The account of our correspondent seems to be correct; but we believe that even in our language the word was formerly spelt "truimph," and that word, in the sense of a trump card, is used by Shakspeare in the following passage in Antony and Cleopatra:

It ought, however, to be mentioned, that "trump" was formerly the name of a game at cards something similar to whist; the modern game being merely an improvement upon it. This game was also called "ruff," and at the present day to ruff and to trump are with some persons synonymous. The game of ruff, or trump, or gleck, under all which names it was known, is found described at large in a book called Wit's Interpreter, published in 1662. It was played by three persons, and from this circumstance" a gleck" came to be used to signify three of any thing, in which sense it is found in several old plays.

Whilst upon this subject, it may be worthy of notice, how many games anciently in use have long become obsolete. Perhaps in nothing has there been so quick a succession. Some few of the old games at cards are named by Sir John Harrington, in one of his epigrams, by which the truth of our observation will be made apparent. In this epigram it will be seen the phrase to "trump," is made use of. "I heard one make a pretty observation,

How games have in the court turn'd with the fashion.
The first game was the best when free from crime,
The courtly gamesters all were in their prime.
The second game was post, until with posting

They paid so fast 'twas time to leave their boasting.
Then, thirdly, followed heaving of the maw,

A game without civility or law,

An odious game, and yet in court oft seen,
A saucy knave to beat both king and queen.
Then follow'd lodam”.

"Now noddy follow'd next, as well it might,
Although it should have gone before by right;
At which I saw, I name not any body,

One never had the knave, yet laid for noddy.
The last game now in use is bankerupt,

Which will be play'd at still, I stand in doubt,

Until Lavolta turn the wheel of time,

And make it come about again to prime."

Here we have no less than six games named, which, with the exception of the first, prime or primero, are we doubt not unfamiliar even to the ears of most of our readers; and this list is by no means complete, many others might be enumerated.

GENERAL REVIEW.

Crockford House, a Rhapsody and a Rhyme, in Rome. 12mo. pp. 147. Murray.

THIS Volume, which proceeds from the clever pen of Mr. Luttrell, known as the author of " Advice to Julia," contains an amusing satire upon the owner of the palace or pandemonium which is now erecting in St. James' Street, and a few lines also satirical upon the degeneracy of the Romans and the filthiness of their streets. The first of these poems, "Crockford House," is divided into two cantos; one containing an account of Crockford and a description of his pursuits; the other, some advice to him upon the course he should adopt towards his neighbours, the Guards' Club, and upon his general line of conduct. Both cantos contain some pleasant lines, but the second is the better one. From it we shall extract the following lines, which appear to us amongst the best in the volume.

"There is no punishing or shaming Certain people out of gaming,

Nor imagine that the vice
Is confin'd to cards or dice,
That its power is felt or shewn
In saloons or clubs alone.
Practis'd our desires to move
In as various forms as Love,
Shifting to a hundred shapes;
Here some grave pursuit it apes,
Here performs some sordid task,
In a domino and mask.
All who, dashing, over trade,
All by whom a wager's laid;
All who deal in those affairs
Call'd, from sharing nothing-shares ;
(As a grove all classic men do
Lucus term a non lucendo)

All who would their incomes double
By some specious two-faced bubble,
And secure by hums on hums
Bonuses and premiums ;

These lines flow easily, and

All the bulls and bears that range,
Shap'd like men, the Stock Exchange,
And, without remorse, would martyr
Half mankind for half a quarter;
All who, preying on the nation,
Call their rapine speculation;
Who by accident advance,
And in all things trust to chance;
Scheme-contrivers, money-scramblers,
All are errant downright gamblers.
Who but smiling hears and sees
Folks, like some at least of these;
Thus untouched by love of gold,
Thus in conscious virtue bold,'
With uplifted hands and eyes,
Feigning anger or surprise;
With severe and Spartan air
Sitting in the moral chair;
When at others' motes they scream
With their own enormous beam;
When they dare the lash to lay
So relentlessly on play,

And to wonder what retards
God's revenge on dice and cards!"

suit well with the subject; so also do the following, the application of which is still more general:

"Nought reclaims

People less than calling names,
Be it with the pen or tongue,
Be it written, said, or sung.
Since could any vice or failing
Have been rooted out by railing,
We, though men in outward show,
Had been angels long ago.
They who deal in speaking daggers,'
Have no reason to be braggers
Of success in what they do:
What's so very easy too,

Has no chance of being new.
Every one can be abusive:
There's no privilege exclusive
To protect their hopeful labors,
Who in shewing up their neighbours
Mingle truth enough with lies
In their batch of calumnies,
Just to make the ferment rise.
None can fail, and none excels,
On that paltry peal of bells,
Through whose belfry he who ranges,
In a trice may ring the changes."

