Part 20
_The Charmer._—That individuals have exercised a powerful and unaccountable influence on the most unmanageable animals, by means which still remain a mystery, is certain. The most remarkable case on record, is that of an Irish blacksmith, who, by an undiscovered agency, could subdue the most vicious horses. He asserted, that this was effected by merely whispering in the animal’s ear some potent spell, and hence he gained the title of _the charmer_. This power over the most desperate horses was so often put to the test, that all doubt is idle. He never refused to enter the stable of horses that to all besides were unapproachable, and after a short tête-à-tête, the animal would be found trembling and subdued, and while every limb appeared convulsed with terror _the charmer_ would pass under his belly, lift his feet, or do any thing he was required. In his repeated experiments upon the most savage horses, _the charmer_ never received any injury, or failed in subduing the animal.
Many attempts have been made to account for the means by which this influence was obtained. The general belief was, that some powerful drug was passed by the exorciser into the horse’s ear; but by what means was he enabled to approach sufficiently close to a furious brute to administer it?
It is singular that though _the charmer_ was a miserable and poverty-stricken wretch, no bribe could induce him to communicate the charm—if it was one—and though immense sums of money were offered, he carried the secret with him to the grave!
CHASE, _v._ To hunt, to pursue; to drive.
CHASE, _s._ Hunting, pursuit of anything as game; fitness to be hunted; pursuit of something as desirable; hunting match; the game hunted; open ground stored with such beasts as are hunted; the chase of a gun, is the whole bore or length of a piece.
CHASER, _s._ Hunter, pursuer, driver.
CHECK, _s._ Restraint, curb; in falconry, when a hawk forsakes the proper game to follow other birds; the cause of restraint; a stop.
When hounds divide and are in two parts, the whipper-in must wait for the huntsman’s halloo before he stops either. If there are many scents, and it is quite uncertain which is the hunted fox, he should stop those hounds that are the farthest down the wind, as they can hear the others, and will reach them soonest.
When hounds are at a check, every one should be silent, and stand still, the huntsman had better let the hounds alone, or content himself with holding them forward, without taking them off their noses.
If hounds come to a check on a high road, by the fox being headed, in trying back they have the best chance of hitting off the scent again, as they may try on both sides at once.—_Beckford._—_Daniel._
CHECKMATE, _s._ The movement on the chess-board, that puts an end to the game.
CHEEK, _s._ The side of the face below the eye; a general name among mechanics for almost all those pieces of their machines that are double.
CHERUP, _v._ To chirp, to use a cheerful voice.
CHESS, _s._ A nice and intricate game, in imitation of a battle between two armies.
RULES FOR CHESS.
1. Move your pawns before your pieces, and afterwards bring out the pieces to support them; therefore the king’s, queen’s and bishops’ pawns should be the first played, in order to open the game well.
2. Do not, therefore, play out any of your pieces early in the game, because you thereby lose moves, in case your adversary can, by playing a pawn, make them retire, and he also opens his game at the same time: especially avoid playing your queen out, till your game is tolerably well opened.
3. Avoid giving useless checks, and never give any unless to gain some advantage, because you may lose the move, if the adversary can either take or drive your piece away.
4. Never crowd your game by having too many pieces together, so as to prevent your men advancing or retreating as occasion may require.
5. If your game should be crowded, endeavour to free it by exchanges of pieces or pawns, and castle your king as soon as convenient; afterwards bring out your pieces, and attack the adversary where weakest.
6. When the adversary plays out his pieces before his pawns, attack them as soon as you can with your pawns, by which you may crowd his game and make him lose moves.
7. Never attack the adversary’s king without a sufficient force; and if he attack yours, and you cannot retaliate, offer exchanges; and should he retire, when you present a piece to exchange, he may lose a move. It also may sometimes be expedient to act in this manner in case of other attacks.
8. Play your men in guard of one another, so that if any be taken, the enemy may also be captured by that which guarded yours, and endeavour to have as many guards to your piece, as your adversary advances others upon it; and, if possible, let them be of less value than those he assails with. When you cannot well support your piece, see if by attacking one of his that is better, or as good, you may not thereby save yours.
9. Never attack but when well prepared, for thereby you open your adversary’s game, and prepare him to pour in a strong attack upon you, as soon as your weaker one is over.
10. Never play till you have examined whether you are free from danger by your adversary’s last move; nor offer to attack till you have considered what harm he would be able to do you by his next moves, in consequence of yours.
11. When your attack is in a prosperous way, never be diverted from it by taking any piece, or other seeming advantage, your adversary may purposely throw in your way, with the intent that, by your taking the bait, he might gain a move which would make your design miscarry.
