"Sire," said the old man, " you promised to fulfil any request that might be made by the man who was able to interest your Majesty in some new occupation. Does that promise still hold good?"" It does," replied the King. "I will do anything for the man who can save me from weariness.""Well," continued the old man, arranging the ivory figures carefully upon the board in two pairs of rows facing each other, " here is a new kind of warfare for your Majesty,a w a r fare in which no blood will be shed, no towns burned, no children orphaned, but which will give you plenty of excitement and tax all your powers of strategy if you are to win."Already the King was interested; and, as the old man showed how the warfare of the ivory figures was waged on the battle-ground of the chequered board, the King grew excited and his weariness fled.
"This white king is your Majesty," said the old man; " and, if you are to win the battle, you must keep a clean mind, for it is by skill and not by force that success comes in this war."Then the old man showed how the different figures were to move on the board, some going across in either direction and others moving diagonally, while the figures of warriors on horseback moved a little across and then diagonally. Some moved over many squares at one time and others over one square only.
For weeks and weeks the King studied this new kind of warfare, in which no one was slain, and after a time he felt he had made himself a master of it, and he called the game "the King," or " Chess," which means the same thing.
Then the wise man asked for his reward.
"What shall I give you?" questioned the monarch. "Askme anything you like, and you shall receive it, to the half ofmy kingdom."
"I want neither gold nor jewels," said the old man. "All I ask is that your Majesty shall give me one grain of corn for the first square on the chess-board, double that for the second square, double that again for the third, and so on- that is, I am to have one, two, four, eight, sixteen, and so on up to the sixty-fourth square; simply that, and nothing more.""Of course you can have that," replied the King; "but it is nothing for what you have done. Let me add a hundred lacs of rupees?""No, your Majesty," said the old man, modestly; "I am grateful for your generosity, but give me only the corn that I ask for and I shall be content.""Very well," replied the King; and, calling his treasurer, he told him to count up the number of grains.
"I must ask your Majesty to send them to me," added the wise man; and to this the King agreed, although he could not understand, he said, why the old man could not take so small a reward with him.
The treasurer went away, but after an hour or two he returned in the greatest consternation.
"Have you sent the old man his reward?" asked King Kaid.
"No, your Majesty," replied the treasurer; "it is im-possible. He has asked for more than the value of your kingdom.""What do you mean?" demanded the King severely, looking greatly astonished.
"Why, your Majesty, to give one grain for the first square, two for the second, four for the third, and so on to the sixty-fourth, means that he is to have 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 grains. Not a thousandth part of this corn exists in the world, for its value at two shillingsa bushel is ￡3,385,966,239,667."
The King could not believe his treasurer until the sum was worked out in his presence, and then the King, too, was in dismay. At this moment the wise man appeared to ask again for his reward. The King, in great alarm, asked him if he realized what his request meant.
"But," said the old man, " your Majesty has solemnly promised to give me what I asked, even to the half of your kingdom."The King was silent. Then, after a few moments, the wise man said:
"King, I crave no reward for having taught your Majesty that there are other things of interest in life beside slaughter and fire; and, if I have made the greatest of monarchs realize that even he cannot fulfil every rash promise, made without thought and in pride of heart, then I shall have beenrewarded for inventing a game that men of all ages and countries may yet come to delight in."And the wise man was right, for chess, which was thus invented, has indeed come to be the game of games.
From My Magazine
Author.-Unknown. Arthur Mee"s My Magazine was a delightful journal for children. For many years it appeared every month, published in England.
General Notes.-There are two main features in this story. Itprofesses to give the origin of the game of chess, and then it draws our attention to a curious fact in numbers. Where chess was really born no one knows, perhaps in China, perhaps in India, perhaps in Persia, perhaps in Egypt. What other game is played on a chessboard? Pronounce Kaid kah-eed.
Lesson 29
RAIN
It isn"t raining rain to me, It"s raining daffodils;In every dimpled drop I see
Wild flowers on the hills.
The clouds of grey engulf the day And overwhelm the town-It isn"t raining rain to me, It"s raining roses down.
It isn"t raining rain to me, But fields of clover bloomWhere any buccaneering bee
May find a bed and room.
A health unto the happy,
A fig for him who frets- It isn"t raining rain to me,It"s raining violets.
- Robert Loveman
Author.-Robert Loveman an American poet, born in Cleveland,Ohio, in 1864. "Rain" is his best-known poem.
General Notes.-At what time of the year do you think this poem was written? Why can it be called a poem of hope? Shelley puts the same thought into a single line : " If winter comes, can spring be far behind?" Write out the poem and draw borders above and below to illustrate the central thought.
Lesson 30
THE HERO OF THE FLOODED mINE
At Bonnievale, a town near Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia, there is a deep gold-mine, which is hard to keep free from water. It may not be easy for you to imagine that there is much water at a great depth below the surface of the earth; but, in the case of many mines, it is necessary to keep pumping out the water all the time, day and night.