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Lt. Colonel R. N. Woodsend of the Royal Medical Corps described the scene: “It was a pathetic sight; the little fellow, carried by his keeper, lay moaning in pain, the man crying his eyes out in sympathy, ‘You must do something for him, he saved my life in Egypt. He nursed me through dysentery’. The baboon was badly wounded, the left leg hanging with shreds of muscle, another jagged wound in the right arm. We decided to give the patient chloroform and dress his wounds…It was a simple matter to amputate the leg with scissors and I cleaned the wounds and dressed them as well as I could. He came around as quickly as he went under. The problem then was what to do with him. This was soon settled by his keeper: ‘He is on army strength’. So, duly labelled, number, name, ATS injection, nature of injuries, etc. he was taken to the road and sent by a passing ambulance to the Casualty Clearing Station”.
No one was quite sure that the chloroform used for the operation, wouldn’t kill him. When the officer commanding the regiment went to the aid station to check on him Jackie sat up in bed, and saluted.
As the “War to End All Wars” drew to a close, Jackie was promoted to the rank of Corporal and given a medal, for bravery. He may be the only monkey in history, ever to be so honored.
The war ended that November. Jackie and Albert were shipped to England and soon became, media celebrities. The two were hugely successful raising money for the widows and orphans fund, where members of the public could shake Jackie’s hand for half a crown. A kiss on the baboon’s cheek, would cost you five shillings.
On his arm he wore a gold wound stripe and three blue service chevrons, one for each of his three years’ front line service.
Jackie was the center of attention on arriving home to South Africa when a parade was held, officially welcoming the Regiment home. On July 31, 1920, Jackie received the Pretoria Citizen’s Service Medal, at the Peace Parade in Church Square, Pretoria.
All thing must come to an end. The Marr family farm burned to the ground in May 1921. Jackie died in the fire. Albert Marr lived to the age of 84 and passed away, in 1973. There wasn’t a day in-between when the man didn’t miss his little battle buddy Jackie, the baboon who went to war.
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🔯 Nelson Mandela:
Early Life:
Nelson Mandela was a civil rights leader, who fought against apartheid, or racial discrimination against blacks, in South Africa.
Mandela was born on July 18 in South Africa in 1918. His name was Rolihlahla which meant trouble maker. When Mandela was nine years old, he was adopted by his father’s friend. A teacher gave him the name Nelson when he was a child. Mandela studied law and opened South Africa’s first black law firm.
Political Career:
Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) to fight against apartheid. At first, he wanted the ANC to follow Mohandas Gandhi’s non violent protest methods.
After the ANC was banned in 1960, he led a secret army called ‘Spear of the Nation.’ He traveled to other countries to ask for help. Later, he began to doubt the effectiveness of Gandhi’s methods. He wanted to bomb some buildings, but not hurt anyone. The government called him a terrorist and jailed him, in 1962. He spent 27 years in prison. There was an international campaign for his release. Other countries stopped trading and playing sports with South Africa.
Finally, Mandela was released from prison in 1990. His work paid off when all races were allowed to vote in the 1994 election for the first time. He won the election and became the first black President of South Africa. He retired in 1999. He died on 5 December 2013, after a lung illness.
Achievements:
He received the Peace Prize in 1993.
Mandela has received over 695 awards. This is the maximum number of awards anyone has ever got.
On his birthday, Nelson Mandela Day, people are asked to spend 67 minutes helping others. Why 67? He spent 67 years serving South Africa.
Nelson Mandela Quotes:
1. Education is the most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world.
2. Lead from the back- and let others believe they are in front.
3. It always seems impossible until it’s done.
4. There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.
5. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.
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♈️William Shakespeare:
Early Life of William Shakespeare:
William Shakespeare was a celebrated playwright, poet and actor. He was born in the city of Stratford-upon-Avon in England, in the year 1564.
Married Life:
In 1582, when Shakespeare was just 18 years old, he got married to Anne Hathaway, who was eight years older than him. After that, there are no definite records of the next few years of his life. Historians often refer to these years of Shakespeare’s life as the ‘lost years.’
Career:
William began his career as a playwright in London in 1592. Soon he himself started acting and also became part-owner of a playwright company known as the ‘Lord Chamberlain’s Men.’ King James I renamed it as ‘The King’s Men.’ Many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed at the Globe Theatre.
Many of his plays were written in the latter half of his career. Shakespeare then underwent a series of ups and downs owing to the outbreak of the bubonic plague due to which the theatres had to be shut down. The Globe Theatre caught fire too. However, it was rebuilt again.
William retired and settled in Stratford, where he died in 1616.
William Shakespeare Plays:
1.Shakespeare wrote 37 plays in his lifetime. Some of his most famous works are Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Merchant of Venice and Julius Caesar.
2.To this day, Hamlet is probably his most quoted and reproduced tragedy. It is also Shakespeare’s longest play.
William Shakespeare Facts:
1.William Shakespeare did not attend college.
2.During Shakespeare’s time, women were not permitted to act in plays, so in all of his plays, the female characters were played by men.
3.Shakespeare had no interest in getting his plays published; he wanted them to be performed on stage instead.
4.Shakespeare is credited with introducing almost 3,000 words to the English language.
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Albert Einstein:
Early Childhood – A genius was born:
Albert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879, to a Jewish family. His father was an engineer and a salesman.
Einstein wasn’t a very bright student. He even had problems with his speech.
When he was five years old, Einstein saw a magnetic compass and marvelled at the needle that kept moving with an invisible force. At age 12, he found a book on geometry which he read over and over again.
Einstein wanted to pursue math and science . The problem was, he wasn’t very good at taking tests . However, he was always analytical .
In 1905, Einstein submitted a paper for his doctorate and also had four papers published in the best known physics journal at that time.He became a well known name in the academic world.
Being Jewish, Einstein knew he would have problems in Nazi Germany and so he migrated to the United States in 1933.
Einstein’s Theory of Relativity:
1.Albert Einstein was working as a patent clerk in Germany in 1905 when he developed his famous Theory of Relativity (E=mc2).
2.The theory simply states that the speed of light (constant, c) is the fastest speed in the universe and relates energy (E) and mass (M). It talks about how time and distance can change due to the different speeds of an object and its observer.
Albert Einstein’s Inventions:
Photons : He discovered that light is made up of small particles called photons and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921.
Bose-Einstein Condensate : Einstein discovered a state of matter with another scientist, Satyendra Bose. Today it is used in things like lasers.
Atomic Bomb : Not directly connected with inventing it, but his Theory of Relativity is connected with the invention of the atomic bomb.
Albert Einstein Facts:
1.Albert Einstein failed his first entrance exam for college.
2.He was offered the presidency of Israel.
