Monmouth weekly herald. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1854-1860, 1859-02-10
oRrGIN OF CHESS.

The following Legend will be new and
interesting TO mostof our young readers !:
About the commencement of the fifth
century of the Christian Era, the SOW.
erignty Of large kingdom, near the
mouth Of the Gauges. devolved upon a
very Young Monarch Experience has
not get taught him that he should con.
i slider his subjects as children, and that
| their love was the only solid prop of the
State. 1t was in vain that those impor.
tant truths were held up to his view by
| the sage Brahmins aud his Raiahs. Ella
ted with power and grandeur. he swayed
the land with unnatural severity.
Sissa. the son Of Dahur, the most ven
eraays- Of the Brahmins, on whom the
splendor of philosophy and wisdom shone
| from bis Infancy to his roth year, saw
| that there were virtues in this Monarch
whssze required only the culture of reason
to bring them into life; and afflicted at
the mi series of ais country, he undertook
to display to the Monarch the cause of
tlss~sseSissa, aware of the disrepute into
which the precepts Of morality and virtue
had ALLEN, from the evil example held up
| by those who taught them, was led to de.
wise 3 mode of instruction whereby his
lessons should appear the result of the
Priaseg own reasoning, rather than the
instruction of another. With this view
hesipHented the game of "Shalk," or the
King In the game he contrived to
make the King the most important of all
the pieces, but yet the easiest to attack,
aad the most difficult to defend !; and
only TO be defended by the next in rank
or consequence in the game in graduation.
The game was first spread abroad
among some of the leading men. and,
from the great fame Of Sissa, became soon
in vogue. The Prince heard of it, and
dressed that the inventor should be the
instructor. The sage Brahmin had now
istsaned his desire, and, in the course of
his instruction. took seasonable occasion
to point cut the dependence of the King
on the Pawns, and other seasonable
traihsy The Prince born with genius,
and capable of yirtuous sentiments, in
despTse OF the maxim of the courtiers, ap-
pliep TO himself the morality the game SO
strongly exhibited, and reforming his
conduct, his people soon became happy.
The Prince, eager to recompense the
BraAmin for the good derived from his
Ingenuity, requested him to demand what
| he thought competent. The Brahmin
asked only gift Of corn. the amount Of
which should be regulated by the number
OF houses for squares) ON the Chess board
putting one grain on the frst house, two
on fhe second, four on the third, and so
on, in double progression, to the sixty
fourth house. The apparent moderation
Of the demand astonished the King. and
he unhesitatinsly granted it. But when
his treasurer lad calculated the amount
OF The donation, he found that the Kings
revenues were not competent to dis
eAArge il Ffr the corn Of l6, 1874 tow rs,
| eaYHcontainhg 1854 granaffes OF 173,
762 measures each. and each measure to
consist 81 32,768 grains, could alone an
swer the demand. The Brahmin then
took the opportunity of pointing out to
the Monarch how necessary it was, es.
peclally for Kings, to be guarded against
the arts of those who surround them, how
much, they owed to their subjects, and
hos cautious they should be OF inconsid
berately bestowing their goods wastefully.