men who were carrying him through the Park, squeezed a great fellow against the wall, who wisely turned his back, and broke one of the side-glasses into a thousand pieces. The Dean began scolding, pretending he was nearly cut to pieces, and made the chairmen set down the chair while they picked out the bits of the glass; and when he paid them, he still appeared to quarrel, so that they dared not grumble; and he came off for his fare, but plaguy afraid, as he tells his correspondent, lest they should have said, "God bless your honour, won't you give us something for our glass?" The Dean must have been highly pleased thus to have been able to gratify, at one time, his love both of fun and money.

Emerging from the Park, I strolled past the venerable Hall, and more venerable Abbey, not without offering due homage to the Genius loci. But the recollections of these scenes are too numerous and splendid to require the aid of my humble pen: I therefore passed on my way, and took boat at the Whitehall stairs. What burthens of royalty and beauty, and wisdom and wit, noble river! hast thou borne on thy bosom! Who shall forget the magnificent description which the great northern enchanter has given us, of the princely company which floated upon thy waters when Elizabeth and her court were borne along thy waves? But never did the Thames exhibit a more imposing spectacle, than when the seven bishops were borne on its tide to the Tower, while upon its banks thousands upon thousands encouraged their persecuted pastors with acclamations, or accompanied their course with fervent prayers. Nor is the river devoid of lighter associations; and amongst these, the visit of Sir Roger de Coverley to Vauxhall, or, as it was then called,. Spring Garden, must not be forgotten. I have been very anxious to discover the exact spot in which the Dean of St. Patrick used to perform the ceremony of ablution, but I have hitherto been unsuccessful. The account he gives of his bathing in the Thames after walking home, when he was so miserably hot that he was in "as perfect a passion as ever he was in his life at the greatest affront or provocation," is highly diverting. "I was every moment," says he, "disturbed by boats-rot them; and that puppy Patrick standing ashore would let them come within a yard or two, and then call sneakingly to them: the only comfort I proposed here in hot weather is gone, for there is no joking with these boats after 'tis dark. I had none last night: I dived to dip my head, and held my cap on with both my hands for fear of losing it." Notwithstanding this instance of his negligence, I have always had the highest esteem for Patrick, the Dean's servant; and, indeed, I purpose, should my avocations permit, to compose a little essay on his "character and genius."

66

a street

I have hitherto traced but a few of the many interesting literary and historical recollections with which the metropolis abounds. The city is richly stored with them; and I have not yet perambulated they call Southwark," as one of Mackenzie's rustic heroes expresses himself. But while the relics of antiquity afford no mean amusement, the living excellence which London can boast ought not to be forgotten. It is the variety of its learned, accomplished, and cultivated society, which, after all, is its chief charm, and which renders a residence even in the heart of this murky mass of brick, preferable to a seclusion in the most romantic solitude. "The happiness of London," says John

son, "is not to be conceived but by those who have been in it. I will venture to say there is more learning and science within the circumference of ten miles from where we now sit, than in all the rest of the kingdom." For my own part, I must confess I rather agree with Pope's fair correspondent, than with the poet himself; "You sigh out," says he," in the ardour of your heart-Oh! playhouses, parks, operas, assemblies, London! I cry with rapture-Oh! woods, gardens, rookeries, fishponds, arbours!" R*.

PARTED LOVE.

"Thou wert too like a dream of heaven
For earthly love to merit thee."

WE parted, and we knew it was for ever

We knew it, yet we parted: then each thought

And inmost feeling of our souls, which never

Had else been breath'd in words, rush'd forth and sought
Their sweet home in each other's hearts, and there

They lived and grew 'mid sadness and despair.

It was not with the bonds of common love

Our hearts were knit together; they had been
Silent companions in those griefs which move
And purify the soul, and we had seen

Each other's strength and truth of mind, and hence
We loved with passion's holiest confidence.

And virtue was the great bond that united
Our guileless hopes in love's simplicity;
And in those higher aims we meekly slighted
The shallow feelings and weak vanity
Which the world calls affection, for our eyes
Had not been caught with smiles, our hearts with sighs.
We parted (as our hearts had loved) in duty

To Heaven and virtue, and we both resign'd
Our cherish'd trust-I all her worth and beauty,
And she th' untold devotion of my mind.
We parted in mute anguish, but we bent
Lowly to Him whose love is chastisement.
It was, perchance, her spirit had been goaded
With suffering past its bearing-that her frail
But patient heart had been so deeply loaded

With sorrow that its chords were forced to fail:
Sever'd by more than distance, I was told
Her heart amid its troubles had grown cold.

