Berger's feats at billiards.
--
Berger is astonishing the Philadelphians with his wonderful feats at billiards.
The
Gazette, of Tuesday, says:
‘
About a hundred and fifty gentlemen amateurs witnessed last night the initial exhibition of
Mr. Berger in this city, a limited number only being admitted.
The wonderful things that
Berger can do with billiard balls entirely stultify all theories of gravitation, and of the forces centripetal and centrifugal.
He strikes a ball, it goes from him, describes a series of angles, and hitting every object at which it is aimed, comes back, as
real estate deeds read, "to the place of beginning"
’
Among the most wonderful feats of
Berger's repertoire are what he calls the hat shots.
He places his bat upon the table, a ball in front of it, and another behind.
The cue ball strikes the object ball, jumps over the bat, takes the lower and side cushions and caroms over the red To "carom" is to kiss, or, in other words, to strike.
The second bat feat is equally wonderful.
After striking the object ball the cue ball describes a circle around a hat, and caroms upon (strikes) one of the reds without touching a cushion.
Another marvelous feat: The cue ball, after striking the object, jumps over the cue, and still retains sufficient retrograde force to carom upon one of the reds.
But a marvelous feat is this: The cue ball, after striking the object ball, jumps on the cushion, and rolling upon it returns to the table, and taking the lower cushions, caroms upon one of the rest.
These are only a few out of the fifty unaccountable shots made by
Mr. Berger, and the reader will understand the earnestness of the applause when it is understood that the beholders were, for the most part, the most expert amateurs in the city.
After this part of the exhibition was finished,
Mr. Berger played a French carom game with
Mr. Phelan, beating him eighty points in the hundred.
