Anecdotal.
OUT IN HIS RECKONING. Many years ago a gentleman stopping at an hotel in Chester saw an individual, whom he knew well by sight at racecourses, carefully counting the legs of all the tables and chairs in the coffee-room. Suspecting what was about to happen, Mr M. bribed the waiter to saw off a couple of legs from one of the chairs. As had been foreseen, the reckoner of the furniture joined the public table, made himself extremely agreeable, led the conversation round to the subject of happy guesses, “was ready to bet that if all the company began guessing the numbers of the legs of the tables and chairs in that apartment, his suggestion would come nearest the mark.” The sequel can be imagined. All the numbers were to be written down on paper and handed to the umpire. The proposer had written 50, the orignal number of the legs, Mr M. 48, the number now remaining after the two legs had been removed. The would-be swindler took the hint, paid his lost bet in silence, and left the same evening, probably to be more cautious how he played his little game in future.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/SOCR18941027.2.16
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Southern Cross, Volume 2, Issue 31, 27 October 1894, Page 7
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196Anecdotal. Southern Cross, Volume 2, Issue 31, 27 October 1894, Page 7
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