The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Royal Game of Ombre, by Anonymous This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Royal Game of Ombre Written At the Request of divers Honourable Persons--1665 Author: Anonymous Posting Date: August 19, 2012 [EBook #9177] Release Date: October, 2005 First Posted: September 11, 2003 Language: English Character set encoding: ASCII *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROYAL GAME OF OMBRE *** Produced by Imran Ghory [Transcribers note: This transcription was made from a copy of the work held in the British Library as Jessel #1249. Original spelling and punctuation has been preserved where possible.] The Royal Game of the Ombre. Written At the Request of divers Honourable Persons. London Printed for Thomas Palmer, at the Crown in Westminster-Hall, 1665. The Royal Game of the Ombre. L'Ombre is a Spanish Game at Cards, as much as to say, The Man: so he who undertakes to play the Game, sayes Jo so l'Ombre, or, I am the Man. And 'tis a common saying with the Spaniards, (alluding to the name) that the Spanish l'Ombre as far surpasses the French le Beste, as a Man do's a Beast, There are divers sorts of it, of which, this (which we shall only treat of, and which chiefly is in vogue) is called the Renegado, for reasons better supprest then known. _How many can play at it, and with what Cards they are to play._ There can only three play at it, and they are dealt nine Cards a piece: so by discarding the Eights, Nines, and Tens out of the Pack, there remains thirteen Cards in the Stock. _Of the Trump_ There is no turning up Trump, nor no Trump but what the Player pleases, the first hand having alwayes the choice to play or pass, after him the second, &c. _Of the Stakes_ For Stakes there are two sorts of Marks or Counters, the greater and the less; for example if you value the great ones at 12. pence, the lesser may be pence the piece (and so according as you please) of which great Marks you stake each one one for the Game: and the lesser for passing, for the hand, if you be eldest, and for taking in, giving for each Card you take in, one Mark or Counter. _Of the names of the Cards, and order in ranking them_ _Of the Black Suits_ 1. The Spadillio, or Ace of Spades. 2. The Mallilio, or black Deuces of either suit. 3. The Basto, or Ace of Clubs. 4. The King. 5. Queen. 6. Knave. 7. Seven. 8. Six. 9. Five. 10. Four. 11. And Three. _Of the Red Suits_ 1. The Spadillio, or Ace of Spades. 2. The Mallilio, or Sevens of either Suit. 3. The Basto, or Ace of Clubs. 4. The Punto, or Ace of Hearts or Diamonds according as they are Trump. 5. The King. 6. The Queen. 7. The Knave. 8. The Deuce. 9. The Three. 10. The Four. 11. The Five. 12. The Six. _Observations._ By this you see first that the Spadillio, or Ace of Spades is always the first Card, and alwayes Trump, be the Trump what suit soever; and the Basto, or Ace of Clubs alwayes the third. Secondly, the of Black, there are but eleven Trumps, and of Red twelve. Thirdly, that the Red Ace enters into the fourth place when it is Trump, and then is called the Punto, otherwise 'tis only rank'd after the Knave, and is only call'd the Ace. Fourthly, that (excepting the Deuces of Black, and Sevens of Red, which are call'd the Mallilio's, and are alwayes the second Cards when they are Trumps) the least small Cards of the Red are alwayes best, and the greatest of the Black. _Of the Matadors._ The Matadors or killing Cards, as the Spadillio, Mallilio, and Basto, are the three chief Cards, and for these, when they are all in a hand (else not) the others pay three of the greater Marks or Counters the piece; and though there be no counting the Matadors without these three, yet these three for foundation, you may count as many as you have Cards in an interrupted series of Trumps; for all which the others are to pay you one Mark or Counter, the piece, even to nine sometimes. _Of taking in, and the order and manner of it._ 1. Who has the first Hand, has choice of playing the Game, of naming the Trump, and of taking in as many of or as few Cards as he pleases, and after him the second, &c. 2. Having once demanded whether any one will play _without taking in_, you oblige your self to take in, though your Game be never so good: wherefore you are well to consider it before. 3. If you name not the Trump before you look on the Cards which you have taken in, any other may prevent you, and name what Trump they please. 4. If (as it often happens) you know not of two Suits which to name Trump; e.g. with the two black Aces you have three Trumps of either sorts: First, the Black Suit is to be preferr'd before the Red, because there are fewer Trumps of it. Secondly, you are rather to choose that Suit of which you have not the King, because besides your three Trumps, you have a King, which is as good as a fourth. 