The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-11-15
Queer wagers-Be,s OF all sorts and
Thmaa.

VIC eAudCs tuc iOioWtuR lEOW az
the Year Round: Some years ago q
London waterman wagered that Re 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 bis
master was in danger Of drowning, the
faithful fellow dragged him, willy-uilly,
to the shore, and by his well.inteutioued
blunder lost the waterman his wager.
When the false news came to Eng
land that Sebastopol hal fallen three
days after the battle of the Alma. a
party OF Sussex men drank to the
health OF the victors at q certain inn ;
but one increduIous man would not b.
lieve the glad tidiugs. and offered to
give the landlord a sovereign upon con-
dition of receiving a shilling day az
long az the Russians held their own.
The offer was accepted. and for many
a Saturday night did "the Russian"
look tor his seven shillings, the unlucky
believer in the proves Of the allies
eventually paving some eighteen pounds
for his single sovereign.
An odd match came off at Y rk in
1876, between Thomas Hodgson and
Samuel VII tehesd. The question being
which Of the two could assume tn
most original character Whitehead
got himself up half man and half
wnmsn, one side OF him representing a
fashionable lady, the o'her a negro
booted aud spurr-d. Hodgson, who
was ahj ,dged the winner, appeared as
a vertinle man OF money; his coat and
waistroat were covered with bask notes,
his hat band was OF the same 'aluable
material, while a paper affixed to his
back told those whom it concerned that
he was John Bull. Not reckoning a
purse filled with gold worn on his hat,
Hodgson's trimmings were worth 375
guineas. 1--WE are extremely sorry"
says the recorder o. tine contest, that
the whole Of the money cam ot be con-
verted, as it certainly ought. to the use
OF his lawful creditors"
Brunei once got the best Of Stephen =
son over a wager. They we're travelling
togetherin a railway carriage. Stephen
son wrapped in q dark plaid, on tn"
exact disposition Of the folds of which
he rather plumed himself. You are
looking at my plaid" said he to Brunei.
I'll bet you ten pounds you cannot put
it on properly the first time" "Ill bet
ten pounds against the plaid, said
Brunei. "If putt it on right when we
get out at the next station, the plaid il
mine; if l miss l paw you ten pounds "
Done" said Stephenson. Brunei eat
silent until the train stopped, then
stepping on the platform, he asked for
the plaid, wi ich was slowly unwound
by it's owner and handed over, not to
he given back again, for Brunei
wound it round his own shoulders as il
he h ad always worn it. He had never
tried it before, but when challenged did
not like to be beaten, and at once set to
work to study the folds of the plaid. II
got the thing pretty clear in my head
before we reached the station, and
when / So him get out Of it | knew ]
was right. so l put it on at once"
Brougham contrived to make holi.
day pay for itself by the exercise of a
little shrewdness. 1t was in his COL
lege DAYS that, by the way OF seeing
little life, he went one autumn to
Dumfries 10 order to make one at a
Caledonia hunt meeting According
to the then custom, everybody dined at q
table dhote, and after dinner betting
set in. Brougham offered to bet the
whole company that none Of them
could write down the manner in which
he meant to 20 to the races the next
day.
Those who accepted his challenge
wrote down their corjectures, and
Brougham wrote down his intention OF
travelling in sc dan chair a mode of con-
veyance no one hit upon. TO the
races he went, an immense crowd seeing
him safely chaired to the course The
bet was then rer ewed "a 10 the manner
OF his return to Dumiries, the accrptor'
taxing Their wits to imagine the mos
improbable methods o. travelling
Brnughsm had calculated upon thi,
and won the double bet by returning in
prst>chai-e aud p'ir.
Equally shrewd WAS the gentleman
who, in backing fl ok OF geese to beat
drove of turkeys IN a race on a turn
pike road, simulated Tor choice OF place
and time He fixed upon The hour he.
fore shutdown. At the start the turkeys
went ahead a. il they were going to
win in a walk, but as the sun set thew
broke from their walks, rushed through
the hedges in search of resting places
and in spite OF all their driver could do
roost they did; while the geese, travel
ling along sedately, reached the end o.
the course before their rivals had flu
,shed takng their up.
When a wall-rhalker offered 10 chalk
"Warrens Backing" on every w,lI
round London fer fifty pounds, the
Hacking maker exclaimed, "Tll be-
you two hundred pounds to one that
il cannot be done in q month" War
rem lost the BET, but got the best and
ch sapest advertisement he ever hal
Two painters at work on q lake
steamer under rerair appropriated come
Of the white lead provided Tor their use
bv tying in their overalls at the ankle
and fl ling the space between trousers
and overa'ls with white lead. To
reach the shore from the vessel they
had to cross a plank In doing this
one stumbled aud tell into the lake
sinking like q mill stone. His friend
stood on shore bewailing his late, and
CRYING, "Oh, dear oh, dearl what will
become of his poor wife and children 2,
"Whst are you bluhbering about," said
bvstar der, don't you see they are get
ting ready to hsul'him out2 He's got
to rise three times. you know + Got
i