The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1874-07-29
ACHIEVEMENTS FOR wAcERs.

Ing Ou bHC luCeuJiVO VI WdRtIS MCIO III
past times very odd; and journalists
always sought such narratives in times
when society had not begun to move
on literally and figuratively speaking,
at railroad speed. In the early part
of the reign of George Ill. two gen.
tlemen made wager at coffee house
near Temple Bar. One of them un-
dertook to jump into the water seven
feet deep, with all his usual clothing
on, and undress himself completely.
He did it, and if we picture to our
selves the twisting and wriggling in
volved in such an operation, floating
the whole of the time, we must admit
it to be as difficult an affair as il was
ludicrous. A butcher, ON calm sum-
mer's evening, undertook, for a wa
ger, to cross Che Thames in his wooden
tray. In this exploit, using his hands
as paddles, he made the passage safely
from Somerset Stairs to the Surrey side,
providing himself with cork, jacket
in case Of an accident. The chroni-
cles took care to record that seventy
boat loads of spectators were present;
and bets to the aggregate amount of
more than 1000 guineas depended on
the event" Richard Jenkins, mer-
chant of New York, wagered q large
sum that he would pave 100 square
yards with stones in nine hours. He
accomplished it; but we are left in
the dark as to what kind of paving it
was, and in what way the work was
performed. A gentleman undertook
for q wager, that he would stand for a
whole day on London Bridge, with
tray full of good sterling sovereigns,
and would fail to find customers for
them at a penny piece. The report
is that he won the wager, all the pass
ers by believing that he was merely
trying to cheat them with brass imita-
tions. During visit paid by one of
the royal dukes to victorious ship of
war at Spithead, sailor got upon the
very top of the main-mast, (the truck, }
and stood there upon his head, waving
his hat round and round on one foot.
1t is to be hoped that this display of
antipodean loyalty was duly appre-
ciated. Heidegger, Master of the
Revels to George H., was considered
to be the ugliest man in England. A
wager was laid that competitor for
his doubtful honor could be found. An
old woman from st. Giles was brought
forward, and the umpire, with Heideg-
gers own approval, was about to
! award the palm to her; but Heideg-
ger, in esponsesto a suggestion, put on
the old woman's bonnet, to render the
conditions more equal the additional
ugliness was so indescribable that the
victory was awarded to him. Long
before the days Of steamboats,, gem
tleman wagered a thousand guineas
that he would make a boat move
twenty-five miles an hour. He accom-
plished it in very singular way, and
at considerable outlay in money and
ingenuity. He caused circular canal
to he dug, 100 feet in diameter and
nine feet wide, and filled with water !;
a horizontal pole, equal in length to
the radius of the circle, was pivoted
at one end to a strong post in the mid
die, and fastened at the other end to a
boat horse trotted in a smaller cir
Gle, at point nearer to the post than
to the boat, dragging the pole round !;
and the leverage thus singularly OBJ.
tanned sufiiced to give a velocity of
twenty-five miles an hour to the outer
end of the pole, ard consequently to
the boat. A Baronet and a clergy
man laid a wager as to the time when
the first Emperor Napoleon should die;
but court of law set aside this bet as
illegal, on the ground that it gave one
of the parties an interest in the death
of man much exposed to hazard.
We have only space left to notice
finally the wager concerning Sir John
Throckmorton's suit of clothes, on
which thousand guineas depended.
At B o'cock on June morning, 1911,
two South Down sheep were shorn the
wool was washed, carded, slubbed,
roved, spun and woven; the cloth was
secured, fulled, tended, raised, sheared,
dyed, and dressed and at $50 the
same evening, the wool which had clad
the sheep in the morning was worn as
a dress suit by Sir John at his own
dinuer table, Chambers Journal.