The School of Recreation Part 12

_Italy_ is a.s.serted by universal Consent, to have been the Country whence this Recreation took its Birth and Original; and indeed 'tis no wonder that she who is called the _Queen_ or _Empress of the World_, the _Mistress of the Nations_, nay _the Paradise of the World_, should yield such Art and Ingenuity, and gentile Cunning, as her proper Product: A Country whose Inhabitants for their _Gravity_, _Respectiveness_, and _Ingenuity_ will ever stand Chronicled in the Books of Fame. A People that are _obedient_ to their _Superiors_, _Courteous_ to their Inferiors, full of all _Civility_ to their Equals, _Affable_ to Strangers, and most desirous by all fair and friendly Offices to win their Love. In their _Apparel_ fine and modest, in their _Furniture_ of their Houses sumptuous, and at their _Tables_ neat, sober in _Speech_, Enemies of all _ill Reports_ of others, and so tender of their own _Reputation_, that whosoever Slanders any one, and it reach the Parties Ear, the Slanderer certainly dies for it: _Thrifty_ they are generally of their Money and Expence, and love no more Cost, than what they are sure to Save by, or have great Thanks for; but otherwise for civil Behaviour and Deportment, surpa.s.sing all the Gentry of the World besides. But one thing I dare not omit in this Character of them, _viz._ That they are extream _Jealous of their Wives_; and indeed not without some reason, if what is spoken proverbially of their Women, be true, That they are as _Magpies_ at the door, _Saints_ in the Church, _Goats_ in the Garden, _Devils_ in the House, _Angels_ in the Streets, and _Syrens_ at the Windows; if Nature does not make them appear Beautiful, Art shall, as Paintings and other sophistical Helps; whence comes this Proverb among them, If _G.o.d make them tall and Fat_ (a _goodly_ Woman being a t.i.tle of great Value among them) _they will make themselves fair_. In fine, The Gentry are very Rich, live of all Men the most careless and contented Lives, keeping the Poor as Drudges and Slaves for them; and as it is said of the Tyrant _Polycrates_, _Have nothing to trouble them, but that they are troubled with nothing_.

Thus I have given you a brief Character of the Inventors of this Recreation we are coming to treat of, and hence we may presume, how _fit_ such a People as this is, to give Birth to such a Recreation, so Gentile, so Cleanly, and so Ingenious, that as their Persons and Manners are emulously esteemed, so are their Pastimes ambitiously pursued, by most Nations in _Europe_; and this Sport is hugely valued by all in general, few n.o.blemen's or private Gentlemen's Families, nor few noted Towns in _England_, but have _Billiard Tables_, and admire the Excellency of it, both for the Exercise of the Body, and the Recreation of the Mind. But to the Matter in hand.

_First_ then, He that would rightly understand this excellent Pastime, must be very careful of the _Form_ and _Make of the Table_, and the right ordering, framing, and fitting it for the Game, which is known by these ensuing Marks.

1. The _Form_ of a _Billiard Table_ ought to be _Oblong_, that is to say, somewhat longer than it is broad; Both the length and breadth being left to your Discretion to make; proportionable to the Room you design it for; It ought to be _railed_ round, and this Rail or Ledge a little swelled or stufft with fine Flox or Cotton, that may yield to the Ball when struck against it, and expedites rather than deads the Flight of the Ball; though that happens according to the Violence of the Stroke or Push: The _Superficies_ of the Table ought to be covered with Green fine Cloath, clean and free from Knots: The Board must be levelled as exactly as is possible for the Eye and Hand of the most curious Joyner to Level, to the end your Ball may run true upon any part of the Table, without leaning or declining to any side of it: I must confess I do believe there are few have been so careful in this last thing, as they ought, because they have not timely foreseen, if the Boards, whereof the Table is made, be _well-seasoned_, and not subject to _Warp_, and that the _Floor_ whereon it stands be even and level; so that through the Ill-seasonedness of the one, or Unevennes of the other, as likewise in time by the weight of the Table, and the Gamesters yielding and giving way, there are very few found true. And indeed without a Table be exactly true, a good Gamester can never shew the Excellency of his Skill and Art, but a very Bungler sometimes, by being well acquainted with the Turnings and Windings of a false Table, may beat a good Gamester with great vexation and shame, who otherwise would have given him any odds whatsoever. Therefore let me tell you, it will conduce as much to the Interest of the Master of the House, where a _Billiard Table_ is kept, to see that it be well and truly levelled and kept, as it does to the Pleasure and satisfaction of a good Gamester, whose Skill is best seen and exhibited on such Tables, and never comes unattended with Company and Profit to the House, by his Recommendation he gives abroad of it.

