The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1890-03-08
And II he does not take herr

"Then he will lose his own"
For moment the stranger appeared
undecided; but suddenly like lightning
his hand descended on the board.
Quietly and calmly he moved one of his
pawns square ahead. All looked sur
prised at each other, muttering: ITO
lose the Queen is losing the game!
while Suleiman Pasha, smiling triumph.
antly, removed the hostile Queen from
the board.
The onlookers, who mostly sided with
the Pasha, breathed as if they had been
relieved from heavy load. In their
opinion the game was decided, for White
could net hold out without the Queen.
Several of them were already on the
point of withdrawing, when they were
suddenly startled by the clear ringing
voice of the stranger, who called out:
Mate in twelve moves"
Suleiman Pasha's looks grew dark
the smile died on his lips. A change
had as suddenly overcast the features Of
Reshid Aga; almost beside himself, he
jumped on seat to follow the game
frcu, more elevated point, while the
spectators, barely daring to draw breath,
counted the moves as they followed
each other.
With mastery skill White now led his
force into the field, encircling the hos
tile King in powerful grasp and keep
ing him within an iron ring. At the
tenth move the Pasha tried to break
through the blockade by sacrificing his
Queen, but in vain. White declined to
accept the sacrifice, and moved his
Knight with ''Check to the King"
Eleventh move! The spectators, whose
excitement had nearly reached fever
heat, now saw that their Pasha, never
before vanquished, would be checkmated
the next move. Suleimans King was
compelled to withdraw into a corner,
and with the twelfth move, as he
had predicted, the stranger pronounced
''Checkmate!"
A murmur of admiration was heard
from the spectators, while the Pasha sat
there with bent head, as if trying to
search in his memory, when suddenly,
as if thought had flashed upon him, he
turned upon the stranger. "Once al
ready in my life," he said, Il have seen
chess played in the manner in which
thou hast played to-day. Thy mastery
moves are not unknown to me, but l was
unable to resist them. The game, how
ever, which was then played before my
eyes was a great deal more beautiful
even than to-day's. Guns of the heaviest
caliber represented the Castles, fleet
cavalry were the Knights, and in place
of the Pawns well-armed infantry
formed the vanguard. And when the
guns on the one side Numbered
their Check to the other, the
ground beneath our feet seemed to
shake, as if burning lava was thrown
from volcano. At that time we stood
opposed to an army of one hundred and
fifty thousand men, a terrible number,
which, led by the genius of single
man, threatened to crush us completely.
And this man whose genius made our
brave soldiers take to flight, and whom
it was impossible to withstand, was a
son of the cold North. 1t was only to
the recklessness of Hafiz Pasha, the
Turkish commander-in-chief,w who envied
the youthful genius his brilliant sue
cess, and who, though fully warned,
wildly pursued the Egyptians, that we
owed the victory of Nisib, which other
wise we never should have gained"
The Pasha stopped, and casting
long and penetrating look on his adver-
sary suddenly, cried out enthusiastic
ally: Stranger, thy incompatible play
of to-day recalls to my memory afresh
the game of chess at Nisib and its skill
full player. Only one man can play like
that, and that man is-Colonel Moltke!"
Thou hast hit il, Pasha," the stran-
ger calmly replied. my name is
Moltke."
This indeed was Count Won Moltke-
alive still, and with the reputation of
the greatest soldier in Europe. While
young man he went to the East, and
was in the service of Sultan Mahmoud
from 1885 to 1889. He was present at
the battle of Nisib, when, as above
said, the Turkish commander-in-chief,
Jealous of the great abilities of the
young soldier, refused to follow Moltke's
advice, and SO lost the battle.-Cham-
ber's journal.