Private social life is getting back to normal, and bridge fours are forming in all the well known strongholds. The new five-suit cards are on the market but probably the popularity of this game will depend largely upon the publicity campaign which the manufacturers will promote. We have often suspected that many of the new rulings and different aspects of the game of games were devised in order to stimulate or originate sales of books on bridge, and we hear that one of the De la Rue's has admitted that the new five-suit cards and game have been instituted in order to make sales.
In card-playing we have advanced far beyond Mrs. Battle's essential accompaniments; a clear fire, a clean hearth, and the rigour of the game, The clear fire and the clean hearth are excellent settings for this most popular pastime, but whist and bridge are far apart. Expert training has spoilt the homely family game in which anyone could join. We were perhaps presentatthe last ever played of such when one player of our family had, in à no trump game, robbed her opponents of every heart they had, but there were two good ones in Dummy. There was an ace in Dummy by which means our Family Friend, playing the hand, could have got back to use them. But no, she lost two spade tricks and threw away the good hearts on those. When we, at the close of the game, asked her why she did not utilize the hearts, and added "They were the only two hearts left" our F. F. replied cautiously, "Ah, so you say, but 1 wasn't so sure and I was not going to risk it" This F. F. must have been related to the individual who, at a homely game, played. out spades for three rounds, every player responding, and then led out the thirteenth with the cheerful hope that they would squeeze round just once again!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.