THE BOARD OF GREEN CLOTH 333 



the belief of the Brighton folks in ^'/^^z> champion. Jonathan 

 was regarded, and had come to regard himself, as king in 

 the world of billiards, and smiled with contempt at the 

 fabulous tales of this young North-countryman's prowess 

 with the cue. But the fame of the new star spread, and 

 even Brighton people began to hint that Kentfield must 

 look to his laurels. 



At last Roberts resolved to go down to Brighton to see 

 his veteran rival, and tells the story himself: — 



" My first meeting with Kentfield was in 1849, at 

 Brighton, where John Pook was at that time his manager, 

 I told Kentfield I was admitted to be the best player in 

 Lancashire, and had come to find out if he could show me 

 anything. He inquired if I wanted a lesson. I told him 

 I did not, and asked how many in 100 would be a fair 

 allowance from a player on his own table to a stranger of 

 equal skill. He replied 15. I told him I thought 20 

 would be nearer the mark, but I was content to try at 

 evens. He said, ' If you play me it must be for money.' 

 On which I pulled out a ;^ioo note, and told him I would 

 play him 10 games of 100 up, for ;^io a game. He laughed 

 and said I was rather hasty, and eventually we commenced 

 a friendly 100 game on level terms. He had the best of 

 the breaks, and won by 40. In the second game I pulled out 

 a few North-country shots, and won by 30 ; but he secured 

 the third game. Then he put down his cue and asked if 

 I was satisfied he could beat me. I said, ' No ; on the 

 contrary, if you can't play better than that, I can give you 

 20 in 100 easily.' He replied, ' Well, if you want to play 

 me you must put down a big stake.' I asked how much, 

 and he answered ^1000. I said, ' Do you mean ;^iooo 

 a side ? ' Upon which he told me he thought I was a 

 straightforward fellow, and he would see what could be 

 done. He then sent Pook back to me, and I explained to 

 him how things stood. He replied, ' You may as well go 

 back to Lancashire ; you won't get a match on with the 

 governor.' I tried afterwards to arrange terms, but he 

 would never meet me. He played a very artistic game, 

 but possessed little power of cue. He depended on slow 

 twists and fancy screws, and rarely attempted a forcing 



