Dec. 12, 1884.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



493 



H 



<Bm- WiWt Column. 



By Five of Clubs. 



ERE is the preface of the new treatise on Whist, by " Five of 

 Clubs," called " How to Play Whist," now in the press : — 



Preface. 



The following chapters ou the Theory and Practice of Whist 

 originally appeared in Knowledce, and there had the advantage of 

 clie criticisms and suggestions of some of the finest exponents of 

 the game. Thes? ci-iticisnis have in many cases led to important 

 modifications and improvements. The treatise has no claim to 

 novelty as regards Whist principles; in fact, outside the modern 

 signalling systeni and the absolute rejection of the singleton lead, 

 there is very little difference between the Whist of to-day and the 

 Whist of Hoyle and Matthews. 



The method of presenting the leads here adopted is mnch more 

 easily followed than that usually employed. Learners are deterred 

 liy the multitudinous rules for leading from such and such hands, 

 but grasp at once the rules for leading such and such cards. The 

 gain in simplicity is great. For instance, there are hundreds of 

 hands from which the Ace is " the correct card " to play, while 

 there are only two conditions under which Ace should be lead 

 originally; moreover, when these two conditions have been noted, 

 the meaning of an Ace lead is recognised at once. So it is with 

 the two original King leads, the one original Queen lead, and so 

 forth. In less than half an hour, by the method supplied here, 

 the right card to lead and the right meaning of the each lead, can 

 be fully learned. I have extended the same method, as far as 

 possible, to play second hand and third hand. 



As regards the general conduct of the game the chief point of 

 novelty in this work is that I have been careful to correct the 

 common error that, because scientific Whist involves the long suit 

 system at starting, therefore the whole play of each hand should 

 proceed on that system. Many of the rules which l)eginners learn 

 are suitable only for the long suit method ; yet there is scarcely 

 one hand in ten in which one side or the other has not to give up 

 (sometimes quite early) all idea of bringing in a long suit. If I 

 were asked what 1 regarded as the most valuable working quality 

 in a partner, I should answer — Readiness in determining whether 

 an aggressive game, aiming at the introduction of a long suit, 

 should be entered on, or a defensive policy pursued. The original 

 discard tells your partner which line you are taking. 



With regard to the system of signalling, I sympathise with the 

 objections which have been urged against it by many fine players; 

 but the system must be learned by all who wish to play Whist 

 successfully. It must be learned for defence if not for attack. A 

 player is not much worse off than hia fellows it he determines 

 and lets his partner knoichc has determined, never to ffsc the Trump 

 signal, the Echo, or the Penultimate. He may even safely deter- 

 mine never to respond to the Signal, — indeed with too many part- 

 ners this is a most necessary precaution. Yet he can never escape 

 the duty of noticin-i the signals. If he fails to do so, he will ere 

 long find himself forcing the enemy's weak Trump hand and 

 omitting to force the strong (mistaking a response to the signal 

 for an original Trump lead) or committing some other "W^hist 

 enormity. But I incline to judge from the objections of Pembriige, 

 Mogul, and other strong players, to the signalling system, that 

 they have not noticed its full meaning. For they speak of the 

 Echo and Penultimate as if these signals were seldom available, 

 instead of coming in — either in their positive or negative form — 

 far oftener than the Signal for Trumps itself. Especially is the 

 Penultimate Signal of frequent use. Scarcely a hand is played 

 without it. If my partner always leads the lowest but one from a 

 five-card suit (not headed by cards requiring a high card lead) 

 then if he leads a Two, or a card which is shown by the play of 

 the others or by my own hand to be the lowest of his suit, I know 

 that he has not more than three cards left in the suit ; and if the 

 lead is not a forced one, 1 can infer pretty safely that he has just 

 three left. This may prove most important knowledge, not only 

 by showing the limits [of his long suit, but by guiding me as to 

 forcing the enemy in that suit. If the Penultimate is not played 

 in this negative way by my partner, it will probably be so played 

 (or played in the positive form) by the adversaries. I put myself 

 and my partner at a disadvantage, then, if I fail to observe this 

 signal. 



The full importance of the signalling system c^n only be under- 

 stood when we recognise sir signals — thus : — 



1 If ) 



*> IT lei I ^^^ have commanding strength in Trumps, and at 



least one long and strong suit ] , ? '." , ! for trumps. 



i. Unless ] y°" '"^^^ "' '«"«' ^""^ Trumps f ^^ „"" echo ) '" 

 response either to the signal or to your partner's Trump lead. 



