Quack,v.To cry like a duck; to act the part of a boasting pretender to physic, or any other art.

Quadrangular,a.Square, having four right angles.

Quadrille,s.A game at cards.

The game of quadrille is played by four persons, with forty cards; the four tens, nines, and eights, are discarded from the pack; the deal is made by distributing the cards to each player, three at a time, for two rounds, and once four to each, beginning with the right-hand player, who is the elder hand.

The stakes, consisting of several equal billets or contracts, comprising the counters and fish, are distributed among the players, who agree upon the value thereof, and upon the number of tours, which are usually ten. After the trump is named, the right-hand player leads, and should the ombre, either alone or with a friend, win all the tricks, he gains the vole, or, if six tricks, the game; but if he get only five tricks he loses by remise, and if only four, by codill. The game, consolation, matadores, bastos, and other payments, are variously regulated, according as the game is won or lost. The holder of either or both of the red aces, is entitled to a fish for each.

SOME SHORT RULES FOR LEARNERS.

1. When you are the ombre, and your friend leads from a mat, play your best trump, and then lead the next best the first opportunity.

2. If you possess all the trumps, keep leading them, except you have other certain winning cards.

3. If all the mats should not be revealed by the time you have won six tricks, do not risk playing for the vole.

4. When you are the friend called, and hold only a mat, lead it, but if only a mat, guarded by a small trump, lead the small one; though when the ombre is last player, lead the best trump you have.

5. Punto in red, or king of trumps in black, are good cards to lead when they are your best, and should either of them succeed, then play a small trump.

6. When the ombre leads to discover the friend, if you hold king, queen, and knave, put on the knave.

7. Preserve the called suit, whether friend or foe.

8. When playing against a lone hand, never lead a king, unless you have the queen, nor change the suit, nor permit, if possible to prevent it, the ombre to be last player.

9. Call on the strongest suits, except you have a queen guarded, and, if elder hand, you have a better chance than when middle hand.

10. A good player may succeed better with a weaker hand, when either elder or younger, than if middle hand.

THE RANK OF THE CARDS WHEN NOT TRUMPS.CLUBS AND SPADES.

THE RANK OF THE CARDS WHEN NOT TRUMPS.

CLUBS AND SPADES.

King,Queen,Knave,Seven,Six,Five,Four,Three,Deuce.————In all 9.

King,

Queen,

Knave,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Deuce.

————

In all 9.

HEARTS AND DIAMONDS.

King,Queen,Knave,Ace,Deuce,Three,Four,Five,Six,Seven.————In all 10.

King,

Queen,

Knave,

Ace,

Deuce,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven.

————

In all 10.

THE RANK AND ORDER OF THE TRUMPS.CLUBS AND SPADES.

THE RANK AND ORDER OF THE TRUMPS.

CLUBS AND SPADES.

Spadille, the ace of spades.Manille, the deuce of spades or of clubs.Basto, the ace of clubs.King,Queen,Knave,Seven,Six,Five,Four,Three.————In all 11.

Spadille, the ace of spades.

Manille, the deuce of spades or of clubs.

Basto, the ace of clubs.

King,

Queen,

Knave,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three.

————

In all 11.

HEARTS AND DIAMONDS.

Spadille, the ace of spades.Manille, the seven of hearts or diamonds.Basto, the ace of clubs.Punto, the ace of hearts or diamonds.King,Queen,Knave,Deuce,Three,Four,Five,Six.————In all 12.

Spadille, the ace of spades.

Manille, the seven of hearts or diamonds.

Basto, the ace of clubs.

Punto, the ace of hearts or diamonds.

King,

Queen,

Knave,

Deuce,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

————

In all 12.

N.B. Spadille and basto are always trumps, by which the red suits have one trump more than the black.

There are three matadores, viz.—spadille, manille, and basto, which force all inferior trumps; but if an ordinary trump be led, you are not obliged to play a matadore; though, if spadille be led, and you hold manille or basto unguarded, you must play it; also, if manille be led, and you have basto unguarded, that must be played.

1. The first thing, after seeing the cards, is to ask leave; to pass; or playsans prendre; and if you name a wrong trump you must abide by it.

