262 



♦ KNO^A^LEDGE 



[June 1, 1886. 



constellation she is travelling until 2b. 30m. p.ir. on the ord, at 

 which instant she crosses into the narrow northern strip of Orion. 

 By 2 o'clock the next morning she has traversed this and entered 

 Gemini (" The Seasons Fictnred,'' plate xxiv.) Her passage across 

 Gemini occupies her until i P.M. on the 5th : and then she passes 

 into Cancer. At 3 A.M. on the 7th she quits Cancer for Leo ; as she 

 does Leo. in turn, for Virgo, at 3 P.M. on the 9th (" The Seasons 

 Pictured," plate xxv.) By 5 P.M. on the 12th she has travelled 

 across Virgo and passed into Libra (" The Seasons Pictnred," plate 

 xxvi.) Having completed her journey through Libra, at 3 P.M. on 

 the Uth she arrives at the narrow northern strip of Scorpio. She 

 takes 9 hours to cross this, and emerges in the southern part of 

 Ophiuchus at midnight. On the IGth, at 7 P.M., she leaves Ophiu- 

 chus for Sagittarius : whence, at 8 A.M. on the 19th, she crosses 

 into Capricornus. She leaves Capricornus for Aquarius at 7 A.M. on 

 the 20th ("The Seasons Pictured," plate xxi.), her passage across 

 Aquarius occupying her until noon on the 23rd, when she enters 

 Pisces (" The Seasons Pictured," plate xxii.) She is occupied until 

 6 P.sr. on the 2Cih in traversing this great constellation, and at the 

 hour just named passes into Aries (" The Seasons Pictured," plate 

 sxiii.) At 10 AM. on the 28th she leaves Aries for Taurus. In 

 pursuing her path through the last-named constellation she once 

 more arrives, at llh. 30m. on the night of the 30th, on the boundary 

 of the narrow northern strip of Orion. She is, of course, in this 

 outlying portion of Orion at midnight. 



WHIST. 



By "Five of Clubs." 



X the following sketch of a game we compare the way in 

 which a scientific player and the old-fashioned familj- 

 whist-player regard and deal with a particular hand. 

 The question of the advantage or propriety of signal- 

 ling does not come in ; at any rate, nothing is gained 

 by the only player who actually signals, but, on the 

 contrary, he obviously loses ground through his signal- 

 ling. 



I am, let us suppose, the third player ; my partner, therefore, 

 having to lead. I find on examining my cards that I hold Queen 

 and two small trumps (Clubs) ; King and three small cards in my 

 best plain suit (Spades) ; Queen, Knave, and another card in another 

 plain suit (Hearts) ; and in the remaining suit (Diamonds) I hold 

 Ace and two small cards. The trump card is a small Club. This is 

 a good hand, though many would be discontented with it, as there 

 is noihing very striking in its strength. 1 am rather short, it is 

 true, in trumps, and if my King falls in Spades I can do nothing in 

 my best suit ; but with fair luck in the fall of the cards, and if my 

 partner has a tolerably good hand, we ought to be able to hold our 

 own against the enemy, for 1 have a fair amount of protection in 

 the other plain suits. Still, if the enemy are strong in trumps, and 

 have a long and strong plain suit, matters may go rather heavily 

 against us. That is the view which the player of whist takes of 

 such a hand. The family whist-player, on the other hand, considers 

 that he will surely make his Ace of Diamonds, and probably his 

 King of Spades and one of his Queens, and there his ideas about 

 sucti a hand stop. 



Now suppose my partner leads the King of Diamonds : then I 

 know he holds the Queen also, and most probably two more. If he 

 only holds one more, probably he holds four trumps and three cards 

 in each of the other suits. The player on my right drops the Nine ; 

 I and the fourth .player two small cards. My partner leads the 

 Seven of Diamonds, player on my right drops the Four, I play the 

 Ace, and player on my left drops another small card : but the Six 

 of Diamonds has not yet fallen. To the family whist-player holdin? 

 such a hand as mine, and also playing as I have done (for he could 

 do no otherwise), the game is no more developed now than it was 

 at the beginning. He would be troubled about making his King of 

 Spades, as he had already made his Ace of Diamonds : but would 

 have no idea how the cards lay. But the game has in reality been 

 much developed, anl the proper strategy clearly indicated. I know, 

 if I understand whist and have been duly observant, a number of 

 things. In the first place, the player on my right is strong in 

 trumps, for he lias signalled his partner to lead them at the first 

 opportunity. Next, I know that my partner has the Queen of 

 Diamonds, and not both the Knave and the Six. If he is a follower 

 of the new American rules he may hold the Six, and have played 

 the Seven as his fourth best card : but in that case he does not hold 

 the Knave, for, had he done so, the Knave (from live cards in the suit, 

 headed by Kiusr, Queen, Knave) was the right card to play. The 

 Six certainly does not lie on my right. The chances are that either 

 the Six or the Ten, or the Knave, or both Six and Ten or Six and 



Knave, lie on my left. Therefore, if I lead my partner's suit, the 

 chances are that I compel the player on my right to trump — my 

 partner still remaining with the best card of the suit, and perhaps 

 with both the remaining cards. Now this is precisely what the 

 family whist- plaj'er would religiously avoid. "What! give my foe 

 the chance of trumping ! " he would say. " Jlost assuredly not, if I 

 know it." He would lead his lowest Spade, the chances being two 

 to one that the enemy would make the trick, bring in trumps, and 

 probably make a number of tricks in Hearts, which are certainly 

 their strong plain suit. The family whist-player would be quite 

 unconscious that he had brought disaster on himself and on his ally 

 by losing the chance of forcing the adverse strong trump hand. 



