PATIENCE  , the name given to certain card-

games played by a single person . Although known for centuries, they have seldom been mentioned by writers on playing-cards, and the rules have for the most part been handed down orally . There are two main varieties; in one luck alone prevails, since the player has no choice of play but must follow strict rules; in the other an opportunity is given for the display of skill and judgment, as the player has the choice of several plays at different stages of the game . The usual object is to bring the cards into regular ascending or descending sequences . The starting card is called the " foundation," and the family " (sequence) is " built " upon it . In other varieties of Patience the object is to make pairs, which are then discarded, the game being brought to a successful conclusion when all the cards have been paired; or to pair cards which will together make certain numbers, and then .discard as before . There are hundreds of Patience games, ranging from the simplest to the most complicated . See Jarbart's Games of Patience in De la-Rue's series of handbooks (19o5); Patience Games, by " Cavendish " (London, 189o); Cyclopaedia of Card and Table Games, by Professor Hoffmann (London, 1891) ; Patience Games, by Professor Hoffmann (London, 1892) ; Games of Patience, by A . Howard Cady (Spalding's Home Library, New York, 1896) ; Dick's Games of Patience, edited by W . B. and H . B . Dick (New York, 1898) ; Games of Patience (4 series), by Mary E .

W .

Jones (London, 1898) ; Le Livre illustre des patiences, by " Comtesse de Blanccceur " (Paris, 1898) .