fine lady collecting receipts for making puddings, or poring over the Complete Art of Cookery. The education of females is at present happily ele. vated far above the ordinary employments of domestick economy: and if any school is wanted for the im. provement of young ladies, I may venture to say, it should be a school for whist. Mr. Hoyle used, indeed, to wait on ladies of quality at their own houses to give them lectures in this science: but as that learned master has left off teaching, they can have no instructions but from his incomparable treatise; and this, I am afraid, is so abstruse, and abounding with technical terms, that even those among the quality, who are tolerably well grounded in the science, are scarce able to unravel the perplexity of his cases, which are many of them as intricate as the hardest proposition in Euclid. A school for whist would, therefore, be of excellent use; where young ladies of quality might be gradually instructed in the various branches of lurching, renouncing, finessing, winning the ten-ace, and getting the odd trick, in the same manner as common misses are taught to write, read, and work at their needle. There seems to be a strange neglect in the education of females, that though great pains are taken with them to make them talk French, they are yet so ignorant of the English language, that before they come to their teens they can scarce tell what is meant by lurching, revoking, fuzzing the cards, or the most common terms now in use at all routs and assemblies. Hence it often happens, that a young lady is almost ripe for a gallant, and thoroughly versed in the arts of the toilet, before she is initiated into the mysteries of the cardtable. I would therefore propose, that our demoiselles of fashion should be taught the art of card-playing from their cradles; and have a pack of cards put into their hands, at the usual time that the brats of vulgar people are employed in thumbing their horn-book. The mind of man has been often compared (before it has received any ideas) to a white piece of paper, which is capable of retaining any impression afterwards made upon it. In like manner, I would consider the minds of those infants, which are born into a well-bred family, as a blank pack of cards, ready to be marked with the pips and colours of the suits: at least, I am confident that many of them, after they are grown up, have laid in very few ideas beyond them. What therefore Mr. Locke recommends, that we should cheat children into learning their letters by making it seem a pastime, should be put in practice in every polite nursery; and the little ladies may be taught to distinguish ace, deuce, tray, &c. as soon as they could great A, little a, and the other letters of the chris-cross row: As to the four honours, they will readily learn them by the same method that other children get the names of dogs, horses, &c. by looking at their pictures. After this, in order to complete her education, little miss (when of a proper age) should be sent to the whist school, or have lessons from private masters at home. She may now be made to get by heart the laws of the game, read a Chapter in Hoyle, and be catechised in laying and taking the odds: and in process of time, she may be set to solve any of Hoyle's hardest cases, or any of the propositions in his Doctrine of Chances; for which (as Mr. Hoyle himself tells us) no more knowledge of arithmetick is required, than what is sufficient to reckon the tricks, or score up the game. All sciences appear equally abstruse to the learner at his first setting out: but I will venture to say, that the science of whist is more complex than even algebra or the mathematics. The Ass's Bridge in Euclid is not so difficult to be got over, nor the Logarithms of Napier so hard to be unravelled, as many of Hoyle's cases and propositions: as an instance of which, take the following most obvious and easy one.-A and B are partners against C and D. A and B have scored 3, and want to save their Lurch. C and D are at short can'ye and consequently both sides play for two points. C has the deal, and turns up the Knave of Hearts. C asks his partner D, who refuses. B has the lead, and runs his strong suit, Spades, two rounds, with Ace and King. A discards his weakest suit, Diamonds. Then B forces his partner. A leads a strong Club, which B refuses. A forces B, who by leading Spades plays into A's hand, who returns a Club, and so they get to a Saw between them. After this A leads through C's Honours. B finesses the Ten and plays a Spade, which A trumps. Now B by laying behind C's King and Knave of trumps makes the Ten-ace with Ace and Queen; and A having the long Trump brings in his thirteenth Club. Consequently A and B get a slam against their Adversaries C and D, and score a single game towards the rubbers. Since therefore this science is attended with so much difficulty, the necessity of a school for whist is very evident and if the plan of education, above proposed, was put into execution, I will venture to pronounce, that young ladies, who can now scarce be trusted at any game beyond one and thirty Bone-Ace, or beat the Knave out of Doors with the maid-servants, would be qualified at twelve years old to make one at any card-table in town; and would even beat their mammas, who have not had the same advantage of education. Many a husband, and many a parent, I am sure, have had reason to lament, that their wives and daughters have not had the happiness of so early an instruction in this branch of female knowledge: and I make no doubt, but several boarding-schools will be set up, where young ladies may be taught How many Whist, Brag, and all kinds of card-work. ladies, for want of such a school, are at present shut' out from the best company, because they know no more of the game, than what is called White-Chapel play! In order therefore to remedy this deficiency as far as possible, I would further recommend it to Mr. Hoyle or some other eminent artist, (in imitation of Messieurs Hart and Dukes, who profess to teach growngentlemen to dance) to advertise, that grown Gentlewomen may be taught to play at whist in the most private and expeditious manner; so that any lady, who never before took a card in hand, may be enabled in a very short time to play a rubber at the most fashionable routs and assemblies. W. N° 61. THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 1755. Cælum ipsum petimus siultitiâ. HOR. E'en Heav'n we covet by preposterous rules, IT is observed by the French, that a cat, a priest, and an old woman are sufficient to constitute a religious sect in England. So universally, it seems, are learning and genius diffused through this island, that the lowest plebeians are deep casuists in matters of faith as well as politics; and so many and wonderful are the new lights continually breaking in among us, that we daily make fresh discoveries, and strike out unbeaten paths to future happiness. The above observation of our neighbours is in truth rather too full for a priest is so far from necessary, that a new species of doctrine would be better received by our old women, and other well disposed good people, from a layman. The most extraordinary tenets of religion are very successfully propagated under the sanction of the leathern apron instead of the cassock: every corner of the town has a barber, mason, bricklayer, or some other handicraft teacher; and there are almost as many sects in this metropolis, as there are parish-churches. As to old women, since the passions of females are stronger in youth, and their minds weaker in age, than those of the other sex, their readiness in embracing any principles of religion, pressed on them with particular earnestness and vehemence, is not very wonderful. They hope, by the most rigid demeanor in the decline of life, to make amends for that unbounded loose given to their passions in their younger years. The same violence, however, commonly accompanies them in religion, as formerly actuated them in their pleasures; and their zeal entirely eats up their charity. They look with a malevolent kind of pity on all who are still employed in worldly undertakings," carry prayer-books in their pockets," and piously damn all their relations and acquaintance with texts of scripture. I know an old gentlewoman of this cast, who has formed herself as a pattern of staid behaviour; and values herself for having given up at three-score the vanities of sixteen. She denounces heavy judgments on all frequenters of publick diversions, and forebodes the worst consequences from every party of pleasure. I have known her foretell the ruin of her niece from a country dance : nay, she can perceive irregular desires flaming from a gay coloured top-knot, and has even descried adultery itself lurking beneath the thin veil of a worked apron, or beaming from a diamond girdle-buckle. But we might perhaps suffer a few good old ladies to go to heaven their own way, if these sects were not |