Chapter XIV: Miscellaneous Notes

Before finishing this book it is desirable to mention a few matters connected with billiards which have not been dealt with in former chapters, though some of them may have been more than once introduced. To begin with, the question is often debated whether in the interest of the game a stake is desirable. Undoubtedly, some advantages are gained when money, however little, is played for; the rules are more strictly obeyed, and the game is treated as serious. On the other hand, there are drawbacks: certain players, often those most anxious to bet, cannot afford to lose, and the miserable result is that the pleasure of the game is sacrificed to money. When played on proper lines, no stimulant beyond the honour of winning and the pleasure of making meritorious breaks is needed for players who are devoted to billiards and have attained certain excellence. In most clubs far fewer games are played of late years for even the small stake of a shilling or half a crown than was the case in the early seventies, but a little excitement is supplied by an occasional handicap. From want of experience, however, the framers often make serious mistakes, which deter persons from entering, and these are perhaps less in estimating the start which should be allowed than in general principles. Hence, with the view of helping framers, a few remarks are offered.

A winning game.
]

A handicap, to be satisfactory, should be on the American principle: each player should in turn play with every person who has entered, and he who has most games to his credit is the winner. It follows that too many entries should not be allowed, nor, if possible, should there be too great a difference in the class of players. It is better to have more than one handicap than to try to bring together men between whom there is great difference of play. As a general rule, it is probably safe to say that no two men should play in the same handicap when one can give the other much more than a third of the game. In a short game—and those of most amateur handicaps are from 100 to 250 points—more than one-third of the game is so long a start that chance plays too important a part. When there are many competitors, it might be desirable to have one or more handicaps subordinate to the final one, played, if preferred, on the English system, in which the loss of one game disqualifies for further competition; but the final, amongst, say, the best six players, should if possible be arranged on the American plan. As a guide to handicapping, the following rule may be useful. The question is, if A. can give B. twenty in a hundred, and B. can give C. a like number of points, how many can A. give C.? Add the points, and from the result deduct their product divided by the length of the game. Thus, in the supposed case:

20 + 20 − (20 × 20)/100 = 40 − 4 = 36;

or A. can give C. 36 points.

Another sort of handicap is sometimes substituted for the ordinary and uninteresting four game when it is wished that more than two players should take part. The method followed is to agree about the points and then string or toss for position—_i.e._ to determine who shall commence and the sequence of play. Whoever first scores the agreed number of points wins the game and takes the stakes. It has this advantage over the four game that excessive safety play is useless or worse, and that each competitor does his best to score. The luck is to follow a player who leaves easy openings, but, as no one plays specially for safety, a good player is as likely to leave an easy stroke as a bad one.

A few words may be permitted on billiards as a game for ladies. With their superior delicacy of touch and at least equality in all other respects, save perhaps in brute force, there would seem to be no reason why they should not greatly excel at the game. As a fact some, a very few, do play almost as well as good club players; they can make from twenty to forty points in a break, and, this being so, work is all that is required to raise their standard. The game is a healthy one, calling into play not merely the muscles but the mind; and, as to its capabilities for showing a handsome figure to advantage, Mr. Davis’s illustrations are sufficiently eloquent.

Some readers may perhaps regret the absence of a chapter on the French and American game. To them we would urge that a game so beautiful, so scientific, and capable of such development, cannot be satisfactorily treated in short space; and, therefore, it has been thought better simply to refer inquirers to M. Vignaux’s book and to ‘Modern Billiards,’ the American text-book, published by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co., New York. Comparison between the English and French games is scarcely profitable; they differ widely, and each has its advantages. Conspicuous amongst these in favour of the foreign game is the small size of the table which may be set up in ordinary rooms. It is cheaper and more easily lighted than that used in the English game, and, although hazards are eliminated and much interest is thereby lost, the cannon game can be brought on the smaller table to a perfection of which we scarcely even dream.

A matter which closely concerns the well-being of the game must now be considered, and that is the behaviour of players and spectators; in other words, the _etiquette_ of the room. Throughout this book, in one part or another, the importance of maintaining order and the impossibility of preserving a high class of play when interruption is permitted have been clearly set forth. The orderly proceedings in professional play, during which neither player smokes nor interrupts the other, and spectators are generally courteous, silent, and impartial, contrast, we regret to say, with the ordinary behaviour of amateurs in a club billiard-room. Here, in general, players have to submit to all manner of interruption, the result mainly of ignorance and inadvertence. Consequently, the great majority play day after day, year after year, and scarcely improve, whilst the few who get the length of thinking out a break and working it out on the table are driven to play where they are less liable to disturbance.

