Hoyle is also spoken of in his professional capacity in "The Rambler" of May 8, 1750. A "Lady that has lost her Money" writes, "As for Play, I do think I may, indeed, indulge in that, now I am my own Mistress. Papa made me drudge at Whist 'till I was tired of it; and far from wanting a Head, Mr. Hoyle, when he had not given me above forty Lessons, said, I was one of his best Scholars."
Again, in "The Gentleman's Magazine" for February, 1755, a writer, professing to give the autobiography of a modern physician, says, "Hoyle tutor'd me in the several games at cards, and under the name of guarding me from being cheated, insensibly gave me a taste for sharping."
In the middle of the eighteenth century, Whist was regularly played in fashionable society. In "Tom Jones," Lady Bellaston, Lord Fellamar, and others, are represented as indulging in a rubber. Hoyle also comes in for notice in the following passage in the same work: "I happened to come home several Hours before my usual Time, when I found four Gentlemen of the Cloth at Whisk by my fire;—and my Hoyle, sir;—my best Hoyle, which cost me a Guinea, lying open on the Table, with a Quantity of Porter spilt on one of the most material Leaves of the whole Book. This, you will allow, was provoking; but I said nothing till the rest of the honest Company were gone, and then gave the Fellow a gentle Rebuke, who, instead of expressing any Concern, made me a pert Answer, 'That Servants must have their Diversions as well as other People; that he was sorry for the Accident which had happened to the Book; but that several of his Acquaintance had bought the same for a Shilling; and that I might stop as much in his Wages, if I pleased.'"
In an epic poem on "Whist," by Alexander Thomson, which appeared in 1791, Hoyle was thus invoked—
"Whist, then, delightful Whist, my theme shall be,
And first I'll try to trace its pedigree,
And shew what sage and comprehensive mind
Gave to the world a pleasure so refin'd:
Then shall the verse its various charms display,
Which bear from, ev'ry game the palm away;
And, last of all, those rules and maxims tell,
Which give the envied pow'r to play it well.
But first (for such the mode) some tuneful shade
Must be invok'd, the vent'rous Muse to aid.
Cremona's poet shall I first address,
Who paints with skill the mimic war of chess,
And India's art in Roman accents sings;
Or him who soars on far sublimer wings,
Belinda's bard, who taught his liquid lay
At Ombre's studious game so well to play?
But why thus vainly hesitates the Muse,
In idle doubt, what guardian pow'r to chuse?
What pow'r so well can aid her daring toil,
As the bright spirit of immortal Hoyle?
By whose enlighten'd efforts Whist became
A sober, serious, scientific game;
To whose unwearied pains, while here below,
The great, th' important privilege we owe,
That random strokes disgrace our play no more,
But skill presides, where all was chance before.
Come then, my friend, my teacher, and my guide,
Where'er thy shadowy ghost may now reside;
Perhaps (for Nature ev'ry change defies,
Nor ev'n with death our ruling passion dies)
With fond regret it hovers still, unseen,
Around the tempting boards array'd in green;
Still with delight its fav'rite game regards,
And tho' it plays no more o'erlooks the cards.
Come then, thou glory of Britannia's isle,
On this attempt propitious deign to smile;
Let all thy skill th' unerring page inspire,
And all thy zeal my raptur'd bosom fire."
Hoyle's name also finds a place in Don Juan. Byron, in saying that Troy owes to Homer what Whist owes to Hoyle, scarcely does justice to Hoyle, who was rather the founder than the historian of Whist.
The "Short Treatise" appeared just in the nick of time, when Whist was rising in repute, and when card-playing was the rage. The work became the authority almost from the date of its appearance.
In 1760, the laws of the game were revised by the members of White's and Saunders's Chocolate-houses, then the head quarters of fashionable play. These revised laws (nearly all Hoyle) are given in every edition of Hoyle from this date. Hoyle's laws, as they were called, guided all Whist coteries for a hundred and four years; when the Arlington (now Turf) and Portland Clubs, re-revised the code of the Chocolate-houses. The code agreed to by the Committees of both Clubs was adopted in 1864; it shortly found its way into all Whist circles, deposed Hoyle, and is now (1874) the standard by which disputed points are determined.
One of the chief seats of card-playing, and consequently, of Whist-playing, during the eighteenth century, was Bath. Even Mr. Pickwick is depicted playing Whist there with Miss Bolo, against the Dowager Lady Snuphanuph and Mrs. Colonel Wugsby, in a passage too well known to require quotation. Mr. Pickwick's visit was at a date when the chief glories of Bath had departed. Hoyle's first edition, it will be remembered, was published at Bath, as also was Thomas Mat[t]hews' "Advice to the Young Whist Player" (about 1805)—a sound and useful contribution to Whist literature.
Early in this century, the points of the game were altered from ten to five, and calling honours was abolished. It is doubtful whether this change was for the better. In the author's opinion Long Whist (ten up) is a far finer game than Short Whist (five up); Short Whist, however, has taken such a hold, that there is no chance of our reverting to the former game. According to Clay ("Short Whist," 1864), the alteration took place under the following circumstances: "Some sixty or seventy years back, Lord Peterborough having one night lost a large sum of money, the friends with whom he was playing proposed to make the game five points instead of ten, in order to give the loser a chance, at a quicker game, of recovering his loss. The late Mr. Hoare, of Bath, a very good whist-player, and without a superior at piquet, was one of this party, and has more than once told me the story. The new game was found to be so lively, and money changed hands with such increased rapidity, that these gentlemen and their friends, all of them members of the leading clubs of the day, continued to play it. It became general in the clubs—thence was introduced in private houses—travelled into the country—went to Paris, and has long since * * entirely superseded the whist of Hoyle's day."