Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

should then be as willing to allow them to the other.

Thirdly, no false move should ever be made to extricate yourself out of difficulty, or to gain an advantage. There can be no pleasure in playing with a person once detected in such unfair tice.

prac

Fourthly, if your adversary is long in playing, you ought not to hurry him, or express any uneasiness at his delay. You should not sing, nor whistle, nor look at your watch, nor take up a book to read, nor make a tapping with your feet on the floor, or with your fingers on the table, nor do any thing that may disturb his attention. For all these things displease; and they do not show your skill in playing, but your craftiness or your rudeness.

Fifthly, you ought not to endeavor to amuse and deceive your adversary, by pretending to have made bad moves, and saying, that you have now lost the game, in order to make him secure and careless, and inattentive to your schemes: for this is fraud and deceit, not skill in the game.

Sixthly, you must not, when you have gained a victory, use any triumphing or insulting expression, nor show too much pleasure; but endeavor to console your adversary, and make him less dissatisfied with himself, by every kind of civil expression that may be used with truth, such as, "you understand the game better than I, but yo

[ocr errors]

are a little inattentive;" or, you play too fast; or, "you had the best of the game, but something happened to divert your thoughts, and that turned it in my favor."

Seventhly, if you are a spectator while others play, observe the most perfect silence. For if you give advice, you offend both parties, him against whom you give it, because it may cause the loss of his game, him in whose favor you give it, because, though it be good and he follows it, he loses the pleasure he might have had, if you had permitted him to think until it had occurred to himself. Even after a move or moves, you must not, by replacing the pieces, show how it might have been placed better; for that displeases, and may occasion disputes and doubts about their true situation. All talking to the players lessens or diverts their attention, and is therefore unpleasing. Nor should you give the least hint to either party, by any kind of noise or motion. If you do, you are unworthy to be a spectator. If you have a mind to exercise or show your judgment, do it in playing your own game, when you have an opportunity, not in criticising, or meddling with, or counselling the play of others.

Lastly, if the game is not to be played rigorously, according to the rules above mentioned, then moderate your desire of victory over your adversary, and be pleased with one over yourself. Snatch not eagerly at every advantage offered by

his unskilfulness or inattention; but point out to him kindly, that by such a move he places or leaves a piece in danger and unsupported; that by another he will put his king in a perilous situation, &c. By this generous civility (so opposite to the unfairness above forbidden) you may, indeed, happen to lose the game to your opponent, but you will win what is better, his esteem, his respect, and his affection, together with the silent approbation and good-will of impartial spectators.

CONTE.

IL y avoit un officier, homme de bien, appelé Montresor, qui étoit très malade: son curé, croyant qu'il alloit mourir, lui conseilla de faire sa paix avec Dieu, afin d'être reçu en Paradis. "Je n'ai pas beaucoup d'inquiétude à ce sujet," dit Montresor, car j'ai eu, la nuit dernière, une vision qui m'a tout-à-fait tranquillisé.” Quelle vision avez

66

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

vous eue?" dit le bon prêtre. J'étois," répondit Montresor, "à la porte du Paradis, avec une foule de gens qui vouloient entrer. Et St. Pierre demandoit à chacun, de quelle religion il étoit? L'un répondoit, Je suis Catholique Romain. Hé bien, disoit St. Pierre, entrez, et prenez votre place là parmi les Catholiques. Un autre dit, qu'il étoit de l'église Anglicane. Hé bien, dit St. Pierre, entrez,

et placez-vous là parmi les Anglicans. Un autre dit qu'il étoit Quaker. Entrez, dit St. Pierre, et prenez place parmi les Quakers. Enfin, mon tour étant arrivé, il me demanda de quelle religion j'étois? Hélas! répondis-je, malheureusement le pauvre Jacques Montresor n'en a point. C'est dommage, dit le Saint, je ne sais où vous placer; mais entrez, toujours; vous vous mettrez où vous pourrez.

[Translation.]

A TALE.

AN officer named Montresor, a worthy man, was very ill. The curate of his parish, thinking him likely to die, advised him to make his peace with God, that he might be received into Paradise. "I have not much uneasiness on the subject," said Montresor, "for I had a vision last night which has perfectly tranquillised my mind."—"What vision have you had ?” said the good priest. "I was," replied Montresor, " at the gate of Paradise, with a crowd of people who wished to enter, and St. Peter inquired of every one what religion he was of? One an swered, I am a Roman Catholic ;-Well, said St. Peter, enter and take your place there among the Catholics. Another said he was of the Church of England ;-Well, said the Saint, enter and place yourself there among the Anglicans. A third said he was a Quaker;-Enter, said St. Peter, and take your place among the Quakers. At length, my turn being come, he asked me of what religion I was? Alas! said I, poor Jacques Montresor has none. 'Tis pity, said the Saint; I know not where to place you, but enter nevertheless, and place yourself where you

can."

AN ARABIAN TALE.

ALBUMAZAR, the good magician, retired in his old age to the top of the lofty mountain Calabut; avoided the society of men, but was visited nightly by genii and spirits of the first rank, who loved him, and amused him with their instructive conversation.

Belubel the strong came one evening to see Albumazar; his height was seven leagues, and his wings when spread might overshadow a kingdom. He laid himself gently down between the long ridges of Elulem: the tops of the trees in the valley were his couch; his head rested on Calabut as on a pillow, and his face shone on the tent of Albu

mazar.

The magician spoke to him with rapturous piety of the wisdom and goodness of the Most High; but expressed his wonder at the existence of evil in the world, which he said he could not account for by all the efforts of his reason.

Value not thyself, my friend, said Belubel, on that quality which thou callest reason. If thou knewest its origin and its weakness, it would rather be matter of humiliation.

Tell me then, said Albumazar, what I do not know; inform my ignorance, and enlighten my understanding. Contemplate, said Albumazar, the scale of beings from an elephant down to an oyster. Thou seest a gradual diminution of faculties and

« ZurückWeiter »