Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1872-12-05
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C.
!: !: !; ST. A
Are Repre-
NELSON 8
WAGEKS.
curiosi.ies Of Bett;ng-Son. Stories Of the
clden T;ms-An Anscio.e Of Lord
Byourham.

\ curios;.ies Of Betting ng-sons Stories Of The
ol1sn T;ms-Aa Aascio.s Of Lord
Brousham.
Wagers have been called fools ar.
gunents, but they are the resort OF
English speaking people every where
tor the settlement OF all iorclbs
Questions. In old times, in England,
l"b -tt,ng' was the rule OF life, as the
literature OF the last century and the
century before show. Sir Robert
Walpole bet with Mr.. Pul,nsy a
=guinea that he had not misquottd
Horace" in Parliament. The Clerk
lot the House declared Pu'tcney
Fright. upon which Sir Robert threw
lit across the House, to be picked
lup by his opponent, with the remark
that it was the first public money he
had touched TOR long time. The
Headquarters Of betters were at
Whites. VaIpole writes "One of
tue youths at Whites has committe ed
a murder, an intends to repeat it
He betted 1900 guineas that man
could live twelve heurs under water;
hired desperate fellow, sunk him in
Ia ship by way OF experiment, and
b tn ship aud man have not appeared
since Another man and ship are
TO be tried Tor their lives" Many
bets were made on health and lon
gevity. A writer referring to this
says that those who would be gamers
by the death OF person on whom
wager is laid, watch all stages of
his illness, and are as impatient for
his death as the undertaken who OK
poets TO have ths care of fuaeral
while the other side aro very solicit
Gus about his recovery, send every
hour TO know how he does, and tax"
as much care of him rs a clera
wife does Of her husband remem
ber man with the constitution of a
porter, upon whose lie very great
odds were laid; bnt, when the person
he was pitted against was expected
to die every week, this man shot
himself through the head, and the
knowing ones were taken in
Lord Mountfore and Sir john
Bland s,aked 20 guineas sile upon
tho lives of two noted men, til. lor
mcr backing Beau Nash to outliye
|ColIsy Cibbsr. The comedian iiel
lin 1857. at the age o. So, and Beau in
|l76l, a. the age Of 81; but before
the first event came about both had
committed suicide. At the house o.
Sir Mark Sykes, the conversation
turned upon the dangers to which
Bonapal te was exposed, and the host
offered to take q hundred guineas
from any one OF the company, and
pay back a guinea day as long as
Bonapart lived. The Rev. b Gi'.
bert acc pied the offer. and paid
down his hundred guineas. For
three years he received his guinea a
day regularly enough, then the Bar
onet grew tired OF his bad bargain,
aud refused to continue his payments.
The clergyman brought an action to
compel Sir Mark to fulfill the agree
ment. The court decided that as
the wager created an undue interest
in the preservation of the lite OF a
public enemy. and, on the other
hand, held out an inducemcnt to
plot his assassination, it tended to
produce public mischief, AMI was
therefore illegal.
Wagers have sometimes proved
fatal to the unconscious suhi-cts Of
lhem. Sir Thomas Hosts, OF Aston,
ruling home from the hunting field
with some friends, ,extollel his cooks
puuc,ualty in such extravasant fash
on that he was badgered into risking
, considerable sum upon it. Unluck-
ly, for the first time, the cook was
behind with the dinner. Enraged
with the jeers Of his visitors, the
rate Sir Thomas made for the kltch-
IN, took up cleaver lying too read
ly, and with one blew killed his un
'appy servant.
Some years ago a London water
nan wagered that he and his dog
would jump from the center of the
Westminster Bridge and lanl at
Lambeth together. He leaped from
he bridge, and the dog followed
suit, but taking it into his head that
lis master was in danger Of drown
ns, tho faithful fellow dragged him
Willy nilly TO shore, and by his well
mentioned blunder lost the water.
nan his wager
An impudsnt rascal had such faith
n the good lassea of Worcester, that
10 bet lie would kiss fifty going
town the High street of the faithful
.ity. Unfortunately 70: his specula-
ion, he caught q Tartar the very
irst attempt, and got three weeks
lard labor tor his pains.
Brousham contrlved to make
holiday pay tor itself by the exercise
If a little shrewdness. 1t WAS in his
college days that, by way of seeing a
title life, he went one autumn to
Dumiriss, in order to make one at the
Calelonian Hunt meeting. Accord
ng to ths then custom, everybody
lined 1T a table i'Aste, and after din
,sr betting set in. Brougham offer
ID to bet the whole company that
none OF them would write down the
manner in which he meant to 60 to
tha vaces next day. Those who &C
,spted his challenge wrote their con.
seizures, aud Brougham wrote down
his sntent,on OF travelling in sedan
chair, a mode OF conveyance no one
had hit upon. TO the races he went,
an immense crowd seeing him safely
to the course. The bet was