2. If all the players pass, he who holds spadille is obliged to play what is called forced spadille; but though he should not make three tricks, he is not basted.

3. The player who calls a king, ought to have a fair probability of winning three tricks, to prevent being basted.

4. Therefore, such games only are set down as give a fair chance to win by calling a king, with directions at the end of each what to lead.—Hoyle.

Quadruped,s.An animal that goes on four legs, as, perhaps, all beasts.

Quadruple,a.Fourfold, four times told.

Quagmire,s.A shaking marsh.

Quail, (Tetrao Coturnix,Linn.;Le Caille,Buff.)s.A bird of game.

THE QUAIL.

The length of the quail is seven inches and a half. Bill dusky; eyes hazel; the colours of the head, neck, and back, are of a mixture of brown, ash-colour, and black; over each eye there is a yellow streak, and another of the same colour down the middle of the forehead; a dark line passes from each corner of the bill, forming a kind of forget above the breast; the scapular feathers are marked by a light yellowish streak down the middle of each; the quills are of a lightish brown, with small rust-coloured bands on the exterior of the feathers; the breast is of a pale rust-colour, spotted with black, and streaked with pale yellow; the tail consists of twelve feathers, barred like the wings; the belly and thighs are of a yellowish white; the legs pale brown. The female wants the black spots on the breast, and is easily distinguished by a less vivid plumage.

Quails are almost universally diffused throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa; they are birds of passage, and are seen in immense flocks traversing the Mediterranean Sea, from Europe to the shores of Africa, in the autumn, and returning again in the spring, frequently alighting, in their passage, on many of the islands of the Archipelago, which they almost cover with their numbers. On the western coasts of the kingdom of Naples, such prodigious numbers have appeared, that an hundred thousand have been taken in a day, within the space of four or five miles. From these circumstances it appears highly probable that the quails which supplied the Israelites with food, during their journey through the wilderness, were sent thither on their passage to the north, by a wind from the south-west, sweeping over Egypt and Ethiopia, towards the shores of the Red Sea.

Quails are not very numerous here; they breed with us, and many of them are said to remain throughout the year, changing their quarters from the interior counties to the sea coast. The female makes her nest like the partridge, and lays to the number of six or seven eggs of a greyish colour, speckled with brown. The young birds follow the mother as soon as hatched, but do not continue long together: they are scarcely grown up before they separate; or, if kept together, they fight obstinately with each other, their quarrels frequently terminating in each others’ destruction. From this quarrelsome disposition in the quail, it was that they were formerly made use of by the Greeks and Romans, as we use game-cocks, for the purpose of fighting. We are told that Augustus punished a præfect of Egypt with death, for bringing to his table one of these birds, which had acquired celebrity by its victories. At this time the Chinese are much addicted to fighting quails: in some parts of Italy it is likewise said to be no uncommon practice. After feeding two quails very highly, they place them opposite to each other, and throw a few grains of seed between them; the birds rush upon each other with the utmost fury, striking with their bills and heels till one of them yields.

In our way down to the beach, we observed a number of high poles erected at small distances in the low grounds. These the lad told us served to stretch their nets upon in the quail season. Capri has in all ages been celebrated for the prodigious number of quails caught there. The principal revenues of the bishop and of some convents, arise from the quails they send to Naples. In a good season, which lasts about three weeks only, 150,000, and in one day 12,000 have been taken. As birds of passage, they alight here merely to rest themselves in their flight to other countries; begin arriving in April, and continue till the middle of May. That period is a time of profit and rejoicing for the Capreans, every one being at liberty to shoot or catch as many as he can. Exhausted as the bird is, there is little difficulty in seizing him. The most common and productive method is, for one man to have a net, which he carries folded up on two poles, another drives the quails towards him, when the former instantly expands his net, and as soon as the birds strike against it, he turns the net with great dexterity, and confines them entangled as they are. They are then put into a bag, to preserve them alive, because the live ones fetch a double price at Naples. Very often, however, this pastime is attended with serious consequences; the bearer of the net, in twisting it round, frequently loses his balance, from the weight of the long poles, and is precipitated from the rocks. Even boys from the age of four amuse themselves by catching them with the hand in the bushes, and putting them under the netting which they constantly wear on their heads; and on their return home, the height of thisanimatedhead dress, as it affords the best proof of their success, is a matter of triumph among them. In Egypt, when these birds arrive in the month of September, I have more than once seen the Arabs killing and laming them, by throwing short sticks at them. During the time that the Capitani Bey blockaded the harbour of Alexandria with his Turkish squadron, one of the Greek sailors of his ship had caught two or three which had perched on the rigging. The mussulman rewarded him generously, and desirous of varying the hard fare which a blockading squadron has usually to sustain, by a more ample supply of such a delicate rarity, promised a piastre for every quail that should be brought him. In a few days the rigging, sails, and yards were covered with flocks of quails; great numbers were caught of course, and every one was brought into the cabin, as the price had been so liberally fixed. To escape the dilemma of either ruining his purse or breaking his promise, the Capitani Bey resorted to the alternative of standing out to sea, as by removing from the coast he got rid of the visits of these expensive strangers.

