I was interested to read on p. 208 that card parties, like tea parties,were considered mostly a female thing. It made me think of the bridge clubs that were common among my friends' mothers when I was growing up. We know that men certainly played plenty of cards in JA's time too. Were card parties considered female because they were held at home?
Also, the comment on p.209 about "little innocent parties of Quadrille" made me think of the description of old Mrs. Bates in Emma as being "past everything but tea and quadrille". What was it about this game that made it so innocent? Was there perhaps no gambling involved, or was it something like "Go Fish" or "Old Maid"?