A LADIES’ BATTLE.
]

In a billiard-room the players for the time being should be considered supreme; table, light, fire, marker, are theirs for the time; and a little ordinary consideration will show any gentleman that he should avoid interference with them during a game. Yet, how common it is for persons to bounce up to the door, open it without waiting for the stroke, march gaily along towards a seat irrespective of whether a stroke is in progress or not, and then, as likely as not, commence an animated conversation in a loud tone of voice with another spectator, or in default even with the non-player. If conversation fails, they have no scruple in lighting a lamp or in poking the fire and making a glare and heat which is unbearable to the players. The opponent, too, is often an offender in the matter of talking. No sooner has he missed a stroke than he commences conversation, failing to see that, if his adversary is more polite, he enjoys absolute quiet during his break, whilst the other has to play under disturbing influences, a proceeding which is not merely discourteous, but unfair. Then, again, a running commentary is often kept up during play, the remarks for the most part being absolutely foolish. A spectator who listens to them cannot fail to notice their grotesqueness, and, if they could be fully reproduced, the offenders themselves would scarcely credit that they could have acted such a part. Sometimes a player volunteers on every occasion explanation of his failure to score, at other times he passionately addresses the balls, adjuring them to stop or come on; he seems to think he gains a reputation for generosity when he praises his adversary’s efforts by shouting ‘good stroke’ when satisfied that the hazard or cannon has just been missed, and it is entertaining to watch his change of tone and countenance should some unforeseen score be made. His nervous contortions when a ball is approaching a pocket or likely to make a cannon are often remarkable; head, hands, legs and feet, all coming into play, and all impressed to indicate his sensations, which, to judge from the display, must often be unpleasant.

Smoking, too, requires regulation. Matches should not be lighted on the stroke, nor should they be extinguished by being waved about; cues, umbrellas, or sticks, should be kept perfectly still; in fact, every care should be taken to avoid distracting the player’s attention. There are many drawbacks to the game from players smoking; with every care, ashes and tobacco fall on the cloth, the woodwork of the cushions is blistered and disfigured because the ends of lighted cigars are carelessly laid on it, and the striker is often hampered by clouds of smoke poured over the table by his adversary in the line of sight. These may be reduced to a minimum by the exercise of a little consideration, and suitable metal trays should be provided on mantelpiece or side tables on which lighted cigars may be placed whilst the player is at the table. Another not uncommon but most offensive breach of etiquette is for a spectator to offer either player advice; it often happens that they see what a player has overlooked, but they should resist the temptation to advertise their smartness, and recollect that the struggle ought to be left entirely to the opponents, who are entitled to a fair field and no favour. These are the main faults which are of common occurrence: a little care and self-restraint will deter men from offending, and gain for them an enviable character for consideration of others and good feeling; whereas indulgence in them will sooner or later cause transgressors to be considered as the pests of the room and to be more or less avoided. It is true that endeavour has been made in existing rules to control the behaviour both of players and of spectators, and it is possible that some further steps in this way may be taken; but much must be left to the good feeling of gentlemen, which will not fail when they realise the value of a room in which good order is kept; and the remarks here made are offered in the hope that they may contribute to the desired result.

With reference to the disputed question which was discussed in Chapter VI. and has incidentally appeared elsewhere, whether side can be communicated by one ball to another, there is a stroke which will repay study. Place the red and another ball on the baulk-line about a foot apart within the =Ｄ=. From the right-hand side of the table play a free stab on the red with strong right side, hitting it almost full but sufficiently on the left to just send it out of baulk. If properly played, both balls will be left in baulk. The white going into baulk shows that the red was struck on its left, and therefore must have gone out of baulk, whereas its return to baulk would appear to be due to communicated side. It is instructive to play this stroke first with one side and then with the other, and to observe the difference of result.

The practice of strokes as recommended throughout this manual may occasionally be varied by trying breaks from some well-defined position of the balls. Place a ball over each middle pocket for easy losing hazards and play the break from hand. After each break record the score, and after five or ten trials take the average. Anyone who can usually score 100 points in six innings is more than able to hold his own against good club form. The task is not so easy as it appears, as a few trials will show. The gradual rise of this average is a good measure of improvement. But too much time should not be spent in this way, for the practice of strokes is far more profitable, specially if the maxim ‘Over the easiest strokes bestow the greatest pains’ be always remembered. Work at easy strokes till they can be so played as to leave another easy one to follow; no practice is more remunerative.

Intimately connected with the interests of billiards are the duties of referees and markers. In important matches three persons are employed besides the players—the referee, the marker, and a boy to hand the balls and rests; in ordinary games all the duties fail on the marker. It is by no means an easy matter to be a good referee; men are often selected more because they happen to be connected with a sporting newspaper than from any personal aptitude for the position. The qualities required form a combination difficult to be obtained. The referee should possess a strictly judicial turn of mind, perfect sight, developed accuracy of observation, great calmness, rapidity of judgment, perfect and fearless honesty; in addition to knowledge of the game, intimate acquaintance with the rules, and correct appreciation of the duties he may have to perform. Failure in any one of these qualifications may result in erroneous decisions; but perhaps the last-mentioned is the one which is most liable to be misunderstood. As a rule, the referee should not interfere unless appealed to; it should be fully realised by him that he can make no law or rule, and has for the time being no concern with the justice or injustice of the code; his duty is simply to say whether a rule has or has not been broken, and to declare the penalty. His personal opinion as to whether a stroke should be fair or foul is of no moment; all he has to deal with are matters of fact and the application of acknowledged rules. Thus, until the push, for example, is contrary to the rules, a referee is not justified in declaring every such stroke appealed against to be foul; on the contrary, a competent man, whatever his opinion may be as to the merit of the stroke, should declare all strokes to be fair unless he actually saw a rule infringed. If he saw the cue twice applied (which is common enough), he is justified in ruling the stroke to be foul; if he did not (as he cannot in a well-executed push) see two applications, he is bound to uphold the stroke as fair. It is no argument to say that he knows the stroke to be always foul; no one desires him to air his opinion on such a matter, and a person who made such an excuse for his ruling would thereby conclusively prove his unfitness for the post.