Albert Einstein Quotes:
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
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🍎Sir Isaac Newton:
Sir Isaac Newton, a physicist, an astronomer, mathematician, theologian, alchemist and philosopher; and excelling beyond our imagination. He was the greatest in every one of those fields.
Early life of Isaac Newton
Newton was born on 4th January (Christmas Day according to the then calendar) 1642 in England and he died on 31st March, 1727. He was a premature baby; and small enough to fit inside a quart sized cup; and whose chances of survival were dim.
Newton used to cover the walls of his room with his colorful drawings and would fly kites, with lamps attached to their bases. He had even crafted a water clock as a kid. He made a mouse tread on a treadmill so that it could produce power to move a small windmill.
Newton always liked to fidget and discover new things. He had once struck a needle in his eyeball and moved it around till he saw white and colored circles. He did recover from the injurious incident.
He never let his stuttering speech inhibit him from expressing his thoughts and discoveries.
Newton was miserable in studies. But after physically beating up a bully at school, he decided to outwit him in studies also.
Newton had tried farming but had failed miserably at it.
Achievements of Isaac Newton:
1.“Philosophie Naturalis Principia Mathematica” was the famous book written by Newton, and which contained his notion of gravity and the three laws of motion. Newton had observed an apple falling from the tree; and had induced that there must be an outside force acting which pulls an object to the ground. His law of inertia states that an object will remain in rest unless moved by another force. His second law of acceleration states that a heavier object will require more force to move. And his third law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
2.Newton’s 6 inch constructed telescope, allowed him to see Jupiter’s moons.
3.Newton had used a prism to show that sunlight contained all of the colors of the rainbow. He also showed how white light contained all the colors found in nature. He also displayed how light would reflect, retract and absorb against objects and thus create various colors.
4.Newton analyzed that the time it would take for a body to cool depended on the temperature difference between the surroundings and the object.
5.Newton had invented the pet door; where pets could enter and exit the house without disturbing anyone.
6.Newton’s studies on light and planetary motion paved way for the first visit to the Moon.
7.Newton had formulated the field of Calculus, in mathematics; which calculates the rate of how things change; like the speeding of a car.
8.Newton was a very religious person; and would spend hours in studying and writing about the Bible. He had formulated the famous mathematical formula to calculate the value of Pi.
9.Newton had been appointed as the Warden of the Mint; where he had successfully nabbed 28 fraudsters trying to counterfeit money.
Later Life and Death:
1.He was knighted by the Queen and thus earned the title of Sir.
2.Newton had predicted that the world would end in 2060.
3.He was shy in the one year of Parliament duty, and only spoke once; and that to ask someone to close the window.
4.His dog Diamond, by mistake, had ruined 20 years of his research by igniting the laboratory.
5.Newton’s interest in alchemy (forming gold and silver) and experimenting with mercury; ultimately led to his death being a result of mercury poisoning.
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🔱 Swami Vivekananda:
Where was Vivekananda born?
Swami Vivekananda was born Narendranath Datta on 12th January, 1863, to an aristrocratic Bengali family of Calcutta. His father, Vishwanath Datta was an attorney at the Calcutta High Court, and his mother, Bhubaneshwari Devi was a devout housewife. The progressive and rational thinking of his parents mixed with a deep rooted spirituality shaped young Narendranath’s mind.
As a young boy, Swami Vivekananda excelled in music, gymnastics and studies. He went on in life to become one of the greatest Indians to introduce the philosophies of Yoga and Vedanta to the Western world. He is also credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the 19th Century.
Early Years:
Swami Vivekananda was one of nine siblings. He was spiritually inclined at an early age, fascinated by wandering ascetics and monks.
His education was both a mix of Western and Indian worlds. He studied Western philosophies, religion, history, social science, art and literature along with the Puranas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads and the Vedas. Around this time, he was also briefly introduced to the Brahmo Samaj.
In 1881, he passed the Fine Arts examination and completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1884, from General Assembly’s Institution, where the principal described him to be a genius, with an amazing sense and understanding of philosophies.
Over the course of several years, Swami Vivekananda studied various schools of esoteric philosophies. He first met Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, who was to later become his Guru, in 1881. His meeting with Ramakrishna again in 1884, after his father’s death, was a life changing event.
He turned toward a monastic life and after Ramakrishna’s death from throat cancer, Swami Vivekananda and the other disciples were left without shelter. He decided to convert a dilapidated house to establish the first Ramakrishna Math at Baranagar and start the monastic order of Ramakrishna.
Monastic Vows and Life After:
Swami Vivekanada took his formal monastic vows along with the other disciples, in 1886. He assumed the name Swami Vivekananda much later.
In 1888, Swami Vivekanada left the monastery after receiving the blessings of Sarada Devi, Ramakrishna’s wife and embarked on a journey around India.
The Ramakrishna Mission:
The more he travelled, he understood, how poor and backward the masses were. And how important it was to uplift the poor, educate both men and women, and this sowed the seed for the Ramakrishna Mission.
After he had travelled for five years around India, he travelled to the United States of America, after spending a few months in Japan, China and Canada. He attended the Parliament of World’s Religions on 11th September, 1893, at Chicago, where he spoke on Vedanta, Advaita and Hinduism and its philosophies.
He spent three years, lecturing, touring, travelling around the various cities of United States of America.
Back to India – 1897 – 1899 and Death:
Swami Vivekananda established the Ramakrishna Mission on 1st May, 1897, in Calcutta. Its ideals were based on Karma Yoga. He further established two other ashrams, one in Mayavati, near Almora and one in Madras (Chennai), and founded two journals.
After another tour of the United States and France, Swami Vivekananda settled down at the Belur Math. On July 4th, 1902, he left his earthly body and attained samadhi.
Swami Vivekananda – Legacy:
He inspired the freedom fighters of India like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Gandhiji. Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore is also deeply influenced by his writings and teachings. His influence to this day extends into Hinduism, the way we look at Neo -Vedanta and Advaita philosophies.
⛳️ The Brave Boy Story
There was once a boy named Brave Boy who lived with his family near a forest. Brave Boy loved to play in the woods nearby and was not afraid of climbing trees and big rocks and hills. His father was a hunter who would hunt animals and bring back food for his wife and son. Brave Boy’s father used to carry a black rock with him while going to hunt. As long as he had the black rock, he would always find animals to hunt and bring back for food.
One day, the father lost his black rock and could not bring back food. Slowly, the family’s food reserves were getting low, and they were starting to starve. Brave Boy’s mother asked him to find his father a black rock. Brave Boy started by searching the house for the rock. But he could not find any. Next, he thought of paying his friend Running Stream a visit, since he knew that she collected rocks. Unfortunately, Running Stream had rocks of various colours but did not have a single black rock.