12. When, in pursuing a well-laid attack, you find it necessary to force your adversary’s defence, with the loss of some pieces; if, upon counting as many moves forward as you can, you find a prospect of success, sacrifice a piece or two to gain your end: these bold attempts make the finest games.
13. Never let your queen stand so before the king, as that your adversary, by bringing forwards a rook or a bishop, might check your king if she were not there, for you could hardly save her, or perhaps at best must sacrifice her for an inferior piece; as for example: place the white king on 61, the queen on 53; the black king on 4, and the rook, on 16: which last, if moved to 13, must be taken by the white queen, who in return would be taken by the black king, because the white queen could not otherwise be moved without putting the king on check to the black rook.
14. Let not your adversary’s knight fork your king and queen, or king and rook, or queen and rook, or your two rooks, at the same time; for in the two first cases, the king being forced to go out of check, the queen or the rook must be lost; and in the two last a rook must be lost, at best, for a worse piece. Place the white queen on 5, the rook on 7, and a black knight on 37. The latter piece, if moved to 22, will fork both the queen and rook, and consequently one of them must be lost for the knight.
15. Take care that no guarded pawn of your adversary’s fork two of your pieces: knights and rooks are particularly liable to this mode of attack; also guard against either a check by discovery, or a stale-mate.
16. When the kings have castled on different sides of the board, attack with the pawn you have on that side where the adversary has castled, advancing the pieces, especially the queen and rooks to support them; and if the adversary’s king have three pawns on a line in front, he should not stir them till forced to it.
17. Endeavour to have a move in ambuscade; that is, place the queen, bishop, or rook behind a pawn, or a piece, in such a manner, as that, upon playing that pawn, or piece, you discover a check upon your adversary’s king, and consequently may often get a piece, or some other advantage by it. Suppose the black king on 6, a white bishop on 41, and a pawn on 34; by moving the pawn to 26, a check by the white bishop is discovered upon the black king.
18. Never guard an inferior piece or pawn with a better, if you can do it with a pawn, because that better piece may in such a case be, as it were, out of play.
19. A pawn pushed on, and well supported, often costs the adversary a piece; but one separated from the others is seldom of any value. And whenever you have gained a pawn, or other advantage, and are not in danger of losing the move thereby, make as frequent exchanges as you can.
20. If each player have three pawns upon the board, and no piece, and you have a pawn on one side of the board, and the other two on the other side, and your adversary’s 3 are opposite to your 2, march with your king to take his pawns; and if he move to support them, go on to queen with your single pawn; and if he attempt to hinder it, take his pawns, and push yours to queen; that is, to move a pawn into the adversary’s back row, in order to make a queen, when the original is lost.
21. At the latter end of the game, each party having only three or four pawns on different sides of the board, the kings are to endeavour to gain the move, in order to win the game: for example—the white king placed on 54, and the black king on 37, white would gain the move by playing to 53, or black to 38, and in both cases the adverse king would be prevented from advancing.
22. When the adversary has no more than his king and one pawn on the board, and you a king only, you can never lose that game if you bring and keep your king opposite to your adversary’s, when he is immediately either before or on one side of his pawn, and only one house between the kings. This must then either be a drawn game, or if the opponent persist in his endeavours to win, he will lose by a stale-mate, by drawing you upon the last square.
23. When your adversary has one pawn on the rook’s line, with a king and bishop against a king only, and his bishop is not of the colour that commands the corner-house his pawn is going to, if you can get your king into that corner, you cannot lose that game, but may win by a stale-mate.
24. When you have only your queen left in play, and your king happens to be in that position of stale-mate, keep giving check to your adversary’s king, always taking care not to check him where he can interpose any of his pieces that make the stale: by so doing, you will at last force him to take your queen, and then you win the game by being in stale-mate.
25. Never cover a check with a piece that a pawn pushed upon it may take, for fear of only getting that pawn for it: put a black rook on 7, and a pawn on 40; the white king on 63, and a knight on 61: the white king being on a check to the rook, if the check be covered by moving the white knight to 56, the black pawn could then be moved to 48, and take the knight.
26. Do not crowd your adversary’s king with your pieces, lest you inadvertently give a stale-mate.
27. Do not be too much afraid of losing a rook for an inferior piece; though a rook is better than any other, except the queen, yet it seldom comes into play, so as to operate, until the end of the game; and it is generally better to have a worse piece in play than a superior out.
28. When you have moved a piece, which your adversary drives away with a pawn, that is a bad move, your enemy gaining a double advantage. At this nice game no move can be indifferent. Though the first move may not be much, between equally good players, yet the loss of one or two more, after the first, makes the game almost irretrievable: but if you can recover the move, or the attack (for they both go together), you are in a fair way of winning.
