Fig. 1. BILLIARDS. CHAPTER I.-OF BILLIARDS IN GENERAL OF THE BIL LIARD TABLE OF THE INSTRUMENTS EMPLOYED IN BILLIARDS, like the greater number of games which are prevalent in modern Europe, is of French invention. Soon after the French, the Germans, the Dutch, and the Italians brought it into vogue throughout the Continent; and in a few years afterwards it became a favourite diversion in England, particularly among persons of rank. The precise period of its introduction into this country is not known, but, as it is mentioned by Shakspeare, the game must at least have been somewhat familiar to us in the sixteenth century. As it is replete with entertainment, and attended with that kind of moderate exercise, which renders it at the same time both agreeable and conducive to health, it will, in all probability, long remain in fashion. The game of billiards is played by two or more persons, with ivory balls, upon a table, which in different countries is made of different shapes. In some parts of the Continent, a round or an oval form is most in use, in others, nearly a square one; in this country the shape universally employed is the oblong, varying in size from six to twelve feet long, the width being always half its length. But the established table is twelve feet long by six wide, (supported on eight legs), the height three feet from the ground to the top of the cushion; and this is the size adopted in all our public rooms. The frame should be made of old oak or mahogany, or some well seasoned wood, not given to warp, and the bed be of metal or slate, (in preference to either marble or oak), covered with fine green cloth, tightly fitted and perfectly smooth. The table should not be liable to the least vibration, and the bed be perfectly horizontal, the accuracy of which may be tested by a spirit-level. The cushion, as it is called, is a raised edge or border, (generally two inches or a little less in depth), lined with a stuffed elastic pad*, and intersected by six netted pockets, (usually three inches and one-eighth in the opening) four of which are situated at the four corners, and the other two midway in the sides. At the lower end of the table, two feet six inches from the end cushion, is a line technically termed the baulk line, in the middle of which is a semicircle of ten inches radius, termed the striking point. From any part of this striking point the player is at liberty to commence the game, but he is not allowed to place his ball beyond the area of the semi-circle. At the opposite or upper end of the table, and in its centre, at a distance of two feet six from the end cushion, is a point called the spot, on which is placed the red ball, for the winning game; and seventeen inches further on i.e., within thirteen inches of the cushion, is a second spot for the red ball, in the winning and losing game, (the game now commonly played.) Two or three ivory balls are the usual number employed, *The old mode of stuffing the cushion was with list or layers of fine cloth, the present is with India rubber, by means of which the elasticity is considerably increased. Both modes have their respective advocates, but the India rubber is generally preferred; and now that what are called vulcanized India rubber cushions have been patented by Mr. Thurston, the former objection, that of their being sensibly affected by variations in the atmosphere, is removed. It appears, however, that scientific players are by no mea unanimous as to the advantages of highly elastic cushions, or what technically termed very fast tables. Mr. Mardon says, that the 1, elastic the cushion the more incorrect will be the angle, while Mr. s, field maintains that a little study of the variations occasioned } elasticity, is all that is required. (according to the game played) one red, the others white, and one of the latter marked with a small black spot by way of distinction. They vary in diameter from one inch and seveneighths to two inches, (in proportion to the size of the pockets and height of the cushion), and weigh from four ounces to four and a quarter, but those used together must be exactly uniform both in size and weight, and constructed with the utmost accuracy*. The instruments employed for the purpose of striking the balls are two; the cue and the mace. The former of these is a long round stick, which should be made of fine, closegrained, well-seasoned ash, slightly conical in shape, being broad at one end, and at the other converging to a narrow, flattened or rounded point. The mace consists of a long slender rod, with a thick piece of mahogany or other wood affixed to its extremity, and adapted to it in such an angle, as to rest flat upon the table while the stick is held up to the shoulder in the act of striking. The under side of this is flat and smooth, in order that it may move with facility over the cloth, the upper side is concave, and the end to be opposed to the ball is plain and broad. Of these instruments, the cue is by far the most universally used. It possesses various advantages over the mace, and is invariably preferred by all good players, indeed the mace is now scarcely ever used except by ladies. There is also a long cue, and a rest or jigger for strokes which are out of reach with the ordinary cuet. "In the choice of a cue," * Great nicety is required in making billiard-balls, as the centre of the ball must be the centre of gravity, and this it would not be unless the portion of the tooth from which it is made contained the common centre (the heaviest part of the ivory). The modes of testing the sphericity of a ball are by a steel gage, a hollow cone, or calliper-compasses. There are modes of testing