Running Stream mentioned that black rocks were very popular and that she would give all her collected black rocks to a grumpy old man living up the Black Cliff. The old man would give her animals in return for these black rocks as he was a collector himself. She also mentioned that the grumpy old man believed that black rocks gave out luck and that he wanted to be the luckiest in the forest.
So, Brave Boy decided to climb the Black Cliff and get himself a black rock from the old man’s house. Fortunately, on that day, the old man seemed to be away from his house, and Brave Boy found himself a black rock at the bottom of his rock pile. But suddenly, the grumpy old man came in and asked him what he was doing with his rocks. Brave Boy quickly put the rock in his pocket and stepped aside. The old man knew very well how many rocks he had. As he started counting his rocks, Brave Boy quickly escaped from the house and climbed down the Black Cliff.
Brave Boy then came home and gave the black rock to his father, who would then be successful in hunting deer, rabbits, and birds everyday. Brave Boy’s parents were very happy and proud to have the rock as it would help the family survive. And that day onwards, they always had food on their plates.
🎯 Conclusion
Family is the most precious thing that one can have in this world. One should be willing to do anything for one’s family. Family is where a person gets nourishment and care from, and the person should always be willing to take care of his family no matter how difficult it gets or how dangerous things may seem. This is what makes a person truly brave.
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🍁A Reflection:
Some people are born with a vital and responsive energy. It not only enables them to keep abreast of the times; it qualifies them to furnish in their own personality a good bit of the motive power to the mad pace. They are fortunate beings. They do not need to apprehend the significance of things. They do not grow weary nor miss step, nor do they fall out of rank and sink by the wayside to be left contemplating the moving procession.
Ah! that moving procession that has left me by the road-side! Its fantastic colors are more brilliant and beautiful than the sun on the undulating waters. What matter if souls and bodies are failing beneath the feet of the ever-pressing multitude! It moves with the majestic rhythm of the spheres. Its discordant clashes sweep upward in one harmonious tone that blends with the music of other worlds--to complete God's orchestra.
It is greater than the stars--that moving procession of human energy; greater than the palpitating earth and the things growing thereon. Oh! I could weep at being left by the wayside; left with the grass and the clouds and a few dumb animals. True, I feel at home in the society of these symbols of life's immutability. In the procession I should feel the crushing feet, the clashing discords, the ruthless hands and stifling breath. I could not hear the rhythm of the march.
Salve! ye dumb hearts. Let us be still and wait by the roadside.
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🧔🏻Androclus and the Lion:
In Rome there was once a poor slave whose name was Androclus. His master was a cruel man, and so unkind to him that at last Androclus ran away.
He hid himself in a wild wood for many days; but there was no food to be found, and he grew so weak and sick that he thought he should die. So one day he crept into a cave and lay down, and soon he was fast asleep.
After a while a great noise woke him up. A lion had come into the cave, and was roaring loudly. Androclus was very much afraid, for he felt sure that the beast would kill him. Soon, however, he saw that the lion was not angry, but that he limped as though his foot hurt him.
Then Androclus grew so bold that he took hold of the lion's lame paw to see what was the matter. The lion stood quite still, and rubbed his head against the man's shoulder. He seemed to say,--
"I know that you will help me."
Androclus lifted the paw from the ground, and saw that it was a long, sharp thorn which hurt the lion so much. He took the end of the thorn in his fingers; then he gave a strong, quick pull, and out it came. The lion was full of joy. He jumped about like a dog, and licked the hands and feet of his new friend.
Androclus was not at all afraid after this; and when night came, he and the lion lay down and slept side by side.
For a long time, the lion brought food to Androclus every day; and the two became such good friends, that Androclus found his new life a very happy one.
One day some soldiers who were passing through the wood found Androclus in the cave. They knew who he was, and so took him back to Rome.
It was the law at that time that every slave who ran away from his master should be made to fight a hungry lion. So a fierce lion was shut up for a while without food, and a time was set for the fight.
When the day came, thousands of people crowded to see the sport. They went to such places at that time very much as people now-a-days go to see a circus show or a game of baseball.
The door opened, and poor Androclus was brought in. He was almost dead with fear, for the roars of the lion could already be heard. He looked up, and saw that there was no pity in the thousands of faces around him.
Then the hungry lion rushed in. With a single bound he reached the poor slave. Androclus gave a great cry, not of fear, but of gladness. It was his old friend, the lion of the cave.
The people, who had expected to see the man killed by the lion, were filled with wonder. They saw Androclus put his arms around the lion's neck; they saw the lion lie down at his feet, and lick them lovingly; they saw the great beast rub his head against the slave's face as though he wanted to be petted. They could not understand what it all meant.
After a while they asked Androclus to tell them about it. So he stood up before them, and, with his arm around the lion's neck, told how he and the beast had lived together in the cave.
"I am a man," he said; "but no man has ever befriended me. This poor lion alone has been kind to me; and we love each other as brothers."
The people were not so bad that they could be cruel to the poor slave now. "Live and be free!" they cried. "Live and be free!"
Others cried, "Let the lion go free too! Give both of them their liberty!"
And so Androclus was set free, and the lion was given to him for his own. And they lived together in Rome for many years.
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💥🍁Work, Death and Sickness:
This is a legend current among the South American Indians.
God, say they, at first made men so that they had no need to work: they needed neither houses, nor clothes, nor food, and they all lived till they were a hundred, and did not know what illness was.
When, after some time, God looked to see how people were living, he saw that instead of being happy in their life, they had quarrelled with one another, and, each caring for himself, had brought matters to such a pass that far from enjoying life, they cursed it.
Then God said to himself: 'This comes of their living separately, each for himself.' And to change this state of things, God so arranged matters that it became impossible for people to live without working. To avoid suffering from cold and hunger, they were now obliged to build dwellings, and to dig the ground, and to grow and gather fruits and grain.
'Work will bring them together,' thought God. 'They cannot make their tools, prepare and transport their timber, build their houses, sow and gather their harvests, spin and weave, and make their clothes, each one alone by himself.'
'It will make them understand that the more heartily they work together, the more they will have and the better they will live; and this will unite them.'
Time passed on, and again God came to see how men were living, and whether they were now happy.
But he found them living worse than before. They worked together (that they could not help doing), but not all together, being broken up into little groups. And each group tried to snatch work from other groups, and they hindered one another, wasting time and strength in their struggles, so that things went ill with them all.
Having seen that this, too, was not well, God decided so as to arrange things that man should not know the time of his death, but might die at any moment; and he announced this to them.
'Knowing that each of them may die at any moment,' thought God, 'they will not, by grasping at gains that may last so short a time, spoil the hours of life allotted to them.'
But it turned out otherwise. When God returned to see how people were living, he saw that their life was as bad as ever.