29. If ever your game be such, that you have scarce any thing to play, you have either brought out your pieces wrong, or, which is worse, not at all; for if you have brought them out right, you must have variety enough.
30. Do not be much afraid of doubling a pawn: two in a direct line are not disadvantageous when surrounded by three or four others; three together are strong, (as three white pawns on 28, 35 and 37;) but four, (as 44 in addition) that make a square, with the help of other pieces, well managed, form an invincible strength, and probably may produce you a queen: on the contrary, two pawns, with an interval between (as on 35 and 37) are no better than one; and if you should have three over each other in a line (as 26, 34, and 42) your game cannot be in a worse situation.
31. When a piece is so attacked that it is difficult to save it, give it up, and endeavour to annoy your enemy in another place; for it often happens, that whilst your adversary is pursuing a piece, you either get a pawn or two, or such a situation as ends in his destruction.
32. Supposing your queen and another piece are attacked at the same time, and by removing your queen, you must lose the piece, if you can get two pieces in exchange for her, rather do that than retire; for the difference is more than the worth of a queen; besides, you preserve your situation, which is often better than a piece; when the attack and defence are thoroughly formed, if he who plays first be obliged to retire by the person who defends, that generally ends in the loss of the game on the side of him who attacks.
33. Do not aim at exchanges without reason; a good player will take advantage of it, to spoil your situation, and mend his own: but when you are strongest, especially by a piece, and have not an immediate check-mate in view, then every time you exchange, your advantage increases. Again, when you have played a piece, and your adversary opposes one to you, exchange directly, for he wants to remove you: prevent him, and do not lose the move.
34. Every now and then examine your game, and then take your measures accordingly.
35. At the latter end of the game, especially when both queens are off the board, the kings are capital pieces; do not let your king be idle; it is by his means, generally, you must get the move and the victory.
36. As the queen, rooks, and bishops operate at a distance, it is not always necessary in your attack to have them near your adversary’s king; they do better at a distance, cannot be driven away, and prevent a stale-mate.
37. When there is a piece you can take, and that cannot escape, do not hurry; see where you can make a good move elsewhere, and take the piece at leisure.
38. It is not always right to take your adversary’s pawn with your king, for very often it happens to be a safeguard and protection to him. Place a black rook on 5, with a pawn on 45, and the white king on 53, and he will be sheltered by the black pawn from the attack of the rook.
39. When you can take a man with different pieces, consider thoroughly with which you had best take it.
APPLICATION TO SOME OF THE FOREGOING RULES.
1. Whether you play the open or close game, bring out all your pieces into play before you begin the attack; for if you do not and your adversary should, you will always attack, or be attacked, at a great disadvantage; this is so essential, that you had better forego an advantage than deviate from it; and no person can ever play well who does not strictly practise this. In order to bring out your pieces properly, push on your pawns first, and support them with your pieces, by which your game will not be crowded, and all your pieces will be at liberty to play and assist each other, and so co-operate towards obtaining your end; and either in your attack or defence, bring them out so as not to be driven back again.
2. When you have brought out all your pieces, which you will have done well, if you have your choice on which side to castle; then consider thoroughly your own and adversary’s game, and not only resolve where to castle, but likewise to attack where you appear strongest, and your enemy weakest. By this it is probable you will be able to break through your adversary’s game, in which some pieces must be exchanged. Now pause again, and survey both games attentively, and do not let your impetuosity hurry you on too far; at this critical juncture (especially if you still find your adversary very strong) rally your men, and put them in good order for a second or third attack, still keeping them close and connected, so as to be of use to each other. For want of this method, and a little coolness, an almost sure victory is often snatched out of a player’s hands, and a total overthrow ensues.
3. At the last period of the game, observe where your pawns are strongest, best connected, and nearest to queen; likewise mind how your adversary’s pawns are disposed, and compare these things together; and if you can get to queen before him, proceed without hesitation; if not, hurry on with your king to prevent him: I speak now, as supposing all the noblemen are gone; if not, they are to attend your pawns, and likewise to prevent your adversary from going to queen.—_Vide_ _Hoyle_—_Jones, &c._
CHESS-BOARD, _s._ The board or table on which the game of chess is played.
CHESS-MAN, _s._ A puppet for chess.
CHEVAUX-DE-FRISE, s. A piece of timber traversed with wooden spikes, pointed with iron, five or six feet long.
CHEW, _v._ To grind with the teeth, to masticate; to meditate, or ruminate in the thoughts; to taste without swallowing.
CHICK, CHICKEN, _s._ The young of a bird, particularly of a hen, or small bird.
CHINE, _s._ The part of the back in which the back-bone is found; a piece of the back of an animal.
