Oct. 20, 1882.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



347 



of the Universe," and " The Theory of Progression." — F. A. 

 Ufllamy. Mr. Collyns's book is quite paradoxical. He has 

 mistaken the proof that tlie apparent brightness of the snn is the 

 same from whatever distance it is seen, for a proof that the same 

 amount of light is received from it.— T. Winder. Thanks ; it sliall 

 appear. — E. D. G. Yes, Rontledge's " Discoveries and Inventions 

 of the Nineteenth Century" is good; but surely you do not call it 

 "a complete history of the Advance of Science" during the time ? 

 That was what I was asked for.— F. Stanley. Thanks. You will 

 see that your wishes are already attended to. — Geo. Kasie.vsky. 

 Thanks ; but no space at present.— C. W. Y. All right ; Philology 

 .soon. — M. J. Harding. Will try to do so. But the publishers wish 

 to bring out the flaps in book form, and may not approve of a 

 .second printing of those maps. You doubtless notice the difference 

 of scale. — R. Forrow. No mistake of that kind has been made. 

 The true course of the comet does not intersect the sun. — T. E. 

 BoNSER. Truly, your suggestion seems an excellent one. It shall 

 be followed. — Deo Fido. Yes, the new use of the " stethoscope " to 

 foretell rain is striking. — X. W. S. Y'ou should divide by the cihe, 

 not by the square of B L. " That's how the error has arisen." 



ELECTRICAL. 

 A. B. (1) Thanks. With an already acquired knowledge of 

 electricity your age (20) would doubtless prove a very convenient 

 line for commencing practical studies preparatory to becoming an 

 electrical engineer. (2) I do not think you will do far wrong in 

 joining the school. Go and see for yourself. . I imagine electrical 

 engineers are far too busy to find time for instructing pupils. (3) 

 Electrician and electrical engineer are, to all intents and purposes, 

 synonymous, the latter having, perhaps, a slightly more practical 

 ring about it. There are times when one name has a preference 

 over the other — for instance, we should speak of an amateur 

 electrician, but scarcely of an amateur electrical engineer. — 

 Pl'zzLED. The explanation of your difficulty will probably be that 

 II Bunsen battery running down in four hours or so, the accumulator 

 discharged itself during the night through the Bunsen, leaving a 

 deposit of sulphate of lead on one of the plates. This is insoluble 

 and non-conducting; accordingly, when you attempted to pass a 

 charging current, it did not for a time get through ; eventually, you 

 say, it did get through, but left no stored energy. This was doubt- 

 less owing to the blotting paper which separated the luuch-too- 

 closely-packed-plates, rotting through and falling to the bottom, 

 lead-trees then forming across the space separating the plates. 

 Use felt or asbestos next time. A medical coil revolving at a high 

 speed would hardly suit your purpose, as it would give too much 

 electro-motive force, while you would be deficient in current 

 strength or quantity. — W. S. If space permits, your request shall 

 lie complied with, but supply and demand are not yet equal. — 

 A. E. Ne-U,. The Post-office, I think, sometimes sell single needle 

 telegraph instruments at £3. 15s. each. If you cannot get supplied 

 there, tiy the Silvertown Company, or Clark, Muirhcad, & Co., 

 Westminster. — C. J. Eve. 1, 2, 3, and 4, will be answered shortly 

 in an article. (5) The Siemens' Armature is the simplest and best 

 for your purpose. We have yet to learn which is the most efficient, 

 lifter taking all things into consideration. (6) Yes. (7) Your 

 wish shall soon be gratified, want of space is the only difficulty. 



Letters Received. — Dazed.— J. Bcmrose. — E. B. W. — T. E. 

 IJimscr.— Arturus.— Romolo.— M.aui.— G. A. S.— W. F.— G. .l.Over. 

 — F. C. Brown- Webber.— Daleth.—W. Hainsby.—W. Ackroid.— T. 

 ^Valker. — W. C. Masters. — James Cram. — Gradatim. — Another 

 Perplexed Student.— E. M. King. — Samson. — J. Greenfield. — 

 Newton Crosland.— S. Barker. — Lara. — W. Bolden. — J. Davidson. — 

 More Light.— I. J. Rnbie.— An Oxford Student.- C. I. Brown.— 

 H. W. H.— J. E. Howe.— W. S.— W. M. Beaumont. 



#ur aaabisit column. 



By " Five of Clubs." 



WE continue our brief suniniary of the chief rules for play — the 

 axioms of the science, as it were — not to know which argues 

 ■Whist unknown. 



Play Third Hand. 

 Play your best if above and not in sequence with your portner's 

 lend, and above second hand ; but play lowest of head sequence, or 

 of head curds otherwise equal in value (as Nine from Nine, Knave, 

 King, if Ten and Queen have been played). But holding Ace, 

 Queen, play the Queen, unless a single trick saves game. 