5. When you have the choice of Going in three Matadors, or the two Black Aces with three of four other Trumps, if the Stakes be great, you are to chuse this last, (as most likely to win most Tricks) if it be but a simple Stake, you are to chuse the first; because the six Counters you are to receive for the Matadors, more then equavales the four or five, you lose for the Game. _Observations._ 1. He is to ask _if any will play without taking in._ (when they have the choice of those who will not.) Secondly, he is never to take in, or play, unless he have three sure Tricks in his hand at least: To understand which the better we must know _The End of the Game_ The End of the Game is (as at Beast) to win most Tricks; whence he who can win five tricks of the Nine, has a sure Games; or if he win Four, and can so divide the Tricks, as one may win Two, the other Three: if not, 'tis either Codillio or Repuesto, and the Player loses and makes good the Stakes. _Of the Codillio._ The call it Codillio when the Player is beasted, and another wins more Tricks then he; when this takes up the Stakes, and tother makes it good: where note, that although the other two alwayes combine against the Player to make him lose, yet they all do their best (for the common good) to hinder any one from winning, onely striving to make it Repuesto. _Of the Repuesto._ They call it Repuesto when the Player wins no more Tricks then another: for example, if he win but four, another four, and the third but one, or each of them win three Tricks the piece; in which case the Player doubles the Stake, without any ones winning it, and it remains so doubled for the advantage of the next Player, &c. whence you may collect, that the Player is as much concern'd in making Repuesto, in case of nesessity, as any of the rest, by which means the Stakes oftentimes increasing to a considerable summe, the Player is to be very wary what Games he playes. _What Games are to be played_ One is never to play unless he have three sure Tricks in his hand at least, as we have said before; as the three Matadors, or six or seven good Trumps without them; where note, the Kings of any Suit are alwayes accounted as good as Trumps (since nothing but Trumps can win them) mean while all other Cards but them and Trumps, are to be discarded. _Observations._ He who playes having taken in, the next is to consider the goodness of his Game; and to take in more or less, according to his Game is probably like to prove good or bad, alwayed considering, that 'tis as much his advantage that the third have a good Game to make it Repuesto, as himself. Neither is any one, for Covetousness of saving a Counter or two, to neglect, the taking in, that the other may commodiously make up his Game with the Cards which he leaves; and that no good Cards may lye dormant in the Stock, except Player playe without taking in when they may refuse to take in, if they imagine he has all the Game. _Of playing without taking in._ When one has a sure Game in his hand, he is to play without taking in; when the others are to give him each of them one of the greater Marks or Counters, as he is to give them, if he play without taking in, a Game that is not sure, he'd(?) loses it. _Of the Voll._ If you win all the Tricks in your hand, or the Voll, they likewise are to give you one Mark or Counter the piece; but then you are to declare before the fifth Trick, that you intend to play for the Voll, that so they may keep their best Cards, which else seeing you win five Tricks (or the Game) they may carelesly cast away. _Of the Forfeitures_ If you Renounce, you are to double the Stake, this(?) also if you have more or fewer Cards then Nine, (to avoid all wrangling or foul play) to which end you are carefully to count your Cards both in dealing and taking in, before you look on them; besides according to the Rigour of the Game, if you speak any thing that may discover your Game, or anothers (excepting onely Gagno as we shall declare afterwards) or play so, as wittingly to hinder the making it Repueto or Codillio (and if ignorantly, you are not fit to play.) _Of playing Trumps_ In playing Trump; you are to note, that if any playes an ordinary Trump, and you have onely the three best Cards, or Matadors, singly or can jointly in your hands, you may refuse to play them, without Renouncing, because of the priviledge which those Cards have, that none but commanding Cards can force them out of your hands; as for example, the Spadillio forces the Mallilio, and the Mallilio the Basto; for all the rest you are to follow Trump. _Of what you are to say_ You are to say nothing but onely, _I pass_, or _play_, or Gagno, that is, 'tis mine, simply, when you play your Card, to hinder the third from taking it; or Gagno de l' Re when you play your Queen to hinder them from taking it with the King, &c. but this you cannot say till it come unto your turn. _General Rules_ 'Tis impossible to provide against all accident in the Game, onely these general Rules may be observ'd in playing: First, the chiefest Art consisting in knowing the goodness of ones Gane, and how it may be improved to the best, one is never to win more then one trick, if they cannot win more then two because of the