Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 04.djvu/420

LEFT GOLD TOOLING 356 GOLF college, he was graduated B. A. in 1749, after which he proceeded to Edinburgh and Leyden universities to study medi- cine. He set out on foot for a tour of the European continent, supplied with no other means than those afforded by his good spirits, and a favorite flute. After taking his degree in medicine at Padua, he returned to England in 1756, where he commenced practice as a physician, in which he was unsuccessful. He then entered the field of letters; and after passing a period of obscurity and privation as a "bookseller's hack," his first work to attract attention was an "In- quiry Into the Present State of Polite Learning in Europe" (1759). To this succeeded "The Citizen of the World," a "Life of Beau Nash," and a "History of England." Becoming acquainted with Dr. Johnson, in 1761, the latter intro- duced Goldsmith to the Literary Club. In 1764 appeared ''The Traveler," which at once placed Goldsmith in the front rank of English authors. Two years afterward appeared the "Vicar of Wakefield." Following in rapid succes- sion came "The Good-natured Man" (1767), "History of Rome" (1768), and his exquisite poem, "The Deserted Vil« lage" (1769). In 1773, his immortal comedy of "She Stoops to Conquer" took the public by storm. His other works are "Grecian History" (1774), "Retalia- tion," a serio-comic poem (1774), and "History of Animated Nature," which he did not live to finish. He died in London April 4, 1774. GOLD TOOLING, in bookbinding, orna- ments impressed by the hot tool on gold- leaf laid on book-covers, causing the metal to adhere. In contradistinction to blind tooling, which is the tool mark without the leaf. GOLETTA, the port of the city of Tunis, from which it is 11 miles N. In the new quarter are the bey's palace, a large dock, and an arsenal defended by a battery. Pop. usually about 3,000, trebled during the visit of the bey in the bathing season. GOLF, a game of ball, in which the bats are loaded sticks with a little curve at the end for striking the ball on the ground, or elevated on a little mound, or tee, as it is called in the language of the game. Golf clubs are of varying weights and forms, according to the taste and requirements of the players. The balls are made of composition. Golf is identified with Scotland, by reason of its great popularity in that country for upward of 500 years. As early as 1457 the Scotch Parliament felt called on to discourage golf because the absorbing interest of the people in the game diverted attention from the more warlike sport of archery, and diminished the power of the people to preserve their national independence. The source of the game is generally admitted to be Dutch. It may be played on any good stretch of meadow where the grass is not too rank, but the ground best suited for the purpose is a reach of undulating country with a sandy soil, short, crisp turf, and plenty of holes or ruts. The latter, which form the bunkers or obstacles, are necessary to prevent the game from being too easy. The course, called "links," should not be less than 3 miles round nor more than 5. Throughout it are dis- tributed 18 artificial holes at any dis- tance from 1 to 500 yards apart. The holes are 4*^ inches in diameter, and each is surrounded with a "putting green," a space 60 feet square and as smooth as possible. The other requisites are two small balls about two inches in diameter and made of gutta-percha, and a number of "clubs" adapted to the various contingencies likely to arise. The object of the game is to knock the ball with the sticks into the series of holes in the least number of strokes. The game can be played either by two per- sons, each having his ovti ball and count- ing by holes, not by the strokes taken for the whole round — this is called singles, or foursomes, two persons play- ing against another two, the partners playing alternate strokes, each side hav- ing its own ball. At the beginning of the game the player puts a little pat of sand down on the "teeing ground" (the pat is the "tee"), sets the ball on the top, and strikes it as far as he can in the direction of the first hole. After that, until he holes the ball, he must play it strictly from the place it happens to be. Here is where the bunkers come in, for a ball may land in a ditch or under a bank, where it may take him many strokes to get it into open ground again, and he may be called upon to use many different kinds of clubs, according to the nature of the ground and his distance from his object. The object of the putting green which surrounds the hole is to give the player a smooth space, enabling him to aim with accuracy. Hav- ing "holed" his ball, the player takes it out, tees it again, and starts out for the next hole. A good driving stroke from a tee would be 200 yards. But a record of 280 yards has been made at St. Andrews, Scotland. There are two styles of clubs, the wood and the iron, the latter having the head shod with steel. Altogether there