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Back to article: MATRIMONY (Lat. matrimonium, marriage, which is the ordinary English sense)

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MATRIMONY (Lat. matrimonium, marriage, which is the ordinary English sense), a game at cards played with a full whist pack upon a table divided into three compartments labelled " Matrimony," " Intrigue " and " Confederacy," and two smaller spaces, " Pair " and " Best." These names indicate combinations of two cards, any king and queen being " Matrimony," any queen and knave " Intrigue," any king and knave " Confederacy "; while any two cards of the same denomination form a " Pair " and the diamond ace is " Best." The dealer distributes a number of counters, to which an agreed value has been given, upon the compartments, and the other players do likewise. The dealer then gives one card to each player, face down, and a second, face up. If any turned-up card is the diamond ace, the player holding it takes everything on the space and the deal passes. If not turned, the diamond ace has only the value of the other three aces. If it is not turned, the players, beginning with the eldest. hand, expose their second cards, and the resulting combinations, if among the five successful ones, win the counters of the corresponding spaces. If the counters on a space are not won, they remain ' until the next deal.