IN the old days in England, when race meetings were fewer than they are to-day, and the distances and venues were not studied as they are at present, and the railway was in its infancy, getting round from one meeting to another was a big undertaking. In many parts the coaches were still the only means of transit, and those passengers who were of an especially venturesome disposition used to make bets when starting as to whether they would arrive at their destination before the races were all over, and the condition of the roads, the state of the weather, and the reputation of the coachman were all taken into consideration in making these wagers and largely influenced the odds.
But when the destination was reached and the travellers, after a good dinner, met together in the billiard room, their hardships were forgotten. The billiard rooms in those days were as unlike the billiard rooms of to-day as the racing was unlike to-day's racing. The games were played in a different way and were long drawn out, markers were unknown, and the players scored for themselves, and such a thing as consideration for the players was never thought of by those who gathered here to renew old friendships or make wagers on the next day's racing, or settle up the bets made during the day just past. There was, however, plenty of space for all this in these apartments, for the rooms were very large, and the billiard table was much smaller and lighter than that in vogue to-day. It was so light, in fact, if an old print is correct, that a couple of men could remove it bodily to make space for the dancers on any occasion when the billiard room was turned for the time into a ball room. There were no real champions in these days, but it is safe to say that none of these champions of to-day would have made a name for themselves on these uneven, rickety contrivances with pockets of varying sizes, and balls that did not correspond, and cues the mere sight of which would have a demoralising effect on an up-to-date player now. But they got a lot of amusement out of it all the same. In those days a respectable "working man" or tradesman who should have been found playing billiards would have been put down as being altogether out of his element, and it was not until many years later that the game came into such universal use. D. G. R.