He was detestably poor, and
this was the reason, no doubt, that his expletive expressions about
betting, seldom took a pecuniary turn. I will not be bound to say that
I ever heard him make use of such a figure of speech as "I'll bet
you a dollar." It was usually "I'll bet you what you please," or "I'll
bet you what you dare," or "I'll bet you a trifle," or else, more
significantly still, "I'll bet the Devil my head."
This latter form seemed to please him best;- perhaps because it
involved the least risk; for Dammit had become excessively
parsimonious. Had any one taken him up, his head was small, and thus
his loss would have been small too. But these are my own reflections
and I am by no means sure that I am right in attributing them to
him. At all events the phrase in question grew daily in favor,
notwithstanding the gross impropriety of a man betting his brains like
bank-notes:- but this was a point which my friend's perversity of
disposition would not permit him to comprehend. In the end, he
abandoned all other forms of wager, and gave himself up to "I'll bet
the Devil my head," with a pertinacity and exclusiveness of devotion
that displeased not less than it surprised me.
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