The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-07-30
KEEPING MUM.
Curious Speculations on the Origin of the
Common Phrase.


In the fifty-third chapter of Don
Quixote" the Barber saws: '.Por mi, doy
la palabra bara delante de Dios de no
decir laque veuftra MERGED dixere rey
no rogue" Literally: LAS for me,
give my word before God not to tell
what your Worship shall tell me to king
nor to rook," which latter clause is a
Spanish phrase meaning nobody. Shell
ton, the first English translator, in 1862.
has rendered it, neither to king nor to
kaiser (emperor).
The French tranSlators say, "a roi nj
a roc The Dutch have rendered it,
Il shall tell it to neither cat nor king"
Yet none, not even CervanteS himself,
quoted the proverb correctly. which
should be rendered, Before God and
your Worship, I'll tell neither king.
knight or rocks"
l ascribe its origin to Sacchetti's
pleasant novel of the Citrate of Valdipea,
who often played at chess with a gentle
man of his neighborhood whom he used
to checkmate five times out of six, not
withstanding which the gentleman
would not only allow it, but often
boosted of his score with the curate.
One day it happened that the curate
checkmated him in the middle of the
chess board with nothing but knight
and two rocks. This the gentleman,
ashamed and displeased, would not
allow, which the curate perceiving. ran
to the bells, which he began to ring.
The peasants, hearing the alarm ran
toward him in crowds and wanted to
know what was the matter. Said the
curate to them, Il want YOU to see and
bear witness that | have given him
checkmate in the middle of the board
with a knight and two rooksI' The
clowns began to laugh, saying. Master
curate, you make us lose our time"
and went away. This the curate re-
peated so often that the peasants at last
paid no attention to the ringing of the
alarm bell. At length the curate's
house took fire and the peasants, hear
ing the bell, said one to another, THE
curate is again playing chess; let him
ring; he had better mind his prayers.
And so the house burned down. The
next day the peasants apologized, say
ing, I've thought YOU were playing at
chess to which the curate answered,
Il was playing at chess with the fire,
which has given me checkmate and
ruined me.
From this incident, doubtless, arose
the common proverb, mon e tempo da
giuocar a scacchi quando la casa
brussia;" or in English, 1T is a time to
leave off chess when mans house is
on fire."
The former proverb must have had
its origin in the exclamation of the de-
feated friend of the curate: Explain
the secret of mating in the middle of
the board with only knight and two
rocks, and as for me, l give my word
before God not to tell what your Wor-
ship shall show me, not even to king,
knight or rocks"
1t is strange that this anecdOte, with
a curious problem involved, should have
been criticised in all languages and yet
stood the test of centuries before any
one thought of the simple and COM
nonsense plan of utilizing the chess
board and finding out how to checkmate
the black king in the middle of the
board with only a knight and two
rocks. 1t is a pretty little problem. the
solution of which does much toward
explaining the exuberant spirit of the
victorious curate. CheSSna1a, in N. y.
Telegram.