She rests in Heaven, and I-I could not follow :
My soul was crush'd, not broken: and I live
To think of all her love; and feel how hollow
Are the sick gladnesses the world can give.
I live in faith and holy calm to prove
My heart was not unworthy of such love.

R.

ON THE GAME OF CHESS IN EUROPE DURING THE

THIRTEENTH CENTURY.*

THE names of the Chess-men during this early period, were the Rey, Reyne, Fers or Ferce, Alfyn or Auphin, Chivalier, Roc or Rok, and Poun, answering to our King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook and Pawn these pieces are mentioned in the poem of La Vieille (a MS. in the Royal Library at Paris, quoted in a Memoir on Chess drawn up by M. Freret in 1729):—

:

En deux parts veoir y pourrés

Rey, Roc, Cheualier et Auphin
Fierge et Peon.

The barons and their rich feudatories spared no expense in having them composed of the most rare and costly materials: thus we read of one set made of jasper and crystalt; of another set formed of precious. stones and gold; of a third set of Chess-men whose Reys, Ferces, Chivaliers, Rocs, and Alfyns, were carved from or molu, sapphires, and topazes, and their Pouns from emeralds and rubies.§ In the romance of " Alisaundre," there is a description of a splendid set of Chess-men, which are stated to be the workmanship of pilgrims:

The Ches of saphires ware y-wys,

And of topaze that richest is:
Pilgrimes thame maid with slicht,
They ware full fare to se with sicht.

Weber's Met. Rom. l. 1, p. lxxxi.

The Chess-men generally used were of ivory]] of various colours, either red and black, white and black, or red and green. The Chessboards (eschequier) were no less splendid: those played on by the nobility were inlaid sometimes with jasper and crystal, and the rim of the board of fine gold; sometimes with silver and gold¶, and some

Continued from vol. iv. page 502.

"Item unum scacarium de jaspide et chalsidonio, cum familia, videlicet una. parte de jaspide, et alia parte de cristallo."-Le Roman de Parise la Duchesse. MS. "Ubi pro Reverentia B. Martyris plurima reliquit insignia, scilicet_scachos crystallinos, et lapides pretiosos, et auri plurimum."-Hist. Translat. S. Stremonii in actis SS. Benedictin. Sæculo 3.

§ Li Eschequier est tiel, onques miendre ne fu:
Les lices sont d'or fin à trifoire fondu;

Li paon d'esmeraudes vertes com prè herbu,
Li autres de rubis vermaus com ardant fu;
Roy, fierce, cheualier, auffin, roc et cornu,
Furent fet de saphir, et si ot or molu;
Li autre de topace, o toute lor vertu :
Moult sont bel à veoir drecie et espandu.

Ex Poem. Alex. MS. part 2.

In the account of the wardrobe of Edward I. published by the Society of Antiquaries, are the following items:

Una familia pro scaccario de jaspide et cristallo, in uno coffro.

Una familia de Ebore pro ludendo ad scaccarium.

In the romance of St. Graal are these words :-" Puis voit l'Eschiquier et les Eschets assis au Tablier d'or, les vns d'yvoire, les autres d'or."

¶ "A vn Scacchier d'or et d'argent jue o suen cheualier."-Roman de la guerre de Troye. MS.

times with emeralds and rubies.* The tinctures of the squares on those boards that were most frequently used, were white and yellow, white and red, and white and black; it is needless to add (after the perusal of the preceding Romances) that these Chess-boards were composed of exceedingly massive materials. I will now describe the powers of the various pieces :

§ I. The Rey.

The common Oriental name given to this piece was a Shah, equivalent to our European word Rey or King; and it is from this piece that the game derives its name. The original movement of the Rey appears to have been extremely confined, he being incapacitated from moving, except driven to `the necessity of extricating himself from an adverse Check: this may in some measure be accounted for by reflecting, that as the value of the Rey at this game is beyond calculation (since the instant he is mated the contest is decided), they were therefore the less willing to risk his person in the field. About the commencement of the thirteenth century the Rey had the move of our present King, with a restriction, that he could neither move nor take angularly, but always directly, and the reason of this prohibition (from the taste that predominated in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries of moralizing almost every subject) seems to have been, that the King ought to take every thing justly. This restriction, however, in a very short period was taken away, and the Rey had the power of moving and taking as well angularly as directly; but his range of action never extended beyond one square.