Falkland, 1 vol. 8vo.; Vivian Grey, vols. 3, 4, 5, 8vo.; De Vere, 3 vols. 8vo. Colburn. 1827.

EACH of the above three novels, which have all lately issued from the Burlington Street Manufactory, is very different from the others in character and merit. The first, which is comprised in one volume, is written in a very glowing poetical style, set off by beauties stolen, or, as the modern phrase is, adopted from well-known authors. If stript of these ornaments, it would be, indeed, a very meagre volume, dependant upon a story which is detestable. It is in vain that the author, conscious of the immoral tendency of his work, has indulged in a labored philippic against the particular vice of which the volume treats his trite morality will with many readers pass unnoticed; but the glowing descriptions of villainy-the palliatives-the progressive beating down of moral restraints, and the gradually laying open of the road to the consummation of the most abandoned vices-all these will be read with avidity, and are calculated to do much harm. Mr. Colburn ought to be made to feel the weight of public indignation for sending forth a volume so very improper.

The second work is of a different stamp, and presents some very amusing pictures of continental life, written in an easy and pleasant style. Some parts of the first volume were arrant nonsense, and bore evident trace of the book-making which is apparent in most of Mr. Colburn's publications. The three volumes now published are not wholly free from these faults, but are unquestionably superior to the former two, and in some parts possess that essential requisite of a good novel-interest. In the newspaper puffs, this work has been styled a prose " Don Juan;" a prose Paradise Lost would have been almost as appropriate :---there are, nevertheless, many very good scenes in it, and altogether it is a spirited publication.

De Vere is a novel very similar to Tremaine, except that the one is religious, the other political. For our own parts, we think novels improper vehicles for the discussion of either politics or religion, but freely admit that the author of these works has brought a great deal of talent to his task. Not, indeed, that talent of sketching character which is so eminently displayed by Sir. W. Scott, but much general information and correct thought, and an excellent and easy style. Many of the characters in De Vere are precisely those in Tremaine; we have our old friends Dr. Evelyn, and Georgiana, and Tremaine, brought forward under other names, and placed in different circumstances. The political characters are most of them new, and often very dull and prosy; indeed the four volumes might have been contracted to two; but, however advantageous that arrangement would have been to the reader, and the critic we presume, neither Mr. Colburn nor Mr. Ward would have considered it advisable. As it is, we do not think De Vere can obtain any very permanent reputation; it is not sufficient for a four volume novel to be merely sensible or well written; there must be interest---strong interest, in which De Vere is deficient. Not even the puffing of

Mr. Colburn can keep up such a heavy fellow as Sir William Flowerdale; he is a complete dead weight, with only one good quality, and we apprehend that will scarcely redeem him---he has a brother.

Personal Narrative of a Journey from India to England, by Bussorah, &c. By Captain the Hon. George Keppel. 2 vols. 8vo. Colburn. 1827.

It is seldom our lot to peruse more amusing volumes than these. Very unpretending, and without any of the attempt to show off, in which modern authors delight so much to indulge. There are some very palpable grammatical slips which ought to have been corrected in a second edition, but these are of minor importance, and by no means conceal the vein of good sense which runs throughout the work. The author's route was one not frequently pursued by overland travellers. He sailed in H. M. Ship Alligator, up the Persian Gulf to Bussorah, from whence he took his way by Bagdad, and Kermanshah to Teheraun, the Capital of the Persian Empire. From thence he passed along the western bank of the Caspian to Astrachan, and travelled in very great haste to Moscow and St. Petersburgh. first volume, which includes a visit to the ruins of Babylon, is more diffuse than the second, which in some places disappoints the reader's expectation, especially in the meagre notice of Teheraun.

The

Capt. Keppel had on parts of his route the advantage of some intelligent companions, and the comparatively scanty notice of some places, may in part be attributed to their leaving him. The collision of opinions, and the multiplication of observers, are, of course, very great advantages to travellers.

In looking through these volumes with a view to extract from their pages, we know not where we can find matter more amusing or better calculated to give a specimen of the author's style, than in the account of a morning at Hamadan, with descriptive characters of the various persons who visited the travellers. The passage altogether is too long for us, but we shall give a summary of it. Their first visitor

was

"The prince's physician, a respectable looking old man, of very amiable manners, possessing a degree of liberality of opinion and general information rarely to be met with in one of the shallow pretenders to medicine in this country."-" As a proof of his modesty, he acknowledged the superiority of European medical knowledge, by consulting Mr. Lamb on the state of his own health, and receiving medicine from him; but what pleased us most was the honorable mention he made of Sir John Malcolm, with whom he appears to have been well acquainted, and our national vanity was much gratified by the admiration he expressed for our highly gifted countryman."

