What song the Syrens sang, or what name Achilles assumed when he hid himself among women, although puzzling questions, are not beyond all conjecture.

-Sir Thomas Browne, "Urn-Burial."

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The picture used is "The sailor's face flushed up; he started to his feet and grasped his cudgel" by Byam Shaw for "Selected Tales of Mystery" (London : Sidgwick & Jackson, 1909)

The game of draughts = checkers

Whist is a card game that was the precusor to present-day Bridge.

The French at the very end there: "de nier ce qui est, et d'expliquer ce qui n'est pas."

My reading pace might be a slight bit faster than desirable, but even so it is a very long story.

To follow along: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2147/2147-h/2147-h.htm#chap07