advantage they give the Player by it in dividing the tricks. Secondly, you are alwayes to win the trick from the Player if you can, unless you let it pass for more advantage, wherein note the second is to let pass to the third; if he have the likelier Game to beast the Player, or if he be likely to win it. _Of the Tenaces_ There may be divers advantages in refusing to take the Players trick, but the cheifest is if you have Tenaces in your hands, that is, two Cards, which if you have the leading, you are sure to lose one of them. If the player lead to you, you are sure to win them both; for examples, if you have Spadillio and Basto in your hand, & he have the Mallilio & another Trump, if you lead you lose one of the; for either you lead your Spadillio, and he player his lesser Trump upon it and wins your Basto the next trick with his Mallilio, and so the contrary; whereas if he leads, he loses both; for if he lead his Mallilio, you take it with your Spadillio, and with your Basto win the other Trump; or if he lead with that, you take it with your Basto; and then your Spadillio wins his Mallilio, and 'tis called Tenaces, because it so catches you betwixt them, there is no avoiding it, &c. _Of the Players playing his game for his best advantage_ Of this (becuase every one playes according to his own fancy) I will only say, that if you are not sure of winning five Tricks, but have only the three Matadors, (as for example) and Kings be your Auxilary Cards, if you have the leading you are to begin with a Matador or two before you play your Kings, to fetch out those Trump perhaps which might have trumped them; and if you have three Matadors with two other Trumps your best way is first to play you Matadors, to see how the Trump lie, and if both follow, you are sure that if three Trump be Red, there remains onely one Trump in their hands; if Black, none at all; it importing so much that the player counts the Trumps, as the miscounting only one, do's often lose the Game. In fine, if they have but a weak Game, they are to intimate cunning Beast Players, in dividing Tricks, and consult them in playing of their Cards. And these few Instructions may suffice, leaving the rest to each one's particular observation. Certain other more Questions there are; as whether any may look on the Tricks to see what Cards are played beside the Ombre, or he who playes the Game, which ordinarily is resolved on the affirmative; or when any Cards are left in the Stock, whether any may look on them or no, which the Table lef once, usually is done. Only observer to lay your Tricks Angle-wisse. [Transcribers note: Several diagrams here have been omitted, to the end that one may easily perceive whether they be two, three, or four.] F I N I S. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Royal Game of Ombre, by Anonymous *** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROYAL GAME OF OMBRE *** ***** This file should be named 9177.txt or 9177.zip ***** This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: http://www.gutenberg.org/9/1/7/9177/ Produced by Imran Ghory Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will be renamed. Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. *** START: FULL LICENSE *** THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license. Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works 1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. 1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. 1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. 1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United States. 1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: 1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed: This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org 1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. 1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. 1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. 1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg-tm License. 1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. 1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. 1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided that - You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work. - You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. 1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. 1.F. 1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. 1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. 1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem. 1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. 1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. 1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life. Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact For additional contact information: Dr. Gregory B. Newby Chief Executive and Director gbnewby@pglaf.org Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS. The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate. International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.