Page:EB1911 - Volume 08.djvu/872

 Republic. Settling at Neuilly, the novelist became chronicler, critic, and letter-writer as well, and in all these capacities Queiroz displayed a spontaneity, power and artistic finish unequalled in the literature of his country since the death of Garrett. A bold draughtsman, he excelled in freshness of imagination and careful choice and collocation of words, while his warmth of colouring and brilliance of language speak of the south. Many of his pages descriptive of natural scenery, such for instance as the episode of the return to Tormes in The City and the Mountains, have taken rank as classic examples of Portuguese prose, while as a creator of characters he stood unsurpassed by any writer of his generation in the same field. He particularly loved to draw and judge the middle class, and he mocks at and chastises its hypocrisy and narrowness, its veneer of religion and culture, its triumphant lying, its self-satisfied propriety, its cruel egotism. But though he manifested a predilection for middle-class types, his portrait gallery comprises men and women of all social conditions. The Maias, his longest book, treats of fidalgos, while perhaps his most remarkable character study is of a servant, Juliana, in Cousin Basil. At least two of his books, this latter and The Crime of Father Amaro, are chroniques scandaleuses in their plots and episodes; these volumes, however, mark not only the high-water line of the Realist-Naturalist school in Portugal, but are in themselves, leaving aside all accidentals, creative achievements of a high order.

Though Queiroz was a keen satirist of the ills of society, his pages show hardly a trace of pessimism. The City and the Mountains, and in part The Relic also, reveal the apostle of Realism as an idealist and dreamer, a true representative of that Celtic tradition which survives in the race and has permeated the whole literature of Portugal. The Mandarin, a fantastic variation on the old theme of a man self-sold to Satan, and The Illustrious House of Ramires, are the only other writings of his that require mention, except The Correspondence of Fradique Mendes. In conjunction with Anthero de Quental and Jayme Batalha Reis, Queiroz invented under that name a smart man of the world who had something of himself and something of Eduardo Prado, and made him correspond on all sorts of subjects with imaginary friends and relatives to the delight of the public, many of whom saw in him a mysterious new writer whose identity they were eager to discover. These sparkling and humorous letters are an especial favourite with admirers of Queiroz, because they reveal so much of his very attractive personality, and perhaps the cleverest of the number, that on Pacheco, has received an English dress. In addition to his longer and more important works, Queiroz wrote a number of short stories, some of which have been printed in a volume under the title of Contos. The gems of this remarkable collection are perhaps The Peculiarities of a Fair-haired Girl, A Lyric Poet, José Matthias, The Corpse, and Sweet Miracle.

 ÉCARTÉ (Fr. for “separated,” “discarded”), a game at cards, of modern origin, probably first played in the Paris salons in the first quarter of the 19th century. It is a development of a very old card game called la triomphe or French-ruff. Écarté is generally played by two persons, but a pool of three may be formed, the player who is out taking the place of the loser, and the winner of two consecutive games winning the pool. At French écarté (but not at English) bystanders who are betting may advise the players, but only by pointing to the cards they desire them to play, and the loser of the game goes out, one of the rentrants taking his place, unless the loser is playing la chouette, i.e. playing single-handed against two, and taking all bets.

The small cards (from the two to the six, both inclusive) are removed from an ordinary pack. The players cut for deal, the highest having the choice. The king is the highest card, the ace ranking after the knave. The dealer gives five cards to his adversary, and five to himself, by two at a time to each and by three at a time to each, or vice versa. The eleventh card is turned up for trumps. If it is a king, the dealer scores one, at any time before the next deal. The non-dealer then looks at his cards. If satisfied with them he plays, and there is no discarding; if not satisfied he “proposes.” The dealer may either accept or refuse. If he accepts, each player discards face downwards as many cards as he thinks fit, and fresh ones are given from the undealt cards or “stock,” first to complete the non-dealer’s hand to five, then to complete the dealer’s. To ask for “a book” is to ask for five cards. Similarly a second proposal may be made, and so on, until one player is satisfied with his hand. If the dealer refuses, the hand is played without discarding. If the non-dealer announces that he holds the king of trumps, he scores one; and similarly, if the dealer holds the king and announces it, he scores one. The announcement must be made before playing one’s first card, or if that card be the king, on playing it. The non-dealer, being satisfied with his hand, leads a card. The dealer plays a card to it, the two cards thus played forming a trick. The winner of the trick leads to the next, and so on. The second to play to a trick must follow suit if able, and must win the trick if he can.

The scores are for the king and for the majority of tricks. The player who wins three tricks scores one for the “point”; if he wins all five tricks, he scores two for the “vole.” If the non-dealer plays without proposing, or the dealer refuses the first proposal, and fails to win three tricks, the adversary scores two, but no more even if he wins the vole. The game is five up. The points are conveniently marked with a three-card and a two-card, as at euchre. The three is put face upwards with the two face downwards on the top of it. When one or two or three points are scored the top card is moved so as to expose them. At four, one pip of the two-card is put under the other card. Games may be recorded similarly.

Hints to Players.—The following hints may be of service to beginners:—

Shuffle thoroughly after every deal.

Do not announce the king until in the act of playing your first card.

The hands which should be played without proposing, called jeux de règle (standard hands), ought to be thoroughly known. They are as follows:—

1. All hands with three or more trumps, whatever the other cards.

2. Hands with two trumps which contain also—


 * (a) Any three cards of one plain suit;


 * (b) Two cards of one plain suit, one being as high as a queen;


 * (c) Two small cards of one suit, the fifth card being a king of another suit;


 * (d) Three high cards of different suits.

3. Hands with one trump, which contain also—


 * (a) King, queen, knave of one suit, and a small card of another;


 * (b) Four cards of one suit headed by king;


 * (c) Three cards of one suit headed by queen, and queen of another suit.

4. Hands with no trump, which contain three queens or cards of equal value in different suits, e.g., four court cards.

5. Hands from which only two cards can be discarded without throwing a king or a trump.

Holding cards which make the point certain, propose. If you hold a jeu de règle, and one of the trumps is the king, propose, as your adversary cannot then take in the king.

When discarding, throw out all cards except trumps and kings.

If your adversary proposes you should accept, unless you are guarded in three suits (a queen being a sufficient guard), or in two suits with a trump, or in one suit with two trumps. Hence the rule not to discard two cards, unless holding the king of trumps, applies to the dealer.

The hands with which to refuse are the same as those with which to play without proposing, except as follows:— 