On My Days Off, Quiet Time Alone at Billiards

I hope this finds you in fine spirits. Here comes Butler Monsieur. I am rather often taken for a lively sort of man, but today let me tell you of a somewhat unexpected, quiet pastime of mine: billiards.

Hearing "billiards," many may picture a boisterous amusement. But for me, billiards is rather a time to "quietly face oneself alone." How to strike the cue ball, how to build the next shot. Quietly reading the geometry on the table, I let go of stray thoughts. That time of concentration is something I cannot resist.

Curiously, there is a point where this connects to the work. Handling artworks, a single moment of carelessness can invite an irretrievable disaster. The "eye that reads ahead" and the "concentration that keeps the hand from wavering," cultivated at billiards, resemble somewhere the frame of mind for handling delicate porcelain. Pastime and work are, unexpectedly, joined at a distant point.

Incidentally, I sometimes serve as a partner for the master of the house. I have, I confess, a little confidence in my skill. To win too much, ungraciously, would be a discourtesy — and measuring that "distance" is, too, among a butler's accomplishments. There, I have struck a bit of a pose.

Do keep for yourselves, everyone, not only lively pastimes but time to lose yourself quietly, alone. A stillness of heart enriches the days. We butlers, too, shall order our hearts and throw ourselves into our daily work.