Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-11-06

Curfosttics of Betting--s0me stories
OF tho OIden Tfmc--An Anecdotes
of Lord BFOughurn.

II
! Element OF all forcible questions. Il
Hold times, in England, betting wa
B ltheAruleio o. life, as the literature OF thu
last century and the century befor'
show Sir Robert Walpole bet with Mr.
Pulteney a guinea thai be had not ms
quoted Horace in Parliament. Tit
Clerk Of the House declared Pulteney
right. upon which Sir Robert threw TIL
guinea across the House TO be picked
up by his oppanent,, with the remark
that it was the first public money he
had touched for q long time. The head
Quarters OF betters vera at White 5
i Walpole writes: Zone of the youths al
White has committed murder, and in
tends to-repeatlik Helbetted fifteen hun
dred guineas that a man could live twelve
hours under water; hired desperate
fellow sunk him in a ship by way of ex'
pertinent, and both ship and man have
mot appeared since. Another man and
. ship are to be tried for their lives. :
Many bets were made on health and
longevity. A writer referring to this,
says that those who would be gamers by
the death Of a person on whom a wager
lis laid, watch all the stages OF his i'll
ness, and are as impatient for his death
as the undertaken who expects TO have
the care of funeral; while the other
side are very SOLICITORS about his recov-
cry, send every hour to know how he
does, and take as much care of him as a
clergyman wife does of her husband,
who has no other fortune than his living.
remember man with the constitution
of porter, upon whose life very great
odds we're laid; but 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. - -
Mayors have sometimes proved fatal
to the unconscious subjects of them.
Sir Thomas Hoste, of Aston, riding
home from the hunting field with some
friends, extoiled his cocks punctuality
in such extravagant fashi9n that he was
badgered into risking considerable
sum upon it, Unluckily, for the first
time, the cook was behind time with the
dinner. Enraged at the jeers of his visi
tors, the irate Sir Thomas made for the
kitchen, took up a cleaver lying too
readily, and with one blow killed his
unhappy serVaut.l
In September, 1888, says the Annual
Register. "a young Irish gentleman, for
very considerable wager, set out on
Monday, the 22d instant, to walk to Con-
stantinople and back again in one year"
and in June of the following year, Mr..
Whalley arrived about this time in Dub
lin from his journey to the Holy Land,
considerably within the limited time of
twelve months. The wager laid on
the performance of that expedition
was 100000. Buck Whalley was Dub
lin macaroni, whose appearance in a
swalowta blue coat, gay wAistcoat,
buckskin breaches, and top-boots made
no little establishment at Jerusalem. He
was taken for mailman; and thanks to
that belief and stout shilelagh, went on
his way uumolested, and was enabled to |
return home to claim his winnings, and |
he was theneeforth dubbed Jerusalem |
Whalley.
Lord Mountfore and Sir John Bland |
staked twenty guineas side upon the
lives Of two noted men, the former back |
ing Beau Nash to outlive Colley Cibber. |
The comedian died in 1857, at the age of |
eighty-six, and the beau in l76l, at the
age Of eighty-seven; but before the first
event came about both the wagers had
committed suicide At the house of Sir
Mark Sykes, the conversation turned
upon the dangers to which Benaparte
was exposed, and the host offered to take
a hundred guineas from any one of the
company, and pay back guinea day
as long as Bonaparte lived. The Rev
B. Gilbert accepted the offer, and paid
down his hundred guineas. For three
years he received his guinea day regu-
larly enough, then the baronet grew
tired Of his bad bargain, and refused to
continue his payments The clergyman
brought an action to compel Sir Mark to
fulfill the agreement The court decided
that as the wager created an undue in
terestin the preservation of the life of
public enemy, and, on the other hand,
held out an Indictment 10 plot his as
sassination, it tended to produce public
and was therefore illegal.
Some years ago a London waterman
wagered that he and his dog would jump
from the center arch of Westminster
bridge, and land at Lambeth together.
BE leaped from the bridge, and the dog
followed suit, but taking it into his head
that bis master was in danger Of drown.
ng, the faithful fellow dragged him
to shore, and by his well-in-
.entioned blunder lost the waterman lis
wager. MFEs hEf ,tA La
An impudent rascal had such faith in
he good lasses Of Worcester that he bet I
he could kiss fifty girls going down the
High street of the faithful city. Unfor-
unately for his speculation, he caught
4 Tartar the very first attempt, and got
.hree weeks hard labor for his pains.
Brongham contrived to makes holiday
BAY for itself by the exercise of little
Ihrewdness. 1t was in his college days
hat, by way of seeing little life, he
make one at the Caledonian Hunt meet
pg According To the then custom ev.