My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

—368 MY LIFEIn thus writing to Hampden and receiving hisdemand for his deposit to be returned, Mr. Walshmade a great mistake, which had serious consequencesfor me. The law declares that all wagers are nulland void, and that money lost by betting is notrecoverable at law. But the judges have decidedthat when a wager is given against him by the umpire,the loser can claim his money back from the stakeholderif the latter has not already paid it away tothe winner. Hence, if a loser immediately claims hismoney from the stake-holder, the law will enforce theformer's claim on the ground that it is Jiis money,and the fact that he has lost it in a quite fair wageris beyond the cognizance of the law. Neither I norMr. Walsh knew of this, although he had decidedand paid many wagers ; but this resulted in myhaving to pay the money back five years later, aswill be presently described.I will now briefly state what were Hampden'sproceedings for the next fifteen or sixteen years.He first began abusing Mr. Walsh in letters, postcards,leaflets, and pamphlets, as a liar, thief, andswindler. Then he began upon me with even morevirulence, writing to the presidents and secretaries ofall the societies to which I belonged, and to any ofmy friends whose addresses he could obtain. Oneof his favourite statements in these letters was, " Doyou know that Mr. A. R. Wallace is allowing himselfto be posted all over England as a cheat anda swindler ? " But he soon took more violentmeasures, and sent the following letter to my wife :"Mrs. Wallace," Madam—If your infernal thief of a husbandis brought home some day on a hurdle, with every