Cards and Card Tricks, Containing a Brief History of Playing Cards: Full Instructions with Illustrated Hands, for Playing Nearly all Known Games of Chance or Skill; And Directions for Performing a Number of Amusing Tricks

Index.

Cards and Card Tricks.

THE HISTORY OF PLAYING CARDS.

TO write the complete history of cards is not onr intention, it would be a task too lengthy for onr pages, and, may be, would prove too wearisome for the majority of our readers to peruse. To preface the several popular games now in vogue by a short account of them, at the most only a very scanty gleaning of the labours of such men as Chatto, Barrington, Taylor Singer, Lieber, Brietkopt, &c., is all we aspire to, trusting that it will prove sufficiently interesting.

Where cards had their origin is a fiercely contested point even with these authorities. The majority, however, adduce sufficient evidence that they were cradled in the East, though there is a still greater difference of opinion as to which country is to be credited with the honour. Of Egypt, India, and China, India furnishes the greater claim to their invention, though at what date is completely beyond discovery. One of the conflicting claims, it may be well to mention, is that of Aretino, who assigns their discovery to Palamedes, as a diversion for his troops when encamped before the walls of Troy. Even taking it for granted that India was the first to use them, again opinion is divided upon the manner in which they found their way into Europe; and, still again, as to which country was the first acquainted with them.

There is a theory of a very recent date, advocated by Taylor, that the Gipsies introduced them to the western continent. Believing the Gipsies to have been originally one of the lower castes of the Hindu race—partly substantiated by the great resemblance some of the present lowest castes in Beloochistan have to them, both in manners and physique—he attributes their migration to some Thibetian or Mongolian irruption, quoting Grellmann as inferring it to have been the great Mohammedan invasion under Timur Beg. Being continually forced to fly still further and further, after vain endeavours to establish themselves, he traces them through Persia and Arabia into Egypt, whence they made their way into Europe. In his Recherches Historiques, Pasquier montions their entry into Paris as being in Aug. 1427, in a body of over 100, representing themselves, to excite pity, as being Christians driven out of Egypt by the Moslems.

It must not be supposed that the cards of that day were in any way a fac-simile of those now issued by European manufacturers. Nor were their uses the same. Games had very little, if anything, to do with their employment; then, as retained by the Gipsies at the present day, superstition and divining were their attributes, the figures traced upon them being emblematical. It appears that none of these original cards have been discovered, the earliest specimens to which reference can be made, as the nearest representation of them, are those published in Paris in the fifteenth century. One of these cards, or Tarots as they are properly called selected from a number given in History of Playing Cards, published by Chatto and Windus, Piccadilly, is faithfully described by Plate 1.

That cards were known in Europe anterior to the Gipsy entry into Paris, previously mentioned, is proved beyond doubt; indeed, excepting ourselves, the French appear to have been amongst the latest to adopt them. After due investigation, Italy and Spain stand in the first rank of claimants and of these two argument appears to yield to Spain, notwithstanding Bettinelli has fiercely advocated his Italian theory, Heinecken the German, and a whole host on the part of France, M. Leber being perhaps the most formidable. If we adopt the theory of their introduction by the Gipsies, which certainly seems the most feasible, Spain immediately points to history to vouch for her early intercourse with the East, in her unfortunate conflicts with the Moors. Italy appears to have followed Spain, then Germany, then France, and lastly England, in their adoption.

The early Tarots of which we speak were somewhat costly productions, and above the reach of the people, until the invention of wood and copper engraving by the Germans, when a reformation in their history took place, and the masses began to possess them. It is not generally known perhaps, especially by those persons who are ever furious in their denunciation of cards, that, according to competent authorities, the world is indebted to them for the invention of printing.

Illustrating how mere chance often brings to light the most valuable information, it is recorded how that indefatigable searcher for historical relics, M. Hénin, discovered at Lyons an old MS., the cover of which, on examination, proved to be composed of playing cards. M. Duchesne gives the following list of them:—

A—Valet or Knave of Clufys, holding a battle-axe in his right hand. He bears the name of SRolan, one of Charlemagne’s knights.

B—King of Clubs, carrying a sceptre in his right hand and holding a flower in the other. The inscription is taut SOU, which doubtless signifies Lackpenny.

C—Queen of Clubs, a sceptre in her left hand and holding a ring with her right, an emblem of conjugal fidelity; which, taken in connection with the legend Trompette (deceit), seems to be a bitter satire upon marriage.

PLATE 1. EARLY FRENCH CAED.

D—King of Diamonds, holding a sword in his left hand. He bears the name of Coursuve which in the old romances is the name of a Saracen king.

