The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1857-12-17
VOL. XII.

| us friends.
speedily found that his wild revelry and
reckless dissipation was but an assumption, an
out-growth, 80 to speak, under which was con.
cealed a profoundly sensitive and morbidly-
melancholy nature. He drank and dissipated,
not to excite, but to deaden. This he did not
confess, and it was only revealed to me in
glimpses, haflights, that flashed through the
darkness, as the rays of a star sometimes
struggle ftfully from behind q storm-cloud
Oh how sad seemed his widest madness to us
who knew him, and knew why he was so madIy
wild was often fearful lest this extravagsnt
conflict of actual with possible would eveniuate
in madness perhaps it ,oas madness.
Once he had returned to our rooms-we were
chums at the time-very late at night, after a
debauch of unusual extravaganza and prolong
ment, even for him, and in which he had ex-
celled all former performances of the kind, re-
producing, as he claimed to have done, the mid
dle-age spree of wild Prince Puckler and his
three comrades, so extensively filing the tradi
tons of Heidelberg. / was busy with some
mathematics when he burst in, hurraing, laugh.
ing, singing, Gddling, and ye. not drunk.
never saw him drunk. l tried to persuade him
to bed, but he would not. Drawing out his
chess table, he arranged the pieces, and insist
ed upon my joining him in game. / laid
aside my papers, willing to humor him, for
saw that he was terribly excited, and-shall
confess it?-half hoping that l might be able
to conquer him as he then was, and win the
fame OF 80 great victory.
"Play, .fratercule," said he, glsncing at the
board, and then directing his attention to the
tuning of his violin.
81 wonder who invented chess" said /, after
we had made four or five moves. Franz laid
down the violin.
Hncb oa;d bo - bolc ~ul:.~.- a..
sacred thing. The first Brahma gave it to
his followers when be left them, as a consola-
ton, thousands upon thousands of years ago."
But they claim it for the Chinese"
PAIL" shouted he, " the Chinese indeed
1t ia spiritual game-one of our mysteries,
sacred, arcanic-your material Chinese never
had anything to do with it. They care for
nothing but money, utility, like your sponsorial
kinsmen, the Yankees-and we do not bet at
chess. No, it is Indian. 1t smells of Brain ma,
of Ganga, of silva. Chaturangd, "the symbol
of mans four estates," 90 they call it. Then
your authoritative Persisns made it chatrdng;
your Arabs, shatranj; then your Persans got
1t back again, dchetradz; your Spaniards took
it up, azedres; your Italians, schqcchi; your
Germans. schachs; your French, echoes; your
English, chess. There's your etymology. But
We do bet at chess, now and then, and wager
you silver thaler l checkmate you in three
moves.
And so it turned ont
Pshawl" cried Franz, as / was about to
rise "sit down. l feel in playing humor to-
night so that / could beat the devil himself, if
he dare accept my challenge Come, l will give
you chance; will play you the pion coi6s !"
and he let fall drop of sealing wax upon one
of the pawns. I" will wager you silver tina.
Ter that give you checkmate with that single
pawn. That's odds enough"
looked at him, to see if he was Joking and
then accepted the las it seemed to me) despe-
rate challenge. For | was considered so good
player, that few in the University would give
me the odds of single pawn; and here was a
man who had been drinking for a week, offer
ing to checkmate me with q marked pawn. BE
began to play, and could see that his atteetiSn
was somewhat more engaged. Still be rattled
on:
"They have never known chess in Europe
never. They make mechanical matter of it,
a thing of rule and technically but tell you
no. 1t is a spiritual thing, gigantic, portent
GUS symbolism. Talk to me of your Damiauo,
your Ruy Lopez, your Carrera, your Selenus,
your Lolli, your Greco your Algaier, your
Costs, your Phil dor, your Del Rio-none of
them ever probed the matter. GO to the East,
among the Brahmins, if you wish to see the
game in its magnificent scope and significance.
There is an old man in the monastery on Mount
Athos an old, old man, who has said his pray.
ers-check-and played his game of chess
every day for these ninety years. / will beat
hi N next vacation and then l an off for the
little plateau that lies to the southwest of the
mighty d walaghsri."
"Why there, Frsnz?"
because there, just on that quiet plateau,
away from the world and It's cares, the blue
ether around, the everlasting white glory of the
glaciers above, and the soft green of the man.
grove trees below-there is a convent where
the first Brahma used to dwell"
"Wen?"
"Well fratercule, some of his disciples are
still there-ay, the very one, tall, majestic
old man, with white beard down to his knses,
who for thirty thousand years of trsnsmigrasion
has been so pure and upright as always to Esve
been a man and Brshmin, and it was the
first Brahma taught his divine game. Him
seek, for him alone will l acknowledge my has
ter"
"How did you learn all this, Franz2"
SIN a dream-a holy dream-checkmate
Now, comrade you will not try to beat me
again because / did not seem sober. Gene,
get you to bed. i have work to do yet"
So saying, he pulled down q volume from his
shelf, and commenced reading; while ret red
to my bedroom, as it was very late. &
had been asleep perhaps two hours, when
was aroused by the unearthly notes of the ecu
felslied." This singular air, tune, fantastic. or
whatever we might please to call it, was at e,nce
the most significant and the most incompreaen
slble musical composition | had ever chatced
to hear. / have to employ paradox in order to
convey any idea of it. Most significant, because
it most clearly gave evidence of possessing q
| meaning beyond the mere concourse of sweet
sounds" of indicating the effort and agony of
o thought or passion that struggled for utter
ance-a plant, a wall, the despairiEg cry of a
lost soul, bent with the yelled exaltatior, of a
| fend.
Most incomprehensible it was, because it
seemed to give token of only semi consciousness
on the part of the performer-to imita,e the
groupings OF one whom the lightning has even
now struck blind-to utter the babble of the
idiot, before whose dsrkened mind the shadow
of an idea has hosted, and left half.seose of
the brightness beyond.
Just so vaguely as have here tried to repro
duce the impression, did it impress every one.
None heard 1t but with the pain of an appsehen-
sion they could not account for, with an a ,xious
uneaslness for which they could give no rssson.
Portions OF it there were, cadences and nader.
tones OF melody would draw the uncor scious
tear down the cheek; other portions rouse you
till you waved your hand, and found the shout
!, trembling behind your lips; other pc rtions,
again, would drop a chill horror throu ,h the
veins, such as one feels when he hears Il e wild
scream of murder" rend the stiffness IF mid
night asunder. All weak, feeble, pass,onless
words, what are ye to the thing ITSELF
|, And now he was playing the last few bars.
The soft, low murmur, the weary plaiet, the
last let alone" as it we're, of the lifelong
wretch-hark, how it bursts away into tbe def.
"