If the winner of the first game won the second also, he would take the pool, which would then contain five stakes; the three originally deposited, and the two added by the losers of the two games. A new pool would then be formed by each of the three depositing another stake, and all cutting to decide which should sit out for the first game. In some places only the two players actually engaged contribute to the pool, the loser retiring without paying anything further, and the rentrant contributing his stake when he takes the loser’s place. The outsider is not allowed to advise either player during the first game, nor to call attention to the score; but on the second game he is allowed to advise the player who has taken his seat and cards. This is on the principle that he has no right to choose sides on the first game; but that after that he has an interest in preventing his former adversary from winning the second game, so as to preserve the pool until he can play for it again himself. NAPOLEON, OR NAP. This is one of the simplest, and at the same time most popular of the euchre family. Few games have become so widely known in such a short time, or have had such a vogue among all classes of society. So far as the mere winning and losing goes, the result depends largely upon luck, and skill is of small importance. Except in a long series of games the average player has little to fear from the most expert.
We ve come to see poor Jenny Jones. Poor Jenny Jones is dead, you can t see her. What shall we follow, in red, blue, or black? Red s for the soldier, blue for the sailor, Black for the dead. --Enborne School, Berks (Miss M. Kimber). XIV. Come to see Miss Jenny Jones, Miss Jenny Jones, Miss Jenny Jones; Come to see Miss Jenny Jones, And how is she to-day? Miss Jenny Jones is washing, washing, washing, Miss Jenny Jones is washing, You can t see her to-day. Farewell, ladies, ladies, ladies, and gentlemen too. [Miss Jenny Jones is drying, starching, ironing, ill, worse, dying, and dead in turn. Then--] What shall we dress her in, Dress her in, dress her in? What shall we dress her in, Dress her in red? Red s what the soldiers wear, The soldiers wear, the soldiers wear, Red s what the soldiers wear, And that won t do.
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. _=PARTNERS.=_ Before playing, the successful bidder may call for a partner if he chooses to do so.
For instance: Partner leads King, won by the ace second hand. Whatever this player leads, put in your Pedro, if you have one, your partner must have Queen of trumps. Playing to the score is very important. Do not attempt to get more than the number bid until that is assured. On the other hand, if it is certain that the adversary cannot make good his bid, do not let him get as close to it as possible, but play boldly to win all you can, for every point he makes is simply lost. Here are a few example hands, which will give a very good idea of some of the fine points in the game. _=No. 1.=_ | | _=No. 2.
In effect Sept. 1, 1906._ The alleys upon which the game shall be played shall not be less than 41 nor more than 42 inches in width. The length from the centre of No. 1 pin spot to the foul line shall be 60 feet. Back of the foul line there shall be a clear run of not less than 15 feet. The pin spots shall be clearly and distinctly described on or imbedded in the alleys and shall be so placed 12 inches apart from centre to centre. They shall be 2¼ inches in diameter. The pin spots numbered 7, 8, 9 and 10 shall be placed 3 inches from the pit edge of the alleys, measuring from the edge to the centre of such pin spots. The pins shall be spotted on the pin spots placed upon the alleys according to the following diagram, and the pins and spots shall be known by the numbers as follows: [Illustration: 7 8 9 10 4 5 6 2 3 1 ] The pins shall be of the following design and measurements: 15 inches in height, 2¼ inches in diameter at their base, 15 inches in circumference at a point 4½ inches from their base, 11⅝ inches in circumference at a point 7¼ inches from their base, 5¼ inches in circumference at the neck, a point 10 inches from the base; 8 inches in circumference at the head, a point 13½ inches from the base.
_=CARDS.=_ Écarté is played with a pack of thirty-two cards, which rank, K Q J A 10 9 8 7. When two packs are used, the adversary shuffles one while the other is dealt. _=MARKERS.=_ In France, the game is always marked with the ordinary round chips or counters, never with a marker. As five points is the game, four of these counters are necessary for each player. _=PLAYERS.=_ Écarté is played by two persons, who sit opposite each other. One is known as the dealer, and the other as the pone, the adversary, the elder hand, the non-dealer, the leader, or the player. _=THE GALLERY.
_=The Suits.=_ All the dominoes with the same number upon either end belong to the same suit; the seven bones with a 4 forming the 4 suit; those with a 6 the 6 suit, and so on. The number of pips in each suit may be easily remembered by observing that the ace suit has the same number of pips as the pieces in the set, 28; and that each suit above the ace has seven pips more than the number of pieces in the set, while the blank suit has seven pips less, so that each suit progresses in regular order, seven pips at a time, as shown in the margin. Blank 21 Ace 28 Deuce 35 Trey 42 Four 49 Five 56 Six 63 _=Shuffling and Cutting.=_ Dominoes are provided with a small brass pin in the centre of the face, which enables one to spin them round, push them about on the table, and so to shuffle them thoroughly. There are three methods of determining who shall have the first play, or _=set=_, as it is called: _=1.=_ The player having the higher double; or, failing any double in either hand, the _=heavier=_ domino, that is, one with a greater number of pips on its face than any held by his adversary. _=2.=_ One player selects any two dominoes, face down, and pushes them toward his adversary, who chooses one. Both are then turned up, and whichever gets the lighter domino has the first set.