The marker is a man for whom we have much sympathy; his duties are many and trying, sometimes almost beyond human endurance. As a class, markers are civil, well-behaved, and otherwise probably neither better nor worse than their fellow-men. When asked for advice or instruction, they give it cheerfully to the best of their ability, and in respect to play they may be said to lie between amateurs and professionals. They have occasionally a good deal to put up with, and their services are often unjustifiably requisitioned; attention is invited to Mr. Ford’s remarks (p. 428), which, though made with reference to pool, are in most respects applicable to billiards. And when late at night or in close rooms markers are occasionally drowsy, or make a mistake, let players endeavour to realise the monotony of their lives. From their arrival in the room before noon till their departure at, perhaps, three in the morning, think of their average experience! The table has to be got ready, the room dusted and preparation made for visitors. These appear at first fitfully—the young, who are not good enough for the serious business of the day, and the old, who are losing their game, meeting together, followed later by the regular _habitués_, who play billiards or pool as may be. Conversation is carried on as if the marker were both deaf and dumb, a mere machine for returning the ball and handing the rest. There is an admirable essay on this aspect of the marker in ‘The Billiard Book,’ by Captain Crawley, written by the author of ‘Lost Sir Massingberd,’ in which it is justly pointed out that the marker moralises and is ‘daily the dumb witness of innumerable frauds.’ He is made to say, ‘I know the real skill of every player to a hair, and how much he conceals of it.’ I know the characters of nine-tenths of the men who enter the room, and very indifferent they are—‘the man who plays for a stroke only when it is a certainty preferring his own safety to his enemy’s danger; the hard hitter, from whom no player is secure; the man who is always calling his own strokes flukes; the man who is always calling other people’s by that derogatory name; and the poor fellow who is for ever under the cushion. My world, which is not a small one, is mapped out for me, with all its different species of men, upon this table; for I stand apart, and mark many things beside the score.’

Then think of the marker being obliged to constantly watch the performances of those who take from half to three-quarters of an hour to play a game of a hundred, the same bad form exhibited game after game, by men who for one reason or another never improve; and judge leniently of slight lapses of attention.

It is expedient once more to emphasise the point that whilst a game is in progress the marker’s services should be considered as wholly devoted to the score and the players; no spectator should speak to him or attract his attention, and markers ought to be instructed, in case of breaches of this rule, to point out respectfully that they are prohibited from entering into conversation during a game. The writer has often seen spectators, and occasionally opponents, most unwarrantably engage a marker in conversation when they failed to get anyone else to talk to, thereby distracting his attention from the game to which it should be entirely devoted.

And now, as a last word, it is proper to explain that, though endeavour has been made in the preceding pages to put amateurs in the way of improving their game and of understanding its general principles, yet it is not for a moment advocated that young men should devote to billiards the time which might be more profitably employed in serious work. Except for professional players and a very few specially circumstanced enthusiasts, it is, after all, but a game and relaxation. Indulgence in it should, therefore, be kept within strict limits; but, so regulated, it will be found generally beneficial to mind and body. These restrictions, it is evident, must almost to a certainty prevent amateur form from ever seriously approaching that of professional players, and one is warranted on meeting a youngster whose knowledge of the game and handling of the balls have reached professional form in concluding that his skill is evidence of a misspent youth. Still, there is a vast difference, which may reasonably be lessened, between such perfection and the average amateur performance; and it is hoped that this volume may contribute to so desirable a result.

INDEX

Aberdovey slates, 73

Albert Club, 48

Albo-carbon light, 66, 67

American handicaps, 40, 43;
tournament, 41, 436

Angle, half-ball or natural, 101–103, 123–124;
of deviation, 138;
of incidence and reflexion, 139–140

Aquarium. _See_ Royal Aquarium

Association, Billiard. _See_ Billiard Association

Attitude, 107

Balls, billiard, 86–92;
treatment of, 87–88;
weight, 87_n_;
gauge, 89;
tests of, 90;
bonzoline, 91–92;
cast steel, 92;
dummy, 101;
definition of, 105;
motion, &c., and division of, 130–141;
impact of, 164–168;
rotation of, 189–214;
surface of, 193;
friction of, on cloth, 193;
transmitted side, 194; 443;
different qualities of ivory and bonzoline, 266–267;
light, 322

Bartley, Mr., 6, 9

Basket, pool, 101, 253–254

Baulk, meaning of the term, 105;
doubles in, 150;
playing for safety in, 284;
double, 290

