The comfort and pleasures of the travelling public by sea have certainly been well considered by our large steamship lines. Amusements and games of almost every description have been provided. There is, however, one amusement that has been found impracticable up to the present—the game of billiards as played on the ordinary table. Experiments have been tried in this direction, but with little success.
The attempt to meet this requirement has now been undertaken by the enterprising C.P.R. Company, who have set apart a room in their Canadian liner Empress of Ireland, in which a billiard table has been put. The result of the experiment is not as yet known, as the Empress of Ireland was only due to arrive in Canada on March 4. It will be readily understood that there are many difficulties to be overcome before a billiard table on board ship can be kept sufficiently level to play on. It is, however, claimed that the trouble has been surmounted by the aid of weights, air cushions, and other arrangements, which will enable the table to be kept in an upright and level position at all times.
One of the head officials of the C.P.R. Company informed a "Journal of Commerce" representative that he had carefully noted the balls on the table during the time the ship was loading and moving in the river before sailing, and also by the aid of a spirit level, and that the table had retained its level throughout. Should the experiment on the Empress of Ireland prove successful, there is reason to believe that few passenger ships in the future will be unprovided with the great universal game of billiards.—Liverpool Journal of Commerce.