any suit; as, for example, the ace and queen originally, or the king and ten when the ace and knave have been played.

The advantage of this combination is that, if you are fourth player in the suit, you will certainly (bar trumping) make two tricks in it; and it is therefore much to your interest that the suit should be led by your left-hand adversary.

The word has nothing to do with ten and ace; it probably comes from the Latin tenax, the policy being to hold back the suit containing the tenace rather than to lead it.

A minor tenace is the combination of the second and fourth best cards.

Under-play usually signifies keeping back best cards, and playing subordinate ones instead. This is sometimes advantageous in trumps, or in plain suits when strong in trumps, or when trumps are out; but it requires care and judgment to avoid evil consequences from deceiving your partner, and from having your best cards subsequently ruffed. Weakness, Weak Suit. See Strength.

CHAPTER III.

THEORY OF THE GAME.

The basis of the theory of the modern scientific game of Whist lies in the relations existing between the players.

It is a fundamental feature of the construction of the game, that the four players are intended to act, not singly and independently, but in a double combination, two of them being partners against a partnership of the other two. And it is the full recognition of this fact, carried out into all the ramifications of the play, which characterizes the scientific game and gives it its superiority over all others.

Yet, obvious as this fact is, it is astonishing how imperfectly it is appreciated among players generally. Some ignore the partnership altogether, ex cept in the mere division of the stakes, neither caring to help their partners or be helped by them, but playing as if each had to fight his battle alone. Others will go farther, giving some degree of consideration to the partner, but still always making their own hand the chief object; and among this latter class are often found players of much skill and judgment, and who pass for great adepts in the game.

The scientific theory, however, goes much farther. It carries out the community of interests to the fullest extent possible. It forbids the player to consider his own hand apart from that of his partner, but commands him to treat both in strict conjunction, teach-. ing him, in fact, to play the two hands combined, as if they were one. For this object the two players enter into a system of legalized correspondence established for the purpose, by which each becomes informed to the fullest extent possible of the contents of his partner's hand, and endeavors to play in such a manner as is best for the combination. The advantage of this combined principle is almost selfevident; for suppose it carried to an extreme by each partner seeing the other's cards: no one could doubt the resulting advantage; and the modern system is as near an approach to this as the rules of the game will permit. There are, however, two objections sometimes brought against it which deserve brief notice.

First, it is said that you might often play your own hand to more advantage by treating it in your own way, and that the combined principle may lead you to sacrifice it. But this objection is merely founded on a misapprehension as to how the principle is applied; for a study of the resulting system will show

that it is calculated fully to realize any advantages your own hand may possess, while the cases in which sacrifice is required are only those in which the joint interest is indubitably promoted thereby. Then, secondly, it is objected that all indications given to your partner may also be seen by the opponents and turned against you; and it is sometimes argued that by enlightening in this way two enemies and only one friend you establish a balance to your disadvantage. But this involves a confusion in reasoning, for, if the opponents are equally good players, they will adopt the same system, and the positions must be equal; and if they are not good players, they will be incapable of profiting by the indications you give, and the whole advantage will rest with you. Besides, even good players seldom pay so much heed to their opponents' as to their partner's indications, the attention being always most prominently directed to the partner's play. It would be more logical to put the argument in another form, and to say that, if you play obscurely, you are in constant danger of getting obstruction instead of help from your partner, which would give you three opponents to fight singlehanded. *

* One of our best modern players calls it a 'golden maxim for Whist,' that it is of more importance to inform your partner than to deceive your adversary, and adds that 'the best Whist player is he who plays the game in the simplest and most intelligible way.'

The fact is, however, that the general adoption of the principle should by no means supersede the exercise of judgment in its application. We shall hereafter point out that the individual qualifications of the various players should have an important influence on the mode of play; and a practised player will soon learn to discriminate cases where it may be more proper to withhold information than to give it. Such cases are of constant occurrence, but they do not affect the general advantage of the combined principle, which is sufficiently established by the fact that it is the result of long experience, is practised by the best players, and is recommended by the first authorities on the game.

Now, in order that the two hands may be managed conjointly to the best advantage, it is requisite that each partner should adopt the same general system of treating his hand. For it is clear that if one player prefer one system, and the other a different one, such cross purposes must render any combination impracticable. It is necessary, therefore, here to explain somewhat fully what the different systems are, on which a hand may be treated, and to show which of them is considered the preferable one for adoption.

The object of play is of course to make tricks, and tricks may be made in four different ways, viz. :

1. By the natural predominance of master cards,