Those who were strongest, availing themselves of the fact that men might die at any time, subdued those who were weaker, killing some and threatening others with death. And it came about that the strongest and their descendants did no work, and suffered from the weariness of idleness, while those who were weaker had to work beyond their strength, and suffered from lack of rest. Each set of men feared and hated the other. And the life of man became yet more unhappy.
Having seen all this, God, to mend matters, decided to make use of one last means; he sent all kinds of sickness among men. God thought that when all men were exposed to sickness they would understand that those who are well should have pity on those who are sick, and should help them, that when they themselves fall ill those who are well might in turn help them.
And again God went away, but when He came back to see how men lived now that they were subject to sicknesses, he saw that their life was worse even than before. The very sickness that in God's purpose should have united men, had divided them more than ever. Those men who were strong enough to make others work, forced them also to wait on them in times of sickness; but they did not, in their turn, look after others who were ill. And those who were forced to work for others and to look after them when sick, were so worn with work that they had no time to look after their own sick, but left them without attendance. That the sight of sick folk might not disturb the pleasures of the wealthy, houses were arranged in which these poor people suffered and died, far from those whose sympathy might have cheered them, and in the arms of hired people who nursed them without compassion, or even with disgust.
🚢 The Wicked Prince:
THERE lived once upon a time a wicked prince whose heart and mind were set upon conquering all the countries of the world, and on frightening the people; he devastated their countries with fire and sword, and his soldiers trod down the crops in the fields and destroyed the peasants’ huts by fire, so that the flames licked the green leaves off the branches, and the fruit hung dried up on the singed black trees. Many a poor mother fled, her naked baby in her arms, behind the still smoking walls of her cottage; but also there the soldiers followed her, and when they found her, she served as new nourishment to their diabolical enjoyments; demons could not possibly have done worse things than these soldiers! The prince was of opinion that all this was right, and that it was only the natural course which things ought to take. His power increased day by day, his name was feared by all, and fortune favoured his deeds.
He brought enormous wealth home from the conquered towns, and gradually accumulated in his residence riches which could nowhere be equalled. He erected magnificent palaces, churches, and halls, and all who saw these splendid buildings and great treasures exclaimed admiringly: “What a mighty prince!” But they did not know what endless misery he had brought upon other countries, nor did they hear the sighs and lamentations which rose up from the débris of the destroyed cities.
The prince often looked with delight upon his gold and his magnificent edifices, and thought, like the crowd: “What a mighty prince! But I must have more—much more. No power on earth must equal mine, far less exceed it.”
He made war with all his neighbours, and defeated them. The conquered kings were chained up with golden fetters to his chariot when he drove through the streets of his city. These kings had to kneel at his and his courtiers’ feet when they sat at table, and live on the morsels which they left. At last the prince had his own statue erected on the public places and fixed on the royal palaces; nay, he even wished it to be placed in the churches, on the altars, but in this the priests opposed him, saying: “Prince, you are mighty indeed, but God’s power is much greater than yours; we dare not obey your orders.”
“Well,” said the prince. “Then I will conquer God too.” And in his haughtiness and foolish presumption he ordered a magnificent ship to be constructed, with which he could sail through the air; it was gorgeously fitted out and of many colours; like the tail of a peacock, it was covered with thousands of eyes, but each eye was the barrel of a gun. The prince sat in the centre of the ship, and had only to touch a spring in order to make thousands of bullets fly out in all directions, while the guns were at once loaded again. Hundreds of eagles were attached to this ship, and it rose with the swiftness of an arrow up towards the sun. The earth was soon left far below, and looked, with its mountains and woods, like a cornfield where the plough had made furrows which separated green meadows; soon it looked only like a map with indistinct lines upon it; and at last it entirely disappeared in mist and clouds. Higher and higher rose the eagles up into the air; then God sent one of his numberless angels against the ship. The wicked prince showered thousands of bullets upon him, but they rebounded from his shining wings and fell down like ordinary hailstones. One drop of blood, one single drop, came out of the white feathers of the angel’s wings and fell upon the ship in which the prince sat, burnt into it, and weighed upon it like thousands of hundredweights, dragging it rapidly down to the earth again; the strong wings of the eagles gave way, the wind roared round the prince’s head, and the clouds around—were they formed by the smoke rising up from the burnt cities?—took strange shapes, like crabs many, many miles long, which stretched their claws out after him, and rose up like enormous rocks, from which rolling masses dashed down, and became fire-spitting dragons.
The king stopped. He forgot his thirst. He thought only of the poor dead bird lying on the ground below him.
"The hawk saved my life!" he cried; "and how did I repay him? He was my best friend, and I have killed him."
He clambered down the bank. He took the bird up gently, and laid it in his hunting bag. Then he mounted his horse and rode swiftly home. He said to himself,--
"I have learned a sad lesson today; and that is, never to do anything in anger."
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Chapter V
The fairy came, bringing again four of the gifts, but Death was wanting. She said:
"I gave it to a mother's pet, a little child. It was ignorant, but trusted me, asking me to choose for it. You did not ask me to choose."
"Oh, miserable me! What is left for me?"
"What not even you have deserved: the wanton insult of Old Age."
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That we may, therefore, be induced more frequently to choose this beneficial amusement, in preference to others which are not attended with the same advantages, every circumstance, that may encrease the pleasure of it, should be regarded; and every action or word that is unfair, disrespectful, or that in any way may give uneasiness, should be avoided, as contrary to the immediate intention of both the players, which is, to pass the time agreeably.
Therefore, 1st. If it is agreed to play according to the strict rules, then those rules are to be exactly observed by both parties; and should not be insisted on for one side, while deviated from by the other: for this is not equitable.
2. If it is agreed not to observe the rules exactly, but one party demands indulgencies, he should then be as willing to allow them to the other.
3. No false move should ever be made to extricate yourself out of a difficulty, or to gain an advantage. There can be no pleasure in playing with a person once detected in such unfair practice.
4. 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.
5. You ought not to endeavour to amuse and deceive your adversary, by pretending to have made bad moves, and saying 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.
6. You must not, when you have gained a victory, use any triumphing or insulting expression, nor show too much pleasure; but endeavour to console your adversary, and make him less dissatisfied with himself by every kind and civil expression, that may be used with truth; such as, You understand the game better than I, but you 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 favour."
7. 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 favour you give it; because, tho' it be good, and he follows it, he loses the pleasure he might have had, if you had permitted him to think till it occurred to himself. Even after a move or moves, you must not, by replacing the pieces, show how it might have been played better: for that displeases, and may occasion disputes or 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 dangerous 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.
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The Doer of Good:
It was night-time and He was alone.
And He saw afar-off the walls of a round city and went towards the city.
And when He came near He heard within the city the tread of the feet of joy, and the laughter of the mouth of gladness and the loud noise of many lutes. And He knocked at the gate and certain of the gatekeepers opened to Him.
