The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-04-01
"CRVENDlSH" AS A PARTNER.
Not GOoi Player plmSslf Origin Of Duplicate
Whist How te Kept Eook Up 10 Date.


l knew Cavendsh well, poor gentle
man; it was at his QUAINT house that,
as a stranger in London, l was first en-
tertained, says a correspondent of the
st. Louis Globe Democrat. Such hosp-
talty and genuine kindness is rare even
in London, the most hospitable OF all
cities in the world, think. and | final
ly asked him the reason of it, for it
would have been egreglous vanity to
take it all personally.
He never told me outright, but / dis
covered what must have been the READ
reason when, one day, ne showed me a
curious thing, book Of keys. Fastened
to each heavy cardboard page was a
key belonging to a Yale rock; each one
opened some door in the United States
the doors of clubs, of private houses.
of apartments where during his visits
to America he had been, as he said,
made one of the family. There were no
addresses written CDuer any of these
keys, but Cavendish knew each one
unerringly, | found on trial and mere
~ TO open at any page ana point TO any
key was TO unlock a stOrehouse of rec
ollcttlDu am dHttuOlG Ol MS travels
and experiences and Of his enjoyment
OF the hospitality shown him. He said
he felt that he never could repay IL.
AS to his whist. it vii! probably in
terest nearly everybody To know that
he did not play at ali well. He told me
that himself. and / believe other people
thought SO. too. | do not know myself,
as do not know one card from anoth-
er. except that some are red ana some
a
them are pictures OF people wearing
perfectly impossible clothes. | think it
was this unwinkng ignorance on the
whole subject of cards that made Cav
endlsh rather like me: he used to get
SO very tired Of the endless procession
Of people-mainly women-who wanted
to be able To say that they had played
whist with him, that IL must have been
quite relief TO find one who couldn't
II she wished TO.
You know he was n physician, by
name Henry Jones, and it was in the
early days OF his medical career, before
patients were plentiful, that he made
an lntellectual study of whist, and
changed IL from game into a science
HIS book became famous and an ac-
Ceptc authority many years before he
Acknowledged It's authorship, and his
father--alsO a physician, and also de-
voted whist player-usCd 20 quote
"Cavcndish on Whist 20 his son as an
authority whom the son really ought
20 follow when playing the game.
Cavenilsh told me that. as far as he
knew. duplicate whist originated in Mil
Waukee. Theoretically. he said he had
the greatest admiration for it; but. per-
sonally. he added. he ala not care for
IL. as 10 proved his mistakes I'm playing.
/ hope that | have quoted this remark
OF his correctly; lt was what was con"
vcyei 80 me by what ne said, but OF
course through nOt understanding at
ali what ne was talking about, l may
have gotten 10 exactly wrong.
But with all his bad playing" as he
carcl &c.. he did one thing that. as was
explained 10 me by one OF the best play
crs In London. was remarkable. cspe.
clally for an Englishman. 10 was that.
having written the textbook OF whist
long ago. nc from time 20 time mOdi-
ned-gnd changed each successive edi-
ton $50 as 20 keep up VII the modern
notifications of the game, including
what I'd known over here as American
l'aCs." ana AL this without impairing
the principles of the game as he orig
in7ily enunciated them. lie also mas
tered the underlying principles Of pic
quet. ecartc and bridge. ana was rec
ocnlzcl authority on them all. indeed,
he evidently had the faculty of going
IL the root cf any Eamc Of cards and
az shaking out and STRENGTHENING up the
theories from which they were evolved.
The actual application or the theory
dli not Interest him.
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