The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-26 00:00:00

The Biography of Whist.

Whist is unquestionably of English origin, though
as to the time and place of its birth we do not postm
sess any precise evidence. Whist is not mentioned
by Shakspere, nor by any writer of the Elizabethan
era, from which we may infer that the game was
then scarcely in existence. All that we knob
about the extreme childhood of whist is, that it
was spent in the servants' hall. Its associates
there, we are informed on the authority of Daioes
Barrington, were " put " and all-fours." The game
seems soon to have manifested seductive powers,
for as early as 1630 Taylor the Water Poet, mentions
whist as inducing the prodigal to " fling his money
free with carelessuesse." We cannot deny that at
this period the character and friends of whist were
decidedly low. Whist even appears in a lock-up in
the questionable company of Mr Jonathan Wild, The
great Fielding records that when the ingenious
Count la Ruse was domiciled with Mr Geoffrey
Snap (who enjoyed office under the sheriffs of Lon-
don and Middlesex), his countship sought to be'
guila the tedium of his in-door existence by re'
course to the amusements of the day. Mr SnaPid
two daughters benevolently aided him, and chose
Wild to make up their parties. Whist and swabber°
(which is only whist under an alais) was then (1862)
greatly in vogue, and the ladies were conscqbuotil
obliged to look out for a fourth person. In the
" Memoirs of the Lives, Intrigues, and Comical MI
ventures of the most Famous Gamesters" from t"
time of Charles 11, to that of Queen Anne, we come
across a sharper named Johnson, whose last advert-
tare was that he was hanged in 1690. Of him it i°,
written that he excelled in the art of " securing'
honours for himself and partner when playing'
at whist. We next hear of whist frequenting publif,
houses in the City. " The Compleat Gamester,
originally published in 1674, does not mentie°
whist at all; but in later editions we are told the/
whist was a tavern game, and that sharpers gene
rally took care to put about the bottle bef°'l.
business began, For all this, whist never aneenit
modated itself easily to the designs of card legs% t
never took to them kiracty, but, like Oliver Twist:
it was the victim of circumstances and of its °V4:
inexperience. Whist was more sinned against then
sinning. Accordingly it contrived, after a time, to
ai
escape from its tavern acquaintances; and early et
in the eighteenth century, though not as
fashionable, it had, at least, become respectauti'
Its principle friends at this epoch were COullr
squires and country parsons. In the "13ea its
Strategem," by Farquhar (1707), Squire Sullen
a
said to fond of whist, and Mrs. Sullen, who Via%.
fine lady from London, refers to her husband's hen
dilection in terms which imply that whist was
classed with rural rather than west-end accomPadee
meats, Pope also, about this time (1715), alie
to whist in conjunction with the equirearonY ; an,'
Swift, in his "Essay on the Fates of ClergYineea
(1728), says that the clergy occasionally indulg_ot
in the society of whist. This patronage doesvlu..,
seem to have been equal to the task of retrie..:!:
whist from the character of vulgarity. Bstter Nit;
however, were in store for it. About this tirne
.1,110
Compleat Gamester"became amalgamated with
tro
Court Gamester," end whist was admitted intuivai •
first, and courtly division of the work, in Col"!
tate
with " ombre, quadrille, quintille, picquet,
royal game of chess." Auout 1730, a party ell bove,
tlemen, of whom the first Lord Folkestone we!.
frequented the Crown coffee-house in Bedford
arolu';',
and there introduced whist, studied the
.to
and, it is believed, discovered some of its
ciples. Ia 1743, whist was adopted by
.t of
Hoyle, who is to this day called the fatherada the
etheqeugatanmtaen.
ef3of Undereil
thhies aruesepkicaees,d wfaheihlsietrilnot,
'hanuel net
ing
land, and travelled across the 1, yrelice
the Anglomania which prevailed
Baron de says, It was e7enthee it wae bfr
the latter part of the eighteenth
Versailles, but I cannot affirm
own".„
The
the English ambassador in p
:known. It was weDd
crieeunptruerAL-Iteldil;
l
of the career of whist is clubs,
corned to all the
became the lion of,,t_L;
fashionable assemblies.but and written about. Ones
fashionable
by all; and
admired and respected
chocivoleltate.houses,
nay.re really y known,t
Wen'
little contretemps with the. pr
retains
AT,
30 years back, it has
esteemede:tineivr eb:sraellifao:exiouf:
Society.
ailtletievdasa
land, sornweast
—From " London

noW.