its gravity besides propelling it on a straight line, such as dropping a marked ball through a transparent fluid, in descending through which, if perfectly true, it will retain its position, but the success of the experiment depends on very nice management. After all, it is best to rely on some maker of talent and integrity, such as Messrs. Holzapfel, Mr. Thurston, and, we are happy to say, many others in this metropolis. †The advantages which the cue possesses over the mace, are undoubted. The cue is the only instrument in vogue abroad, and it is ivo astonishing to what a degree of skill its management has in many of instances been carried. Examples of this will daily present themselves o those who are much in the habit of frequenting the billiard rooms of says Mr. Kentfield, "much will depend on the fancy of the player; some prefer light, others heavy, cues; some small, others those which are large at the point, and so on; but the cue to be recommended should be four feet eight inches long, of moderate weight, say from fourteen to sixteen ounces; half an inch in diameter at the small end, and about one inch and a half at the butt. It should be formed of fine, straight, close-grained, well-seasoned ash, rather stiff, or with very little spring in it. [Mr. Mardon says, that a cue which has any spring in it should not be used.] The point is covered with leather to prevent its slipping from the ball in striking. Some players prefer double leathers, others single ones, the best players have generally decided in favour of the latter. Should, however, the former be selected, the under one should be very hard, and the top one soft. For preserving the cue such an arrangement is perhaps the best; it our own country; but I think I have upon the whole seen more instances of superior address among foreigners. [This is Mr. White's note, written before the time of Mr. Kentfield, whose prodigious achievements in this game surpass everything on record.] The keeper of a billiard room in Hamburgh, where perhaps the game is played as much as in any other town in Europe, will at any time engage to make the straight hazard across two contiguous tables: that is, that he will strike the object ball from one table to the other, and hole it in any specified pocket of the latter. But the most remarkable instance of this unusual dexterity, that has hitherto come within my observation, occurred in an Italian, who frequented the billiard rooms at Paris, about the period of the revolution in 1789. I have frequently seen him place two balls in the middle of the table, parallel to each other, and venture an even bet that he would make either the winning or the losing hazard, in any one of the six pockets; and this he usually performed with facility, upon the nature of the hazard, and the particular pocket being determined upon by the spectators. He had so great a facility of making what are called doublet hazards, (i. e. hazards made after a reverberation of the ball from an opposite cushion,) that he has been known to hole the red ball in one of the upper holes, by playing at it from the striking point, thirty times, without an intervening failure. * The length of the cue should in some degree be proportioned to the height of the player; if too short it will cramp the movement of his arm, if too long, it will give a fatiguing counterpoise, and so affect the stroke. Mr. Mardon prefers a cue four feet seven inches, but observes that the standard is considered four feet ten inches. Mr. Bedford, who exceeds the average stature, plays with a very short cue, viz., four feet five. Mr. Thurston, on the other hand, is sometimes called upon to make them even of the length of five feet. is also well adapted for certain strokes, but cannot be depended upon when the ball is to be struck at a distance. Soft sole leather or saddle flap is an excellent material for points, but for single points nothing perhaps is better than old harness or strap, provided the leather be not too old, which would render it hard and useless. It may be affixed with common glue, Indian glue, shell lac, or any other kinds of cement, taking care to avoid anything greasy. The first thing to be attended to, is THE BRIDGE, or support upon which the cue is to act. This is formed by the left hand of the player being placed firmly upon the table, about six inches from the ball to be struck, and drawn up until the hand rests only upon the wrist and points of the fingers; the latter being bent up to such an angle, as to leave the palm considerably hollowed, at the same time that the thumb is elevated above the level of the knuckles, so as to form a furrow between it and the forefinger, for the cue to slide in. "Some make their bridge much too long, that is, lay their hand Fig. 2. nearly flat, and so are apt to lose hazards which require force and others spread their fingers too much, and thus are deficient in firmness. And many players," says Mr. Mardon, "press the thumb closely against the forefinger; but a bridge thus formed is contracted and imperfect. The thumb, well raised, should be separated from the forefinger by half an inch, the thumb can then be lowered, should it be necessary to strike much below the centre." The next thing is to handle and adapt the cue in such a manner, as to render it perfectly free and easy in its motion. This consists in grasping it about four or five inches from the broad extremity with the right hand, with sufficient force to enable the striker to use an adequate strength in his stroke, and yet free enough to allow of a considerable extent of motion; and in applying the other extremity to the bridge, about six or eight inches from its |