The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-10-25

Mr.. Doesticks thus describes, in the Sunday Mer-
c"y, the game OF billiards as played by NJ. Berger:
Il need hardly tell you that the game of billiards
consists in punching ivory balls about on big ia
bic, covered with green cloth, that looks like half
an acre of meadow land with an India rubber fence
round 1t; that the balls are punched with long
wooden ramrods, with wax on the end to save the
wood and leather put on to save the wax and
chalk put on to keep the leather from wearing out
lou take your ramrod and rub some chalk on the
httie end; then you lean the table; then YOU
SIu,nt then you Int up your leg; then you fiddle
little on your left hand with your ramrod: then
you punch your ball; if your ball runs against the
other mans ball, you've done a big thing and
you poke up lot OF buttons that are strung on
wire: This Is all there is of the game of billiards
Anybody can punch billiards. can and maybe
you could.
"Well, Berger has come, the great French punch.
er; and OF course I've been to him punch few
billiards with Phelan. Phelan is pretty fair
puncher himself, but he can't punch so fast as Ber
germ fact B. has to give p. hundred buttons or
so in every game. Eve often PLAYED with Phelan
myself, but he always beats me; he has private
understanding with the man that pokes the buttons
when Pheian punches the balls, the man pokes
buttons; when punch the balls nary buttons will
the man poke So Phelan goes out; but my game
is little the best-in fact I'ye CHALLENGED Phplan
to play me a thousand buttons for lot of money
ana I've offered to keep the game myself SO as to
be sure all is fair. Phelan's conspiracy with the
men who poke the buttons is dsgraceful thing; it
they can't punch billiards as well as PheIan can.
I'm bound to break it up. But Berger ha. out
generated Phean. Berger has bought over all
Phelan's buttonp npokers-pays 'em more money than
Phelan dd-and now they give Berger all the but
tons.
''IIa! ha Big thing on Michael!
wen, on Friday, Berger going to do some
punching, and there was | in the midst Berger is
fat man. the top of his head is as bald as goose
egg, and he has got a stomach like three foot ce
lestial globe-in fact, he is shaped lust like hill
lard ball, and might be used for one, if you'd take
ms boots oil and tie his heels to the back of his
neck-only L don't want him to carnm on me!
"He brought all his own tools with him from
trance-a table that isn't so long by few feet as
Phelan generally makes his-a lot of balls and ram
rods, and everything. Room was full all anxious
to see the Frenchman punch; and the Frenchman
punched, and pretty good punching it was. He
made the balls hop all over the table, and general
~ had three in the air at once. Neil Bryant was
there, and Neil is pretty good judge of billiard
cess, jumped my ball off the table, caromed on Neil
Bryant, and holed it in spittoon
"Phelan said it was big thing, so did Neil
Berger rolled himself round to the corner of the
table, chalked his ramrod, and executed a fancy
lick; he made his ball run three times round the
table, on the edge of the cushion leap off at sharp
angle, carom on Neil Bryant, come back to the ta-
oe take eighteen cushions, and stop exactly on the
centre spot.
"Phelan had try. He did one of the simple
shots that taught him-the one when the cue ball
takes twenty-one cushions knocks the hats off
three Dutcnmen IN the corner, comes back and
stops inside the string. Berger didn't think much of
that; so he took off his coat rolled up his sleeves
and put in tremendous lick; the ball hit Phelan
on the middle vest button, caromed on Neil BRYANT,
came back to the table and took four cushions
went out of the window, gave a stagedriver black
eye, came back and took cushion caromed nm
Neil Bryant, took two cushions, went twice round
the block, took cushion, went out through anoth-
er window, and came in through the sky-light.
took four cushions, and caromed on Neil BRYANT
and all in four minutes, without stopping for
breath or sweating hair
I" All hands were occupied for forty minutes in
reTiylng Phelan, VINO had tainted from envy.
"Berger then made his grand shot-he put such
tremendous twist on his ball that it took every
cushion on every table in the room, caromed on
Neil Bryant, lodged out of the window, Travelled
once or twice up and down Broadway ran into A
shooting gallery, rang the bell nine times in rapid
succession, and came back to the table, previously
executing two brilliant caroms on Neil BRYANT
" This concluded the show, as supposed but as
got to the corner of Broadway and Broome street.
L caught sight of Neil Bryant rushing round the
corner, closely pursued by two billiard balls from
which | suppose Berger must have done another
iancy shot or two after left.
" But Phean's conspiracy with the billiard mark
ers all over the country is outrageous He has
every one of them so far under his control that
there isn't place in the United States where when
play billiards with Michael Phelan, the marker
doesn't count more for him than for me-