The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-01-29
TRICKS TO CATCH THE WISE
wnGers That Resulted in Favor OF tho
Persons Who Made Them.

A gentlemanly looking man, with the
merest suspicion OF a Yankee accent. has
recently been going tho rounds Of the West
End lLondonl bars and billiard rooms, winning
all sorts Of queer bets from people who fondly
imagine they knew a thing or two"
One that hardly ever failed to net him a
few shillinRs or sovereiEns. as the case might
be. he called his ny wager He would
offer TO bet. says Psarson's Weekly, that he
could make a fly take all the mat ches out OF
an ordinary stone match stand, such as il
generally to be found on the counters OF most
saloon bars. As soon as the money was
staked he would catch fly from tho wall
take It by the two wings and keep putting
It on the matches one by one. the insect mean
while picking them up with its legs in
stinctively and with almost monotonous
regularity.
The shabby genteel man. with the iron
Jaws and the gaunt cheeks who used 70 haunt
the Fleet street bars and bet unwhry wfRhts
that he would swallow beer glass there
and then, has lately Joined the great ma
jority. lie died from an overdose OF ground
glass. for, Of course. he took good care to
pound tho tumhler to dust before attempt
ing 10 fulhll the terms OF his wager-the
which. by the way, he invariably won
variation OF this trick bet however
seems 10 be rife In Paris whore a certain NJ
Alexandra offered the other day 70 wager
5000 francs tE3oo, that he would swallow
a yard OF galvanized iron stove piping. His
challenge was promptly accepted by a curious
and guileless American Whereupon tho
intrepid Alexandra repaired TO n whitesmith
armed with the piping, which was one~six-
teenth Of an inch In thickness and Ave inches
In diameter with the request that he
would reduce II TO powder. The request was
promptly carried out Then, In tho presenoe
OF the other party 70 the bet and a coupl.
OF witnesses. the layer OF the wager divided
the filings into Ave portions. mixed them
into Ave books OF lager beer and tossed
them OF at intervals OF ten minutes.
we'll known -bookio- recently lost eioo
TO a comparative stranger who ofered "a
bet him that he could produce three horro.
which could go ninety miles In three hour.
The layer OF the wager easily Accomplished
the feat by starting all three horses at once.
by which ortlnoe thirty miles only was the
distance they had TO traverse in the time
specified.
Roger Crab vagersd 81 900 that he would
live for year on three shiilings and six-
pence. and won his bet Indeed he more than
won II, for at he end OF the twelve months
his housekeeping money his expenditure
for food. therefore, averaging Just over three
fsrihinRs a week. For this sum even the
cheapest OF ordinary vegetarian diet-suoh
as lentils, Tor tnsnnee-vas quite out OF
the question, and he had 70 content himself
with nette soup thickened with corn -four,
pudding made OF bran and turnip leaves
chopped together. and 30 forth. Yet on this
diet Crab not only survived, but ActuHlly
gsined some few pounds In weight, while,
as for his general health. he declared that
he had never f<lt better than he did at the
termination OF his self-imposed ordeal