Another of their visitors was a Jewish Rabbi:

"From him we heard a most affecting detail, of the persecutions exercised by the Mahometans towards his unhappy people. The whole tenor of his language was that of bitter lamentation, and he spoke of their sufferings with a degree of freedom before the Mussulman doctor, that despair only could have dictated."-" The Rabbi informed us that the number of his people amounted to four hundred houses. The tombs of Mordecai and Esther are cherished here amidst their misery; and the expectation of the promised Messiah, is the hope that enables them to sustain the load of oppression which would otherwise be insupportable."

After the Jew,

"The chief of the Armenians came with an offering of two large flasks of wine, which this Eastern Christian had brought to ensure a favorable reception from his more fortunate brethren. His detail was equally affecting with that of the Rabbi; here the unbelieving Jew and Christian dog are alike subject to the oppression of the intolerant Mussulman."

Their next visitor was a native of rank, who devoted his time and fortune to a pursuit still common in the East---the search after the philosopher's stone. He came to

He

"Consult Mr. Lamb, whom he believed to be in possession of the secret. entertained this opinion in consequence of being told by some one who had been with us, that the learned Englishman was examining stones, and subjecting them to a chemical process. This was true enough; Mr. Lamb being a geologist, had been so employed, and the stones and chemical tests still lying upon the table, served thoroughly to confirm our visitor in his conviction, which no assurances we could at first give had the power of -removing. Finding Mr. Lamb what he deemed obdurate in withholding the desired information, he seized a bottle of acid with which he had seen him produce effervescence with brimstone, and thinking this phial would open to him the wished-for treasure, implored in the most piteous tone that it might be given him."

But the most singular incident remains to be told--

"We had a curious proof this morning of the respect in which the English character is held in this country. Mr. Lamb wishing to draw a bill upon Bagdad, for the sum of one hundred tomauns, for our common expenditure, sent a servant into the town to know whether any of the shraufs (merchants) would be willing to give him money for it. After a short time a miserable, half-starved looking wretch made his appearance, and said he should be willing to advance us any sum we might require: at first we were inclined to laugh at his proposal, thinking, from his appearance and garb, that he was more like an object of charity than a lender of money. He soon undeceived us; for disencumbering himself of a few of his rags, he unstrapped from his body a black leathern belt, and having cut it open, counted out the hundred tomauns in gold. Mr. Lamb wrote a draft in English, upon a merchant in Bagdad, which the man took in lieu of his money, contenting himself with merely asking the name of the merchant on whom the bill was drawn, and declaring himself to be the party obliged; 'for,' said he, if I am robbed, I shall at least be spared this piece of paper.' Whilst we were wondering both at his ability to serve us and his confidence in our honesty, (for we could easily have deceived him) he said he had too many proofs of English probity to entertain any alarm on that head. The Feringhees (Franks) are not worthy of being trusted, but the Ingreez (Englishmen) have never been known to deceive.'

6

"This circumstance reflects not a little on the general good conduct of our countrymen in Persia, for in this as well as in many other examples it might be shewn, that it is to Englishmen only that this confidence is extended. Of the Feringhees, as it is their custom to distinguish other Europeans from the Ingrees, they are as distrustful as they are of each other. Why we should have so excellent a character I know not, though I have heard it somewhat oddly accounted for. It is said, that some time ago, an American vessel in a trading voyage up the Red Sea, bought a considerable quantity of coffee, and paid for it in Spanish dollars, but the ship had not long sailed when it was discovered that the money was counterfeit, and the merchants in their indignation vowed they would have no dealings with the English, for (as their sailors spoke our language) such they supposed them to be. Some one said they were not English, but Feringhee dosiane noo, 'Franks of the New World,' by which name the Americans are designated in these countries. As the mart where this transaction occurred was on the road to Mecca, the story rapidly spread, and numerous pilgrims on their return home were of course glad to promulgate any story detrimental to the Christian character. It is not to be supposed that our countrymen are always immaculate, but now if an Englishman misbehaves, he is not designated a native of England, but a Frank of the New World.' This is rather hard upon brother Jonathan, who is to the full as honest as John Bull; but in many other cases, the roguery of an individual is oftentimes felt by a multitude."