THE GAME OF BILLIARDS has some general claims upon the attention and patronage of the public, which it becomes the proprietor of this Treatise humbly to advocate and explain. It affords a recreation, which, with the exception of Chess, it the only one usually (would that it were invariably so), played FOR ITS OWN SAKE, and not for the pecuniary gains it may afford. It is the triumph of skill; and the player should never seek any other reward for his victory. It thus becomes a recreation of the mind, in its purest sense; relieving those whom the fatigue and anxieties of a life of business may have harassed or exhausted, by the introduction of a new train of ideas, of a gently exciting, but highly pleasurable nature. The over strained bow will break, and the over tasked powers of the most gigantic mind, to whatever branch of science or literature those powers may be applied, must sooner or later, sink under the unmitigated pressure of continued application. Hence, in all countries, and in all times, statesmen, scholars and divines, no less than men of fashion or of business, have indulged themselves by some mode of relaxation most congenial to their taste, or readiest to their reach; and, when practicable, made it an integral part of their every-day economy.
It is scarcely necessary to enumerate the almost endless catalogue of diversions to which mankind have thus Retaken - some in their nature harmless; - others, of doubtful character: - but many, it is to be feared, positively injurious, or at least, frivolous and unmanly. Suffice it to say' that Billiards' both as a mental and physical exercise stands foremost in the class of unexceptionable amusements, and that many of the best and wisest men have selected that noble game, as affording at once the most innocent, rational, and exhilarating relief from the severity of studies which otherwise would prove exhausting to the spirits, and destructive of the vital system. By thus rendering bodily exercise, or temperate and rational recreation subservient to the higher purposes of life, by giving, as it were, a proper direction to means that are to accomplish great ends, not only is the animal body maintained in vigour, but the mind is so. refreshed and revived, as to be enabled more readily and successfully to grapple with the loftier objects of its pursuit.
Again. The pleasure which results from Billiard-playing cannot, as in the case of chess, be said to partake of a selfish character. chess is a solitary and a silent game. It is, indeed, the mathematics of the mind-the encounter of two master spirits- but it calls forth neither the muscular energy of the one, nor the physical prowess of the other; -and a mere looker-on, unless a very skillful player, can take but little interest in a game of an indefinite and often of a protracted duration; or in the progress of moves which he can seldom foresee or understand; and which if foreseen, can be easily counteracted: whereas, in Billiards, the spectator will soon become as much engaged as the player, and a general interest will thus spring from a source unpolluted by any of those degrading passions which games of chance too often engender.
Nor is the health of the body, which the exercise of Billiards is so well calculated to promote, to be slightly regarded. Upon an average, a player while thus engaged will walk between two and three miles an hour, to say nothing of the numerous muscles which will, in turn, be called into action, but never be allowed to remain long on the stretch, since the attitude is constantly changing, and every member is successively and alternately put in motion. For such reason it is, that Physicians consider Billiards, in point of salubrity, as preferable to every other species of in-door exercise; for, while it affords healthful action, not partially, but generally, to the animal frame, it imparts to the mind a gentle exhilaration, which sustains, without exhausting, the vital powers. Where it necessary to support the views thus offered, the testimonies of some of the most eminent of the medical faculty might be adduced. The Billiard Table has indeed of late become one of the instruments of cure in establishments for the recovery of patients mentally affected; amongst which may be enumerated those of Doctors Sutherland and Warburton, of London; and Fox of Bristol; and the game has been as strongly recommended by Doctor Paris, of London; and by other Physicians equally eminent for the cure of diseases affecting the health of the body.
Haying thus briefly, but he trusts with all plainness and honesty, recorded his conviction of an amusement, censured he is aware by some, and unappreciated or misunderstood by others -a conviction not hastily arrived at, but one which is the result of many years reflection and experience-the proprietor of the following Treatise must be allowed, in conclusion, to congratulate the lovers of Billiards, upon the appearance of a work, in the production of which he has spared neither labour nor expense; and which, as compared with publications of a similar kind, he has no hesitation in pronouncing unrivalled for its utility and completeness; and in point of originality and research, without a parallel.
JOHN THURSTON.
14, Catherine Street, London, September, 1839.