And now let us proceed to the rest of its parts, and fit it for our Play; and then let's to't as you list.

2. The four Corners of the Table must be furnished with _four Holes_, and exactly in the middle of each side _one Hole_, and these Holes must be hung at the bottoms with _Nets_, Which Holes are named _Hazards_, because if either by Skill or Chance one Gamester strikes anothers Ball into these Holes, or Hazards, as we will now call them, he wins One; the _Nets_ are made to receive the Ball, and keep them from falling to the Ground when hazarded; and indeed is a very commendable way, far better than _Wooden_ Boxes which some use, these being apt to let a Ball to fly out again, when they are struck in by a stiff stroke, whereas the Nets keep them safe, and makes it impossible for them to rebound.

_3dly._ The other _Utensils_ and _Instruments_ belonging to this first part of our Observations of the _Billiard Table_, are 1. An _Ivory Port_, this must be placed at one end of the Table. 2. An _Ivory King_, which must stand at the other end. 3. Two _Ivory b.a.l.l.s_, which must be compleatly round, or no good proof of your Play can be expected. 4. and Lastly, _Two Sticks_ made of _Brasile_, _Lignum-Vitae_, or some other weighty Wood, to make them heavy, and at the broad end tipt with Ivory: And be sure to observe narrowly, if the _Heads_ be tight and fast, for if they should be loose you will never strike a smart stroke; and therefore if you fear this Defect, see if your stroke be hollow and dead, and your Ball run faintly, these are infallible Tokens that your Play will come to nothing without a fresh supply of other Sticks, or the heads of these fixt.

Thus much for the Table, and all the other Implements belonging to it, which are necessary for our first Enquiry for the right understanding of this Game, I come next to those _Rules_ and _Measures_ which are to be observed for the rendring one a Gamester at this gentile Game.

_Secondly_, This Game in its _Number_ is, according to the _Place_ and _Time_, when and where it is play'd; for in Gentlemens Houses they do not oblige themselves to a certain Number, but make as many as they please to admit up without any Restriction: But in Houses where part of their Subsistence has a Dependance upon a _Billiard Table_, the Game is _Five_ by Day-light or _Seven_, if odds be given, and _Three_ by Candle-light, or more, as the Rule of the House is. Now then having agreed upon what number we play, let us learn next how to manage our Game skillfully and with Art, and this we may understand by these following Rules.

1. Let us know who must lead, which thus is resolved: You must stand on the one side of the Table opposite to the (so called) King, with your Ball laid near the Cus.h.i.+on, and your Adversary on the other placed in the like posture; and thus He of the two, that comes nearest the King, leads first.

_2ly._ Having gotten the Lead, have a Care how you strike your Ball, that at the first stroke you touch not with your Ball the end of the Table, leading from the King to the Port, for if you touch it you lose One, as you shall observe hereafter in the Orders. But after the first Stroke you need not fear doing it: And you Leader be sure to lead so, that you may be in a possibility of pa.s.sing the Port the next Stroke; or else to lye so cunningly, that you may probably hazard your Adversaries Ball the very Stroke you play after him.

