The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1859-06-13
!, -,...,a :. l,e.r ,necdjly and irredeem.

ably ruined by the infamous society OF TINS
r,ace had Il not been that, at about the
ace OF sixteen, conceived violent passion
for music. and began learning the piano,
and studying counterpart under little
humpbacked professor OF the name OF Aibin,
who taught me Mt O. shilling lesson. But
r the music, should certainly have thrown .
mn. my trade and turned gambler long ere ! |
was ont of my time As it was, the music !
and the billiards divided my leisure be- /,
tween them; now one, now the other being |
in the ascendant. Perhaps the music would |
nj imately have weaned me from the billiard |
tahle--for rapidly acquired considerable |
skill. and could rattle Oft sets Of quadrilles |
Hastily enough in my second year-but |
about this time the science Of billiards began |
10 be talked of, and the practice Of the
game 10 assume some new phases. Every !
mouth was full OF the praises Of Jack Carr,
who had invented the side-twist, and made
other discoveries tending 10 the demon |
stration Of phenomena hitherto unrecog-
nzed in the motion of globular bodies
All the billiard-world went mad on the
new discoveries, and it was not likely that
| should be unaffected by Tive current mania.
Ned B first indoctrin6kd me In the
new invention, and it was at his father
house first saw Carr at play. ! found him
an adept at every artifice in the game, and
astonishingly skiliul in the use OF bis own
invention, to which, nevertheless, was not
disposed 10 accord the value he claimed Tor
il. | noticed that he was often beaten by
PLAYERS whom had beaten frequently my
self: and | noticed, too, that when thus
| beaten, it was invariably through reliance
| ON this new-invented stroke. There was
no difficulty in the use of this invention,
even to a stranger, as the player who once
understood the new principle could master
| it easily in few hours practice. In fact,
W that then suspected, has since been alum
dainty proved the side-twist is of little
| real use TO good player, as it adds but
| little TO his real strength, and is not at all
comparable to the capacity OF making a
good winning hazard-a faculty, by the
way, which Carr did not possess in any eX-
traordiuary degree. About the same time,
some one else, paraphrasing Carr's inyen-
| ton, discovered the top-twist, by which
still more eccentric motion is impaired to
the ball. Both these discoveries, however,
are rather curiosities of the players art,
than valuable additions to it, and as such
they should be regarded; though there are,
doubtless, certain situations in which they
may be used with advantage. l was not
| long in mastering both these tours de force,
and could call them into action when requi-
site.
One night, while was playing a match
with a tootman in the Borough Walls den,
a young Irishman entered the room, and
stood looking on. He was buttoned to the
chin in a seedy coat, and trod in pair OF
new hob-nail highlows. The room was
crowded and some of the inSolent wags of
the place began exercising their wit at the
EXPENSE of the newcomer. He bore it good
humoredly enough, answering only with a
ready Joke and a rather smart retort, until
one of the blackguards, presuming on his
quietness, shouldered cue and, walking
backwards, brought the but-end in his face.
The next moment, the aggressor was sprawl
ing on the floor, and the Irish boy in a fight
ing attitude, ready for whatsoever should
present himself. The fallen man rose and
rushed to the encounter, but in two min
utes, had had enough of it, leaving the
Irishman triumphant.
The visitor Showed the best possible tenn
per, apologised to the company for the in
terruption his presence had occasioned, and
begged that the play might be resumed
and in a few minutes, such order as was
usual was restored. 1t appeared afterwards
that Pat Meagher-so was the stranger
called-had been marker in Dublin that
he had landed at Liverpool without penny, |
fortnight before, and had tramped down
to Bath, supporting himself with his cue on
the route. He soon proved himself an ad
nirable player, beating me at our first en-
counters, though | was able to return the
compliment, after becoming acquainted with
his tactics. He had the peculiar faculty of
bringing his ball TO dead stop, after stri-
king another, at whatever distance-a feat
often of much value, and which never saw
accomplished so surely by any other man.
He played but few Rights at the den, for
he had the sense to see that if he became
notorious there, his chance among the upper
circles was lost. A few months after his
arrival, saw him, habited like an officer
in undress, playing with Right Honorable
at BIS iption-taoles. Here he
gained a certain notoriety, and no incon-
siderable cash. 1t being understood that
be would play any amateur for any amount,
b, without my knowledge, matched
me against him for contest of twenty-one
games. I could not refuse to play the
match and it came off on Christmas-eye,
in the presence of over hundred spectators.
At the end of the nineteenth game, | was
the winner of eleven, and of large amount
of money which changed hands on the oc-
casion, though neither had nor coveted
any of it.
GcoNTINUED TOMORROW.