Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-11-22
A GAME THAT. WAS LOST.

/ and i .cping. but no one could ever in
| vent way Tor him to be in all his pal
aces Al once, which greatly troubled the
( King Indeed he could only manage to
occupy one small seat in one corner Of
I one room of one palace, and that alwayS
| troubled the king And he had nine
palaces for games, for King Fohi was "A
/ great gamester, and nobody had ever
/ beaten him at n game of chess, or of
/ cheC kerS, or ot backgammon. or cards,
! for if they had heaten him their heads
would have been cut off, aS a warning to
/ all gamesters. Now there was one game
/ that the king loved above all others, and
/ in playing which he spent ten hours every
day. of eleven months in every year, all
/ the rest of his spare time the great King
spent in uling his empire, when not
/ sleeping or eating. This game in which
| the King So dearly enjoyed himself was
ninem men 'S-morris. His Prime Minister
kept careful tally of all the games
! Fohi played, and the great Chamberlain
/ provided the states on which he played
them. After each game the King broke
/ the slate over the ChambCrlaiu's head.
and shouted for another. need not tell
/ you that this officer looked out to provide
very thin states But the broken pieces
made a hill 50 high that the boys slid
down it in winter and enjoyed themselves
! almost aS well rs the King himself
All this was very natural, as you see,
/ for kings and boys like to enjoy them
! selves. But now came the most wonder
! full thing that has ever been heard of:
/ not only in Fohi : kingdom, but in all the
nine kingdoms that surround the north
/ pole. King FOhi awOke one morning and
/ called for his chocolate and a slate. The
cook and the Chamberlain flew to obey
| The Prime Minister in full Dress read of
! the mighty record of the royal prOweSs,
and with his trumpet thrust out Of the
royal windows. challenged all the kings
of this world. and of all the worlds, to
match the King at ninemen'S morris
Then the High Steward, and the great
Sword Bearer, and the Chief of the
( Dancers, and the three Princes of Bric-a-
brac and the Chief Judge of States. all
bowed nine times toward the Great
! King; and each in turn handed him one
! piece for his game. And the King. sit
! ting on great throne was ready TO play
forgot to tell you that il was the duty
of his 335 wives, each one for a single day
Of eleven months, to play with the King.
On this day the most beautiful Of them
all approached as his antagonist. Lovely
as the moon in bank of white clouds, in
harvest days, was Laura. All eyes were
upon her rs she entered. All breathing
was stopped. All hearts ceased beating
Even the King himself for one moment
! forgot his game, and opened his mouth.
till II was exactly round, and his big
eyes were exactly round. and just the size
of a silver dollar. That was the fatal
moment. When the King had shut his
mouth, and turned To his slate. he could
not remember the game In vain he
tried, and tried again. Nine-men' s-mnr-
ris was a lost game. He ordered the
Prime Minister to show him. but the
Prime Minister had forgotten like the
King And he cut of the Prime Minister'S
head; then he ordered the Chamberlain.
and the Chief Judge of States and the
Great Fan Bearer and all the historians
of the palace; but rot one could remem-
Der even hint of the game. On this all
important matter every memory was
suddenly blank. The Chief of the Fire
Blowers suggested fe, ii, 70, fun. but he
lost his head like the rest Laura seeing
that her turn would soon come like the
rest, said, 80 FOhil Let the l2O white
dogs, and the 120 holy reindeer. and the
l2O sacred foxes be at once dispatched
into all the circles that surround the
pole, and let inquiry be made every
where, if anywhere there he one who
can come 10 the palace and restore the
lost game.
Then the King ordered, and the rein
deer, and the foxes flew. each one down
separate line Of longitude, and for
thirty days the drivers of the white dogs
made proclamatiOn: "HO, all the subjects
OF the superb and puisS8nt Lord FOhi.
Proclamation is made that whoever can
restore the lost game of nine men 's-mOr-
riS shall be made Lord Chamberlain of
the Kingdom, and shall be Lord of the
Pole, and shall have the states of the
great King broken over his head" And
the drivers of the holy reindeer. all of
whom were high priests proclaimed
"HO! all the subjects Of the mighty King
FOhi! Whoever will come TO the palaces
and restore the lost game of nine-men's
morris, shall have his sins forgiven for
5000 years, and, after death, shall sit in
side the inner circle near the hottest fires,
and where the biggest kettle OF whale
blubber boils, and he shall eat for 20, 900
years, and he shall sleep for 40. 600
years, and he shall never be compelled 10
work, or to go hungry, any more forever
and ever" And the drivers of the white
foxes made proclamation: ''Ho. all sub
jcCts of the most glorious Monarch Fohi.
II any one shall come to the palaces, and
restore the lost game of the nine-men's-
morris, he shall be made knight of the
Sleeve Button. and he shall be decorated
with the decoration of eleven letters-S.
X. Q p. w. z. A. NJ. o. X E-aIl of
which are bestowed only for particular
merit, as such letters are given in all
other lands, and he shall wear the royal
night cap, and shall be Chief of the
Synod of o. F.'S.
But the reindeers and the dogs and
foxes went in vain; and their drivers
cried in vain. What Laura beauty had
done In the palace, fear and amazement
had done for all the people. Every one,
in one moment, had forgotten nine mems
morris IL was, alas, a lost game. Then
the palace went. into mourning. and the
people tasted for nine days and nine
hours; and every man let his beard grow,
and every woman refrained from shop.
ping. And they sacrificed 900 white
bears, and the priests said prayers nine
hours long, for nine successive days. Bat
nothing came Of it. Had the gods too
forgotten the game. or was this judg
ment they had visited on their vOtarieS.
" HtHtN ti dilN NOIle SPOKE ul tne lOSt game
his memory became a complete muddle
The King was all this while in a terrible
fury-cutting off heads and saying pray
ers by turns. His wives hid in closets
and cupb0ards At last he began to
meddle in affairs of Government, a thing
a king ought never to do, and for which
their divine right rarely tits them He
flew everywhere. The great Seal Bearer
unlocked the books Of the great Treas
er and the King swOre that every Off
Ger in the land was rOb0er-whiCh was
Il ne, but the King made a mistake in
finding il out. Every day things went
from bad to wore; for, by cutting of
every dishonest head, there was not left q
judge, or a lOrd--nOt even an executioneI !
in the kingdom.
At last, in despair OF W SdOm. rhc few |
remaining cOurtiers went IL the Kings |
Fool, and they said: Here, now is your
chance, Discover the lost game. and |
the King shall make you Prime Minister,
and you shall preside over the Grand |
I=un JanIruIn - Tbpu the KINGS Fool |