_3ly._ Generally the first Contest is who shall _pa.s.s first the Port_, and herein much Pains is taken, and all the Art and Cunning possible used to do it, and sometimes, nay frequently, an Opportunity of a _Hazard_ ends the Controversy: Sundry and various, as well as very pleasant, are the Policies and Tricks which are here used to obstruct each others Pa.s.s, as; _By turning the Port by a strong clever stroke_ (the Sticks turning it, it is nothing, but to set aright again is the amends, though some would have the severity of the Orders inflicted on such an Offence by the Loss of One:) Next by _laying your Ball_ (when you see it impossible to pa.s.s) _in the Port_, or _before your Adversaries Ball_, for then let him do his utmost, he must Pa.s.s after you; if he has Past first, and you dare not venture to follow him, as fearing he should in the mean time touch the King, and so carry away the End; then you must wait upon him, and watch every Opportunity how you may hazard, or king him: Kinging of him is, when his Ball lyes in so advantageous a manner, as that if you strike his Ball, he must inevitably strike down the King, then you win, and prevent the Loss of that End: But with this Caution however, That you be careful how you strike, for if you do king him, and your Ball happens to fly over the Table, or into a Hazard, you shall lose One notwithstanding you have King'd him; and therefore a skillful Precaution must ever be had in this, and he that would prevent any such Chance, must

_4ly._ Have a _curious Eye_, and a _good Judgment_, to take and quarter just so much of the Ball, that when he intends either to King or Hazard his Adversaries Ball, he may with Facility & Dexterity effect either.

Which Observation must be noted, in pa.s.sing on your Antagonists Ball, or corner of the Port: And indeed some are curious Effectors of this part of the Recreation, who with less than a fifth part of a Ball, will rarely miss a King or Hazard; which I must confess is an excellent part of a compleat Gamester in this Sport.

_5ly._ Be careful that you _lay not your hand on the Table_ when you strike, nor let your Sleeve drag upon it, if you do it is a Loss; Or if you _smoke a Pipe of Spanish or Virginia_, being so wedded to that Fume, that were you sure to smother all the rest of the Company you are insensible of the Indecency, be careful that the Ashes fall not on the Table, lest the Cloth be burnt, which many times falls out: In these two Cases, let the Mulcts and Forfeitures of both, but especially the Hinderance the last gives a Man in the Skillful managing his Game, deter you from the lolling slovenly Posture of the first, and the stinking Indecency of the latter; because this Pastime being of a neat and cleanly Composition, will not admit any such Irregularities and Indecorums, without an absolute Violation of its Laws, and a Punishment attending such unhandsome Offences.

_6thly._ As this cleanly Pastime exacts our diligent Care of keeping a _Decorum_, in the prosecuting the same, so does it require that we handle our Instruments with a neat and tractable hand, dislikes a Clumsey-Fist, which palms the Stick, as if he were handling a _Plough-share_: And therefore when you strike a long stroak, hold your stick neatly between your two fore-Fingers and your Thumb, and then strike a smart stroak; and by taking a steady and right Aim, (in this having your Eye and Judgment about you) you may when you list, either fetch back your Adversaries Ball, when he lyes fair for a Pa.s.s; or many times, when he lyes behind the _King_, and you at the other end of the Table, you may by a dextrous management of your stroke, _King_ him backward: Both which ways, I must confess, require a great deal of Care, and good Play, which he that would be, or already is, a Gamester, is never wanting in. But

_7thly_, If you lye close, then the small end of your Stick, or the flat of the big end, raising up one end over your shoulder, is practicable and useful, and either of them to be used, as Occasion shall require, and as you judge most convenient and proper for the working the Effect you Aim at.

_8thly_, There is one Fault, which tho its Demerits perhaps may not reach a Forfeiture, yet I must tell you will scarce admit of an Excuse, though this I presume is regulated according to the Agreement first stipulated between the Gamesters, and this Fault is called _Raking_, _i. e._ not striking your Ball cleanly, but gliding along, as it were; But in this, if you touch your Ball twice, it is a loss; as indeed repugnant to all _Rule_ and _Method_.

_9thly_, There is another Caution you are to take at the Port, _viz._ When you jobb your Ball with the great end of your stick through the Port, beware that you throw it not down, the doing of it is a loss; and therefore be careful to do it so handsomly, that at one stroke without turning the Port with your stick (which as I have mentioned before is a fault) you accomplish your Intention: But on the contrary observe

_10thly_, It is good play to turn the Port with your _Ball_, (not with your stick) and so hinder your Adversary from pa.s.sing: Nor is it amiss, to make your Adversary a _Fornicator_ if it lyes in your Power: I mean to make him a _Fornicator_ is, having past your self a little way, and your Adversaries ball being hardly through the port, you put him back again, and it may be quite out of pa.s.s, and so you may the sooner peradventure gain the end, having the Advantage of pa.s.sing, by gently thrusting the other back again.

