CHINESE CRIBBAGE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 913, 5 September 1910, Page 5

CHINESE CRIBBAGE.

PLAYER ON THE MAIN TRUNK.

.i 'Chinese' cribbage- is -a. game: played by himse.lf, by an old European soldier and. Inishman.',living .'a.-solitary, liffe;iu■ a lone; whare ; away- on'the. back-blocks 'areas';of ,the.; Main Trunk: line.. 1 - The'veteran can,'neither /read ' nor -write, buWiO' knows the cards',/and 'in'--'■•his', .idle hours these form his chief, occupation. The' "Chinaman'*, is an imaginary person with _ whom'the"/card-player speculates . imaginary- 1 shillings,' thatyiu thtf dealing- of hands bright through', the pack,, tho dealer 'will.score biieihuudred points or over./,-.For;Wery- point over .one hundred 'the :.''ChineseV/ pays two- shillings I ;''', for' every' pointVundbr 'one.'hundred,' thtf'dealer'pays /one shil-' ling. ; Tho: mode: of ';bperations..is/for' the/dealer to deal himself - a "hand,'discard, two cards,, and, cut.. ; 'He. tlioh plays his.;'own. hand ' to/the', best of--.his. ability by himself, counts up, and tho'n' takes alLthero is. in the'brib. i: As/each hand, is played:,it is 'dispensed, with till tlie..,whoio pack is\finished,.when:'the dealerjgrayely counts, np'his aggregate. Sometimes he will .'be'over .the hundred points, 'somotimes , tinder, interested :in the proceedings' that .victory ::or.defeat; tolls its bwii.tale on' his usually sphinx-like. countenance;/.,:The night/on which saw I'the' .old'-battler; the' latter was in the -jubilant .stage... .'Ho:, had-, beaten -.the ''Chinaman;" ho said,: for £l 12s; ;:; Oil a. year's play/ totted ■ up, /.however,-.the European admitted that: his'.:imaginary yellow adversary; was '£s,>l'6s. to -the good.': As soon. as .he had squared tne account,., which he, said ;he felt: certain' of doing, he intended, tp' : take a- holiday in order to. celebrato.tho.Occasion... /