‘Baynard Castle,’ 43

Bedford, Mr., 9

_Bell’s Life_, 19;
quoted, 20; 21

Bennett, Alfred, in handicaps, 36, 38, 40, 41, 47;
death, 38_n_

Bennett, Fred, 36, 38

Bennett, John, 36, 38

Bennett, Joseph 4;
his manual, 4;
in a four-handed match with John Roberts, sen., 26; 29;
beats Roberts, jun., and beaten by him, 34; 35, 36, 40, 41, 43, 44;
beaten by Roberts, jun., 50;
beats Cook for championship, 46;
defeats Taylor for championship, 47;
Shorter forfeits for championship, 47;
introduction of angle for private practice, 124; 266, 370

Bentinck Club, 24, 27

Billiard Association of Great Britain and Ireland standard tables, 70,
71, 362;
rules of, 374;
revision required, 375;
examination of — rules, 376–386;
examination of — rules of pyramids, 390

‘Billiard Book,’ Captain Crawley’s, on pyramids, 391;
essay on the marker, 445

‘Billiard Review,’ quoted, on the Association Rules, 375

Billiard-rooms, 55–57;
in Oriental Club, 57; 58, 59;
Mr. W. H. Fowler’s room, 59;
Mr. A. Gibbs’, 55–56;
ventilation of, 61–66;
lighting of, 66–68;
Major Broadfoot’s note on, 67, 68

Billiard-tables, 5, 10, 11, 15, 69;
pockets, 69;
Billiard Association legislation, 70;
Standard Association tables, 71;
cost, 72;
ordinary, 73;
championship, 73, 83, 362–373;
frames, 73;
slates, 73–77;
plan of table in diagram, 74, 75;
cushions, 77–79;
cloths, 79–80;
setting up the table, 79–83;
brushing and ironing, 83–84;
undersized, 84;
spot stroke, 85;
French tables, 85;
hiring, 85;
automatic returner, 86;
few in London clubs fit for play, 207;
easy and difficult—in training, 306

Billiard terms in use, 105–107

Black and pink pool, description of game, 423;
variation in rules, 423;
collecting stakes, 424;
a useful bye-law, 424

Black pool, 408, 418;
no regular laws, 418;
the game as generally played, 420;
special features, 420;
variation in rules, 421;
points to be held in view, 422

Blind pockets, playing hazards into, 146, 150

Bonzoline balls, 91;
wear, 92;
playing hazards with, 170;
difference between ivory and, 266;
playing double baulk strokes with, 293

_Bouclée_, formation of the bridge, 109, 129

Bowles, Alfred, 23;
his matches with Roberts, jun., 23, 33, 367

Boyd, Mr. A. H., 3;
aid from, 3;
on implements, 55–103;
on ‘Every-Day Billiards,’ 315–325

Break, definition of, 105;
higher signification of, 300;
average—in classifying players, 302;
personal questions: luck and nerve, 303–306;
advice to players who cannot undertake close study, 307–313;
advice to a higher class of players, 313;
Mr. Boyd’s advice to moderate players, 315–325;
— at the top of the table, by Mr. Rimington-Wilson, 325–348;
nursery cannons, 348–361

Breaking the balls, explanation of the phrase, 105

_Bricole_, utility of, 172;
the push, 226, 240

Bridge, the term, 105;
a good, 108, 109;
a short, 127;
_bouclée_, 129

Brighton, Kentfield’s Subscription Rooms at, 10

Broughton, Tom, beaten by Roberts, sen., 16

Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co. the, cited, 212, 440

Brushing tables, 83

Buchanan, J. P., 266

Buckland, Frank, test for balls, 90

‘Bumble-puppy,’ 430

Burners, gas, for billiard-rooms, 67

Burroughes and Watts, aid from, 4, 55;
first series of handicaps, 36; 40, 77, 98

Butts, 97

Cannons, plain, 172–186;
tendency to supersede losing hazards, 172;
general rules for strength in playing, 174;
easier than the hazard, 175;
in baulk, 210–212;
use of compensation in making, 261–262;
nursery, easy of execution, 326; 348–361

Carr, John, 5;
sells twisting chalk, 7; 8;
backed against all comers, 9;
challenged by Kentfield, 10

Carter, Eugene, American player, 53

Cathire More, King of Ireland, his brass billiard balls, 4

Chalk, 83, 87, 98, 384;
St. Martin, 99

Championship, the, &c., 362–373;
Mr. Russell D. Walker’s memorandum on, 367–370

Championship matches, remarks concerning, 362–366;
list of, 373

Championship table, the, 73, 83;
pockets, 362;
play on, 370–373;
objections to different tables for ordinary play and for championship
matches, 364;
genuineness of game, 365;
equalisation of amateurs on a, 372;
record of championship matches, 373

Chimneys of lamps for lighting billiard-rooms, 66

Close screws, method of playing, 250

Cloths for billiard-tables, 79;
nap of, 193;
effects on rotation and path of ball, 207