And He beheld a house that was of marble and had fair pillars of marble before it. The pillars were hung with garlands, and within and without there were torches of cedar. And He entered the house.
And when He had passed through the hall of chalcedony and the hall of jasper, and reached the long hall of feasting, He saw lying on a couch of sea-purple one whose hair was crowned with red roses and whose lips were red with wine.
And He went behind him and touched him on the shoulder and said to him, Why do you live like this?' But I was a leper once, and you healed me. How else should I live?'
And the young man turned round and recognised Him, and made answer and said,
And He passed out of the house and went again into the street.
And after a little while He saw one whose face and raiment were painted and whose feet were shod with pearls. And behind her came, slowly as a hunter, a young man who wore a cloak of two colours. Now the face of the woman was as the fair face of an idol, and the eyes of the young man were bright with lust.
And He followed swiftly and touched the hand of the young man and said to him, Why do you look at this woman and in such wise?' But I was blind once, and you gave me sight. At what else should I look?'
And the young man turned round and recognised Him and said,
And He ran forward and touched the painted raiment of the woman and said to her, Is there no other way in which to walk save the way of sin?'
And the woman turned round and recognised Him, and laughed and said, But you forgave me my sins, and the way is a pleasant way.'
And He passed out of the city.
And when He had passed out of the city He saw seated by the roadside a young man who was weeping.
And He went towards him and touched the long locks of his hair and said to him, Why are you weeping?'
And the young man looked up and recognised Him and made answer, But I was dead once and you raised me from the dead. What else should I do but weep?'
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🐒 July 31, 1920 Jackie
Jackie marched with his company in a special uniform and cap complete with buttons, regimental badges, and a hole for his tail.
The Great War had not yet reached it second year when Marr was sworn into the 3rd (Transvaal) Regiment of the 1st South African Infantry Brigade. He was now Private Albert Marr, #4927.
Private Marr asked for permission to bring Jackie along. Mascots are good for morale in times of war, a fact about which military authorities, were well aware.
To Marr’s great surprise, permission was granted. It wasn’t long before Jackie became the official Regimental Mascot.
Jackie drew rations like any other soldier, eating at the mess table, using his knife and fork and washing it all down with his own drinking basin. He even knew how to use a teacup.
Jackie drilled and marched with his company in a special uniform and cap complete with buttons, regimental badges, and a hole for his tail.
He would entertain the men during quiet periods, lighting their pipes and cigarettes and saluting officers as they passed on their rounds. He learned to stand at ease when ordered, placing his feet apart and hands behind his back, regimental style.
These two inseparable buddies, Albert Marr and Jackie, first saw combat during the Senussi Campaign in North Africa. On February 26, 1916, Albert took a bullet in the shoulder at the Battle of Agagia. The monkey, beside himself with agitation, licked the wound and did everything he could to comfort the stricken man. It was this incident more than any other that marked Jackie’s transformation from pet and mascot, to a full-fledged member and comrade, of the regiment.
Jackie would accompany Albert at night, on guard duty. Marr soon learned to trust Jackie’s keen eyesight and acute hearing. The monkey was almost always first to know about enemy movements or impending attack, sounding an early warning with a series of sharp barks, or by pulling on Marr’s tunic.
The pair went through the nightmare of Delville Wood together early in the Somme campaign, when the First South African Infantry held its position despite eighty percent casualties.
The third Battle of Ypres, known as the battle of Passchendaele, began in the early morning hours of July 31, 1917. The pair experienced the sucking, nightmare mud of that place and the desperate fighting, around Kemmel Hill. The two were at Belleau Wood, a mostly American operation in which Marine Captain Lloyd Williams of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, was famously informed he was surrounded, by Germans. “Retreat?” Williams snorted, “hell, we just got here.”
Through all of it, Marr and Jackie come through World War 1 mostly unscathed. That all changed in April, 1918.
Withdrawing through the West Flanders region of Belgium, the South African brigade came under heavy bombardment. Jackie was frantically building a wall of stones around himself, a shelter from the hammer blow concussion of the shells and the storm of flying metal buzzing through the air, as angry hornets. A jagged piece of shrapnel wounded Jackie’s arm and another all but tore off the animal’s leg. Even then, Jackie refused to be carried off by the stretcher-bearers, trying instead to finish his wall as he hobbled about on the bloody stump which had once been, his leg.
🔱Alfred Nobel:
Does anything ring a bell when you hear the name Alfred Nobel? Alfred Nobel was the founder of the well known Nobel prizes. A scientist, an inventor and also a businessman, Alfred Nobel was a dynamite personality.
🔯Childhood and Education
Alfred Nobel was born on October 21, 1833 in Stockholm in Sweden. His father Immanuel Nobel was an engineer. Also an inventor, Alfred’s father built bridges and experimented with rocks. Alfred was an intelligent and curious child. He loved to study but often had to stay home, away from school, because he used to remain sick. In 1842 Alfred’s family moved to Russia as his father’s business was doing well there. Alfred used to spend a lot of time with his father in the factory and always wondered why people needed war. His father used to build mines used in wars. In Russia Alfred was tutored at home and learnt English, French, German and Russian languages. Alfred’s father wanted him to be a scientist like him but Alfred’s interest lay in Literature and poetry, though he also liked Chemistry and Physics. His father sent him to Paris to study to become a chemical engineer. After a year in Paris, Alfred was sent to the United States to learn technical skills but he learned poetry and a collection of Literature; where his interests lay.
🔯Explosives Business
At the age of 19 Alfred decided to return to Russia to help his father and brother with the factory work. He helped his father in the factory, making military equipment for Russia during the Crimean War. Unfortunately Russia lost the Crimean war which resulted in closing down of Alfred’s father’s factory. Alfred’s father and mother decided to leave Russia and move to Sweden, their homeland. But Alfred and his two brothers decided to remain in Russia in order to try and save what was left of the business.
♈️Discovery of Dynamite
Alfred then concentrated on his experiment with developing nitroglycerine as an explosive. This invention was a great success and Alfred Nobel set up a factory in Sweden, his hometown. His experiment was used at mines and construction lands. But nitroglycerine was a dangerous explosive and it would explode if it was handled even a little carelessly. It was in 1864 that a huge explosion in the Swedish factory of Alfred killed 5 people, including his younger brother Emil. This affected Alfred a great deal.
People began to criticize Alfred Nobel for inventing such a dangerous and life threatening explosive. People did not want such a factory in the middle of the city. So Alfred moved his factory onto a ship which was in the middle of a lake. Alfred Nobel then set out to develop explosives which are safer for the workers. It was in 1867 that Nobel made a mixture of nitroglycerine with an absorbent substance, and he patented it with the name ‘Dynamite’. He conducted an open experiment with Dynamite in Germany and became recognized for his efforts.
