Every time I read that scene I wonder how many people did they get in that room, and how big is the room? Too bad JA didn't give us exact numbers and room dimensions - while that might not be as fun to read it would help me out. :-) But it does sound like there must be at least 24 people or more. If you need 4 people to make up a whist table, and they were on opposite sides of the room, and not close enough to talk, I imagine at least 6 tables, which would make 24 people playing whist while there were pobably others who did not play. They must have had an enormous dining room table. I started to say that maybe there were 8 tables of whist but would it be possible for Longbourne house to have a dining table large enough for 32 or more people? I am not familiar enough with the size of the rooms in an English country house to even be able to imagine it, my impressions of house sizes are typically based on the adaptations. But the rooms must have been large, or had doors adjoining two rooms to make one large room? I'm sure they wouldn't all be packed in like the party scene in "Uncle Buck". (lol)