Club billiard-rooms, 56;
over-ironing of cloth in, 207

Coles, Harry, 48, 49

Collins, George, 36, 38, 39, 48

Combination tables, 85

Compensation in play, 260

Composition balls, 91

Cook, William, 20, 23, 24;
Roberts, sen.’s opinion of, 25;
first match with and defeat by Roberts, jun., 27;
beats him later, 28;
rapid rise, 28;
beats Roberts, sen., for championship, 29–31;
remarkable breaks, 33, 34;
loses championship to Roberts, jun., 33, 41;
zenith of his career, 34; 35, 36;
wins handicap, 36; 39, 40;
beaten by Roberts, jun., 41, 42, 43, 46;
beaten by Joseph Bennett in championship match, 46;
beats and beaten by Roberts, jun., 47, 50;
unrivalled style, 120;
on the spot stroke, 265, 266, 268;
strength and execution, 370;
pool record, 412

‘Cork Marker,’ the, his match with Carr, 9

Cork pool, description of, 429;
variation in play, 430;
bumble-puppy, 430

Corrugated iron billiard-rooms, 59

Cotton’s ‘Compleat Gamester,’ 5

Country-house games, 429–432

Coup, to run a, explanation of phrase, 105

_Coups durs_, 105, 230

Cover, meaning of the term, 105

Crawley, Captain, on pyramids, 391;
quotation about marker from his billiard book, 445

Cues, &c., 93–103;
French butt, 93;
English butt, 93;
tips, 95, 96;
jointed, 96, 388;
splicing, 97;
mechanical accuracy in delivering, 115–129;
hold of, 125;
use of — in the follow, 196;
in the screw back, 202;
in applying side, 203;
in the push stroke, 224;
‘power’ of, 315;
necessity for accurate delivery of, 324

Cunningham, Colonel Allan, R.E., aid from, 3

Cushion-crawling, 283

Cushion nursery cannons, 348–361;
breaks of — often spurious, 363

Cushions, 77;
covering with cloth, 81;
difficulty of square-cut, 145;
side acquired by friction with, 206;
nurseries, 348–361

Davis, George, 25

Dawson, Charles, 49, 51, 120;
simplicity of his game, 128; 367

Defensive play, where advisable, 283

Diagrams, explanation of, 138–139

Diggle, Edward, 51, 120, 367

Double baulk, 105

Doubles, value of, 150;
in baulk, 150;
simple, 152; 398, 400, 413, 416

Drag strokes, 116, 196;
used to overcome irregularities in ball or bed, 197

Dufton, John, 20

Dufton, William, ‘tutor to the Prince of Wales,’ 20;
match with Roberts, sen., 22;
his long jennies, 25;
an overrated player, 25

Dufton’s ‘Practical Billiards,’ on skittle pool, 435

Dummy balls, 101

Egan, Pierce, 9

Egyptian Hall, 51

Electric light in billiard-rooms, 61, 66, 67

Elementary instruction, 104;
mode of entering room, 104;
technical terms, 104–106;
attitudes, 107;
formation of bridge, 108, 109;
the bridge _bouclée_, 109, 129;
cue delivery, 109;
practice with one ball, 110–115;
strength, 112;
use of the rest, 113–115;
use of the half-butt and long-butt, 115;
Mr. Pontifex’s memorandum, 115–129;
a remarkable amateur feat, 116, 126

English butt, 93

Erection of billiard-table, 80

Etiquette of the billiard-room, 3, 104, 388, 440–442

Evans, Harry, 25, 26;
champion of Australia, 39

Feather stroke, 370

Fleming, John, defeats Roberts, sen., 16

Follow, the, importance of, 194;
increasing artificially, 195;
chief use, 196

Forcing hazards, 170

Ford, Mr., on markers, 428; 445

Foul, definition of a, 105

Four-handed game, a bad school, 318;
a substitute for, 439

Fowler, Mr. W. H., his outside billiard-room, 59, 103

French butt, 93

French players on the game, 1

Gaiety Restaurant, matches at, 41, 43

‘Game of Billiards,’ Kentfield’s, 10

Gas in billiard-rooms, 61

Gate-money, 365, 366

Gibbs, Mr. A., his billiard-room at Tyntesfield, 61

Gillows’ tables, 15

Green, W. E., 25, 53

Guildhall Tavern, matches at, 37

Half-butts, 97

Half-push, the, 228

Handicaps, 36, 39;
American system of, 40, 41, 43; 436;
the same guiding rules for framing, 439

Hazards, winning, 142–153; 320, 404;
plain strokes, 142;
middle pocket, 159, 422.
_See_ Losing

Herst, John, 21, 22, 25

Hiring billiard-tables, 85

Hitchin, W. C., 25

Hughes, Alfred, 25, 26, 36, 39

Hughes, Charles, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 367

Impact, divergence between point of aim and point of, 133–135;
points of, 143;
rebound following, 164, 167

Implements of the game, 55 _et seq._

In hand, definition of the term, 105

Incandescent gas light, 66

India-rubber cushions, 77

Ironing billiard-table cloths, 79, 83

Ives, Frank, his matches with Roberts, jun., 53, 365, 372;
cannon play, 359;
makes 1,267 consecutive cannons, 369