E—Queen of Diamonds, holding a sceptre in her left hand, and with the other a sort of toy in goldsmith’s work. The inscription is en toi te fie, that is to say, Trust in none but thyself.

F—Yalet or Knave of Spades, his left hand on the pommel of his sword and holding in his right a large torch; at his feet is the imperial globe. The inscription appears to be ctarde, to which I can attach no sense.

G—Queen of Spades, her left hand on her hip and holding with her right a flower. The meaning of the legend on this card, ie aut Dict is also obscure.

H—King of Spades, holding with both hands a tilted lance, and bearing the name of Apollin, which is the name of an idol attributed to the Saracens in the romances of that period.

I—Queen of Hearts, her right hand on her hip and with a sceptre in her left.

Legend, la foi est pdu. (la foi est perdue), faith is lost.

J—King of Hearts, holding a sceptre in his left hand. In this card the inscription is cut off.

Some idea of the costliness of cards—hence the reason of their being- confined to the Court and aristocracy—may be formed by mentioning that some packs made for the amusement of an imbecile king (Charles VI.) early in the fourteenth century are thus recorded:—Paid to Jacquemin Gringonneur, painter, for three packs of cards, in gold and colours of divers devices, to present to the said lord the King, for his amusement, 60 solsparisis. One of these is represented in the frontispiece, though but faint idea of the original can be gathered from it as here shown, as it is in plain engraving, instead of being executed in a talented manner on a golden field, relieved with an ornamental dotted pattern, faintly impressed on the ground over which the gilding is laid. The border is in silver, bearing likewise the dotted ornament, the same being represented on all the cards, and intended to represent a ribbon wound round a cylinder. Some portions of the embroidery on the dresses are heightened with gold, the arms and armour being represented in silver. A specimen of a pack in use in the reign of Henry IV. of France (towards the end of the sixteenth century) will be found in Plate 2. The peculiarity of this pack is the kings being Solomon, Augustus, Clovis, and Constantine; while the queens are Elizabeth, Dido, Clotilda, and Penthesilea, each being habited in the costume of the period.

The three of spades (Plate 3) is selected to illustrate the introduction of heraldry into card playing. This pack was published at Lyons in 1659, having with it a small volume as an explanation and guide to the game.

The game played with them was very peculiar, and demanded of those engaged in it a thorough knowledge of blazonry, geography, and history. The table around which the players sat was covered with a map of Europe, and after the cards were dealt, &c., in accordance with prescribed rules, the lowest proceeded to explain the blazonry of the card he held, paying a forfeit of one for every mistake he made either to the player who corrected him or to the pool. Each in rotation having done likewise, another round was commenced by explaining the geography of the card in a like manner, after which the history was taken. The game was, in those days, very popular, and produced many imitations. The card selected as a specimen gives the arms of the seventeen provinces of the Low Countries, as will be seen on reference to it.

PLATE 2.—FRENCH CARD OF THE 16TH CENTURY.

PLATE 3. FRENCH HERALDIC CARD OF THE 17TH CENTURY.

Cards, in common with most things of any popularity, have had their troubles; and we find that both at home and abroad special interdicts have been issued against their use. They have had also to contribute large sums towards the maintenance of the State in the shape of duty, ranging from sixpence to a shilling upon every pack made, in addition to which the manufacturer had to pay an annual license duty.

That these troubles—most certainly the first—were self-inflicted is unquestionable, if we consider the pitch to which the mania for gambling sometimes reached. In the reign of Charles II. we find Lady Castlemain winning in one single night no less a sum than £15,000, while on another occasion she suffered a reverse to the extent of £25,000. Leaving our own country, and turning to France, we find it on record that in the reign of Louis XIY. the Abbé de Garde lost the enormous sum of 50,000 crowns in one hour—a sum equivalent to £12,500 at the present day. Money stakes appear to have been on many occasions replaced by the most outrageous substitutes. So recent as the eighteenth century we find a child staked against 4s. in a gaming house at Chester-le-street, Durham; and the child being duly won, was delivered up to the successful players. A description of the officials engaged at one of these gaming houses is thus given by Taylor, in his History of Playing Cards:—A commissioner, usually a proprietor himself, who, with two ether proprietors, audited the accounts weekly and gave general attention of an evening to the house; a director who specially attended to the room; an ‘operator,’ whose business it was to cheat at pharao; two croupiers, who watched the cards and gathered in the money; two ‘puffs’—in modern phrase ‘bonnets’—to act as decoys; a clerk, who acted as a check on the ‘puffs’ to prevent them pocketing the money given them to play with; an under ‘puff’ to act the tyro; a ‘flasher,’ to swear how often the bank had been broken; a ‘dun,’ whose office was to receive the money lost at play; a waiter to fill up wine glasses, snuff candles, &c.; a Newgate ‘attorney;’ a fighting captain; an usher, to light up the guests; a porter, usually a private in the Foot Guards; an orderly man, to watch and give the alarm; an out-door spy, to watch justices’ meetings, &c.; and finally, a tagrag and bob-tail of common bail, affidavit men, ruffians, assassins, and people in general."

