married people who play at the same table, 'Mr. and--Mrs. Hazeldean were
invariably partners, and no two people could play worse; while Captain
Barnabas, who had played at Graham's with honour and profit, necessarily
became partner to Parson Dale, who himself played a good steady parsonic
game. So that, in strict truth, it was hardly fair play; it was almost
swindling,--the combination of these two great dons against that innocent
married couple! Mr. Dale, it is true, was aware of this disproportion of
force, and had often proposed either to change partners or to give odds,
--propositions always scornfully scouted by the squire and his lady, so
that the parson was obliged to pocket his conscience, together with the
ten points which made his average winnings.

The strangest thing in the world is the different way in which whist
affects the temper. It is no test of temper, as some pretend,--not at
all! The best-tempered people in the world grow snappish at whist; and I
have seen the most testy and peevish in the ordinary affairs of life bear
their losses with the stoicism of Epictetus. This was notably manifested
in the contrast between the present adversaries of the Hall and the
Rectory. The squire, who was esteemed as choleric a gentleman as most in
the county, was the best-humoured fellow you could imagine when you set
him down to whist opposite the sunny face of his wife. You never heard
one of those incorrigible blunderers scold each other; on the contrary,
they only laughed when they threw away the game, with four by honours in
their hands. The utmost that was ever said was a "Well, Harry, that was
the oddest trump of yours. Ho, ho, ho!" or a "Bless me, Hazeldean--why,
they made three tricks in clubs, and you had the ace in your hand all the
time! Ha, ha, ha!"

Upon which occasions Captain Barnabas, with great goodhumour, always
echoed both the squire's Ho, ho, ho! and Mrs. Hazeldean's Ha, ha, ha!