Ivory balls, 86;
expense of, 91;
differ from bonzoline, 266; 293

Jennies, 160;
method of playing, 239

Jump stroke, 250

Kentfield, Edwin (otherwise Jonathan), champion, 10;
his improvements, 10;
his book, 11;
his game 11; 12, 13, 14, 15;
interviewed by Roberts, sen., 17, 18;
refuses to play Roberts, 19; 367

Kilkenny, Lewis, 25, 36, 38, 40

Kiss, the term explained, 105;
mode of playing the — stroke, 230; 406

Knightsbridge, matches at, 53

Ladies, billiards as a game for, 440

Lamps, oil, for lighting billiard-rooms, 66

Leap stroke, method of making, 250

Lighting billiard-rooms, 66, 83

Lloyd, winner of 1895 Association Tournament, 54

Long-butts, 97

Losing hazards, short and long, 153–172;
half-ball strokes, 154; 156;
middle-pocket, 158;
jennies, 160;
long, 162;
care required in playing, 168;
forcing, 170;
inferiority to winning hazards, 172;
by use of follow, 218–221; 371

Luck in playing, 303

MʻNeil, Hugh, 51

Mannock, J. P., 52

Mardon, Mr., writer on billiards, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20

Marker, duties of the, 412, 414, 415, 428, 445;
services should be devoted to game and players alone, 446

Marking-boards, 99;
nickel-plated, 100

_Massé_ stroke, method of playing, 255, 353

Matches, championship, 373

Measurements in billiards, approximate, 146;
how made, 147

Memmott, Charles, champion of Australia, 26, 39;
record of screw back spots, 48; 52, 274

Miss, must be played with the point of cue, 284

Miss-cue, meaning of the term, 106

Mitchell, William, 43–46;
as spot player, 44–48;
beaten by Roberts, jun., even, 50; 52, 228, 367

Mode of entering a billiard-room, 104, 441

Morris, Tom, 25, 26, 39

Moss, W., 35

Mulberry, George, 25

Nap of cloth, effect of playing with or against, 193, 207, 208, 270

Nearest ball pool, 431

‘Nell Gwynne,’ Strand, match at, 24

Nerve in playing, 3, 305–306

North, John, his style, 47, 48, 119

Nursery cannons, 348–361;
value of — on three-inch pocket table, 363

Oil lamps for lighting billiard-rooms, 66

One-ball practice. _See_ Elementary instruction

Oriental Club, plan of room, 57, 62

Orme & Sons, their automatic arrangement for returning balls, 86; 323

Over-caution in playing, evils of, 318

_Partie Américaine dite du cadre_, 364

Peall, W. J., aid from, 4; 44;
remarkable breaks, 45; 46, 48;
defeats Roberts, jun., 49, 50;
present position, 51; 52;
weight of his cue, 94;
consecutive screw back spot strokes, 274; 282;
turning a corner at cushion nurseries, 359; 367

Peall cushion rest, 98 _n._

Pendleton, Tom, 16

Penrhyn slates, 73

Pipeclay for marking baulk-lines, 83

_Piqué_ strokes, mode of playing, 256

Plain strokes, 142–188

Plan of billiard-table, 74, 75

Plants, definition of, 106;
method of playing, 244;
laws which govern them unknown, 246;
in pyramids, 400

Players, system of classifying, 302;
difference in, 303;
luck, 303

Pneumatic cushions, 79

Pockets of billiard-tables, 11, 69;
blind, 146, 150;
Billiard Association standard, 362, 368

Pontifex, Mr. Dudley D., aid from, 3;
memorandum by, 115, 325

Pook, John, Kentfield’s manager, 18

Pool basket, 101, 253–254

Pool, importance of playing for position in, 145;
useful as winning hazard practice, 320;
description of the game, 408;
rules and penalties, 410;
safety and hazards, 411;
starring, 411;
playing for cannons, 411;
measuring distances, 412;
marker’s duty, 412;
the opening stroke, 412;
Cook’s record, 412;
doubles, 150, 400, 413;
story concerning consecutive doubles, 413;
anecdote about sharpers, 413, 414;
for other varieties of the game, _see_ Black pool, Black and pink,
Cork, Nearest ball, Selling, Single, Skittle, Snooker, Three-pool

Porker, Mr., his match with Mr. Mardon, 12

_Position mère_, 329; 351

‘Practical Billiards,’ Dufton’s, on skittle pool, 435

Pratt, his style, 9;
match with a stranger, 10

Precautions in play, 259

Prince of Wales, the, _See_ Wales, Prince of

Prince of Wales’s Hotel, Moss Street, Manchester, matches at, 28

Professionals, rate of scoring, 307

Push stroke, the, 52;
method of playing, 224; 370;
its permissibility, 382;
character defined, 383;
so-called proofs of foulness, 383, 384;
objections to striking twice, 385, 386;
the case for and against, 386

