The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-09-20
ORIGIN OF BRIDGE.
TURKS Now Said to Have Invented IL
Lord Y~arbor0ugh's Luck.

although Russia and Greece have bott
claimed il. In Russia it Is called "biritch'
or Russian whist"
Persia was the first home Of poker.
says this writer in Ainstee's Magazine
and I am disposed to think that Con
stinople was the birthplace Of bridge
"a conclusion which any one who hal
ever played the game with a Turk vii
be inclined TO share.
"The Turks have a really marvellous
genius for the game. / feel sure thai
the average Turk has about 20 per cent
more insight into cards and card games
than the average American or English
man. Throughout the East cards arr
PLAYED with q brilliancy rarely met with
elsewhere.
at was. l believe, during the year 1884,
that bridge was introduced into London
by Lord Brougham. who brought 1t back
with him from an extended tour OF south
ern and western Europe. Lord Broug.
hams account Of the event is curious
and interesting.
soon after his return to London be
went into the Portland Club. which ID
probably the best known card club In
the world. The Portland at that time
was given over exclusively to old fash
toned whist.
His lordship sat down to play a friendly
rubber apd, when 1t came his turn to
deal. forgot to expose the trump After
three deals he again forgot to turn his
last card. His friends. who had known
him for years, made q mental memoran-
dunn that his lordship was beginning to
lose his memory.
He explained his carelessness by say
ing that he had been playing so much
bridge that he could remember
the exasperating convention OF turning
the trump. This remark led to his ex-
planning the game Of bridge in detail to
his friends.
From this insignificant beginning the
game has spread and spread until 1t Is
nov the most popular card game in the
world. There Is to-day hardly any
straight whist played at the Portland;
bridge has entirely replaced 1t. The
Turf was the next English club to expert
ment with the game. and from that time
on the fever spread through the English
clubs very rapidly.
I'm 1895 the Portland issued its famous
Laws Of Bridge This was translated
and adopted as the standard guide to
the game in most Of the cities of Europe
and even in Constantinople. the city OF
Its birth.
"A great friend Of Lord Brougham's
at that time and n against whom he
played many -S55e-s %es lord Sa~s
borough, whose Ill luck was proverbial
throughout England. He frequently de-
olaraI that kta narda ware the mOat
sxecrable in the world and that his usual
luck was to find q nine the highest card
in his hand.
AS a consequence Of this q hand with
nothing oyer o nine gradually became
known in England az a Marlborough
The expression became general Q 10
to-day applied to o hand without honors,
Lord Marlborough was always willing
to bet a Thousand pounds to n against
q hand having 10 honors in 1t, As n
matter Of fact the odds are nearly "
thousand to o
Il heard Of one rubber at least In
which Lord Yarborough's III luck for
ing with his wife and two other ladies',
During the course OF the rubber Lord
Marlborough held the most enormous
cards
Lady Marlborough. who was playing
sgainsr her husband, took out her purse
at the end of the rubber and with a sad
and wistful smile declared to the ladies
could with much more point be called
a Lady Marlborough In the course
Of this rubber Lord Marlborough held
100 aces twice and four honors in dia-
monds once.
'The late Henry Jones. popularity
known as 'C~avendish.' who was prob
ably the master mind m whist in Eng
land and who has done more thsn any
one man for the game. was at first bit.
tnrly opposed to bridge. He pokei all
manner OF fun at the game. he said
IL was ridiculously simple and a bore.
But before his death in 1895 he was con-
verified to 1t and ended by saying that
wherein skill. sound judgment and In.
sight into the adversary's methods will
meet with more certain reward than they
will in bridge
Il believe there is good ground for
the assertion that America was intro
duce1 to bridge before England. for it
is certain that the late Henry l. Barbey
explained the game to his friends at the
Whist Club IN New York as early as the
beginning Of 1894. A trife later he wrote
a little pamphlet about it for private cir
culation. and in 1897 the game had 30 far
spread in the Whist Club that it issued
the first code Of bridge laws to be pub
uSn6l IN TINS country.
When the game vas first introduced
it was comparatively easy for a GOOD
player to make a fair living out of the
game. Such a player could her declare
trumps on a weak hand; could take
chances in the play Of a trump
hand; could deceive his adversarics by
false oarding and fool them by tricky
leads; but now that the game has reached
q pretty fair degree Of excellence nc such
feats are possible. Baron G.,
the best bridge player I have evor met,
told me that for three years he had made
but II trifing sum out Of the game.
mfr. C.'s winnings arc interesting. Be
Ia o pretty fair player and has kept his
accounts very accurately for five
years. Ee has played, ! suppose. a little
over a dozen rubbers q week.
Daring the last five yelrs he has
averaged n profit of about $500 a year
at five cent points. Some years
he has gone as high as 81, 800 End some
es low Gs $500. l know n poor player
who last yelr made 1900 ct FIVE cont
II also know an excellent player who
lost 500 in two weeks ct. the scne stakes.
Ia other words. there Ia nothing sure
rbolt ones income from the game, but
IL NAV be Said with truth that tho good
reIrly always find themselves
Ghold at the end Of a yoT.'
Signs OF Old English Inns.
From fhe Queen.
There was one thing about the old