Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1859-02-26
5flisefllaneo,ls.
ORIGIN OF CHESS,

The following tradition will be interesting
to many Of our readers just at this time:
About the commencement Of the fifth cen
fury of the Christian eIa, the sovereignty Of
large kigdom, near the mouth Of the Gan
ges, devolved upon young monarch. Ex-
perience had not yet taught him that he
should consider his subjects as children, and
that their love was the only solid prop Of the
State It was in vain that those important
truths were held up to his view by the sage
Brahmins and his Rajahs. Elated with
power and granduer, he swayed the land
with unnatural severity.
Sissa. the son Of Dahur, the most yener-
able of the Brahms, on whom the splendor
Of philosophy and wisdom shone from his in
fancy to his 10th year, saw that there were
virtues in this monarch which required only
the culture Of reason to bring them into life
and afflicted at the miseries Of his country
he undertook to display to the monarch the
cause Of them. Sissa, aware Of the disre-
pute into which the precepts Of morality and
virtue had fallen, from the evil examples
held up by those who taught them, was led
to devise mode Of instruction whereby
bis lessons should appear the result Of the
Princes own reasoning, rather than the
instruction Of another. With this view he
invented the game ''Shaik, or the "King !"
In the game he contrived to make the King
the most important Of all tho pieces, but yet
the easiest of attack, and the NEST 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 directed shat
sage Brahmin had now attained his desire,
and in the course Of his instruction, took
seasonable occasion to point out the depend
ence Of the King on the Pawns, and other
seasonable truths. The Prince, born with
geDils, and capable Of virtuous sentiments,
in despite Of the maxim Of courtiers, applied
to himself the morality the game SO strongly
exhibited, and reforming his conduct his
people soon became happy
The Prince, eager to recompense the
Brahmin for the good derived from his inge.
nuity. 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
Cor square on the Chess board: putting one
grain on the first house, two on the second
four on the third, and so on, in double pro
gression. to the sixty-fourth house.
The apparent moderation Of the demand
astonished the King, and he unhesitatingly
granted it. But when his treasurer hac
calculated the amount Of the donation, ht
found that the Kings revenues were no
competent to discharge it. For the corn o.
1884 towns, each containing 1854 grain
aries Of 1892 measures each, and eacl
measure to consist Of 32.768 grains, coule
alone answer the demand. The Brahmir
then took the opportunity Of pointing GU
to the monarch how necessary it was, espe.
cially for Kings to be guarded against thu
arts of those who surround them, how mucf
they owed to their subjects, and how eau
tious they should be Of inconsiderately be-
slowing the goods wastefully.