W. KENT & Co., PATERNOSTER Row, and W. W. MORGAN, 67 BARBICAN, E.C. 1873- The Westminster Papers. Ist MAY 1872. MODERN GAMES. THE great increase of mental activity, consequent on the general application of steam to printing purposes, is felt in the inferior departments of knowledge as much as in the greater. There is indeed no sort of science of which the daily progress is not carefully watched and faithfully recorded in some journal which takes that science under its especial notice. The knowledge thus diffused day by day comes, in course of time, to be compressed into a more manageable shape, and the expenditure of a few shillings in handy books will make a man master (so far as this sort of learning will go) of any particular intellectual study, in which his mind delights to walk. One consequence of this easy and universal interchange of thought is, that all the lower strata of the human intellect are opened up, and a vast number of inferior minds take their share in the world's affairs, and the guidance of events; and the grand result is, that whereas few men have good taste, and the great majority bad-while all have appetite-there is a great and growing demand for intellectual food of a second-rate quality. It is the case in politics, in literature, in art, in science, and last-and in this instance, least also the same thing holds good in the science of games. The peculiar province of this journal is to furnish the public with the best information with respect to all games of skill; and although we give our especial attention to Chess and Whist, yet all games, which are not mere athletic exercises, come within our view. The foregoing remarks with respect to games of a second-rate order are by no means intended as a sweeping censure on such games, nor yet on their inventors and admirers. The world is not made up of such fine spirits that nothing but Chess and Whist will go down, and people of mediocre talent have as much right to their amusements as the more gifted. Besides, a man may be very clever in many ways without being brilliant in this particular science. Or, take another view, and look on games as the best relaxation. A second-rate amusement will have its especial use. "Non semper arcum” and "Dulce est decipere in loco" are sound maxims of the Epicurean bard. A man tired out with the labours of the day may be justified in preferring to doze over a game of Bésique to keeping his mind on the stretch with a difficult problem of Chess, and a boisterous and noisy game of Squails may be a readier means to drive away mundane cares than the solemn silence of an intellectual rubber. There is another consideration to which we, as the exponents of all games of skill, small and great, must necessarily attach some importance. Modern games constitute a much larger branch of industry than many of our readers may suppose. Messrs. Jaques' list contains no less than 99 games, of which 90, having appeared within the last twenty years, come under the category of modern games. Some of these, such as the Racing game, Squails, and the much-loved Croquet, have enjoyed, and still enjoy, an enormous popularity, and proportionate sale. Some notion of the importance and value of the trade may be gleaned from the following fact. The property in the game of Squails was, some years back, disputed, and the question went before the Court of Chancery, when it was stated that the manufacturers of the game had paid the inventor, in the space of a few years, upwards of a thousand pounds in the way of royalty. As for the demand and supply of Croquet implements, this has become so great that it forms a special trade of itself, and such has been the consumption of boxwood in the manufacture of balls and mallets, that the price of this wood has risen from £7 a ton in 1854 to £22 a ton in 1872—a fact which speaks for itself. If our preliminary remarks should in any way seem too severe, we would add that although the demand for second-rate games has largely increased in the last few years, yet the spread of knowledge and skill in those which are first-rate has been well-nigh proportionate. We can speak with authority with respect to those |