The age-herald., 1901-03-31
Mrs, Holmes Talks of Science
 of the Game SPLENDID WORK OF RELIEF
Noble Efforts for the Storm Sufferers. Meeting of the Alabama Women's Press Association Postponed.
 In the Social World.
BY ANNIE kENDRIcK WALKER.

If there is any one subject upon which men agree it is in regard to woman's inability to play whist. This idea has be- come such a fixture in the mind of the average man that women have ceased to resent this reflection upon their mental capacity and have not allowed 1t to af- feet their interest in the game or deter them from Q study of it's scientific prin- ciples. Indeed the very fact that men were so quick to decry the efforts of wo- men in their attempt to master the science of whist may have been the en- tering wedge that resulted in removing the cob-webs from the feminine brain and quickened it's power of observation Or this ambition to become an expert whist player may have been born of desire to prove that whist was not too intricate a science to be understood by women and that the latter were quite as able to comprehend the principles as the men. It may be too that the woman whose husband was a whist player would say to her night after night when he was enjoying his after dinner cigar:
 My dear, I am expecting some friends
 
 whist" and the very fact that 1t was whist was equivalent to telling her that she would not be allowed in the game. This may have determined women to learn something of this remarkable game, but whatever may have been the motive it has resulted in the women of today frequently declining to play whist with their husbands unless the latter are experts.
 There are a number of Birmingham women who are regarded as students of whist, and it has frequently been said that not a man in Birmingham-the most inyeterate whist player-understands more thoroughly the rules and maxims of whist than do a corterie of women here, notably Mrs George Ward, Mrs. B. L.. Wyman Mrs. James Weatherly, Mrs. Will liam G. Estes, Mrs. J, r. Graham, Mrs. Aldrich, Miss Morrison and many others. And while the Birmingham women who are recognized authorities on whist and play great deal, they have not yet joined the National Whist League, al- though the standard maintained by their club would entitle 1t to membership. The interest in the game and the number of expert players among both women and men here will add greater interest to the visit to Birmingham the past week of one most distinguished women whist
 
 charming and interesting visiting women of the season was Mrs. Daniel Holmes of Elizabeth N. J., who spent the past week with MT. and Mrs. James Bawron. Mrs. Holmes is a sister of MT. Bowron being formerly Miss Gertrude Bowron of London. England
 She has lived for many years in Amer ica, but she still retains the charming English accent and is a most attractive t1rr admired by everyone who had the pleas ure of meeting her the past week, and on one occasion. at the request of a group of friends to whom she was chatting, she talked of the whist clubs in the East and of woman as a whist player.
 Mrs. Holmes, in discussing the former theory in regard to a woman's capacity in mastering the principles of the game, said that woman of today played a bet ter game than the men, for the former had more time for learning and practice ing the scientific principles than did the men, and the natural consequence was that the women were becoming the au thorities on whist and were undoubtedly the more expert players.
 Whist" continued Mrs. Holmes, lis a game of memory and observation and develops these two qualities. It is not af ter all so much of a science, but requires a good memory and a keen observation. The woman who possesses these qualities can become an expert player, for whist is like everything else, if one succeeds one must have not only brains, but com mon sense. this latter quality being a requisite in the successful whist player. "We have a club of thirty members and play once every week our season lasting from October until June. The uirements for membership are not based upon a woman's love for the game or be-