Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1872-11-19
OURI0sITIES OF BETTING.
Some of the wageFs of Oiden TIme-Amusins
Anecdotes.


English-speaking people everywhere
for the settlement Of all forcible ques-
tions. In old times, in England, "bet-
ting" was the rule of life, as the lit
erature of the last century and the
century before show. Sir Robert
Walpole bet with Mr.. Pulteney
guinea that he had not misquoted
Horace" in Parliament. The Clerk
of the House declared Pulteney right,
upon which Sir Robert threw the
the gum ca across the House to be
picked up by his opponent, with the
remark that it was the first public
money he had touched for a long
time. The headquarters Of the bet
ters were at Whites. Walpole
writes zone of the youths at
Whites has committed murder, and
Intends to repeat it. lie betted fif-
teen hundred guinness that man
could live twelve hours under water:
hired desperated fellow, sunk him
in ship by way Of experiment, and
Doth ship and man have not appears
ed since. Another man and ship are
TO be tried for their lives" Many
bets were made on health and long
evity. A writer, referring 10 this,
says that those who would be gain
ers by the death of person on whom
wager is laid, "watch all the stages
Of his. illness, and are rs impatient
for his death as the undertaken who
expects to have the care Of funeral;
while the other side are very solicit
GUS about his recovery, send every
hour to know how he does, and take
as much care of him as a clergyman s
wife does Of her husband, who has no
other fortune than his living. | re-
member a man with the constitution
OF porter, upon whose life very
great odds were laid; but when the
person he was pitted against was ex-
pected to die every week, this man
shot himself through the head, aud
the knowing ones were taken in"
Lord Mountfore and Sir John Bland
staked twenty guineas a side on the
lives of two noted men, the former
being Beau Nash to outlive Colley
Cibber The Comedian died in 1857,
at the age of eighty.six and the Beau
in 1851, at the age Of eighty-seven;
but, before the first event came about
both the wagers had committed sui>
eide. At the house Of Sir Mark
Sykes, the conversation turned upon
the dangers to which Bonaparte was
exposed, and the host offered to take
100 guineas from any one in the COM
pany, and pay back guinea a day
as long as Bonaparte lived.
The Reverend B. Gilbert accepted
the offer, and paid down his hundred
guineas. For three years he receiv-
ed his guinea day regularly enough,
then the baronet grew tired Of his
bargain, aud refused to continue his
payments. The clergyman brought
an action to compel Sir Mark to full
fill his agreement. The Court decid-
ed that as the wager created an un-
due interest in the preservation of
public enemy, and, on the other
hand, held out an inducement TO plot
his assassination, it tended to pro-
duce public mischief and was there
fore illegal
Wagers have sometimes proved ia
tai to the unconscious subjects OF
them. Sir Thomas Hoste, of Aston,
riding home from the hunting fields
with some friends, extolled his cooks
punctuality in such extravagant fash
ion that he was badgered into risk
ing considerable sum on it. I'm
luckily, for the first time, the cook
was behind time with the dinner.
Enraged at the ieers of his visitors,
the irate Sir Thomas made for the
kitchen, took up a eleaver lying too
readily, and with one blow killed his
unhappy servant.
In September, 1873, says the An
nual Register: "a young Irish gen.
tleman, for very considerable wa.
ger, set out on Monday, the 22nd
inst, to walk to Constantinople, and
back again in one year," and in June
of the following year, Mr.. Whaley
arrived about this time in Dublin
from his journey TO the Holy Land,
considerably within the limited time
of twelve months. The wager laid
or the performance of that expedi-
ton was 100000 Buck Whalev
was q Dublin macaroni, whose APP
pearance in q swallow tailed blue
coat, gay waistcoat, buckskin breech-
es, and top-boots. created no little
astonishment at Jerusalem. He was
taken for mailman; and thanks to
that belief and a stout shilelagh went
on his way unmolested, and was ena.
bIed to return home to claim his win
nings, and be was henceforth dubbed
Jerusalem Whalley.
Some years ago a London water
man wagered that be and his dog
would Jump from the centre arch of
Westminster bridge and land at
Lambeth together. He leaped from
the bridge and the dog followed suit,
but taking it into his head that his
master was In danger of drowning,
the faithful fellow dragged him willy
nilly to shore, and by his wellintent-
toned blunder lost the waterman his
wager.
An impudent rascal had such faith
in the good Iasses of Worcester, that
he bet he would kiss fifty girls in go
ing down High street Of the faithful
CITY. Unfortunately for his specula-
ton, be caught Tartar the very
first attempt, and got three weeks
hard labor for his pains,
Brougham tried to make holiday
pay for itself by TIE exercise of q lit
tie shrewdness. 1t was 10 his Col
ege days, that, by way of seeing
little life. he went one Autumn to
Dumfries, in order to make one at
the Caledonian Hunt meeting. Ac-
cording to the then custom, every
body dined a table d'hote, and after
dinner betting set in, Brougham of
fered to bet the whole company that
none Of them would write down the
manner in which be meant to go to