps in order to stop that suit; at the same time forcing the strong hand, by leading cards which he must trump, hoping that such a force may so weaken him that he will be unable to continue the trump lead. It is usually very difficult to convince the beginner that the weaker he is himself, the more reason he has for forcing the adversaries to trump his good cards. He is constantly falling into the error of changing from a good suit, which the adversaries cannot stop without trumping, to a weak suit, which allows them to get into the lead without any waste of trump strength. If an adversary refuses to trump a suit, it is imperative to keep on with it until he does; for it is always good play to force an adversary to do what he does not wish to do.
XV. Come to see Jinny Jones, Jinny Jones Come to see Jinny Jones, And where is she now? Jinny is washing, is washing, Jinny is washing, And you can t see her now. Very well, very well, lady, lady, Very well, lady, That will do. [Then follow-- (1) starching, (2) ironing, (3) dying, (4) dead.] What shall we follow in, follow in? What shall we follow in? We ll follow in blue. Blue is for sailors, for sailors, Blue is for sailors, And that won t do. [_or_, You can t follow her so.] [Then follow-- Red is for soldiers, White is for weddings, Yellow is for babies.] Black is not deep enough, deep enough, That won t do. What shall we follow in, follow in? We ll follow her in crape, crape [pronounced _cray-ape_].
At the finish of these the girl then going through the arch is stopped, and the third, fourth, and fifth verses are sung by the two girls alternately. Then finally both girls sing the last verse, and the child is sent as prisoner behind one or other of the two girls. The verses are then begun again, and repeated afresh for each of the troop marching through the arch until all of them are placed behind one or other of the two girls. The two sides thus formed then proceed to tug against each other, and the strongest side wins the game. The Belfast version is practically the same, except that the verses are not sung as a dialogue, but by all the players together, and the prisoner, when caught, has the choice of sides, by being asked, Which will you have, a golden apple or golden pear? and according to the answer given is sent behind one of the leaders. The Norfolk and Shropshire games are different. Miss Matthews thus describes the Norfolk game: Two girls take hold of hands, and another, the prisoner, stands between them. The rest form themselves into a line opposite, and advance and retreat while singing the first verse, the gaolers singing the next verse, and so on alternately. [At the end of the last verse but one] the children break the line, form themselves into a ring, and dance round the prisoner, singing the final verse. Miss Harley describes the Shropshire version as follows: The first six verses are sung by the alternate parties, who advance and retire, tramping their feet, at first, to imitate the robbers.
A contact mine can be placed on a road or in any place by two men in six moves; it will be exploded by the first pieces passing over it, and will destroy everything within six inches radius.* Next as to Constructions: Entrenchments can be made by infantry in four moves.* They are to be strips of wood two inches high tacked to the country, or wooden bricks two inches high. Two men may make an inch of entrenchment. Epaulements for guns may be constructed at the rate of six men to one epaulement in four moves.* [* Notice to be given to umpire of commencement of any work or the placing of a mine. In event of no umpire being available, a folded note must be put on the mantelpiece when entrenchment is commenced, and opponent asked to open it when the trench is completed or the mine exploded.] Rules as to Cavalry Charging: No body of less than eight cavalry may charge, and they must charge in proper formation. If cavalry charges infantry in extended order-- If the charge starts at a distance of more than two feet, the cavalry loses one man for every five infantry-men charged, and the infantry loses one man for each sabre charging. At less than two feet and more than one foot, the cavalry loses one man for every ten charged, and the infantry two men for each sabre charging.
Lowsley (_Berkshire Glossary_) says this is a favourite game with children at Christmas-time, when wishing for one of a romping character, but he does not describe it further. Northall (_English Folk Rhymes_, p. 354) says that in Warwickshire and Staffordshire boys torture an unfortunate victim by throwing him on the ground and falling atop of him, yelling out the formula, Bags to [on] the mill. This summons calls up other lads, and they add their weight. Mother, may I go out to Play? I. Mother, may I go out to play? No, my child, it s such a wet day. Look how the sun shines, mother. Well, make three round curtseys and be off away. [Child goes, returns, knocks at door. Mother says, Come in.
(_b_) In Ross and Stead s _Holderness Glossary_ this is called Cat-gallas, and is described as three sticks placed in the form of a gallows for boys to jump over. So called in consequence of being of sufficient height to hang cats from. Also mentioned in Peacock s _Manley and Corringham Glossary_ and Elworthy s _West Somerset Words_, Brogden s _Provincial Words, Lincs._, Dickinson s _Cumberland Glossary_, Atkinson s _Cleveland Glossary_, Brockett s _North Country Words_, Evans _Leicestershire Glossary_, Baker s _Northants Glossary_, and Darlington s _South Cheshire Glossary_. On one of the stalls in Worcester Cathedral, figured in Wright s _Archæological Essays_, ii. 117, is a carving which represents three rats busily engaged in hanging a cat on a gallows of this kind. Cat i the Hole A game well known in Fife, and perhaps in other counties. If seven boys are to play, six holes are made at certain distances. Each of the six stands at a hole, with a short stick in his hand; the seventh stands at a certain distance holding a ball. When he gives the word, or makes the sign agreed upon, all the six change holes, each running to his neighbour s hole, and putting his stick in the hole which he has newly seized.
