The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-04-01
Betting eva Certainty

La the British army IN India bet
ting among the officers often runs
to an extreme OF VlGa that il BOme-
times fearful 10 contemplate P0I-
haps it is 10 worse than 10 club life
in London, where the most amusing
as we'll As tragical stories are told OF
the curious bets thai are made, Bet
ting on a certainty is held to he unfair,
unless the svcwal is distinctly msdes
so that no undue advantage Is taken.
An officer ID the army haG im-
ported for bis private apartments s
new and beautiful maghogsny table.
4 day or two after it bad arrived and
had been duly installed IN bis
quarters. brother officer, q great
swell, and very unpopular, dropped
ia very fsmilisrly, and greatly ad.
mired the beautiful table. The
owner Vas shaving himself at the glass
with his back 70 MS Visitor-Ool.
BroWn-bEt continued the oonverss-
ion until the Colonel Withdrew, the
latter remaTkjDg that ne hoped soon
30 have bis legs Under thai elegant
msgbogsuy.
Tue owner of the table, whom We
must call Major Jones, made no q
little dinner party in the eGurse Of q
few days, and Colonel Brown was one
Of the number. 1t was natural that
the new table should be the subject
of remark, and Brown, who affected
20 be cOnnoisseur in all matters.
said the table WAS pc feet, with ons
exception.
Jones: And pray what is that. Coz.
OnelP
Brown: It is Just little to high.
Jones: Do you think so2 How
high would you suppose it 20 Def
Brown: presume it is the usua.
height, just SO inches, and it ought
to be less than that by as least half
an inch.
Jones: That ia the exact height,
thirty Eve and q half inChee, not
thirty-six, as you suppose.
Brown: Pardon me. | am certain
it is three feet high. / will make you
q bet on it.
Jones: You will lose II you do, fog
l give you notice that know its exact
height to half an inch, and il bet
shall bet On dead certainty.
Brown: am just as sure as you
are; am betting On certainty Hlse;
my eye never oeceives me. / Willlsy
you e100 or 81 600 that this tahle is
thirty-six inches high; 10 more. no
less.
The Major sought to disausde his
guest from his purpose TO make bet,
assuring him that he kRsa0 the height
OF the table, and did not want TO bet
on a certainty, but when the excite
ment grew furious, the wager was
finally laid at the enormous sum-
have heard il stated IS high 80 $50.
G00-910.G00. That seems prepoF-
ferrous, when such q tTifie was the
subject. bat the gambling spirit does
not stick at triAies. When the bst-
ting was finally arranged, Col. BroWn
exclaimed, exultsntlY, 81 told You I
knea0 the table was exactly thirty. six
inches high. ] did kH0l0 il, becanse
| when called, just alter u arrived L
took It's measure on my cane as ] eat
b. it, and found it to be- as | have
Gid. precisely thirlYnsix inches nigh.
YES said Majar Jones' II vas
sitting with my back to you, but I
was shaving before the looking-gIsss,
and I saw you taxing the measure og
the table With your cane. 6uspeCtilg
that you were preparing for bet as
10 ila height, after you left | had half
an inch token Of, and il 10 now pre-
cisely thirty-fve and half inches
high"
The applause that followed this re-,
sult was tremendous, snd completed
the discontinue Of the unpopular
colonel. Il was evident that he had
been laying q plan to cheat, and
would have poeketed she money il be
won. He Was sent to Coventry. He
sold his commission and returned TO
England, being unable to sisnd up
against she contempt OF tina officers
Who thoroughly despisRd his GhaTac'
ter.--Rarper's Magazine.