, 1860-11-08

~N
Berger:
"1 need hardly tell you that the game Of bill
lizards consists In punching ivory balls about
looks like half an acre Of meadow land, with
an 1ndia-rubbcr fence round it; the balls are
punched with long wooden Famrods, with Wa1
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 ont. YOu take your
ramrod and rub some chalk on the little end !;
then you lean over the table; then yon s9uint; );
little on your left hand with your ramrod !;
then you punch your ball if your ball r,1ns
against the other mans ball, you've done I big
thing, and you poke up lot Of buttons that
arc strung on wire. This is all there Is OF
the gamc Of billiards. Anybody can punch bill
lizards. can and may be you could-
"Well, Berger has come, the great French
puncher, and Of course I've been to sec him
punch few billiards with Phclan. Phclan is
pretty good pnncher himself, but he can't
punch so 1ast as Berger; In fact, B. las to give
r. q hundred buttons Or SO in every game.
l'yc often plaJcd with Phelan myself, but he
always beat me; he has private understand
wien punch the balls, nary q button will the
man POKE. So Phelan goes out; but my gnmc
il little the best, in fact I've challenged Phe-
Ian to play ME :: Thousand buttons for lot Of
money, aud I've offered to keep the game my
self, SO Us 10 be aure ill is tair. Phclan's cou.
splracy with the man who pokcs the buttons
Is q disgracefnl thing; it discouragcs young
billiards rs we'll as Phelan cat. I'm bound to
break 1t up. But Berger has outgencrl1lcd
Phelan. Berger has bought over all Phclan's
button-pokerE-pay5 'ern more money than
Phelan did, and now they give Berger all the
buttons.
"ila! la! biz; thing on Michael!
"Wcll, on Friday, Berger was going to do
Eomc punching, and there wus / in the midst
Berger Is fat man tho top Of bis head is rs
bald as goose cgg, and he has got o stomach
like three foot CELESTIAL globe; In fact, he is
shaped just like 4 billiard ball, and might be
used for ono, If you'd take his boots oil and tic
his heels to the back Of Lis neck; only don't
wnnt him TO carom on me!
He brought ail his Own tools with hin,
from France; a table that isn't SO long by a
few feet as Phelan generally makes his; lot
Of balls aud everything. Room was full, and
all anxious to see the Freuchman punch; and
the F1enchman punched, aud pretty good
ovcr the table, and generally had three In the
mir at once. Neil Bryant was there, and Neil
il d pretty good judge Of billiard punching.
did my 1ayorite shot with great success
jumped my ball Oft the table, caromed on Neil
Bryant, aud holcd in spitoon.
"Phclan said # wns good thing, 80 did
!. Neil. Berger rolled himself round to the cor
ner OF the Table, chalkcd his ramrod, aud exc
cuted fancy lick; he made his hall run three
times round the table, On the edge Of the cush-
ion, leap off sharp angle, cnron on Neil Bry-
ant, comc back to thu table, take eighteen
cushions, and stop exactly on tho centre spot.
'Phelan Ind try. He did one of the sim
pic shots that I taught him-thc one where
The cue ball takes twcnty-ouc cushions,
knocks the hats of three dutchmcu In tic cor
ncr, comes back and stops inside the string.
Berger didn't think much Of that; so be took
of his coat, rolled UP his sleeves, and put in 4
tremendous lick; the ball bit Phelan ou the
middle vest button, caromed on Neil Bryant,
cana back to the table and took four cushions,
went out Of the window, gave stage-drivcr 4
black eye, cauie back to the table and took q
cushion, caroncd on Neil Bryant, took two
cushions, went ont through another window,
and came in through the skylight, took four
cushions, ani caronled on Neil Bryant, and all
in four minutes, without stopping for breath,
or sweating hair.
IAN hands were occupied for forty minutes
In reyiyiny Phelan, who had tainted from
"Bercer then made his grand shot; he nut
such tremendous twist tn the ball that it
took every cushion on every table in the room,
caromed on Neil Bryant, lodged out Of tho
window, travelled once or twice up and down
o'Vnu"13t aaA4 1nto = }, 1a11 l1c
bells nine times in rapid succession, and camc
back to the table, previously executing two
brilliant caroms on Neil Bryant.
"This concluded the show, a. supposed
! but as got to the corner Of broadway and
Broom streets, caught sight Of Neil Bryant
rushing round the corner, closely pursued By
two billiard balls, from whinh suppose Ber.
ger must hare done smother fancy shot or two
after left.
'But phclan's conspiracy with the billiard
markers all over the country is outrageous.
He has every ono Of them 80 far under bis con-
troll. that there isn't place In the United
States where, when play billiards with Mi
chaei Phclau, the marker doesn't count more
for him than for me.