Pyramids, 33;
importance of playing for position in, 145;
general hints concerning, 388;
salient points of the game, 389;
rules regarding, 390;
handicapping players, 390;
setting up the balls, 391;
ways of playing the first stroke, 391;
safety, 392;
making a series of hazards, 392;
plants and doubles, 394;
when the object ball is close to a cushion, 396;
useful strokes, 396–406;
good break by an Undergraduate, 407

Queen’s Club, 116

Quill stroke, 370

Rebound following impact, 164, 167

Referees, duties of, 444

_Rencontres_, 105, 230

Rests, 98, 115

Richards, matches with Roberts, sen., 367

Richards, D., 25, 27, 41, 120

Right-angled screw, the, 198

Rimington-Wilson, Mr. R. H. R., aid from, 4;
on the top-of-the-table game, 325;
on cannon nurseries, 359;
on the professional championship, 366

Roberts, John, jun., 11, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28;
beats Cook for the championship, 33;
beats A. Bowles, 33;
beaten by Joseph Bennett, 34;
defeats Bennett, 33, 34; 40;
again beats Cook for championship, 41; 43, 46;
in India, 47;
defeats and is beaten by Cook, 47; 48;
beaten by Peall, 49;
beats Cook and Joseph Bennett for championship, 50;
beats Mitchell, 50;
beaten by Peall, spots only, 50;
challenged by Peall, 51;
his wonderful play, 51;
matches with Ives, 53, 359, 365;
his long spot-barred breaks, 54;
weight of his cue, 94;
admirable cue delivery, 116;
ease and grace of style, 119;
skill, 121, 125, 127, 128, 212, 268;
good at the spot stroke, 274; 370;
offer to assist in recasting rules of the game, 375;
on the push stroke, 386

Roberts, John, sen., 12, 13;
contrasted with Kentfield, 14, 15;
rapid rise, 16;
taught the spot stroke by Mr. Lee Birch, 16;
interviews Kentfield, 17, 18;
champion, 19; 21;
lessee of Saville House, Leicester Square, 22;
his famous break of 346 in a match with William Dufton, 22;
matches with Alfred Bowles and Charles Hughes, 23, 24; 26, 28;
defeated by Cook, 31;
endurance match with an amateur, 32; 367

Rotation of ball, 189–214;
cause of, 192;
round horizontal axis, forward, 194;
backward, 196;
round vertical axis, 202

Royal Aquarium, Westminster, 43, 44, 45, 49, 50, 368

‘R.-W. Billiard Diagram Notebook,’ 398

Rudolph, match with Cook, 40

Rules of billiards, 374;
defective character, 374;
proposed revision, 375;
penalties for infringing, 375;
suggestions respecting, 376–386;
discriminating between the act of aiming and the act of striking,
377;
playing a miss otherwise than with the point of the cue, 378;
playing with the wrong ball, 378;
foul strokes, 379;
when player’s ball touches another ball, 379;
offences committed by persons other than the players, 380;
spectators offering advice, 376, 380;
obstructing players, 380;
obstruction of the striker by the non-striker, 381;
how far the marker may assist either player, 381;
the push stroke, 382;
the half-push, 384;
striking a ball twice, 384;
chief objections to the push stroke, 385, 386

Safety, when to be sought for, 283;
pocketing an adversary’s ball, 285;
double baulk, 290

St. James’s Hall, 30, 47, 368

St. Martin chalk, 99

Sala, J. G., record of consecutive screw back spots, 48; 274

Samson, Mr., architect, 60, 62;
designs by, 64–65

Scoring, different rate of, between amateurs and professionals, 307

Screw, the, 196, 197, 247;
right-angled, 198;
regulation of strength necessary in playing, 198;
importance of regulating, 200;
close, 250

Selling pool, principle of the game, 429

Seymour, William, 116

‘Sharping’ in billiard-rooms, 413, 414

Shell-out, the game of, 407, 408

Shorter, Fred, wins love game from Bennett, 41–42;
beats Cook, 42;
beats Taylor, 42;
forfeits to Bennett, 47

Side, transmission of, 194, 202;
acquired by friction with cushion, 206;
imparting, 315;
can it be communicated by one ball to another?, 443.
_See_ Rotation

Skittle pool, description of, 431;
rules, 432;
usual way of playing, 434

Skylight sashes for ventilating billiard-rooms, 62

Slates for billiard-tables, 73–77

Smoking in billiard-room, 442

Snooker, 408;
variations in rules, 424;
general method of play, 424;
penalties, 425, 426;
main object of player, 427;
the element of luck, 427

Spiller, William, 52

Spot stroke, the, 11, 16;
agitation against, 39;
result of barring, 172;
constant practice required for success, 264;
danger of using, 265;
its genuineness, 266;
ivory and bonzoline balls in playing, 266;
use of chalk, 267;
method of playing, 268;
its limits, 269;
the screw back, 273;
the stab, 276;
must be taught by a master, 279;
methods adopted to continue break or obtain safety, 279;
invaluable as practice for winning hazard play, 282; 320