You can safely finesse in trumps when strong in them, sometimes 

 even against two cards. Never play a needlesabj high card third in 



hand. If you can win the trick or force out the King card with 

 a Ten or a Nino, it is a Whist offence of the first magnitude to play 

 the Knave. 



Play FofETii Hand. 

 Win the trick, if against you, as cheaply as you can. It is very 

 seldom good policy to pass the trick for the chance of making two, 

 unless the chance is almost a certainty. But if at the score two 

 tricks are wanted to save the game, then, of course, you should 

 try for the two tricks at the risk of losing even the one in your 

 power. Only win yonr partner's trick when you are sure, or 

 almost sure, of gaining at least two tricks by getting the lead into 

 your hands. With the King card of your partner's suit, singly 

 guarded, and only lo.siiiL,' i;inls lirsides, take the trick from yonr 

 partner and lead Inn ; . unless one trick more will save 



the game, in whiti \ our Kingcard in your partner's 



suit will make it. ' m make but that trick, and yon 



cannot lead vour 1 1.1 : 



Leading Trumps. 



Lead trumps when 

 and bringing in, citln 

 or your partner's >ii : 

 the suit is a mean^, 

 from the adversari. 

 these winning cards ; 



good chance of getting out trumps 



I rump or re-entering card, your own 



-Triblished suit, every card left in 



;l.e purpose, of drawing a trump 



Milting, then, your chances, count 



strength against the enemy's 



trumps. Weak players seem unable to understand this. " Why 

 should I lead a card for the enemy to trump ? " they ask. The 

 answer is, that a long trump against you will make, do what you 

 will ; if it takes one of your long suit, and leaves you the rest as 

 winning cards, with power to bring them in, it does you the least 

 harm possible. If, instead, you carefully refrain from forcing it 

 out, and play (as weaklings always will do) your head-cards in the 

 opponents' suits, -that long trump is used not only to win its single 

 trick, but to bring in the enemy's long cards. You do not even sai-e 

 a single trick by failing to force, and you may lose tivo or three yci' 

 might have made. , 



Leading trumps from a weak suit is only excusable when, either 

 yon have commanding strength in all the plain suits, or the enemy 

 have established a cross-ruff, or nothing but a strong trump hand of 

 yonr partner's can save the game. 



RfLES COXSTITCTING THE LANGfAGE Of THE GaSIE. 



Return the highest of two left after first round ; the lowest of 

 three or more. Iv'^eglect of this rule is a very serious mistake : in 

 trumps it often proves disastrous. With very strong trumps and a 

 good suit, signal at the first opportunity, by playing or discarding 

 an unnecessarily high card before a low one in the same suit. 

 Rciueniber, howpver, that strength which will justify a trump lead 

 will not justify si'malling. Leading tmmps means that the trump 

 load is lik.ly to suit your hand ; signalling means that it is certain 

 to ilii S.I, ^Vlii II ymir partipi- Las si^nialled, lead your best trump 

 at til" lii.-t M|-| nirimiit\ , unlrvs ynn have four or more, when lead 

 tlic si,i;illi-i ; liiif Willi tiiur, three honours, or Queen, Knave, Ten. 

 anutlur, lead tlie best. Meantime, note that if he is a good player 

 he will look out for the "echo to the signal" — so, if you have four 

 trumps, or more, you should signal (in any suit, — including trumps). 

 So also, if yonr partner leads trumps, and yon hold four or mon>, 

 no matter how small, you should signal in trumps, or at the first 

 chance. Lastly, in leading a small card from a five-card snit, play 

 the lowest but one, and follow with the lowest. This signal, called 

 the penultimate, means that you have five in the suit, unless the 

 circnnustances are such that you might have led the highest of a 

 short suit ; in which case it is best to lead the lowest, for the conse- 

 quences of a mistake as to n suit being strong or weak are likely to 

 be much more serious than those arising from doubts as to your 

 holding four or five. 



TO CORRE.SPONDENTS. 

 P. .\. I!. — You held the second best tminp, the place of the best 

 being unknown, your long suit was established, and you held n 

 couple of cards inyour partner's snit. You ask us what you should 

 have done. fan there be a shadow of a doubt ? Your |>ropor 

 course should have been as clear as day to you. What you did 

 was, you say, to play yonr trnm]i, finding the best with your 

 partner, who could not lead you your .suit, so the adversaries made 

 their long cards. Pnr<lon me for saying that you were rightly 

 served; Imi it vas hard on your paiiner. Yon should hove led the 

 best cnni of your established snit. If the best trump was with an 

 adversary, yon would thus have forced it out, and your long trumps 

 would then' have brought in your suit, after playing ont which you 

 would have led your partner's. .\8 the canls lay yon wouUl. of 

 course, have done better .still. It is utterly absurd to try to save 

 every eard of yonr long snit in such a case. 