In January, 1806, Lord Fitzharris was returning from shooting, when close to the sea his dogs pointed, and he shot a quail; in the same field he killed a brace more, these consisted of a male, female, and young bird; they were fat and in exceeding good condition, and it was conjectured that the old birds had been disabled from pursuing their autumnal migration. A similar incident not having occurred to any sportsman, in that part of England, in some measure accounts for Mr. Pennant’s remark (which he made for its singularity), of a quail being shot in Kent, during the winter of 1781.—Bewick—Daniel—Letters from the Campagna Felice.

Quailpipe,s.A pipe with which fowlers allure quails.

Quarry,s.A square; game flown at by a hawk; a stone mine, a place where they dig stones; the ancient term for game, both winged and quadruped.

Quarry,v.To prey upon; to dig out stones.

Quart,s.The fourth part, a quarter; the fourth part of a gallon; the vessel in which strong drink is commonly retailed.

Quartan,s.The fourth-day ague.

Quarter,s.A fourth part; a region of the skies, as referred to the seaman’s card.

Quarter,v.To divide into four parts; to divide, to break by force; to divide into distinct regions; to traverse back and forward carefully as a pointer quarters a field.

Quassia,s.A powerful bitter, useful in weakness of the stomach.

Quick,s.The living flesh; sensible parts; plants of hawthorn.

Quicksilver,s.The vulgar name for mercury.

Quill,s.The hard and strong feather of the wing, of which pens are made; prick or dart of a porcupine; wing feathers of birds generally.

Quinary,a.Consisting of five.

Quint,s.A set of five; sequents of five; a term at cards, pronouncedkent.

Quinze,s.A game at cards.

Quinze is a French game, usually played by two persons only, admired for its simplicity and fairness, depending entirely upon chance, being soon decided, and not requiring the attention of most other games on the cards, and therefore calculated for those who love to sport upon an equal hazard.

It is called quinze from fifteen being the game, made in the following manner:—first, the cards must be shuffled by the player, and when they have cut for deal, which belongs to him who cuts the lowest, they may be shuffled again, the dealer having the privilege to shuffle last: this being done, the adversary cuts, after which the dealer gives one card to his adversary and one to himself; if the adversary do not like his card, he has a right to have as many more given to him, one after the other, the pips of which will make 15, or come nearest to it, which are usually given from the top of the pack; for example, if he should have a deuce, and draw a five, which make seven, he should go on, in hopes of coming nearer to 15; if he then draw an eight, which makes just 15, and be elder-hand, he is sure of winning the game: but should he over-draw, and make above 15, he loses, unless the dealer does the same, in which case it is a drawn game, and they double the stakes; and thus go on till one of them has won the game by standing, and being 15, or the nearest to it, below that number, &c. At the end of each game, the cards are put up and shuffled, and the players cut anew for the deal, the elder hand constantly having the advantage.—Hoyle.

Quitter,s.A disease of the hoof.VideAppendix.

Quitterbone,s.A hard round swelling upon the coronet, between the heel and the quarter.

Quiver,s.A case for arrows.

Quivered,a.Furnished with a quiver.

Quoit,s.Something thrown to a great distance, to a certain point; the discus of the ancients is sometimes called in English quoit, but improperly.

Quoit,v.To throw quoits, to play at quoits.

Quotidian,a.Daily, happening every day.

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