Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-04-12

touch increased my rage. snatched a
them, only to find that there was nothing
there
D your 1 cried. 'Funichon, you olt
fool, do you think that you can trighten mel
You see those chessmen; they are mine
bought and paid Tor with my money-yoI
dare to try and prevent me doing with then
exactly as please
Again the touch against nv throat.
made my rage the more. AS live. I will
smash them all 10 pieces, and grind them Il
powder beneath my heel
Ny passion was Observation-Disclosures even
! But then the circumstances were exasperat
ing-unusually so, one might plead. wa.
standing three or four feet from the table.
dashed forward. As 1 did so a hand wa.
fastened on my throat. Instantly it wa.
Joined by another. They gripped me
tightly. They maddened me. With q mad.
mans fury still pressed forward. might
as well have fought with fate. They clutched
me as with bands of steel, and flung me to
the ground.
When recovered consciousness found
st: Servan bending over me.
What is thevmatter?' inquired, when I
found that was lying on the floor.
i think you must have tainted
Painted! I never did such a thing in my
faint, I think
1T was a curious kind of faint
With his assistance l staggered to my
feet. I felt bewildered. glanced round.
There were the chessmen still upon the
board, the hanging lamp above. tried to
speak. I seemed to have lost the use of my
tongue. In silence he helped me to the
door; half led, half carried me-for seemed
to have lost the use of my feet as well as
that of my tongue-to my bedroom. He
even assisted me to undress, never leaving
me till was between the sheets. All the
time not word was spoken. When he went
believe he took the key outside and locked
the door.
That was a night of dreams. 1 know not
if was awake or sleeping, but all sorts of
mental eye. 1 could not shut them from
my sight. One figure was prominent in all
1 saw-the figure of man. 1 knew,
or thought 1 knew, that it was NJ.
Funlchon. He was lean old
man, and what noticed chiefly were his
hands. Such ugly hands! In some fam
tastical way l seemed to be contending with
them all through the night.
And yet in the morning when woke-for
did wake up, and that from as sweet re-
freshing sleep as one might wish to have-it
was all gone. 1t was bright day. The sun
was shining into the great, ill-furnished
room. As I got out of bed and began to
dress, the humorous side of the thing had
returned to me again. The idea OF there
being anything supernatural about set of
ivory chessmen appeared to me to be eX-
tremely iunny.
1 found St. Servan had gone out. 1t was
actually 10:30l His table d'hote at the
nfE1 n 90 ,,,l l.. L.
breakfasted be always took petit verre at
the club. II he had locked the door over
night he had not forgotten to unlock it be-
fore he started. went into the rambling,
barn-like room which served us
for a salon. The chessmen had dis
appeared. Probably St. Servan had put
them away-I wondered if the ghost had in
teriered with him. I laughed to myself as I
went out-tsncy st. Servan contending with
a ghost.
The proprietor of the Hotel de Bretagne
is Legitimist, SO all the aristocrats go there
of course, st. Servan with the rest. Pre-
sumably the landlords politics is the point
to his cooking they are apparently indiffer-
ent-1 never knew a worse table iu nv lifel
The landlord of the Hotel de l'Europe NAV
be a Communist for all 1 care--his cooking
is frst-rate, SO I go there. 1 went there
that morning. After had DTeakfasted 1
strolled off toward the Grand Rue, to NJ.
Bobineau.
When he saw me M. Bobineau was all
smirks and smilesAhe must have got those
chessmen for less than 25 francs I asked
him if he had any more of the belongings
OF NJ. Funichon.
But certainly! Three other sets of chess
men,
didn't want to look at those, apparently
one set was quite enough for me. Was that
all he had?
But no! There was an ancient bureau,
very magnificent, carved
I thanked him-nor did want to look at
that. In the Grande Rue at Morlaix old
bureaus carved about the beginning of the
b teenth century-if you listen to the
yendors-are as plentiful as cobble-stones.
But L have all sorts of things of M.
Funichon. 1twas 1 who bought them nearly
all. Books. papers and -
NJ. Bobineau waved his hands toward a
multitude of books and papers which
crowded the shelves at the side of his shop.
[ took a volume down. When opened it
found it was in manuscript.
That work is uniquer explained Robiueau.
1t was the intention OF NJ. Fuuichon to give
it to the world, but he died before his
purpose was complete. 1t is the record of
all the games of chess he ever plaved-in
80 volumes. Monsieur will perceive it is
unique
1 should think it was uniqueI In so
volumes! The one held was a large
luarto, bound in leather, containing some
500 or 700 pages, and was filled from cover
TO cover with matter in fine, clear hand
writing, written on both sides of the
page. pictured the face of the publisher
TO whom it was suggested that he should
give to the world such work as that
l opened the volume at the first page. It
was. as Bobineau said, apparently the rec
'rd, with comments, OF an interminable
series of games of chess. 1 glanced at the
initial game. Here are the opening moves,
lust as they were given there:
WHITE
Queens Knights Pawn, one square.
Kings Knights Pawn, one square.
Queens Rocks Pawn, two squares.
Kings Rocks Pawn two squares.
BLACK.
Queens Knights Pawn. one square.
Kings Knights Pawn one square.
Queens Rocks Pawn, two squares
Kings Rocks Dawn, two squares.
They were exactly the moves of the night
before. They were such peculiar moves,
ana made under such peculiar circum-
stances. that 1 was scarcely likly to mistake
hem. So far as we had gone, St. Servan
and l, assisted by the unseen hand, had re-
produced M. Funichon's initial game in the
first volume of his 50-and very peculiar |
game it seemed to be. 1 asked Bobineau
what he would take for the volume which 1 |
held.
Monsieur perceives that 10 part
hem would spoil the set, |
which is unique. Monsieur shall have the |
whole SOL shuddered. I imagine Bobi- |
neau saw l did, he spoke so very quickly
Tor 5-franc piece. which is less than tine |
value oi the paper and the binding
l knew then that he had probably been |
paid Tor carting the rubbish away. How