_11thly_, Let Policy likewise be a guide to you, for obtaining the Conquest, and lying a-loof off, and laying a long Hazard sometimes for your Antagonist, will be an excellent way to entice and entrap him; for that he promising to himself the good fortune of Hazarding you, will be induced rashly to adventure at that distance, and supposing to strike your Ball, which cunningly lyes (to tempt him to that Venture) near the Hazard, is himself caught in that Trap he thought to throw you into, by reason that the distance, deceives his Expectation, and blows up his thoughts with fruitless Suppositions.

_12thly_, Let Art likewise teach you Cunning, _i. e._ by lying abscond, or at Bo-peep with your Adversary; this is a subtlety which perhaps may gain the Advantage of a Pa.s.s or Hazard. For I must tell you, in this Game, is required much Cunning, and subtle Contrivance, as in any Recreation whatever, and therefore when you are to Play with an Expert Player, you must muster up all the forces of your Ingenuity and Wit, for the vanquis.h.i.+ng of your Opponent.

_Lastly_, Observe the Advantages may be gained, and endeavour to get them, if they fall within the sphere of your Activity. One of which I shall here insert, which is indeed the chief, _viz._ That if your Adversary hath not past the Port, and lies up by the King, take the Advantage of a Second Pa.s.s, endeavour to pa.s.s again, which if you dextrously perform, and after touch the King, you gain two; but if your too great Precipitancy and Inadvertency, or sometimes an unlucky Chance hurryes you on to throw down the King, then you loose.

Some instead of a King use a string and Bell, so that after you have pa.s.sed, you need not doubt the end, as being a thing not so ticklish, or requiring so much Art as the King does, to be toucht finely and gently at a distance, without throwing it down: This alone is to be preferred for ingenious Persons, the other for the use only of Bunglers.

Thus much shall suffice for Rules for the right Playing at _Billiards_, which being a Recreation not Admitting of any further Observations and Methods to be made and shewn on it; Let Practice, and the Dictates of the ensuing Orders compleat your Perfection in this gentile Game.

_ORDERS for Players at the Gentile Game of _Billiards_ to Observe._

I.

If the Leader touch the end of the Table with his Ball, at the first stroke, he loseth One.

II.

If the Follower intend to hit his Adversaries Ball, or pa.s.s at one Stroke, he must string his Ball, that is, Lay it even with the King, or he loseth One.

III.

He that Pa.s.seth through the Port hath the Advantage of touching the King, which is One, if not thrown down.

IV.

He that pa.s.seth twice, his Adversary not having pa.s.sed at all, and toucheth the King, without throwing him down, wins two Ends.

V.

He that pa.s.seth not hath no other Advantage than the Hazards.

VI.

He that is a Fornicator (that is hath past through the Back of the Port) he must pa.s.s twice thro the fore-part, or he cannot have the Advantage of pa.s.sing that end.

VII.

He that hits down the Port, or King, Hazards his own Ball, or strikes either Ball over the Table, loseth One.

VIII.

He that Hazards his Adversaries Ball, or makes it hit down the King, winneth the end.

IX.

If four Play, two against two, he that mistakes his stroke loseth one to that side he is of.

X.

He that after both b.a.l.l.s plaid, removes the Port without consent, or strikes his Ball twice together, or that his Adversaries Ball touch his stick, hand, or Clothes, or playeth his Adversaries b.a.l.l.s, loseth One.

XI.

He that sets not one foot upon the Ground, when he strikes his Ball shall lose an end, or if he layes his hand or Sleeve on the Cloth.

XII.

A stander-by, tho he betts shall not instruct, or speak in the Game without Consent, or being first asked; If after he is Advertised hereof he Offend in this nature, for every fault he shall instantly forfeit Two-pence for the good of the Company, or not be suffered to stay in the Room.