20 JULY 1901, Page 21

The Laws rend Principles of Bridge. By "Hellespont." (Thos. De

La Rue and Co. 5s. net.)—There is a "boom" in bridge which is only too likely to continue; "only too likely," we say, because the game appeals so forcibly both to the common delight in the exercise of skill and to the still more common passion for gambling. Let any one read the first three pages in which the values of hands and tricks are defined, and he will see what we mean. Luck means much at 'whist, but then a very strong hand is, so to speak, exhausted by the games which it wins; at bridge it may determine the results of the whole play. To an old-fashioned whistplayer the popularity of the game seems to portend something little short of moral disaster!