The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-03-12
ODD WAGERS.
A Queer Batch of Old and New.

such as agreeing not to shave during
the coming four years, to trundle ones
opponent in WheelbarroW, to roll a
peanut several blocks, to so through q
public street dressed in bathing suit,
etc, and one undertaken bound himself,
| in case he lost not to charge anything
for funerals of which he had control
during the next administration. The
three following will serve as sample
freak bets:
An Indiana farmer named Corbus
bet his wife on Mckinley, against a
five thousand dollar house and lot
owned by his neighbor, George Barnell,
In Monmouth, n. j., lisa Martin, a
farmer, agreed to work for Selim Jones,
his neighbor, for his board and clothes
for two years if Bryan were elected. If
Mckinley We're elected he was to have
Jones daughter, Martha, whom he had
been wooing for some time, but her
father would not allow him to have her.
In Germantown, Pa, John Leithead,
foreman of an engine company, made a
bet to sit as a target While William
Bennett, hoseman, threw four dozen
eggs at him. Mr.. Leithead was to oe-
NuIy a SCil VII lilt NdLtl liusS III iIplll
of the engine house, and Mr.. Bennett
was to do the throwing from a distance
of thirty feet.
Elections alone do not call forth odd
bets, however. II is on record that two
clergymen once ran a race on sunday
to decide wager of a crown a side,
Soon after Swift received his deanery
he dined on Sunday with DR.. Raymond
of Trim, whose house was about two
hundred yards from his church. The
bell had nearly done ringing for even
ing service when Swift exclaimed.
Raymond, TIL lay you crown | be-
cir prayers before you" Done" said
the doctor, and off they ran, Raymond
reached the doors first, and entering
the church, made for the reading desk
at as quick a walking pace Us his sense
OF propriety permitted. Swift did not
slacken speed in the least, but ran up
the aisle, passed his opponent and,
without stopping to put on a surplice
or open the prayer book, began the Ii
turgy, and went on with the service
sufficiently long to win the wager
A certain Englishman wagerad that
he would cook a big pudding ten feet
below the surface of the Thames. He
put his pudding into large tin vessel,
and inclosed that in sackful of lime,
and sunk sack, pan and pudding to the
required depth. In two hours and a
half the pudding was hauled out of the
water and eaten with much liking, its
| only fault being that it was triAe
overbaked. Above one hundred pounds
woe ,tyny, i,,t
Lord Mountford and Sir John Bland
staked twenty guineas a side upon the
lives of two noted men, the former
backing Beau Nash to outlive Colley
| Cibber. The comedian died in 1857, at
| the age Of eighty-six; the beau in 1851,
at the age of eighty seven, but before
| the first event came about both the wa
gerers had committed suicide.
Brougham once contrlved to make a
| holiday pay for itself by the exercise of
| a little shrewdness. 1t was in his col
| lege days that, by the way of seeing
| life, he went one autumn to Dumfries
| in order to be at the Caledonian hunt
| meeting. According to the then Gus
tom everybody dined at table d'hote,
and after dinner betting set in
ipipuSlldiIi OlIticu " DEI lilt WIlOlt
| company that none of them would
write down the manner in which he
| meant to, go to the races next day.
| Those who accepted his challenge
wrote down their conjectures and
| Brougham wrote down his intention
Of travelling in a Sedan chair, mode
| of conveyance no one had hit upon.
To the races he went, an immense
| crowd seeing him safely chained to the
| course. The bet was then renewed as
| to the manner of his return to Dunn
| fries, the acceptors taxing their wits to
| imagine the most improbable method
| of travelling. Brougham had calcula-
| ted upon this, and won the double
event by returning in post chaise and
| pair.
| A gentleman backed flock of geese
| to beat a drove of turkeys in a race on
a turnpike road, merely stipulating
! that he should have choice of place and
| time. He fixed upon an hour before sun
| down, At the start the turkeys went
ahead as if they were going to win in a
walk; but as the sun set they broke
from their ranks, rushed through the
! hedges in search Of roosting places, and
| in spite of all their driver could do,
| roost they did; while the geese, travel
| ing along sedately, reached the end of
| the course before their rivals had fin
ished taking their nap
| A good story is told of a couple of
| wagers in which Daniel Webster, Taze-
| we'll and General Jackson's secretary
| of the navy were concerned, and of
which the last named was the victim.
The three We're walking together on
| the north bank of the Potomac, and
| while Webster fingered little in the
| rear, Tazewell offered to bet Branch a
| ten dollar hat that he could prove him
| to be on the other side of the river.
Done" said Branch
well" said Tazewell pointing to the
| opposite shore, isn't that one side of
| the river?"
Yes"
"Well. isn't this the other side?"
yes"
'Then, as you are here. are you not
| on the other side?"
"Why, I declare" said the victim.
| $50 it is; but here comes Webster; I'll
win back my bet from him.
As Daniel came up, Branch saluted
him. with. webster. I'll bet you a ten
dollar hat l can prove you are on the
| other side of the river"
Done"