Hearts are trumps; you hold two small ones, two better being out against you, but whether in one hand or not you cannot tell. You have also two winning Spades, one smaller being still out. The game is seven-point whist. The importance of playing to the score will be evident if you consider your play in each of the following instances, your score being given first: Score 6 to 6; you have 5 tricks in front of you. Score 6 to 6; you have 4 tricks in front of you. Score 6 to 5; you have 4 tricks in front of you. Score 5 to 4; you have 5 tricks in front of you. _=INFERENCES.=_ The great strength of the expert lies in his ability to draw correct inferences from the fall of the cards, and to adapt his play to the circumstances. Inferences from the various systems of leads and returns are too obvious to require further notice; but attention may be called to some that are often overlooked, even by advanced players: If a suit led is won by Third Hand with King or Ace; and the original leader wins the second round with King or Ace, the adversaries must have the Queen.
Should she be caught before she can succeed in doing this she is compelled to take the handkerchief a second time. But if, as it more usually happens, she is successful in accomplishing this, the pursuer in turn takes the handkerchief, and the game proceeds as before.--Symondsbury (_Folk-lore Journal_, vi. 212). Jack lost his supper last night, And the night before; if he does again to-night, He never will no more--more--more--more. I wrote a letter to my love, And on the way I dropt it; Some of you have picked it up, And got it in your pocket--pocket--pocket--pocket. I have a little dog, it won t bite you-- It won t bite you--it won t bite you-- It _will_ bite you. --Leicestershire (Miss Ellis). The Forest of Dean version is the same as the Dorsetshire, except that the child who is unsuccessful in gaining the vacant place has to stand in the middle of the ring until the same thing happens to another child.--Miss Matthews.
IV. Mother, will you buy me a milking-can, A milking-can, a milking-can? Mother, will you buy me a milking-can, To me, I, O, OM? Where s the money to buy it with, To buy it with, to buy it with, Where s the money to buy it with, To me, I, O, OM? [Then the following verses--] Sell my father s feather bed. Where will your father sleep? My father can sleep in the boys bed. Where will the boys sleep? The boys can sleep in the pig-sty. Where will the pigs sleep? The pigs can sleep in the wash-tub. Where shall I wash my clothes? You can wash them in a thimble. A thimble is not large enough. You can wash them in an egg-shell. An egg-shell would not hold them. You can wash them by the river side.
The side winning the trick takes it in and arranges it just as at Whist. Before leading for the next trick all cards which have been uncovered are turned face up. If any person has played his down card he will have no card to turn up, none having been uncovered. The cards cannot under any circumstances be shifted from their original positions. If a player has five cards face up, covering five cards face down, he cannot shift one of the exposed cards to the empty sixth place, and uncover another card. All covering cards must be got rid of in the course of play. _=PENALTIES=_ for revokes, cards led out of turn, etc., are the same as at Whist. _=OBJECTS OF THE GAME.=_ As in Whist, the object is to win tricks, all above six counting one point toward game.
As an example of the play being right for a bluff, take the following case: Five play in a jack pot. A and B have passed when C opens it for the limit. D and E pass out, but A and B both stay, and each draws one card. C takes two cards, and as it is his first bet he puts up the limit on his three aces. A drops out, but B raises C the limit in return. Now, if C is a good player he will lay down his three aces, even if he faintly suspects B is bluffing, because B’s play is sound in any case. He either could not, or pretended he could not open the jack; but he could afford to pay the limit to draw one card against openers, and he could afford to raise the limit against an opener’s evidently honest two-card draw. As a matter of fact the whole play was a bluff; for B not only had nothing, but had nothing to draw to originally. Another variety of the bluff, which is the author’s own invention, will often prove successful with strangers, but it can seldom be repeated in the same company. Suppose six play in a jack pot.
Spell Opportunity. Miss Burne mentions one penance designed to make the victim ridiculous, as when he is made to lie on his back on the floor with his arms extended, and declare-- Here I lie! The length of a looby, The breadth of a booby, And three parts of a jackass! --_Shropshire Folk-lore_, pp. 526-27. (_c_) Halliwell gives, in his _Nursery Rhymes_, pp. 324-26, some curious verses, recorded for the first time by Dr. Kenrick in his Review of Dr. Johnson s Shakespeare, 1765, on rules for seemly behaviour, in which the forfeits imposed by barbers as penalties for handling razors, &c, are set forth. Although barbers forfeits are not of the same nature as the nursery forfeits, it is possible that this general custom among so important a class of the community in early times as barbers may have suggested the game. Both Forby in his _Vocabulary of East Anglia_ and Moor in his _Suffolk Words_ bear testimony to the general prevalence of barbers forfeits, and it must be borne in mind that barbers were also surgeons in early days. A curious custom is also recorded in another East Anglian word-list, which may throw light upon the origin of the game from popular custom.