World Peace and Nobel Prize
Alfred Nobel was deeply distressed with the fact that his inventions of explosives could kill several people. He wanted to find a way that would lead to world peace. He did not want to be remembered as a person who invented explosives. Thus, Alfred Nobel set aside his fortune and his estate to launch Nobel Prizes. These prizes were to be given to men and women for outstanding achievements in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Medicine and Literature and most importantly for working towards World Peace. Nobel became very weak in 1896 and died of a heart attack the same year on December 10. Since then, every year Nobel prizes have been awarded to people who have excelled in the Sciences, specially world peace and happiness.
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Swami Vivekananda – Teachings:
1. New Understanding of Religion and the explanation that reality is common to all humanity and that science and religion are not contradictory but complementary.
2.New View of Man
3.New Principle of Morality and Ethics
4.Bridge between East and West
His birthday is celebrated as National Youth Day.
Swami Vivekananda – Quotes:
1.All that man has to do is to take care of three things; good thought, good word, good deed.
2.Self-sacrifice, indeed, is the basis of all civilisations.
3.Please everyone without becoming a hypocrite or a coward.
4.The real individuality is that which never changes and will never change; and that is the God within us.
5.Strength is the property of everyone in spite of all apparent weakness.
6.Through education comes faith in one’s own Self.
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🛡⚔Alexander and Porus
King Paurava, also known as Porus, ruled the region between the rivers Jhelum and Chenab in North India. One day a messenger arrived in his court. He had a fair skin and spoke a foreign language. His message was simple: Submit to King Alexander or be ready for war.
Porus had heard of Alexander. He came from a faraway region and was a great warrior. His army had conquered large parts of Egypt and even defeated the mighty Persian Empire. Paurava’s spies had warned the court of Alexander’s march towards their borders. Many kings along the way had meekly submitted to Alexander without a fight. But King Porus had other ideas.
“Tell your king that we will meet him in the battlefield,” he said with a quiet confidence.
Alexander’s response was swift. He marched to the banks of the Jhelum. The river was full and swift due to heavy rains. There was only one spot in the river which was shallow enough for a crossing. Porus set up his camp at this spot.
Alexander was wary of taking on Porus from the front. While the Macedonian army had won many battles, they had never faced war elephants in a battle before. Pours had many such elephants in his army.
“We must take him by surprise,” Alexander said to his generals. “Find me another spot to cross the river.”
The generals came back with news of another spot up river. One night, under the cover of darkness, Alexander led a small section of his army to the other spot. He crossed over to the other side without opposition.
As soon as he got wind of Alexander’s move, Porus sent part of his army to fight off the attackers. But the Macedonian warriors defeated them and mounted an attack on Porus’ main army.
Meanwhile, the remaining part of Alexander’s army crossed over the river. Thus encircled, Porus, who stood 7 feet tall, sat atop his mighty elephant, and encouraged his soldiers to fight. The battle grew fierce and the Macedonians gained an upper hand.
Porus fought to the last man. He was struck with spears all over the body. His elephant bent its knee and brought Porus to the ground. It then gently pulled the spears from his body, even as Geeks surrounded the wounded king.
Porus was brought to Alexander. “How do you wished to be treated?” Alexander asked Porus.
“Act as a king,” said Porus.
“What do you mean?” asked Alexander.
“When I said, ‘Act as a King’, everything was said,” Porus replied.
Alexander got up, walked up to Porus and shook his hand warmly.
At last the Macedonian world conqueror had found his match in the Indian king.
Based on ‘Plutarch’s Lives’. The region ruled by Porus is now part of modern Pakistan.
Based on Plutarch’s Lives
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🎯 A Strange Story:
In the northern part of Austin there once dwelt an honest family by the name of Smothers. The family consisted of John Smothers, his wife, himself, their little daughter, five years of age, and her parents, making six people toward the population of the city when counted for a special write-up, but only three by actual count.
One night after supper the little girl was seized with a severe colic, and John Smothers hurried down town to get some medicine.
He never came back.
The little girl recovered and in time grew up to womanhood.
The mother grieved very much over her husband's disappearance, and it was nearly three months before she married again, and moved to San Antonio.
The little girl also married in time, and after a few years had rolled around, she also had a little girl five years of age.
She still lived in the same house where they dwelt when her father had left and never returned.
One night by a remarkable coincidence her little girl was taken with cramp colic on the anniversary of the disappearance of John Smothers, who would now have been her grandfather if he had been alive and had a steady job.
"I will go downtown and get some medicine for her," said John Smith (for it was none other than he whom she had married).
"No, no, dear John," cried his wife. "You, too, might disappear forever, and then forget to come back."
So John Smith did not go, and together they sat by the bedside of little Pansy (for that was Pansy's name).
After a little Pansy seemed to grow worse, and John Smith again attempted to go for medicine, but his wife would not let him.
Suddenly the door opened, and an old man, stooped and bent, with long white hair, entered the room.
"Hello, here is grandpa," said Pansy. She had recognized him before any of the others.
The old man drew a bottle of medicine from his pocket and gave Pansy a spoonful.
She got well immediately.
"I was a little late," said John Smothers, "as I waited for a street car."
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☀️Advice To Little Girls:
Good little girls ought not to make mouths at their teachers for every trifling offense. This retaliation should only be resorted to under peculiarly aggravated circumstances.
If you have nothing but a rag-doll stuffed with sawdust, while one of your more fortunate little playmates has a costly China one, you should treat her with a show of kindness nevertheless. And you ought not to attempt to make a forcible swap with her unless your conscience would justify you in it, and you know you are able to do it.
You ought never to take your little brother's "chewing-gum" away from him by main force; it is better to rope him in with the promise of the first two dollars and a half you find floating down the river on a grindstone. In the artless simplicity natural to this time of life, he will regard it as a perfectly fair transaction. In all ages of the world this eminently plausible fiction has lured the obtuse infant to financial ruin and disaster.
If at any time you find it necessary to correct your brother, do not correct him with mud--never, on any account, throw mud at him, because it will spoil his clothes. It is better to scald him a little, for then you obtain desirable results. You secure his immediate attention to the lessons you are inculcating, and at the same time your hot water will have a tendency to move impurities from his person, and possibly the skin, in spots.
If your mother tells you to do a thing, it is wrong to reply that you won't. It is better and more becoming to intimate that you will do as she bids you, and then afterward act quietly in the matter according to the dictates of your best judgment.
You should ever bear in mind that it is to your kind parents that you are indebted for your food, and for the privilege of staying home from school when you let on that you are sick. Therefore you ought to respect their little prejudices, and humor their little whims, and put up with their little foibles until they get to crowding you too much.
Good little girls always show marked deference for the aged. You ought never to "sass" old people unless they "sass" you first.