In such company how enjoyable a game at cards must have been, and how intense must have been the public passion to have led patrons to such establishments. We think the prejudice—still so deep in many country places—against the use of cards at the present day, is attributable in some measure to these scenes.

If we look into the introduction of cards, coupled as it was with fortune telling, and superstitious emblems, if we mark their progress in society, and note the gambling with them, when whole fortunes were lost and won in a single hour; if we think of what effect legislation against them would have on the poor classes, and last, though not least, the Puritanical ideas propagated by Cromwell and his fanatics concerning them, it is not to be wondered at that a prejudice still exists, and that occasionally a dissenting voice is heard against adopting them as a means of recreation and amusement. That more frequent intercourse will erase all this there is no doubt, as wherever introduced cards hold their own, and the innocence of their employment as a pastime soon becomes manifest. That abuse sometimes creeps in is not denied—the same may be said of every, thing—and though small stakes are not to be objected to as adding interest to a game, sums of any magnitude are to be strictly avoided. Fair play in every sense of the word must be the golden motto, or leave cards alone altogether, and not follow the sharper’s rule—

He who hopes at cards to win,

Must never thick that cheating’s sin;

To make a trick whene’er he can,

No matter how, should be his plan.

No case of conscience must he make,

Except how he may save his stake;

The only object of his prayers—

Not to be caught and kicked down stairs.

*** It should be understood that throughout the games described the illustrative hands do not necessarily indicate the best play. They are merely given to show in the readiest manner the broad principles. In many instances, were we to go into the correct play, with the pros and cons, we should require to write volumes instead of chapters.

WHIST.

The Lords of the Three Kingdoms (France, Spain, and Germany), after declaiming all day on affairs of State, found it necessary to rest their tongues at night; so they invented a mute game and called it Whist.

THOUGH very pretty to read, and agreeable to imagine, this anecdote savours too much of the once upon a time legends to be worthy of much credence, and we think can safely be consigned to oblivion. Indeed, there abounds far more proof that the origin of Whist is hereditary to the kitchen rather than the Court. When it was invented is shrouded in obscurity, and probably will never come to light; this, in our opinion, would to some extent, indicate its low life birth; historians being only too anxious to chronicle the doings of the Court.

From the arguments adduced, however, by the various modern writers, it would appear that Whist is, in all probability, only a refined variation of Bough and Honours, or Buff and Honours as we more frequently find it written.

In the reign of Charles II. it was much in vogue, though not exact to its present form. An additional stake was then played called Swabbers, which the holder of particular cards was entitled to claim. This stake is even retained at the present day in some parts of the country, an instance of which is mentioned by Mr. R. B. Wormald as having come under his notice one evening, when driven by bad weather to seek the shelter of a sequestered hostelry on the Berkshire bank of the Thames. He says "On entering the parlour we were agreeably surprised to find four local ‘Cavendishes’ deeply immersed in the ‘game of silence’, to the accompaniment of long pipes. In the middle of the hand, one of the players, with a grin that almost amounted to a chuckle, and a vast display of moistened thumb spread out upon the table the ace of trumps, whereupon the other three deliberately laid down their hands, and forthwith severally handed over the sum of one penny to the fortunate holder of the card in question. On inquiry we were informed that the process was technically known as a ‘swap’ (query ‘swab’ or ‘swabber’), and was de rigueur in all properly constituted Whist circles. He further adds Our efforts to elucidate the etymology of the term proved unavailing. Leaving Mr. Wormald, however, and his pleasant company, and consulting Taylor, we find that The term originated from the nautical implement used in that maritime age by sailors to clear and ‘swab’ the decks."

The period when Ruff and Honours or Trump was first played in England, cannot be discovered either, though Cavendish succeeds in tracing it as far back as the reign of Henry VIII.

The original appellation Ruff, as also Whisk or Whist, the present term, cannot be associated with any meaning, nor can the derivation be traced. Whist! we know to be an interjection commanding silence, and is even mentioned by some authorities to have given the title to the game, by reason of the silence reigning during its progress; but as Whisk was the original, this theory is scarcely tenable. Be this as it may, the game itself and not its history is our object; and we must plead the precedent laid down by others when touching on this king of all card games, for prefacing it with a few remarks upon its origin.

