The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-15
WON AND LOST AT WHIST.
Ministers Play With the Coffin as a
Table.
From the Boston Post.

From the Boston Post.
Many strange stories are told of whist
playing, but none can excel this
Some years ago there was a whist club
in Somersetshire, England, composed
mostly of ministers. They met every
Sunday evening in the back parlor of a
barber. -Four of these were one time act
ing as pall-bearers at the funeral of a
reverend brother, when a delay occurred
owing to the grave being not quite ready
and the coffin was set down at the chan
Gel. BY way of Willing away the time.
one of them produced a pack of cards
from his pocket and proposed a few hands
of whist. The rest gladly assented, and
they were deep in their game, using the
coffin as table. when the sexton came
to announce that the preparations were
complete
Goldsmith tells of an old lady who. ly-
ing sick unto death, played cards with the
curate to pass the time away, and after
winning all his money had Just proposed
to play for her funeral charges when she
expired
Metternich, the great Austrian states
man, owed to single game of whist the
greatest sorrow of his life. One evening
while he was engaged in his favorie game,
an express arrived with dispatches from
Galicia He placed the papers on the man
tel piece and went on playing all that
night and far into the morning. When
the party broke up ne was Mortified to
learn that upon his immediate reply to
the dispatches depended the fate of 2 600
innocent persons. Had Metternich loved
whist less passionately. history had never
recorded the infamous Galician massacre.
1t is said that when the revolution broke
out in Paris repeated and frantic MESA ges
were sent to Charles \. informing him of
crossed. in cards, however. and not to he
disturbed, and each time the reply came:
His majesty is playing whist"
Another cool whist player was Lord
SLIGO. men the news arrived that
magnificent residence was en- fire he
stopped only a moment to ascertain
material service on the scenc of the con-
aagration. Finding that ii would not. he
calmly took up the hand which had been
dealt him while he was talking with the
messenger, and resumed play.
Does whist playing cause or encourage
heartlessness? When Lord Thanet was in
the tower for the O'Connor riot, three
friends-the Duke of Bedford, the Duke
De Laval and Capt Smith-were admit
ted to play whist with him, and remained
till the lookup hour of il. Early in the
apoplexy, and one of the party rose to cali
for help. Stop" cried another I'VE shall
be turned out # you make a noise: let our
friend alone till IL; we can play dummy
and he will be none the worse. for I car
read death in his face"
A case where a single game of whist
was responsible for a good deal was that
in which G. H. Drummond of the famous
Charlng cross banking house of London
lost 100000 at a single sitting to Rean
Brummel. When his loss became known
to Drummond's partners they decided that
a gambler was an undesirable ASSOCIATES
IN a business requiring for prosperity the
confidence of the public in its Managers
They therefore forced him to retire
Unless Espartero and his foe Marota
are much behed. their quarrel was settled
by game of cards an a farm house at
Bergara, where they met to arrange a
truce between their respective forces No
sooner dld Espartero enter the room than
the Carlist chief Challenged him to a o., 70,
OF tresilio, challenge the Christine COM
mander accepted with alacrity Esnarfero
first won all Mar0ta's money; then his
own conditions for the truce article nv
article and finally the entire submission.