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Moreover, people considered many of the illnesses infectious, and, fearing to catch them, not only avoided the sick, but even separated themselves from those who attended the sick.
Then God said to Himself: 'If even this means will not bring men to understand wherein their happiness lies, let them be taught by suffering.' And God left men to themselves.
And, left to themselves, men lived long before they understood that they all ought to, and might be, happy. Only in the very latest times have a few of them begun to understand that work ought not to be a bugbear to some and like galley-slavery for others, but should be a common and happy occupation, uniting all men. They have begun to understand that with death constantly threatening each of us, the only reasonable business of every man is to spend the years, months, hours, and minutes, allotted him—in unity and love. They have begun to understand that sickness, far from dividing men, should, on the contrary, give opportunity for loving union with one another.
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🏰 🏡 🏜 🏕 ⛪️.
The prince was lying half-dead in his ship, when it sank at last with a terrible shock into the branches of a large tree in the wood.
“I will conquer God!” said the prince. “I have sworn it: my will must be done!”
And he spent seven years in the construction of wonderful ships to sail through the air, and had darts cast from the hardest steel to break the walls of heaven with. He gathered warriors from all countries, so many that when they were placed side by side they covered the space of several miles. They entered the ships and the prince was approaching his own, when God sent a swarm of gnats—one swarm of little gnats. They buzzed round the prince and stung his face and hands; angrily he drew his sword and brandished it, but he only touched the air and did not hit the gnats. Then he ordered his servants to bring costly coverings and wrap him in them, that the gnats might no longer be able to reach him. The servants carried out his orders, but one single gnat had placed itself inside one of the coverings, crept into the prince’s ear and stung him. The place burnt like fire, and the poison entered into his blood. Mad with pain, he tore off the coverings and his clothes too, flinging them far away, and danced about before the eyes of his ferocious soldiers, who now mocked at him, the mad prince, who wished to make war with God, and was overcome by a single little gnat.
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🏰 🏡 🏜 🏕 ⛪️.
🤴A Story from Confucius
A Story from Confucius is a lesson in self-control, published in Chinese Fables and Folk Stories (1908), translated by Mary Hayes Davis and Chow-Leung. Confucius once heard two of his pupils quarreling. One was of a gentle nature and was called by all the students a peaceful man. The other had a good brain and a kind heart, but was given to great anger. If he wished to do a thing, he did it, and no man could prevent; if any one tried to hinder him, he would show sudden and terrible rage.
One day, after one of these fits of temper, the blood came from his mouth, and, in great fear, he went to Confucius. "What shall I do with my body?" he asked, "I fear I shall not live long. It may be better that I no longer study and work. I am your pupil and you love me as a father. Tell me what to do for my body."
Confucius answered, "Tsze-Lu, you have a wrong idea about your body. It is not the study, not the work in school, but your great anger that causes the trouble.
"I will help you to see this. You remember when you and Nou-Wui quarreled. He was at peace and happy again in a little time, but you were very long in overcoming your anger. You can not expect to live long if you do that way. Every time one of the pupils says a thing you do not like, you are greatly enraged. There are a thousand in this school. If each offends you only once, you will have a fit of temper a thousand times this year. And you will surely die, if you do not use more self-control. I want to ask you some questions:—
"How many teeth have you?"
"I have thirty-two, teacher."
"How many tongues?"
"Just one."
"How many teeth have you lost?"
"I lost one when I was nine years old, and four when I was about twenty-six years old."
"And your tongue—is it still perfect?"
"Oh, yes."
"You know Mun-Gun, who is quite old?"
"Yes, I know him well."
"How many teeth do you think he had at your age?"
"I do not know."
"How many has he now?"
"Two, I think. But his tongue is perfect, though he is very old."
"You see the teeth are lost because they are strong, and determined to have everything they desire. They are hard and hurt the tongue many times, but the tongue never hurts the teeth. Yet, it endures until the end, while the teeth are the first of man to decay. The tongue is peaceful and gentle with the teeth. It never grows angry and fights them, even when they are in the wrong. It always helps them do their work, in preparing man's food for him, although the teeth never help the tongue, and they always resist everything.
"And so it is with man. The strongest to resist, is the first to decay; and you, Tsze-Lu, will be even so if you learn not the great lesson of self-control."
This story is featured in our collection of Short Short Stories, Morality Tales
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🤴The King and His Hawk:
Genghis Khan was a great king and warrior.
He led his army into China and Persia, and he conquered many lands. In every country, men told about his daring deeds; and they said that since Alexander the Great there had been no king like him.
One morning when he was home from the wars, he rode out into the woods to have a day's sport. Many of his friends were with him. They rode out gayly, carrying their bows and arrows. Behind them came the servants with the hounds.
It was a merry hunting party. The woods rang with their shouts and laughter. They expected to carry much game home in the evening.
On the king's wrist sat his favorite hawk; for in those days hawks were trained to hunt. At a word from their masters they would fly high up into the air, and look around for prey. If they chanced to see a deer or a rabbit, they would swoop down upon it swift as any arrow.
All day long Genghis Khan and his huntsmen rode through the woods. But they did not find as much game as they expected.
Toward evening they started for home. The king had often ridden through the woods, and he knew all the paths. So while the rest of the party took the nearest way, he went by a longer road through a valley between two mountains.
The day had been warm, and the king was very thirsty. His pet hawk had left his wrist and flown away. It would be sure to find its way home.
The king rode slowly along. He had once seen a spring of clear water near this path-way. If he could only find it now! But the hot days of summer had dried up all the mountain brooks.
At last, to his joy, he saw some water trickling down over the edge of a rock. He knew that there was a spring farther up. In the wet season, a swift stream of water always poured down here; but now it came only one drop at a time.
The king leaped from his horse. He took a little silver cup from his hunting bag. He held it so as to catch the slowly falling drops.
It took a long time to fill the cup; and the king was so thirsty that he could hardly wait. At last it was nearly full. He put the cup to his lips, and was about to drink.
All at once there was a whirring sound in the air, and the cup was knocked from his hands. The water was all spilled upon the ground.
The king looked up to see who had done this thing. It was his pet hawk.
The hawk flew back and forth a few times, and then alighted among the rocks by the spring.
The king picked up the cup, and again held it to catch the trickling drops.
This time he did not wait so long. When the cup was half full, he lifted it toward his mouth. But before it had touched his lips, the hawk swooped down again, and knocked it from his hands.
And now the king began to grow angry. He tried again; and for the third time the hawk kept him from drinking.
The king was now very angry indeed.
"How do you dare to act so?" he cried. "If I had you in my hands, I would wring your neck!"
Then he filled the cup again. But before he tried to drink, he drew his sword.
"Now, Sir Hawk," he said, "this is the last time."
