Under date April 30, C. Harverson kindly writes to us from Johannesburg:—
"Leaving England on Saturday, April 4, I landed in Cape Town on Tuesday, April 21, at daybreak. Here are a few questions that were put to me (and remarks made) during the voyage by passengers, after they had learned that I was a billiard player:—
(1) Do you know Mr. Inman?
(2) What is a break? (Asked by a lady passenger).
(3) Have you seen Gray play?
(4) Is Roberts still champion?
(5) I suppose you have brought a billiard table on board to practise on?
(6) What do you do for a living?
(7) What is the meaning of Mr. Reece being 'anchored'?
(8) One dear old lady who lived in Southern Rhodesia said her grandson would be pleased to have an opportunity of giving me a game. He had made a 24 break.
(9) 'Do they play billiards in South Africa?' was asked by a new chum. Considering the fact that I had won the championship there twenty years ago the question rather staggered me for the moment, but a fellow passenger came to the rescue and told him: 'No, they eat it.'
We had a most enjoyable voyage after leaving Madeira, which is a clear run without seeing land for 12½ days. I expected to play in Cape Town, but my agents wired to me to come by the English mail train to Johannesburg. This mail train takes 36 hours from Cape Town, a distance of 1,011 miles and a rise of 6,000 feet—not bad travelling for South Africa. A curious thing happened after we had run 80 miles near Paarl Station. The train was brought to a standstill by a donkey taking possession of the track. He was seen looking at the train and wagging his head at us.
He was removed, and we resumed our journey North. As I arrived at Johannesburg on Wednesday, April 22, at 9 o'clock in the evening, the whole journey from Waterloo Station, London, to Johannesburg had only taken 18 days 9½ hours.
My agent had booked me to play all this week, and to practise I accordingly had to go on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I commenced my tour on Monday, April 27 and 28 at the Union Club, Johannesburg.
| Harverson
| 500 | Ancutt
(+250)
| 373 | ||
| Harverson
| 500 | Moorby
(+250)
| 277 |
On Tuesday, at the same Club, I played with W. Laxson:
| Harverson
| 800 | Laxson
(+300)
| 551 |
On Wednesday, at the Unionist Party Club, I played before 800 people, and the match was a great success:
| Harverson
| 800 | Watton
(+300)
| 652 |
To-night I play at the South African Party Club, and to-morrow at the Brackpan Mine. On Saturday I commence a match of 17,000 up with B. Burt (champion of the Transvaal). I hope to get a match with Ferraro (the champion of South Africa) and am offering him 1,000 in 16,000 for £100 aside, and will let you know in my next letter if the match is fixed."
Harverson does not mention the results of his different matches as set out above, but we have ourselves inserted them from newspaper cuttings enclosed by him. From these we note that Laxson is himself, like Harverson, an exchampion of South Africa of the pre-war days, and that B. Watton is regarded as one of the best cuemen in the Transvaal.
Harverson's principal break to the date of his letter appears to have been 230, and the best registered against him was 93 by Watton.