Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1860-11-02
The Game OF Bllliards.

| Aho GhAHo ON HhtllAhTohs
Mr.. Doesticks thus describes, in The
Sunday Mercury, the game Of billiards as
played by NJ. Berger:
II need hardly tell you that the game of
billiards consists in punching ivory balls
about on big table, covered with green
cloth, that looks like half an acre of meadow
land, with an India rubber fence round it
that the balls are punched with long wood
en- 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. You take your ramrod
and rub some chalk on the little end; then
you lift up your leg; then you fiddle lit
tie 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 but
tons that are strung on a 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
puncher; and of course I've been to see
him punch few billiards with Phelau.-I
Phean is a pretty fair puncher himself, but
he can't punch so fast as Berger-in fact,
B. has to give p. hundred buttons or SO
in every game. I've often played with
Phelan myself, but he always beats me; he
has a private understanding with the man
that pokes the buttons-when Phelan
punches the balls, the man pokes buttons;
when l punch the balls, nary button will
the man poke. So Phelan goes out; but
my game is little the best-in fact, I've
challenged Phelan to play me thousand
buttons for lot of money, and 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 disgracefu
thing; it discourages young men, and
makes them think they can't punch bill
lizards as we'll as Phelan can. I'm bound
to break it up. But Berger has out-gener-
aled Phelan. Berger has bought over all
Phelan's button-pokers-pays 'em moro
money than Phelan did-and now they
give Berger all the buttons.
Ha! ha! Big thing on Michael
Well, on Friday, Berger was going to do
some punching, and there was / in the
midst. Berger is a fat man; the top of his
y head is as bald as goose-egg, and he has
got a stomach like three-foot celesta
> globe-in fact, he is shaped just like a bill
= lard-ball, and might be used for one, i
: you'd take his boots off and tie his heels tC
!, the back of his neck-only don't want hin
= to carom on me-
He brought all his own tools with hin
! ! from France-a table that isn't so long by
= = few feet as Phelan generally makes his
- a lot of balls and ramrods, and everything
Room was full, all anxious to see the
-. Frenehman punch and the Frenchmar
punched, and pretty good punching it was
. He made the balls hop all over table, and
, generally had three in the air at once
: Neil Bryant was there, and Neil is pretty
good judge of billiard punching. l did my
favorite shot with great success, jumped
my ball of the table, caromed on Neil Bry-
ant 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 a sharp angle,
carom on Neil Bryant, come back to the
table, take eighteen cushions and stop ex.
actly on tho center spot.
Phelan had try. He did one of the
simple shots that l taught him-the one
>. when the cue-ball takes twenty-one cush
" ions, knocks the hats off three Dutchmen il
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 a tremendous lick; the ball hi
: Phelan on the middle vest-button, caromcc
on Neil Bryant, came back to the tabl,
: and took four cushions, went out of thu
window, gave stage-driver black eve
came back and took cushion, caromed OIL
> Neil Bryant, took two cushions, wen
!. p. twice round the block, took a cushion, wen
- = out through another window, and came il
through the sky-light, took four cushions
and caromed on Neil Bryant, and all in
four minutes, without stopping for breath
t or sweating hair.
o All hands were occupied for forty min
}, utes in reviving Phelan, who had tainted
q from envy.
Berger then made his grand shot--hC
f put such a tremendous twist on his ball tha
@ it took every cushion on every table in the
/, room, caromed on Neil Bryant, lodged ou
e of the window, travelled once or twice NJ
d and down Broadway, ran into shooting
It gallery, rang the bell nine times in rapiC
) succession, and came back to the table, pre-
S viously executing two brilliant caroms oil
;, Neil Bryant.
@ This concluded the show, as l supposed
d but as got to the corner of Broadway anC
" Broome street, caught sight of Neil Bry
ant rushing round the corner, closely pur
sued by two bilIiards-balls, from which
s suppose Berger must have done anothe
d fancy shot or two after left
Q But Phelan's conspiracy with the billiard
: markers all over the country is outrageous
a He has every one of them so far under hi
Q control, that there isn't place in the Unite,
l. States where, when l play billiards will
y Michael Phelan, the marker doesn't coun
+ more for him than for me-"
II -------<-8-+b----------
= Mr.. DOUGLAS WILLING TO GIVE rH
ELECTION TO Mr.. LINcoLN.-The Raleigl
IN. o. Standard publishes the following
:, note The writer is a nephew of Ex-Chie