I lead, however, my partner's suit ; he heads the second player, 

 and fourth player trumps. So much is certainly good for our side. 

 Possibly that strong trump hand on my right may have been so far 

 weakened that he will not now lead trumps. But it appears that 

 this is not the case. He leads a small trump. I know now that 

 either he originally held six, or else his plain cards are very strong, 

 in which case I rejoice at the thought that my King of Spades lies 

 on his left, for he probably holds the Ace. (As a matter of fact he 

 does not, but that is a detail.) He leads a trump, then ; I play a 

 small trump ; player on my left exhibits, luckily, extreme weakness 

 — his card is the original trump card — and my partner takes the 

 trick with the Ten. Now, what will my partner do ? He knows not 

 which is my better suit of the two plain suits unplayed. If he 

 holds both the remaining cards of his own suit (Diamonds) he would 

 hardly lead one ; for that w-ould be to let the weak trump hand 

 ruff, and this is always bad. However, I find he does lead the best 

 card of his suit. I have reason then to think that the last card of 

 the suit lies with my enemy on the left. The case is really other- 

 wise, and far more favourable for us. Pee, now, how the strong 

 opponent is put at a disa<lvantage by this lead, which, to the family 

 whist-player, seems so absurd. If he lets it pass, a trick is made, 

 and probabh' the next lead will be through his strength — always 

 unpleasant. If he trumps it, he either has to lead trumps again, 

 which (after the weakness shown by his partner) is misery, or to 

 lead from his strong suit at a probable disadvantage ; for neither of 

 his enemies has yet unguarded himself in either Spades or Hearts. 

 He passes the trick. I discard a small Spade — following the proper 

 course when the enemy has declared strength in trumps. But, aha ! 

 what is this ? My opponent on the left neither follows suit nor 

 trumps, but discards a Heart 1 This discloses nearly everything. I 

 know not only that my partner holds the remaining Diamond — 

 which is ob%'ious, though the family whist-player, who will never 

 condescend to count up to thirteen, might not have noticed it — but 

 that he must hold such trumps as to have felt sure that the player 

 on my left had no more. I know, further, that the other enemy 

 cannot have held originally six, or he would have been well able to 

 afford a ruff. Since, then, I held three, and the two opponents on 

 my right and left five and one respective!}", my partner held origi- 

 nally four trumps. Vi'e have our erst threatening foe, then, in a 

 cleft stick ! My partner equals him in length of trump suit in hand ; 

 I hold a guarded Queen in trumps, second best in Spades, and a 

 high sequence in Hearts. We shall came out best, without question. 



My partner now leads the last Diamond. Second pAayer may 

 please himself as to trumping it or passing it. If he trumps with 

 anything short of his best (he docs not hold both the Ace and the 

 King, I know), I shall over-trump. He is in the dark as to the 

 position of the high cards in trumps. He prefers not to disarm 

 himself, lest haply he should lose in the play of the plain suits ; for, 

 observe, this is but the sixth trick. He passes the trick (I discard- 

 ing a Heart). And now my partner, having good reason to think 

 that it will be disadvantageous for second player to be led through 

 in trumps, leads a small trump ; Knave is put on it, and I take the 

 trick with my Queen. I know now tliat my partner holds the Ace, 

 and opponent the King. Quite probably both the remaining tricks 

 in trumps will go to my partner, if only opponent be compelled to 

 lead trumps at the last. (The enemy are sure to make some tricks 

 in plain suits.) Probably mj' left-hand opponent, if he has any 

 strength at all, has it in Spades. I lead a Spade, and the trick falls 

 to my right-hand opponent's Queen. He leads a Spade, and left- 

 hand opponent takes the trick with the Ace. A Spade is again led, 

 which I take with my King. I lead my Heart Queen, which is 

 captured on my right by the King. The Ace of Hearts, led on my 

 right, makes another trick for the enemy. Then my right-hand 

 opponent having to lead from the second and fourth best trumps, 

 mj- partner holding best and third best, both the remaining tricks 

 fall to my partner. We make two by tricks. 



This game is a simple, and in a sense familiar, example of the 

 value of correct play, and of the interest of a game correctly played. 

 For, though no two games of whist are exactly alike, there are 

 cert ain types of plaj- which are often reproduced. In this game a 

 good score was made against a strong hand by following a principle 