8. When playing on a pool ball the striker, if asked the question by a player taking part in the game, shall “declare” the ball selected. 9. Any number of red balls may be taken in one stroke; but, if a pool ball is taken in conjunction with a red ball, the stroke is foul. After pocketing a red ball only the pool ball aimed at may be taken. 10. A red ball once off the table shall not be brought into play again under any circumstances; but all pool balls pocketed shall be respotted in their original positions (save that the pink ball shall be placed on the pyramid spot), until Rule 7, as to playing upon the pool balls in rotation, comes into force. When the pool balls are being played upon in rotation, they shall not be respotted after being pocketed in proper order and according to rule. 11. No ball shall, under any circumstances, be taken up.
_=Suggestions for Good Play.=_ It is very risky to bid seven without the Joker, the odds being 11 to 1 against finding it in the widow. A bid of ten should not be made without both Joker and Right Bower, and all the other cards winners and trumps. To bid twenty, a player should have a practically invincible hand, with at least five winning leads of trumps. The first bidders are always at a disadvantage, because they know nothing of the contents of the other hands; but after one or two players have made a bid, those following them can judge pretty well how the cards lie. For instance: The seven players are _=A=_ _=B=_ _=C=_ _=D=_ _=E=_ _=F=_ _=G=_. _=A=_ deals, and _=B=_ bids 2 in hearts. _=C=_ and _=D=_ pass. _=E=_ bids 3 in clubs; and _=F=_ says 4 in hearts. It is evident that _=F=_ is bidding on _=B’s=_ offer in hearts, and intends to choose him for a partner.
_=STAKES.=_ The value of the counters must be agreed upon before play begins, and the method of settling should also be understood, Sweepstake Hearts and Howell’s Settling being entirely different games, and requiring totally different methods of play. _=CUTTING.=_ If seven players assemble, it is usual to make up a table in which the dealer takes no cards. If there are more than seven candidates for play, two tables must be formed. Players draw from an outspread pack for the choice of seats and cards, the lowest cut having the first choice, and the others following in their order. The player cutting the lowest card takes the first deal, which afterward passes in regular rotation to the left. In cutting, the ace is low. Any player exposing more than one card must cut again. _=TIES.
Should any player cut into a table during the progress of a game, he must take his seat at the right of the player who dealt the first hand. When six persons offer for play, it is much better to form two tables, but some persons object to playing continuously, and like the rest given to the dealer when more than three play. There are always three active players in Skat. The one who makes the trump is called _=the player=_, or Spieler; the two opposed to him are called the _=adversaries=_, or Gegners; while those who hold no cards are called _=im Skat=_, or Theilnehmer. Of the three active players, the one who leads for the first trick is called _=Vorhand=_; the second player is called _=Mittelhand=_, and the third _=Hinterhand=_. The person sitting on the dealer’s right, to whom the cards are presented to be cut, is called the _=pone=_. No person is allowed to withdraw from the game without giving notice in advance, and he can retire only at the end of a round of deals. It is usual to give notice at the beginning of a round, by saying: “This is my last.” _=CUTTING.=_ Positions at the table are drawn for, the cards ranking as in play, Jacks being the best, and the suits outranking one another in order, so that there can be no ties in cutting.
| | |24.| -- |Wood and clay will | -- | | | |wash away. | | |25.| -- |Build it up with stone| -- | | | |so strong. | | |26.|Get a man to watch all| -- | -- | | |night. | | | |27.|Perhaps that man might| -- | -- | | |fall asleep. | | | |28.| -- | -- | -- | |29.
VI ENDING WITH A SORT OF CHALLENGE I COULD go on now and tell of battles, copiously. In the memory of the one skirmish I have given I do but taste blood. I would like to go on, to a large, thick book. It would be an agreeable task. Since I am the chief inventor and practiser (so far) of Little Wars, there has fallen to me a disproportionate share of victories. But let me not boast. For the present, I have done all that I meant to do in this matter. It is for you, dear reader, now to get a floor, a friend, some soldiers and some guns, and show by a grovelling devotion your appreciation of this noble and beautiful gift of a limitless game that I have given you. And if I might for a moment trumpet! How much better is this amiable miniature than the Real Thing! Here is a homeopathic remedy for the imaginative strategist. Here is the premeditation, the thrill, the strain of accumulating victory or disaster--and no smashed nor sanguinary bodies, no shattered fine buildings nor devastated country sides, no petty cruelties, none of that awful universal boredom and embitterment, that tiresome delay or stoppage or embarrassment of every gracious, bold, sweet, and charming thing, that we who are old enough to remember a real modern war know to be the reality of belligerence.