The only differences that require attention are the positions of the players, the manner of counting the tricks, and the methods of keeping and comparing the scores. _=THEORY.=_ It may briefly be stated that duplicate proceeds upon the principle that if two partners have made a certain number of tricks with certain cards, under certain conditions with respect to the lead, distribution of the other cards in the adversaries’ hands, etc., the only way to decide whether or not two other players could have done better, or cannot do so well, is to let them try it, by giving them the same cards, under exactly similar conditions. This comparison may be carried out in various ways; but in every instance it depends entirely upon the number and arrangement of the players engaged. The most common forms are: club against club; team against team; pair against pair; or man against man. The reason for the arrangement of the players will be better understood if we first describe the method. _=METHOD OF PLAYING.=_ There is no cutting for partners, and choice of seats and cards as at whist, because the players take their places and deal according to a pre-arranged schedule. The player to the left of the dealer begins by placing the card he leads face up on the table, and in front of him.
This is the carpet. Any aces found in it are taken out and used to form a fifth row, either at the bottom or the side. The holes made in the carpet by removing the aces are then filled up from the pack. Cards are then taken from the carpet to build upon the aces in ascending sequence, following suit, and the holes in the carpet are continually filled up with fresh cards from the top of the pack. As other aces appear they are laid aside to start the sequence in the suit to which they belong. When you are stopped, deal the cards remaining in the pack in a pile on the table by themselves, face upward. If any card appears which can be used in the ascending sequences, take it, and if this enables you to make more holes in the carpet, do so. But after having been driven to deal this extra pile, holes in the carpet can no longer be filled from the pack; they must be patched up with the top cards on the extra pile until it is exhausted. _=FOUR OF A KIND.=_ Shuffle and cut the pack, then deal out thirteen cards face down in two rows of five each and one row of three.
Cribbage is not only one of the oldest of the games upon the cards, but enjoys the distinction of being quite unlike any other game, both in the manner of playing it, and in the system of reckoning the points. It is also peculiar from the fact that it is one of the very few really good games which require no effort of the memory; judgment and finesse being the qualities chiefly requisite for success. There are two principal varieties of the game; _=Five=_ and _=Six-card=_ Cribbage; and these again are divided according to the number of players. The old writers agree in speaking of the five-card game as the more scientific; but the modern verdict is in favour of the six-card game, which is certainly the more common and popular. The skill in Five-card Cribbage is limited to laying out for the crib and securing the “go”; but in Six-card Cribbage, while the scientific principles applicable to the crib remain the same as in the five-card game, there is abundant room for the display of skill all through, the hand being as important as the crib, and the play sometimes more important than either. The six-card game will be first described. _=CARDS.=_ Cribbage is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, which have no rank except the order of their sequence; K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 A, the Ace being always the lowest, either in cutting or in play. The cards have also a counting or pip value, the three court cards, K Q J, and the 10 being worth ten points each. All other cards, including the Ace, retain their face value.
It appears to have been the _tremerel_ mentioned in an old fabliau. See _Le Grand_, _Fabliaux et Contes_, ii. 208. Dr. Hyde thinks the morris, or merrils, was known during the time that the Normans continued in possession of England, and that the name was afterwards corrupted into _three men s morals_, or _nine men s morals_. If this be true, the conversion of _morrals_ into _morris_, a term so very familiar to the country people, was extremely natural. The Doctor adds, that it was likewise called _nine-penny_ or _nine-pin miracle_, _three-penny morris_, _five-penny morris_, _nine-penny morris_, or _three-pin_, _five-pin_, and _nine-pin morris_, all corruptions of _three-pin, &c, merels_ (Hyde s _Hist. Nederluddi_, p. 202). Nares says the simpler plan here represented (fig.
Puits, F., only one to go, the whiskey hole. Punters, those who play against the banker. Puppy-foot, the ace of clubs. Quart, the English equivalent of the French word quatrième, a sequence of four cards. Quart Major, A K Q J of any suit. Quatorze, F., four cards of the same denomination. Quatrième, F., a sequence of four cards.
There are some occasions for false-card play about which there is little question. Having a sequence in the adverse suit, the Second or Fourth Hand may win with the highest card, especially if the intention is to lead trumps. Holding K Q only, Second Hand may play the King, especially in trumps. Holding A K x, the Fourth Hand should play Ace on a Queen led by an American leader. With such a suit as K J 10 x, after trumps have been exhausted, the Ten is not a safe lead; Jack or fourth-best is better. Holding up the small cards of adverse suits is a common stratagem; and it is legitimate to use any system of false-carding in trumps if it will prevent the adversaries who have led them from counting them accurately. _=Playing to the Score.=_ The play must often be varied on account of the state of the score, either to save or win the game in the hand. If the adversaries appear to be very strong, and likely to go out on the deal, all conventionalities should be disregarded until the game is saved; finesses should be refused, and winning cards played Second Hand on the first round. If the adversaries are exhausting the trumps, it will often be judicious for a player to make what winning cards he has, regardless of all rules for leading, especially if they are sufficient to save the game.