Enquire Within Upon Everything Part 194

xvi. Should a player make the wrong hoop by mistake, or Croquet a ball that he is not ent.i.tled to Croquet, and the mistake be discovered before he has made a second stroke, he loses his turn, and any point so made in error; but if he has made a second stroke before the discovery, he shall be allowed to continue his break.

xvii. In order to prevent the occurrence of the errors noticed in the above rules (Nos. xv. and xvi), a player is bound, upon being appealed to, to declare truly what is his next hoop or point in order, and is ent.i.tled to demand of his antagonist what he his played last, and to insist upon his clip being properly placed.

xviii. When clips are used they should be moved by the umpire, or with his cognisance, at the end of each turn, and their position shall he conclusive as to the position of the b.a.l.l.s in the game.

xix. Should a ball in play be accidentally stopped by the umpire, he places it where he considers that it would have rolled to. Should it be stopped by a player, it will rest with the side opposed to that player to say whether the ball shall remain where it stopped, or be placed by the umpire, or the stroke be taken again.

xx. If a ball lies within a mallet's length of the boundary, and is not the playing ball, it must at once be put out three feet at right angles from the boundary; but if it is the playing ball, it may, at the discretion of the player, either be put out or played from where it lies.

xxi. If it is found that the height of the boundary interferes with the stroke, the player may, at the umpire's discretion, bring out the ball so far as to allow of the free swing of the mallet, and in taking a Croquet both the b.a.l.l.s.

xxii. Should a player, in trying to make his hoop, knock a wire out of the ground with his ball or mallet, the stroke shall be taken again.

xxiii. Any player may set upright a peg or hoop except the one next in order; and that, however loose, awry, or slanting it may be, must not be altered except by the umpire.

xxiv. No ball may be moved because of its lying in a hole or on bad ground, except by the umpire or with his permission.

xxv. Where there is no umpire present, permission to move a ball, or to set up a hoop or peg or other indulgence for which an umpire would have been appealed to, must be asked of the other side.

xxvi. The decision of the umpire shall in all cases be final. His duties are:

(_a_) To move the clips, or see that they are properly moved;

(_b_) to decide on the application of the laws;

(_c_) to satisfy any player as to the point that is next to be made, or the right ball to play;

(_d_) to keep the score. But he shall not give his opinion, or notice any error that may be made, unless appealed to by one of the players.

xxvii. It was also decided that the mallet should be held within twelve inches of its head.

2574. Supplementary Laws.

The following were added from the Draft Club Laws of Croquet.

i. If a ball be driven partly through its hoop from the non-playing side, and remain so that a straight-edge placed in contact with the hoop on the non-playing side touches the ball, the ball cannot run its hoop at its next stroke.

ii. If in taking Croquet the striker's ball go off the ground, the striker loses the remainder of his turn; but if by the same stroke the striker make a point or a Croquet, he continues his turn.

iii. If, after a Croquet, the striker's ball, while rolling, be touched by the striker or his partner, the stroke is foul.

2575. Difference between Old and New Laws.

The chief difference (says Captain Crawley) between these and previous laws will be found in the method of taking the Croquet. The new laws say that the foot must _not_ be placed on the player's ball; the generally accepted practice was to take the Croquet by putting your foot on your ball and striking it so as to send the other bill off to a distance; or if the other ball belonged to your partner to merely tap it in the direction desired. The foot practice is still observed by many players; and some think with advantage.

2576. Technical Terms Used in Croquet.

i. _Roquet_.--To strike another ball with your own.

ii. _Croquet_.--When two b.a.l.l.s are in contact, the player strikes the other away, either with or without putting the foot on your own ball, as may be previously arranged.

iii. A _loose Croquet_ is made by striking your opponent's ball without putting your foot on your own ball. In taking "two off" it is, however, necessary that the ball should be seen to move.

iv. _Wired_.--A ball is in contact with a hoop, so as to prevent it going through.

v. _Bridge Ball_.--One that has pa.s.sed the first arch.

vi. _Dead Ball_.--One in hand after having roqueted another.

vii. _To Peg_.--To play for either of the pegs in regular order.

viii. _The Tour_.--The run given to each player till he fails to strike through a hoop.

ix. _To Dismiss_ a ball is to Croquet it to a distance.

x. _Rover_.--You become a Rover when you have completed the hoops from point to point, and instead of hitting the starting-peg and retiring, you prefer to strike your ball to any part of the ground, croqueting friends or foes.

xi. The terms side stroke, straight stroke, following ball, over-running a bridge, running a bridge, &c., explain themselves.

2577. Bagatelle.

An indoor game played on an oblong board usually from six to ten feet long by a foot and a half to three feet in width. The bed of the table is of slate covered with a fine green cloth; and at the upper end, which is rounded, there are nine holes or cups, numbered from 1 to 9, thus:

5 3 2 8 9 7 4 6 1

Into these holes ivory b.a.l.l.s are driven by a leather pointed cue. The player stands at the lower end of the table; and his object is to hole the b.a.l.l.s sucessively into the several cups. Nine b.a.l.l.s are used, eight white and one red; or seven white with two coloured b.a.l.l.s. The red is placed on a spot just in front of the 1 hole; and the game is played according to the following:

2578. Rules.

i. Any number of persons may play, whether singly or on sides.

ii. Each player strings for lead, and he whose ball falls into the highest hole begins.

iii. The winner of the lead plays the nine b.a.l.l.s successively up the table from baulk, first striking at the red ball on the spot.

iv. The red ball counts double when holed, and each white ball scores towards game a number corresponding to that marked in the hole (when two coloured b.a.l.l.s are used, each counts double).

v. The red ball must be first struck; and the rest of the b.a.l.l.s are played up to the holes, the sum total of all the holes filled being the striker's score.

vi. Any number of rounds agreed on may be played, and the highest aggregate total by a player or by partners wins the game.

vii. A ball rebounding beyond the baulk line, or forced off the table, is put aside and not re-used in that round.