AUCTION BRIDGE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18578, 28 September 1928, Page 3

AUCTION BRIDGE.

PLAYERS WHO PLEASE.

(Written for the “ Star " by A. E. "MANNING FOSTER.) A friend of mine accused me recently of having written hard tilings about bridge players calculated to lead people to think that they are a quarrelsome, ill-mannered set of selfish brutes trying to get the best of one another. If I have ever written anything to give such an impression, I now desire to retract it. I have lately been reading a fifty-year-old book by “ Cavendish,” and have teen struck by the fact that in the old whist days they had exactly the same types as we have in our clubs to-day. He describes the “ if-you-had ” partner, who consistently greets you with “ If you had only done so-and-so,” the “ it-didn’t-matter ” player, who says his bad play made no difference, the noisy, blustering fellow, the “ peeper ” whose eyes are all round the table, the man who forgets to pay his bets or denies he has made them, the club bully, and various other characters with whom we are all familiar. But he is careful to point out that the black sheep are as well known in clubs as objectionable people are in general society; and, since they cannot be removed from the club unless they do something very flagrant, they are tolerated and disliked. It is only natural that the objectionable and aggressive characters should come in for more than their fair attention on the part of writers on cards; 'cut it is equally true that the vast majority of players exhibit, as a rul©v many admirable qualities. The nicest sense of honour, the most elegant courtesies of civilised life, good fellowship, self-control—these and many other virtues are common in the card-room. As “ Cavendish ” points out, the green cloth lays bare a man’s true charaCter«.very readijy. With him I can say: “ I am very happy to think that I have formed many most sincere and lasting friendships at the card table; and it has been my privilege to know the fine feelings and the sterling good qualities of my play friends to a degree which would have been seldom possible in the case of others, for they were revealed to me in the card-room, which is a very castle of truth for those who choose to frequent it with their eyes and ears open.” I he fact is that we do not emphasise nearly enough the many charming card players we meet. We take them ter granted, and dilate upon the tions; but they add immensely to one’s enjoyment of the game. They do not gloat over their successes or grouse over their failures. As a general rule, the better the players, the pleasanter they are to play with.