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The Gaming Table-Vol.2-Part15_Andrew Steinmetz(1816-1877)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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Kentfield's days, his homely game of cannons off list cushions

and gently-played strength strokes; or by chance those that



favour Marden's style, his losing hazards and forcing half balls,

have revived once more, and we yearn with wonder to see the great



spot strokes of the present age, when as many red hazards can be

scored in one break as were made in olden times in an evening's



play. At the present time Roberts, sen., may claim the honour in

the billiard world of having brought the spot stroke to light: he



has made no less than 104 consecutivehazards in one break, and

up to the present winter that wonderful performance stood



unparalleled. Cook, however, very recently in an exhibition

match with J. Bennett, scored the spot hazard no less than 119



times, making 388 off the balls, the biggest break on record.

Such feats as these, supplemented by the but little inferior play



of Roberts, jun., and Bennett, have done more than excite

surprise, and have caused old heads carefully to look into the



style of play of 1869 and to ponder thereon. It appears that

they affirm, and not without reason, that much of the success of



the spot stroke arises from the position of the spot being

further from the top cushion than formerly, and by this means not



only is the angle of the striker's ball for position made easier,

by a greater scope for screw or side, but the mouth of the



pockets themselves are easier of access; and the chance of a

wobble all but avoided. Billiard players and table makers should



meet and arrange a regular standard size for table pockets and

balls, with the spots at regulated positions. We should then be



able to compare merits with greater certainty, and such terrible

scores would not trouble the markers.



As a healthful exercise, and in its tendency to promote the

physical development of the body, the game of Billiards is



unsurpassed; but it is much to be regretted that it is generally-

played in ill-ventilated and crowded rooms, often reeking with



the pestilential fumes of tobacco, and not without the adjunct of

frequent alcoholic potations. Moreover, there can be no doubt



that many modern instances of billiard sharping occur, such as I

have just quoted, in which the unwary are unscrupulously



'fleeced.' I know of several.

'NOT KNOWING YOUR MAN.'



A certain high military character sat down to play with a Russian

prince, who introduced loaded dice. The travelled Englishman



lost every bet; for the Russian never missed his seven or eleven,

and modestly threw only ten times. The supposedpigeon then took



up the box with fair dice; and, having learned to 'secure,'[33]

called different mains at pleasure; threw sixteen times; won all



the aristocrat's money, and wished him good night. Such is the

effect of not knowing your man!



[33] This term means making sure of what you throw.

A BLIND GAMESTER.



John Metcalfe, much better known by the nickname of blind Jack of

Knaresborough, was a celebrity at Harrowgate during the first



quarter of the present century. This extraordinary man had been

deprived of his eyesight at so early a period that he retained no



idea of either light or vision; but his remaining faculties were

so actively employed that few persons in the full enjoyment of



sight have surpassed him in the execution of undertakings, which

seemed particularly to require the exercise of that faculty. He



traversed the neighbourhood without a guide or companion;

surveyed tracts of country to plan and lay down roads, where none



had ever been before; contracted for the building of bridges, and

fulfilled his contracts without the assistance of another person,



either as architect or superintendent of the work; became a guide

to those who, possessing sight, could not find their way across



the neighbouring moors when covered with deep falls of snow and

impenetrable fogs; rode well, and followed the hounds with a zeal



and spirit equal to that of the most dashinghorseman in the

field, and, finally, played at many games of chance, or skill,



with a knowledge and ingenuity that enabled him to come off

victorious in many contests with persons eager to try his ability



or to prove their own.

Such a man was sure to attract notice in any place or



neighbourhood, but particularly at a place of general resort.

Besides, he possessed a facetious mode of talking, and on several






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