He had hardly spoken, before the hawk swooped down and knocked the cup from his hand. But the king was looking for this. With a quick sweep of the sword he struck the bird as it passed.
The next moment the poor hawk lay bleeding and dying at its master's feet.
"That is what you get for your pains," said Genghis Khan.
But when he looked for his cup, he found that it had fallen between two rocks, where he could not reach it.
"At any rate, I will have a drink from that spring," he said to himself.
With that he began to climb the steep bank to the place from which the water trickled. It was hard work, and the higher he climbed, the thirstier he became.
At last he reached the place. There indeed was a pool of water; but what was that lying in the pool, and almost filling it? It was a huge, dead snake of the most poisonous kind.
🍁🕊The Five Boons of Life:
Chapter I
In the morning of life came a good fairy with her basket, and said:
"Here are gifts. Take one, leave the others. And be wary, chose wisely; oh, choose wisely! for only one of them is valuable."
The gifts were five: Fame, Love, Riches, Pleasure, Death. The youth said, eagerly:
"There is no need to consider"; and he chose Pleasure.
He went out into the world and sought out the pleasures that youth delights in. But each in its turn was short-lived and disappointing, vain and empty; and each, departing, mocked him. In the end he said: "These years I have wasted. If I could but choose again, I would choose wisely.
Chapter II
The fairy appeared, and said:
"Four of the gifts remain. Choose once more; and oh, remember-- time is flying, and only one of them is precious."
The man considered long, then chose Love; and did not mark the tears that rose in the fairy's eyes.
After many, many years the man sat by a coffin, in an empty home. And he communed with himself, saying: "One by one they have gone away and left me; and now she lies here, the dearest and the last. Desolation after desolation has swept over me; for each hour of happiness the treacherous trader, Love, as sold me I have paid a thousand hours of grief. Out of my heart of hearts I curse him."
Chapter III
"Choose again." It was the fairy speaking.
"The years have taught you wisdom--surely it must be so. Three gifts remain. Only one of them has any worth--remember it, and choose warily."
The man reflected long, then chose Fame; and the fairy, sighing, went her way.
Years went by and she came again, and stood behind the man where he sat solitary in the fading day, thinking. And she knew his thought:
"My name filled the world, and its praises were on every tongue, and it seemed well with me for a little while. How little a while it was! Then came envy; then detraction; then calumny; then hate; then persecution. Then derision, which is the beginning of the end. And last of all came pity, which is the funeral of fame. Oh, the bitterness and misery of renown! target for mud in its prime, for contempt and compassion in its decay."
Chapter IV
"Chose yet again." It was the fairy's voice.
"Two gifts remain. And do not despair. In the beginning there was but one that was precious, and it is still here."
"Wealth--which is power! How blind I was!" said the man. "Now, at last, life will be worth the living. I will spend, squander, dazzle. These mockers and despisers will crawl in the dirt before me, and I will feed my hungry heart with their envy. I will have all luxuries, all joys, all enchantments of the spirit, all contentments of the body that man holds dear. I will buy, buy, buy! deference, respect, esteem, worship--every pinchbeck grace of life the market of a trivial world can furnish forth. I have lost much time, and chosen badly heretofore, but let that pass; I was ignorant then, and could but take for best what seemed so."
Three short years went by, and a day came when the man sat shivering in a mean garret; and he was gaunt and wan and hollow-eyed, and clothed in rags; and he was gnawing a dry crust and mumbling:
"Curse all the world's gifts, for mockeries and gilded lies! And miscalled, every one. They are not gifts, but merely lendings. Pleasure, Love, Fame, Riches: they are but temporary disguises for lasting realities--Pain, Grief, Shame, Poverty. The fairy said true; in all her store there was but one gift which was precious, only one that was not valueless. How poor and cheap and mean I know those others now to be, compared with that inestimable one, that dear and sweet and kindly one, that steeps in dreamless and enduring sleep the pains that persecute the body, and the shames and griefs that eat the mind and heart. Bring it! I am weary, I would rest."
♟🎯The Morals of Chess:
Playing at Chess, is the most ancient and universal game known among men; for its original is beyond the memory of history, and it has, for numberless ages, been the amusement of all the civilized nations of Asia, the Persians, the Indians, and the Chinese. Europe has had it above 1,000 years; the Spaniards have spread it over their part of America, and it begins lately to make its appearance in these northern states. It is so interesting in itself, as not to need the view of gain to induce engaging in it; and thence it is never played for money. Those, therefore, who have leisure for such diversions, cannot find one that is more innocent; and the following piece, written with a view to correct (among a few young friends) some little improprieties in the practice of it, shows at the same time that it may, in its effects on the mind, be not merely innocent, but advantageous, to the vanquished as well as to the victor.
The game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement. Several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired or strengthened by it, so as to become habits, ready on all occasions. For life is a kind of chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effects of prudence or the want of it.
By playing at chess, then, we may learn:
1. Foresight, which looks a little into futurity, and considers the consequences that may attend an action: for it is continually occurring to the player, "If I move this piece, what will be the advantages of my new situation? What use can my adversary make of it to annoy me? What other moves can I make to support it, and to defend myself from his attacks?"
2. Circumspection, which surveys the whole chess-board, or scene of action, the relations of the several pieces and situations, the dangers they are respectively exposed to, the several possibilities of their aiding each other, the probabilities that the opponent may make this or that move, and attack this or the other piece; and what different means can be used to avoid his stroke, or turn its consequences against him.
3. Caution, not to make our moves too hastily. This habit is best acquired by observing strictly the laws of the game, such as, "If you touch a piece, you must move it somewhere; if you set it down, you must let it stand." And it is therefore best that these rules should be observed, as the game thereby becomes more the image of human life, and particularly of war; in which, if you have incautiously put yourself into a bad and dangerous position, you cannot obtain your enemy's leave to withdraw your troops, and place them more securely; but you must abide all the consequences of your rashness.
And lastly, we learn by chess the habit of not being discouraged by present bad appearances in the state of our affairs, the habit of hoping for a favorable change, and that of persevering in the search of resources. The game is so full of events, there is such a variety of turns in it, the fortune of it is so subject to sudden vicissitudes, and one so frequently, after long contemplation, discovers the means of extricating one's self from a supposed insurmountable difficulty, that one is encouraged to continue the contest to the last, in hopes of victory by our own skill, or, at least, of giving a stalemate, by the negligence of our adversary. And whoever considers, what in chess he often sees instances of, that particular pieces of success are apt to produce presumption, and its consequent, inattention, by which more is afterwards lost than was gained by the preceding advantage; while misfortunes produce more care and attention, by which the loss may be recovered, will learn not to be too much discouraged by the present success of his adversary, nor to despair of final good fortune, upon every little check he receives in the pursuit of it.