the player to kneel or stoop exceedingly when he struck the bowl, and accommodated the game to the limits of a chamber." Whatever its origin, and whatever the manner in which it was originally played, it is certain that it was common in the time of Shakespeare, who makes Cleopatra, in the absence of Antony, invite her attendant to join in
the pastime— | A table should appear at this position in the text. See Help:Table for formatting instructions. |
" Let ns to billiards : Come, Charraian." Ant. andClco. Act. ii. sc. 5.
Billiards was originally played, it seems, in a method even now adopted in the rustic game of Rural Billiards, by driving a ball through a ring which revolved on a pin or stick fixed to the table or floor. In Cotton s Compleat Gamester, published in 1674, we are told that this "most gentile, cleanly, and ingenious game " was first played in Italy, though in another page he mentions Spain as its birthplace. At that date billiards must have been well enough known, for we are told that " for the excellency of the recreation, it is much approved of and played by most nations of Europe, especially in England, there being few towns of note therein which hath not a public billiard table, neither are they wanting in many noble and private families in the country." Since Cotton every compiler of books on games has had more or less to say about billiards ; though, curiously enough, Hoyle, who is often quoted as an authority, makes no mention whatever of the game. It is only in the later editions and continuations of Hoyle that billiards, bagatelle, cricket, &c., find place. It is not, indeed, till our own day that anything like a scientific treatise on billiards has appeared, or that the game itself has been lifted out of the tavern whence, in spite of its historians praises, it gradually descended to its present more favoured position as a harmless and amusing indoor game.
The Table.—The shape of the table has varied from time to time, probably to suit the dimensions of the room in which it was placed. At first it was square, with a hole or pocket at each corner to receive the balls driven forward with a cue or mace ; then it was lengthened and provided with two other pockets ; and occasionally it has been made round, oval, triangular, or octagonal, with or without pockets according to the game required. The cannon game in France is played on a pocketless table 8 feet by 4 ; the same game of the United States is played on a table 10 feet by 6, commonly made without pockets; but in England the regular table of the clubs and public rooms is a massive structure of timber, with a bed or surface of slate or metal 12 feet long by 6 feet wide, or two equal squares of 5 feet 10 J inches across within the cushions. It is covered by a fine green cloth, and surrounded by clastic india-rubber cushions, at the junctions of which are netted pockets one at each corner, and one midway at each of the longer sides. The table must be perfectly level and sufficiently firm to prevent vibration ; and its- usual height from the floor to the surface is 3 feet. The space required between table and wall is at least four feet. Smaller tables for use in private houses have lately been introduced. Whether large or small, each table is provided with a baulk line and semicircle and several marks or spots to regulate the mode of play. The baulk line is drawn straight across the table 28 inches from the bottom or lower cushion, and from it is struck a semicircle of from 21 to 23 inches in diameter. In the middle of the baulk line is the baulk spot, and in the middle of the table the centre spot. Thirteen inches from the top cushion is the red-ball spot, and half-way between the centre and the top cushion is the pyramid spot, all these spcts being on a line which, if drawn from end to end, would divide the table into two oblong halves.
Games.—The principal games are three in number,—billiards proper, pyramids, and pool ; and from these spritig a variety of 6thers. The object of the player in each game, however, is to drive one or other of the balls into one or other of the pockets, or to cause the striker s ball to come into successive contact with two other balls. The one stroke is known as a hazard, the other as a cannon ; and from hazards and cannons, together with misses, forfeitures, and foul strokes, are reckoned the points of the game. When the ball is forced into a pocket the stroke is called a winning hazard ; when the striker s ball falls into a pocket after contact with the object ball, the stroke is a losing hazard ; and these hazards count two or three to the player s score according as they are made from the white or the red ball two points for the white, three for the red. Two points are scored, for the cannon, three for a coup a term used when the player s ball runs into a pocket without striking a ball ; and one point for a miss, whether given purposely or accidentally. These strokes are all made with a cue, which is a long stick, of ash, or other hard wood, gradually tapering to the end, which is tipped with leather and rubbed with chalk to prevent it slipping off the surface of the ball struck. The mace or hammer-headed cue, once common, is no longer used, even by ladies. The cue is taken in the right hand, generally between the fingers and thumb, and not grasped in the palm ; and with the left hand the player makes a bridge, by resting the wrist and the tips of the fingers on the table, arching the latter, and extending the thumb in such a way as to allow a passage in which the cue may slide. The player then proceeds with his game, according to the following rules:—
losing hazards, cannons, and forfeitures. It is usually played 50 or 100 points, reckoned as already explained, three for each red hazard, two for each white hazard, and two for each cannon. Public matches between adepts are played 100, 500, or 1000 up, but the rules which govern them are the same. The remarks within brackets are ex planatory. 1. The game of billiards proper commences by stringing for the lead and choice of balls. [The players standing behind the baulk line, strike each a ball from the semicircle up to the top cushion, and he whose ball on its return stops nearest the bottom cushion has the choice of lead and balls.] 2. The red ball is placed on the spot at the commencement of the game, and replaced when it is pocketed or forced over the table. [" Breaking the balls" is the replacing them as at the beginning of a game. The balls are said to be "broken" when the first player has struck the red or given a miss ; and the player s ball when off the table is said to be " in hand."] 3. The player who makes one stroke in a game must finish that game or consent to lose it. [Intended to meet cases of dispute.] 4. In the case of foul strokes, the adversary has the option of either allowing the striker to proceed, of having the ball replaced, or of breaking the balls. No score can be reckoned for a foul stroke. [The following are foul strokes : If the player move a ball in the act of striking ; if he play with the wrong ball ; if he touch a ball twice in making a stroke ; if he play at a ball while it is running ; if he touch a ball with his hand, cue, or person, otherwise than is necessary for the stroke ; if he in any way touch his oppo nent s ball.] 5. If the adversary neglect to observe or to claim a foul stroke, the player proceeds with his game, and all the points he makes are marked. 6. If a ball spring from the table and hit a bystander, so as to prevent it falling to the floor, it is considered off the table. [The penalty in such a case is that the other player goes on, or if the ball has not struck another ball before flying off the table, the loss of three points, as for a coup.] 7. Balls lying within the baulk line cannot be played at with a ball in hand, ex cept the player whose ball is in hand first play at a cushion beyond or outside the baulk line. 8. A line-ball cannot be played at by the striker whose ball is in hand, other than by playing his ball out of baulk against a cushion. [A line-ball is when the centre of the ball s surface lies exactly on the line across the table. The marker or umpire must decide as to whether such ball is within or without the line.] 9. A ball in hand striking a ball in baulk with out having been first played out of baulk, must be replaced and played ever again. 10. All misses must be given with the point of the cue. [This rule is sometimes neglected, and the player allowed to give his miss with the butt end of his cue.] 11. Should the spot be occupied so that the red ball cannot be placed on it after being pocketed, it must be placed on the centre spot, or, if that also be occupied, on the pyramid spot. [In some clubs the custom is to
place the red ball on the centre spot, or on the baulk line spot, ac-