Billiards. 23 



he gave, our Irish players were no use with him when he 

 had backed himself heavily. His long and successful career 

 with fifteen red balls and one white one, was summarily 

 stopped one day when he was crossing a London street by 

 a careless cab driver who accidentally destroyed the sight of 

 one of his eyes by a flick of his whip. 



Five-and-twenty or thirty years ago, there was a great 

 deal of swindling carried on at public rooms by billiard 

 sharps, whose occupation has now entirely departed. Few 

 gentlemen at present devote their talents to it. Taken all 

 round, I am inclined to think that amateur play is much 

 inferior to what it was when Roberts had rooms in Brighton ; 

 and poor Bill Cook had rooms on both sides of Regent 

 Street. The best gentleman player I have ever seen was 

 Mr Myers, who used to strike terror into the hearts of the 

 Brighton pool players. He handled his opponents with great 

 tact, and seldom ventured to take a whole pool ; but when 

 tempted by fair odds, he would lay himself down to work 

 and clear the table in a manner I have never seen equalled. 

 Despite his forbearance, which was mere policy without a 

 taint of deception, his skill became so dreaded that Roberts 

 had at last to choose between pool or Mr Myers, with the 

 result that he asked this gentleman to retire for a season. 

 The frequenters of the rooms did not mind the professionals, 

 such as poor Fred. Shorter or Stanley ; but they felt that 

 they had no chance with the amateur. Good players as 

 Mr Rogers, Captain Warburton, Mr Douglas Lane, and 

 Dr Galway were, they were a long way inferior to the 

 Brighton gentlemen. The best player we ever had in the 

 army was Captain John Bayly, of whom my friend Captain 

 Astley, ' The Mate's ' brother, writes to me as follows : — 

 'John Bayly was a left-handed bowler in the Eton eleven. 

 Shortly after joining my old regiment, the 1 ith Foot, he used 

 to grumble when confined to barracks on duty the whole 

 day. He took my advice to practise billiards on these days, 

 and he soon became extraordinarily good at the game. As 



