The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-02-03
ORIGIN OF THE GAME UNKNOWN
Its Mastery Requires Long and Constant
Practice, but 1t Is Interesting
from the Start.
from the Start.
By FREDERICK ADYE.
Copyright; all rights reserved.)


En- 6efy, all efforts Of time ana progress
10 improve upon them, or TO invent o'ii-
ers which shall even approach tHeAh ~
merit Which of these three NONE pas
times IS the finest, and, therefore, as .hs
-,eat Aristotle (who might have prayed
any or all of them without IN the ieas'
aeroratinr from his philosophical dlshi-
~, would say, the most "choice-WorlhS,
IS matter of personal predllecuon Inc
studious calm, the chequereo bodio VIZ
lis pieces arrayed in mimic imagery Oh
war please one: The clean neaTth' TIC
bright fire, and the rigor OF the game
beloved of Sarah Battle. delight another;
while the strongest attraction 1or d iiiiu
consists in the well-appointed lamp
shaded billiard-room, where on the 1lcld
of green run the ivory spheres smooth
and true propelled by weii-paianceo cue,
with cheerful click and free rebound
frern fast resilient cushions Inc Two
former games are certainly more pufsiy
intellectual and exert therefore with
their subtle combinations and endless
problems a superior fascination upon the
moro thoughtful brain: but Whlle Slelo-
ing to them this distinction, we claim 1or
the last the very foremost place as
means of recreation
And this we take it, should be the me-
tier of these higher class games. and the
reason of their being: not to kill time
any triviality. besique, nap, draughts,
baEateIle or dominoeS, viii serve Tor TINS
but to afford a, means of relaxation
and diversion for the care-veNed and BUS
iness-haI1ied after the days toll IS over,
or, on wet day to serve as an amuse-
ment for his participation in which the
most reasonable and conscientious of
mankind need think no scorn of himself.
AS AN INDOOR EXERCISE.
A very great merit of billiards is that
It is the one indoor game which affords
exercise. This may appear to the robust
and vigorous to be of the mildest char
acter, but 1t is very much better than
none at all; and ] am inclined TO think
that in billiards, as in croquet. a, game
which requires a similar amount of man
Ial skill without involving any consider
able physical effort, one gets in an hour
or two'S play n deal more exercise than
The nature of the game would promise to
afford; and therefore l should imagine it
TO be a most beneficial pastime to any
person debarred, through any disability,
from outdoor exercise in bad weather
Another great advantage which the
game possesses is the slight demand it
makes upon the brain. BY this we do not
mean to imply that the intelligent per-
son viii not learn to play better game
than the stupid or unohSerVant, for he
inevitably will; but merely that it levies
no tax upon the brain, and therefore in
wolves no expenditure of nervous eneT-
gy. This in itself is an important deSir-
eratun. since it is obvious that a game
which demands (aS chess, for instance,
does severe and unremittinE concentra-
ton OF mind, affords no real relaxation
for a person who has been engaged
throughout The day in intellectual work.
or has even been applying his mind
through long consecutive hours in the
conduct of his daily business. That is. of
course, for the average individual There
are men of such robust mental tempera-
ment that to them even the most diff
cult game is but u relaxation after the
hardest head work q have even known
one who found recreation for his les-
ure in the solving of abstruse mathe-
NAUTICAL problemsD, but such are OBJ
viously the exceptions, and the average
brain worker will naturally seek his in
a game which affords maximum of in
ierest with a minimum of mental effort;
it is just this which billiards, 1 think,
supplies in a higher degree than any
other game.
NO STAKES
No game which is played as a recrea-
ton should be for stakes. the winning
or losing of which shall be of considera-
ton to the player. There are persons. it
appears, so constituted that a game has
no cavor for them uness accompanied
by some stake or wager; and perhaps in
most Instances such contingency does
add zest to the actual play. To others of
different temperament the very fact of
stake depending on the result is Suffi-
Gent TO mar the enjoyment of the game:
producing, as one would think it must
IN all forms of gambling, mental unrest
and anxiety during the contest. with pos
sibly depression on the part of the loser
after 1t is over. For this reason / should
be inclined to deprecate pool or pyra-
mids with anything more than a mere
nominal value on the life of the ball If
a man cannot play a game for love of the
same let him either not play it at all.
or only for stakes so infinitesimal in pro
portion to his purse that it is of no act
ual consequence to him whether he wins
or loses. This paper is not intended as
dissertation on the vice of gambling,
and / introduce the point only to show
that a stake OF the least Importance to
either PLAYER Is more calculated to inn
PAIR the pleasure of the game than IN
enhance 1t; while at the same time it in
eTltably depreciates its value as a recrea-
tive amusement
FASCINATION OF BILLIARDS.
but the intimate association of billiards
with gambling which SO long existed in
the pubic mind Is happily almost, if not
entirely, thing of the past Probably
such association never existed TO the
extent which was generally sIlpDosed
Not so very many Years ago respectable
fathers Of families were Mortified when
their sons INDUCED in the game: now
they play 1t themselves otter with con-
siderable zest. without loss of self-re-
spect. For billiards happily is no longer
one OF the chief mediums for gambling.
and carries with it now no reproach. save
perhaps TO :. few preiudiced survivors
who hold by obsolete tradition, and to
the unco guild, who are with us always
Indeed. doubt il as a matter of fact
any considerable sums ever do now-a-
days change hands over the board of
green cloth; unless possibly in bers on
the matches between The great profess
sional PLAYERS, though even of thes,
have no cognizance. Large sums UNI
doubtedly are subscribed as prizes for,
these players, but this is quite another
matter, and there is nothing more OH
3ectonable IN it than in the proyiain.
OF similar prizes to be competed for by
our yachts or race horses The game.
one OF the most beautiful and scientific !
that we possess. has In short passed
into a clearer and purer atmosphere, and
is now probably more played by the clean |
and cultured than by the dissolute and /
debased OF our heterogeneous human So
ciety. Nevertheless a word of warning |
is not superiinous. The fascination of |
billiards is SO great. its charm so en- 1
trancinE. that many an ingenious youth. 1
Gx-H her