Semi=weekly graphic., 1897-11-06

-'e S1pserslent to F1aV
 stakes-some of the Old Game.
 Possibly no other invention ha.
 given rise to so much merrimen4 sorrow, has called forth so many sm;
 frowns and tears and has been fbo a1
 in so many tragedies as a pack of
 The actual source of this inyfpfion
 remains a mystery, the generaIla
 cepted story of origin being that in ,o
 cards were introduced at the F,as
 court as diversion for King Chsx, VI during his temporary attacks oF
 sanity. From this date they spread
 idly through every country in Enas
 and received such warm weloo,,
 from all classes that laws had to
 made for the better regulations of a;1
 throwing and card playing.
 During the commonwealth card n,a ing shared the banishment of aras
 other amusement, but with the restor. 1 monarchy reaction set in, and haavs play became the fashion. Basset q,
 ombre were the games in favor at cor,s
 and in the graphic picture given X
 Evelyn of the last Sunday spent ', King Charles 1T at Whitehall he snaal8 of ';at least @, 900 in gold' on the bas H set table round which ''about 20 of n great courtiers" were sitting, Ombr1 was also court game Waller has !
 poem 'on q card torn at ombre hv th { queen. Pope also, in The Rape of ths Lock, y gives such faithful deseription of Belinda's game that the Hon. Daipas Burlington, writing in The Universal Magazine for December, l7s8. says "When ombre is forgotten (and it is al. most so already), 1t may be revived with posterity from that most admirable poem. In its turn ombre was deposed for quadrille, and for a time no one who aspired to be counted among the bean monde condescended to play any other game. MT. Urban, in The Gentleman, Magazine for 173f. gives Cautions Against Quadrill ;a I warns ssthe young and unwaiy Gf both sexes'' against most growing vice which if not timely prevented will end in their ruin. T mean, !" he says, the great Increase of Play in private Houses, and l more particularly that artful and cheat. ing game of Quadrille Quadrille was equally popular ill Paris, and pamphlet is extant dated 1760 of ''The game of Qnadrille by Four as it is now played at the French Court, in which it says, It is allowed by all players that Qua drille is more amusing and entertaining than Ombre or any other game on the cards either because every Deal ia play'd out or that 1t better suits the genius of the Ladies, to whom com. plaisance and good manners must Preiu. dice the Gentlemen i'll it's favor Such q prejudicial hold had this fascinating game taken 6n women that writer of the day declares that women now spend all their time i'll gambling Their l husbands children, the duties of so, l eiety, are, without Quadrille, weari- some encumbrances Quadrille is the joy that gives life, spirit and bright Hess For this they hurry over their meals and abridge their most agreeable Refreshments. For this alone they visit and are visited
 In the autobiography of Mir. Frederick Reynolds he tells us that one of the most noted card playing places near London was Twickenham, and that there, ill Montpelier row. lived four maiden ladies who were known in the neighborhood us Manille. Spadille, Bas- to and Punto. Mrs Harris, writing to her son, the first Lord Malmesbury says: Mme. de Walderen would fain ! have tempted me to her loo table, but 1 needed little fortitude to withstand it, as one stake lost would ruin whole assembly. l preferred q sober game of quadrille with Miss Chudleigh. The Annual Register for 1766 informs us that a lady at the West End lost at sitting one night last week 5000 gui- neas at loo " As early as the reign of Henry VII a prohibitory statute for bade any persons save those of noble rank to play at cards except during Christmas, and for generations this GUS tom was strictly adhered to, so that many who objected to touch card at any other time relaxed their prejudices and played q few games at this festive season. As late as the year l5S3 The European Magazine for December says
 This being the season when and when only card playing is permitted i'll sober 1 families for the recreation of men, wo- men and children, . etc, it may not be ont of place to give few observations on games which at no distant time were the most popular. " Among these games brag is spoken of as peculiarly adapted to the fair and softer sex, and therefore 50 much in vogue among the ladies of distinction that hereby they acquire decent assurance and compe- tency of couutenance so absolutely nee essary ill life, and remedy that shame facedness which is defect of nature, by the assistance of her handmaid art. !" The passion for gaming which was prevalent in the (hys of Queen Anne went on steadily increasing during the reigns of the three Georges. The Gen tleman 8 Magazine for 1753 tells us that his majesty played at St. James pal. acc on Twelfth Night for the benefit of the groom porter. Fortune favored the royal family--the Dnke of Cumberland won E3 coo. The spirit of gambling was by this time no longer confined to the court, it had broken loose over the whole land. the taste was universal and alike indulged in by both men and wo. men.-Pall Mall Magazine.