Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1899-06-13
SOME RASH BETS.

How Fortunes Were Lost ana won
VI BY old Time Sports. y
During the close Of the eighteenth cen-
tury the craze for gambling rose to an ex-
treme. AZ certain notorious clubs every
Incident was made the subject of wager,
and thousands changed hands over tho
veriest trifie. George Selwyn, who knew
something about the business, used to de-
clare that there was nothing In the heav-
ems above or In the earth below or In the
waters under the earth upon which these
men could not ~contrive to bet, and this
craze led many noble family to ruin.
Rash bets were quite common at this time.
On one occasion a man dropped down
at the door Of Whites, 9 famous club, and
he was carried into the house. Was he
dead or notp Betting commenced, and
the odds were taken for and against.
Some, who had stakei hundreds on the
man being dead, protested when their OPP
ponents desired to bleed the Unconscious
object Of these wagers. They argued that
the use of lance would Affect the fair
ness OF the bet. Thus these gentlemen
gravely argued the pros and cons affecting
these foolish wagers. >& Hi
Il "A certain Mr.. Blake made himself no.
torious by betting 81, 500 that man could
live 10 hours under waterl He hired q
daring fellow, and, purchasing an old
ship, they were sunk together by way Of
settling the bet. Neither ship nor man
reappeared, so Mr.. Blake had to pay up.
The famous Earl of Carlisle once staked
R5, GOO on q single card at faro, perhaps
the greatest sum that ever covered q card.
Newmarket was once the scene of curl
Gus race. Geese were the contestants, and
they decided bet between the Marquis of
Rockingham and Lord Oxford: q, 60"
On one occasion at Brookes', another
noted gambling club, Lord Robert spen-
Ger lost the last shilling =: the fortune
which he had obtained from his brother,
the Duke Of Marlborough, and General
Fitzpatrick was In the same condition.
The twain combined, and, borrowing q
sum of money, they opened faro bank.
They had run Of luck, and Lord Spen.
GERS share of the proceeds came to 2100,
600. He pocketed this cash and never
gambled again:
Trickery was often resorted to An these
days, and loaded dice were commonly used
by individuals called ~"gentlemen." The
Duke of Norfolk once lost R70, 900 IN Q
gaming house in St. James street. eus-
'pecting foul play, he pooketed the dice and
went Of to bed in tho housa The black
legs were afraid that they would abe dis
covered, but one OF them undertook to en-
1 ter the duke q room, armed with sAab brace
Or pistols and pair IS dioa and either
shoot the nobleman a change the dice In
Iii pocket IL hiss u Egass him Rb.
COO This VS. agreed Is, and the knave
1 u oaod the bedroom and sunoeeded IN
carrying on the loaded dice without
awakening the duke. In the morning the
nobleman had the dice in his pocket
broken, and, finding them good, he had
no other alternative than to pay up. The
Duke Of Bedford was once trioked In this
way also.-Scottish Nights.
Dinereat fapas.
A north Omaha lad of 2 winters recent
" committed an o6ense against the par
entail rule and was called to account. The
little fellow prevarioeted about 1t.
"You should not tell me story, son, F."
said the fond papa "That only makes the
matter worse. George Washin gton would
not tell q lie, and when he confessed to his
papa that he had done wrong his papa for
gave him and did not punish him"
"That was all right for George" said
the youngster, shut they amt making no
papas now like he had"
The offender was let off with repr1'
mand.-Omaha World.