6 Unless \ ^°° have at least five cards in a suit play the 



newest but one > , . ,i, , ,• j u ^i i 



) lowest card except wnere the leading cards are such that 



a high card has to be played. 



So understood, signalling goes on in almost every game. But I 

 cannot too carefully warn the learner to be most chary of display- 

 ing the Trump signal ; and especially to reject, as altogether un- 

 suitable for /lim, Pole's rule, that you should always signal from 

 five Trumps. 



My own experience has been that the various signals, so far from 

 taxing the memory, serve greatly to help it. This had been 

 already noticed in the case of the customary rules for leading, 

 discarding, returning leads, and the like. Every act of attention 

 to a rule helps to record the play in the mind. I cannot, indeed, 

 understand why there should be any more effect in noticing signals 

 than in trying to ascertain in other tcays (as by examining your 

 hand at starting) your prospects of success or failure. 



The learner will soon find that at times he must go counter to 

 the customary rules if he would win or save a game. Hand XXVII., 

 p. 158, is a remarkable case in point. Here Mr. Lewis neither led 

 Trumps from five, nor Ace from Ace four others in his long plain 

 suit ; because to have followed either rule would have been running 

 counter to the only rule of play which is absolutely general — Pl.^v 

 TO Wi.v. 



The forty illustrative games are nearly all from actual play. 

 They are chiefly intended to illustrate Whist principles, the way of 

 forming inferences at Whist, and so forth. Several are fine 

 examples of Whist strategy. A few have been selected as examples 

 of bad play. They differ from any such series hitherto published 

 in being fully annotated,* and in having the fnll hantl of each 

 player displayed (with score, trump card, &c.), as if set round the 

 Whist Table itself. The games (contributed to Kxomleiige origi- 

 nally) by Mr. Lewis are particularly valuable. 



The Whist Whittlings include Whist stories, maxims, notes, 

 curiosities, and problems. 



To make the work complete, the Laws and Etiquette of Whist are 

 added, and a Glossary of Whist Terms in more or less common 

 use. "Five of Clubs." 



As an instance of rapid telegraphy, says the Japan Mail, the 

 following item from the record of the Yokohama telegraph ofiice is 

 not without interest : — A telegram was handed in at Yokohama at 

 3.10 p.m., and was received in London at 8.27 a.m. (time of trans- 

 mission, two hours thirty-seven minutes). An inqtiiry arising 

 from the message was given in at London at 10.43 a.m.. and 

 received in Yokohama at 8.40 p.m. (time of transmission, thirty- 

 seven minutes, deducting nine hours twenty minutes, the differ- 

 ence in time between London and Yokohama). The reply wa.s 

 forwarded from Yokohama at 9.50 p.m., and reached Lontion at 

 3.21 p.m. (time of transmission, two hours fifty-one minutes). Thus 

 the whole transaction— forwarding the telegrams, the receiver in 

 London making further inquiry, the examination at this end before 

 replying, and the delay occasioned b}- the messages having to wait 

 their turn for transmission — occupied as nearly as possible the 

 time of the sun's passage between the two places. 



ALIS.4NDEKS, Or Alexanijeks. — It is commonly believed that this 

 old pot-herb has long been extinct ; but in mary Midland districts, 

 especially where mining is a leading industry, it will be found in 

 the cottage gardens, and is regularly emjiloyed in the flavouring of 

 soups. Amongst a similar class on the Continent the plant is in 

 equal favour, and, in fact, it takes the place of celery where this 

 better plant is not grown. It is a British plant that may often be 

 met with on waste ground near the sea, and seems partial to ruins. 

 It is the Smyrniuni olusatnim of the books, a plant of ancient 

 renown for its mild aromatic flavour. When in vigorous growth 

 the leaves reach a height of two to three feet, the stems are stont 

 and deeply furrowed, the leaves alternate, a vivid green colour, the 

 whole plant very closely resembling celery. It does not flower the 

 first year, but iu the second puts up a head of yellowish-green 

 umbels, which are followed by black seeds or nuts. Although 

 belonging to the suspicious umbelliferous order, every part, root 

 included, is perfectly wholesome, and when put into soup communi- 

 cates a flavour sintilar to that of celery. — A7nateur Gardeninrr. 



* Of the five games given by Prof. Pole, two are nnaoand, the 

 play approved being bad ; two are merely examples of play from 

 overwhelming strength, and the fifth (.and last) is merely a Whist 

 curiositv. 



