The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-07-30
auEs .,ssls,s BILLIARD BALLS.
rhey Were Not Ivory or CeIIuloid and
Were Never Turned.

were N6SoI Aufneus
"How does it come that you have red,
white and blue billiard balls?" asked
the whip salesman Of Rufe Eisele, who
keeps the Brant House at Sloop Greek.
'"Tis kinder extraordinary, amt it3'
said Rufe. "But somehow or another
extraordinary things happen down here
You wouldn't believe it if I told you
that had them balls afore had the
table. l bought the table for $40 from
Bart Greenleaf, and he won it at rattle
up to Asbury. That tables with plum
$3.50, and the balls is just gift Of ma
ture-come by special act Of Provi-
dencc, you might say. You never see
balls just like them before. They amt
ivory, and they amt celluloid If they
was celluloid, they wouldn't be here
now. They amt this patent putty COM
position that they make cheap pool balls
of either. Just what they are I ain t
prepared to say, and 'spect that the
nature of the material these were made
from is changed from what it was at
first.
ON tell you how come by 'em, and
you learn what extraordinary things
can happth down hereaways. A year
ago the 18th of June there was party
of Brooklyn fellows down here, and
they set out for good time. They
fetched cards and chips with them and
lowed to play poker until o'clock in
the morning and then go fishing. sot
up with thom and took hand in the
game We were setting at that round
table, and it was pushed over in the cor
ner between them windows. Long
about IL o'clock I was mixing drinks
for the crowd, when Iheard thunder and
muttcrin and see flashes of lightning.
told them fellows they'd better move
away from the windows, but they
laughed at me.
"Onc fellow had been winning right
straight along He had big pile of
chips in front of him, and they was in
his way. So he began stacking them up
according to color and laid rs of each
kind i'll stacks side by side on the win
dow sill. Meanwhile tho storm broke
and the lightning played hob around
the house. Tho party got kinder scared
and jumped up promptly when l pro-
posed to all to go to the bar and have a
drink. was just setting out the glasses
when there was swish of lightning
that turned the whole air blue. didn't
hear any thunder, but l see big balls Of
fire dancing round the room, and one
of them hit me right on tho breast and
knocked me down behind the bar, Ev-
cry man in the room was hit plumb i'll
the gizzard with ball of fire and
knocked fiat don't know how long it
was before we all come to and took our
drinks, but | do know that the storm
had passed | looked round and was
surprised to find that nothing had been
hurt After the fellows all took their
drinks they wanted to play poker again
and started for the table. There the fcl
low that had won most of the chips put
up a hollcr about them. He said some
body had got EN-.
Il didn't blicve that possible, and I
told him that the lightning had prob
ably knocked them often the window
sill. Then he looked on the floor under
the table and said, Idon't sec no chips,
but here's billiard ball, and he picked
up red ball. Now never had bill
lizard ball in my house before, and
thought that he was playing trick on
me until one OF the other fellows moved