No More Learning

This meant that the opponent took the stake and the ombre had to replace
it for the next hand.

A peculiar feature of ombre is the rank, or value, of the cards. The
three best cards were called "matadores," a Spanish word meaning
"killers. " The first of these matadores was "Spadillio," the ace of
spades; the third was "Basto," the ace of clubs. The second, "Manillio,"
varied according to the suit. If a black suit were declared, Maniilio
was the two of trumps; if a red suit, Manillio was the seven of trumps.
It is worth noting also that the red aces were inferior to the face
cards of their suits except when a red suit was trump.

A brief analysis of the game played on this occasion will clear up the
passage and leave the reader free to admire the ingenuity with which
Pope has described the contest in terms of epic poetry.

Belinda declares spades trumps and so becomes the "ombre. " She leads one
after the other the three matadores; and takes three tricks. She then
leads the next highest card, the king of spades, and wins a fourth
trick. Being out of trumps she now leads the king of clubs; but the
baron, who has actually held more spades than Belinda, trumps it with
the queen of spades. All the trumps are now exhausted and the baron's
long suit of diamonds is established. He takes the sixth, seventh, and
eighth tricks with the king, queen, and knave of diamonds, respectively.
Everything now depends on the last trick, since Belinda and the baron
each have taken four.
The baron leads the ace of hearts and Belinda
takes it with the king, thus escaping "codille" and winning the stake.


'30 the sacred nine':

the nine Muses.


'41 succint':

tucked up.


'54 one Plebeian card':

one of Belinda's opponents is now out of trumps and discards a low card
on her lead.


'61 Pam':

a term applied to the knave of clubs which was always the highest card
in Lu, another popular game of that day.


'74 the globe':

the jeweled ball which forms one of the regalia of a monarch. The aspect
of playing cards has changed not a little since Pope's day, but the
globe is still to be seen on the king of clubs.


'79 Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts':

these are the losing cards played by Belinda and the third player on the
baron's winning diamonds.


'99'

Pope's old enemy, Dennis, objected to the impropriety of Belinda's
filling the sky with exulting shouts, and some modern critics have been
foolish enough to echo his objection. The whole scene is a masterpiece
of the mock-heroic. The game is a battle, the cards are warriors, and
Belinda's exclamations of pleasure at winning are in the same fashion
magnified into the cheers of a victorious army.


'100 long canals':

the canals which run through the splendid gardens of Hampton Court, laid
out by William III in the Dutch fashion.


'106 The berries crackle':

it would seem from this phrase that coffee was at that time roasted as
well as ground in the drawing-room. In a letter written shortly after
the date of this poem Pope describes Swift as roasting coffee "with his
own hands in an engine made for that purpose. "

Coffee had been introduced into England about the middle of the
seventeenth century. In 1657 a barber who had opened one of the first
coffeehouses in London was indicted for "making and selling a sort of
liquor called coffee, as a great nuisance and prejudice of the
neighborhood.