234 THE COMPLETE SPORTSMAN 



tions of that theological variety of dumb-crambo 

 in which the players are sent out of the room 

 and expected on their return to express panto- 

 mimic ally a number of words that rhyme with 

 Elijah, Abimelech, or Og the King of Bashan. 



It is therefore no exaggeration to claim for my 

 uncle Lord Porpentine that humanity owes him 

 a heavy debt of gratitude for having devised 

 and popularized the pastime of " Sunday 

 Bridge," which it is my purpose to describe as 

 briefly as possible in these pages. 



2. 



My uncle, as everybody knows, is a strict 

 Sabbatarian, and at the same time so enthu- 

 siastic a card-player that " High Church and 

 High Play " might well be the family motto of 

 the Porpentines. For the last forty years he 

 has been an honoured member of the Portman 

 Club, where what is known as the " Porpentine 

 Declaration" — i.e., declaring "No Trumps" 

 with a guarded queen and two tens, and finding 

 four aces in your partner's hand — has earned 

 for him an enviable notoriety. At Mumsey 

 Grove, his country-seat in Dorset, he attends 

 evensong at the village church with admirable 

 regularity, and reads the lessons in a clear, ring- 

 ing voice which can easily be heard above the 