If other card games were invented for amusement, this would appear to indicate business, as, to play it properly a considerable amount of headwork is essential. The whole thirteen cards contained in each hand must be studied with earnestness; each one played, and each one still to come must be remembered; in short, the whole mind must necessarily be centred on the game, or it is not Whist. To play it is very easy, no game more so; but to play it properly is a different matter altogether, and one that needs a considerable amount of study and practice. We do not infer that it is necessary to treat the game in a strictly scientific manner to be productive of amusement, far from it; indeed, we should venture to express an opinion that many rubbers are played by persons who have never studied Hoyle or Cavendish, with as much zest and enjoyment as experienced by the crack players at the Clubs.

The game is played at either of two scores:—Long Whist ten points, and Short Whist five points.

Originally, the game was ten points only, the system of five points according to Mr. Clay having been introduced as recently as the commencement of the present century.

Before proceeding to the mode of playing the game, it may be well to mention a few of the principal terms used in it.

A Lurch or Triplet is the scoring of the whole ten points before the other side have one.

A Rubber is the winning of two games out of three.

A Slam is the obtaining of the whole thirteen tricks in the one hand.

Can ye? or The Call is a player at eight points asking his partner if he have one honour.

Finesse is having the best and third best of. a suit.

Finessing is playing the lower card though holding the higher.

Honours are the ace, king, queen, and knave of the trump suit.

Quarte, any four cards in sequence.

Quarte Major, a sequence of ace, king, queen, and knave.

Quint, a sequence of five cards.

Revoke, playing a card other than the suit led, when the player could have followed.

Terce, a sequence of three cards of one suit.

Trick, the four cards played in each round.

Trump, The last card when dealt out—the turn-up.

Though sometimes played by three persons with a dummy hand, or two persons with a double dummy, the general game is with four players. Partners are first selected by cutting, the two highest playing against the two lowest, the latter having the first deal. The position in which they sit is, each player being immediately opposite to his partner. The cards after having been shuffled, are then cut to the dealer by the player on his right, i.e., the player divides the pack by lifting off a portion (not less than three), the bottom portion being then placed upon those so taken, thus making the pack again complete. They are then dealt round face downwards in rotation to each player, commencing with the one on the dealer’s left, until the whole pack is exhausted, the last card being turned over and left exposed upon the table, it being trumps. Each player thus having thirteen cards, the one exposed belonging to the dealer’s hand and being taken up by him when it comes his turn to play to the first round. In value, the cards count as the pips upon them denote, with the exception of the ace, which is the highest (except in cutting, when it is the lowest), thus, after the ten, the knave, then the queen, then the king, and lastly the ace.

The elder hand, the player on the dealer’s left, then leads a card, each player following in rotation and being compelled to keep to the suit led if having it, the highest card winning the trick. Should a player not be able to follow suit, and therefore plays a trump (i. e., a card of the turn-up suit upon it), that trump, however small, takes precedence of the other cards played. Should a player, however, not trump, but throw a card of another suit, it (the card so played) does not affect the trick in any way, even though it be a higher card. The player of the winning card upon each trick has then to lead for the next round.

The cards when a trick is concluded are gathered together and placed face downwards upon the table near the player collecting them.

Example: A. B. C. D. are the players. They each cut the cards, proving to be thus:—

A.

B.

C.

D.

A. and C. are thus partners against B. and D.; the latter having the deal. The cards are again shuffled and cut, when B. deals them out as follows.

C’s HAND.

D’s. HAND.

A.’s HAND.

B.’s HAND.

And the turn-up Card (Trumps)

The game is then opened by C., and the round played thus:—

(The letters denote the players, the numbers the order in which the cards are played.)

TRICK 1.

TRICK 2.

The original lead wins this trick. C. therefore again leads, as in Trick 2. This C. also wins, and leads off as in Trick 3.

TRICK 3.

TRICK 4.

In this round A. having no spades left, and knowing that there are still three spades cards unplayed, likewise knowing that his partner’s card is the best of the suit does not trump, but throws away on the trick. C. winning this trick, also leads again. (Trick 4.) D’s. queen of diamonds winning this trick—he leads off. (Trick 5.)

TRICK 5.

TRICK 6.

Which being also won by D., he leads again. (Trick 6.) The ace wins this for this C.—who leads the seventh trick.

TRICK 7.

TRICK 8.

There still being two diamonds out, and only one player to come after him, A. resolved not to trump his partner’s best card and so throws a heart away. The trick of course belongs to C. who again leads.

D. knowing the card led to be the odd one, does not