WITH CUE IN HAND
*** *
By the Honourable. Senator Grandt As soon as I could, between two sessions, i would practise my skill with the two-bands. I managed some splendid shots... But I was far from attaining my dream of potting three balls at the same time... The legendary shot. I leave that to the expert players of "Mandarin", the game of Chinese billiards, at which I have never been more than a bumbler. I have enough trouble shooting two consecutive doubles, as I did during a very long game with Elisha Commstock...
Yet I did see a ruffian by the name of De Witt, accomplished what i had thought impossible: the fellow actually managed two triples before my eyes! From then on, i practiced feverishly, even renouncing alcohol or wine which poisons the spirit's sentries.
7 days later, the powdered rascal took $300 from me! I was so furious that I later refused to preside over the defense commission! With my gold in his pocket, he sneered at me: "Senator, you would need many lives to beat me!"
I intended to challenge him to another match, but De Witt disappeared completely. I was sickened.
So downhearted was I that I gave up the game for three years, turning instead to casino gambling... My experiences in that field are described in my last book: "The Jackpot I nearly won".