* In the romance of "Alisaundre" mentioned before, is the following description of a superb chess-board:

The leifis of gold war fare and fyne,

Subtyll wrought with ane engyne,

The poynts of emeraudis schynand schyre,
And of rubies brenand as fyre.

↑ An ancient Hebrew treatise on the game entitled "Delicia Regis," expressly states that,

i. e. The King is first in excellence and dignity, and in the Persian language is called Shah; and from his name this game for the sake of excellence and dignity is called Shah.

Our ancestors were constantly representing the game of Chess as a picture of human life: the Morality of Pope Innocent thus commences,-" Mundus iste totus est quasi quoddam scaccarium, cujus punctus unus est albus, alius niger, propter duplicem statum vitæ et mortis, gratiæ et culpæ. Familia hujus scaccarii sunt homines hujus mundi, qui omnes de uno sarculo extrahuntur et in diversis hujus mundi collocantur; et singuli habent diversa nomina-unus dicitur Rex, alter Regina, 3 Rochus, 4 Miles, 5 Alphinus, 6 Pedinus. Istius autem ludi conditio talis est, ut unus alios capiat; et cùm ludum compleverunt, sicut de uno sarculo exierunt, sic in uno loco iterum reponuntur," &c.-MS. Sloan. 4029, among a variety of tales, has likewise a Morality on Chess, which begins in these words ;-" Scaccarium habet octo puncta in omni parte; sic in ludo mundi sunt octo genera hominum, Wyldhede, Wykkydhede, Clerici, Laici, Divites et Pauperes," &c. It then proceeds to describe the moves of the Chess-men.

The move of the Rey is thus given in various MSS.-In MS. Bibl. Reg. 12 E xxi.

SII. The Ferce.

The name of this piece is alone sufficient to confirm the idea of Chess being of Eastern origin, Fers, Ferce, Fierce or Fierge, (as it is variously spelt in Manuscripts) is derived from the Persian Pherz, which signifies a wise and learned man capable of giving counsel to the Shah: Dr. Hyde also remarks that "Cum Hieremiam Sacerdotem Græcum Scachos mihi recitantem percontarer, qualis esset Pherz, ille respondebat, 'Erioxoros rov Baathews, Commissionarius regis, Procurator ejus, et Negotiorum ipsius Curator," and immediately subjoins that "ejusmodi Viros prudentiâ et sapientiâ insignes secum habere solebant Persarum reges, quibus res suas gerendas credebant." On the introduction of Chess into Europe, this word Ferce was by an Ante retroq' ferit hostes et sterner' quærit,

Si s'uat legem i' (ideo) no' debet tangere regem; 1
Cum quis insidias regi p' verba minatur
Rex illi cedat ne devictus adeatur ;

Na' dum Scak' dicunt regi si cede' nescit
Mox captinus erit et sic crimen sibi crescit
Deuicto rege pariter socii sup'antur

Cetera turba iacet nec habet qo rege rega'te.

"In isto ludo rex vadit circu'quaq' directe et capit vndiq' semp' directe in signumq' rex o'ia iuste capit' et in nullo omissa iusticia o'ibus exhibe'da o'bliq'r' (obliquare) debet; sed modò quicquid rex agit iusticia reputat' : quia qu'q' p'ncipi placet iuris habet vigorem."-Moralitas Innocentii Papæ.

A Latin Poem on this game among the MSS. in the Bodleian Library, confirms the belief of the passive power of the Rey unless driven from his square by an adverse check.

Contra ipsum non audebit, nisi Scachum dicere.
Si clametur Regi Scachum. vel ab uno pedite.
Declinare statim debet. proximam ad tabulam.
Si non habet ubi pergat. Scacha-mattum audiat.

Aben Ezra in his Hebrew Poem on Chess, speaking of the Rey, says also,

to which I subjoin Dr. Hyde's version,

Et cantus est (Rex) tempore sedendi et exeundi

Ad præliandum, et quoque in loco castrametationis suæ ;
Ut, si inimicus cum terrore ascenderit contra illum,
Eumque increpuerit, tum poterit fugere è loco suo.

Rabbi Aben Jachia, in his elegant pin

Oratio super Scac

chum likewise recommends the Rey to remain inactive during the contest.

Rex quidem incedendo à domo in domum in dominio suo unicam legem habet, ut tam obliquè quam rectè in cursu suo, faciat omnia quæ lubet. At non debet exaltari cor ejus ad dilatandum gressus suos in bello, ne forte in bello moriatur." But the "Delicia Regis" is still more explicit, and expressly states that the Rey is not to move from his square unless compelled by necessity; the words of the original are :