Spot-barred breaks, 45

Spot stroke tables, 85

Spots, inadvisability of altering, 153

Stab, the, use of in playing cannons, 182;
and spot stroke, 276

Stakes, advantages and disadvantages of playing for, 436

Stammers, 36, 39

Standard Association tables, 71

Stanley, S. W., 25, 33, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41

Starke, defeated by Roberts, sen., 19;
further matches with him, 21

Stevenson, H. W., 27, 52

Strength, definition of, 106

String, to, meaning of, 106

Strokes, following, 194;
screw, 196, 247;
practising, 208;
_massé_, 214, 255;
miscellaneous, 215;
fine, 222;
push and half-push, 224;
_bricole_, 226, 242;
kiss, 230;
jennies, 239;
plants, 244;
close screws, 250;
leap or jump, 250;
_piqué_, 255;
compensations, 260;
spot, 264

Style, 112

Tables. _See_ Billiard-tables

Taylor, Tom, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 47, 48, 368

Templates, 71

Terms, billiard, technical, explained, 104–106

Three-ball practice, 142 _et seq._

Three-inch pocket table. _See_ Championship table

Three-pool, 413;
strange occurrence at, 413;
principles of the game, 415, 416

Thurston, John, 10;
his improvement of tables, 11

Thurston & Co., 55

Timbrell, William, 40, 43

‘Times,’ the, quoted on the push stroke, 386

Tips of cues, 95;
process of tipping, 95;
cleaning, 95;
renovating, 96

Tobin tubes for ventilating billiard-rooms, 61

Top-of-the-table game, the, 325–348

‘Twisting chalk,’ Carr’s, 7

Two-ball practice, 130–141

Union Club, Manchester, 14, 16

Ventilation in billiard-rooms, 59, 62

Vignaux, M., aid from his book, 3;
cited, 189, 206, 259, 327, 351, 440

Vulcanite cushions, 77

Wales, Prince of, 20;
at championship match, 29;
at match Roberts _v._ Cook, Newmarket, 47

Walker, Mr. Russell D., aid from, 3;
on the championship, 366, 367

Warming billiard-rooms, 60, 63

White, Fred, 49

Wilson, R., 44

Winning hazards, 142–153;
confidence required, 320

Wright & Co., 55, 71

PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
LONDON

-----

Footnote 1:

If a man wants to play fast he would surely select the worst—not the
best—player as antagonist.—ED.

Footnote 2:

It is difficult to believe in the possibility of scoring over 700
points in an hour with the imperfect implements then in use; half that
number is probably nearer the truth.—ED.

Footnote 3:

Alfred Bennett died after these lines were in type.

Footnote 4:

Roberts twice in 1894, during exhibition games, exceeded 1,000 in
spot-barred breaks, making 1,033 and 1,392.

Footnote 5:

The raised woodwork above the leads.

Footnote 6:

I do not, of course, mean that the spot stroke is a one-position
stroke—far from it; but from an ordinary spectator’s point of view it
is summed up in the words ‘potting the red _ad infinitum_.’

Footnote 7:

Formerly only four slates were used, with the result that a joint ran
straight across the table from the centre of one middle pocket to the
other. If, then, warping or subsidence of the floor ensued, an ugly
ridge arose opposite the pocket, making it unmissable from one side,
and almost impossible from the other.

Footnote 8:

Battens are screwed to the slates in order to take the tacks which
fasten down the cloth.

Footnote 9:

Each ball weighs about 4⅔ ounces.

Footnote 10:

The jointed cue with a spare top joint renders the above devices
unnecessary, and they are all open to some objection.

Footnote 11:

An excellent cushion rest, capable of being used as an ordinary rest,
is that known as the Peall Cushion Rest, which possesses the
advantages of simplicity and ease of handling.

Footnote 12:

See illustration, p. 129.

Footnote 13:

Often called the half-ball angle, both definitions being very
inaccurate; but they are in common use, and generally understood.

Footnote 14:

Or _restitution_, the effect of _compression_.

Footnote 15:

The Americans term what we call _side_ ‘English’ or ‘twist.’

Footnote 16:

Delarue, Paris.

Footnote 17:

Memmott has made, we believe, the extraordinary number of 423
consecutive screw back spot strokes.

Footnote 18:

For a description of this game, see pp. 29–31.

Footnote 19:

Taylor’s cannons were made on balls jammed in the jaws of the pocket;
Ives’ cannons were made on balls well outside of the jaws.

Footnote 20:

The numbers quoted are those of the Billiard Association’s Rules.

Footnote 21:

The rules do not say for how many balls the offender has to pay:
presumably all that are left on the table are scored to his adversary.

Footnote 22:

See pp. 148 and 244.

Footnote 23:

Published by Webster, 60 Piccadilly.

Footnote 24:

The numbers quoted are those of the Association Rules.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

1. P. 302, changed “à force de forger on devient forgeron” to “à force de forger en devient forgeron”. 2. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling. 3. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. 4. Re-indexed footnotes using numbers and collected together at the end of the last chapter. 5. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. 6. Enclosed bold font in =equals=. 7. Denoted superscripts by a caret before a single superscript character or a series of superscripted characters enclosed in curly braces, e.g. M^r. or M^{ister}.