CHIRP, _s._ The voice of birds or insects.
CHOP, _v._ To do any thing with a quick motion; to light or happen upon any thing. To fall upon a scent.
CHOUGH, _s._ A bird which frequents the rocks by the sea.
This species weighs about fourteen ounces; length near seventeen inches. The bill is longer and more slender than in any of the genus, a little curved, of a deep orange red, much resembling red coral, and is remarkably brittle; irides hazel.
The plumage is wholly black, glossed with purple; legs and feet red; claws black, strong, and much hooked. The female differs in not being so large, and in the bill being shorter; the plumage in both sexes is alike.
This bird with us seems to be chiefly confined to Devonshire, Cornwall, and Wales, where it is found on most of the bold rocky shores. It has been seen on the cliffs of Dover, supposed to have escaped from confinement, and stocked those rocks. But we believe the breed in those parts is again lost.—_Montagu._
CHRONIC, _a._ Relating to time. A chronic distemper is of long duration. _Vide_ LAMENESS.
CHUB, _s._ A river fish. The cheven.
This fish takes its name from the head, not only in our own but other languages; we call it chub, according to Skinner, and from the old English cop, a head; the French, testard; the Italians, capitome: in different parts of England this fish is called cheven, nob, or botling; he much resembles the carp, but is of a longer form; the body is oblong, rather round, and of a pretty equal thickness in the greater part of the slope; the scales are large; the irides silvery; the cheeks of the same colour; the head and back of a deep dusky green; the sides silvery, but in the summer, yellow; the belly white; the pectoral fins of a pale yellow; the ventral and anal fins, red; the tail forked, of a brownish hue, but tinged with blue at the end; it is altogether a handsome fish, will sometimes weigh upwards of five pounds; but Salvianus speaks of them as increasing to eight or nine. The flesh of the chub is not in much esteem, being coarse, and when out of season, full of small hairy bones; the head and throat are the best parts, taking care to have the latter well washed and cleansed from the grass and weeds usually in it. The roe is exceedingly good, and this fish stewed as carp, will, it is said, deceive a connoisseur.
The haunts of the chub are in rivers whose bottoms are of sand or clay, or which are bounded by clayey banks; particularly in deep holes, shaded by trees, weeds, &c. They frequently float on the surface, and are sometimes in streams and deep waters where the currents are strong; in ponds fed by a rivulet they grow to a large size. They spawn in April, and are most in perfection in December and January, having then very few of the hairy bones aforementioned.
The chub does not afford the angler so much diversion as the trout, from being so dull a fish on the hook, and when once struck becoming soon tired; but he bites so eagerly, that, when he takes the bait, his jaws are heard to chop like those of the dog, and having a very wide leather mouth, and his teeth in his throat, there is little danger of his breaking hold; to fish for him, the angler should have a stout long rod, a strong line (if he uses a reel he will be enabled the better to fish under bushes) with a yard or more of the best silk-worm-gut at bottom, a hook proportioned to the bait used, a swan-quill float, and the line so shotted, eight or ten inches from the hook, as to sink the float to a quarter of an inch above the surface; the same ground-bait to be used as for the carp, and the hook baited with a sufficient quantity of salmon’s roe (boiled a little) to fill up the bend properly; this rightly done is a tempting bait. The large ones are to be caught by dibbing, very early in the morning, with the brown beetle or cockchafer: by day-break the angler should be at the river, and after baiting his hook, let him move it two or three times near the surface, as in the act of flying; then let it softly drop on the water, shaking the rod gently, which will cause the appearance of its struggling to escape: this attracts the chub, who are so fond of this bait that they will rise two or three at a time to seize it; the landing-net in this fishing should never be forgotten, as the places most likely for success in taking chub, are those where the angler cannot get to the water-side to land them with his hands.
Another way of dibbing is in a hot summer day with a grasshopper. In any hole where they haunt, many of them will be seen basking themselves near the surface; the rod must be both long and of considerable strength; the line strong, and in length about a yard. Bait the hook with a grasshopper, and the angler must conceal himself behind some bush or tree, and remain as motionless as possible, for the chub is so fearful, that the smallest shadow of a bird flying over, or of the rod, makes him sink to the bottom, but he will soon rise again. Having selected the largest chub, let him move the rod with great slowness and caution, and drop the bait gently upon the water, three or four inches before it, and he will infallibly take it: there is no danger of securing the chub, if allowed play enough before it is attempted to be taken out, being one of the leather-mouthed fishes, wherein a hook seldom loses its hold.
The chub will take gentles, wasps, maggots (which must be baked in an oven before used). Paste of fine new white bread (without being made wet), worked up in the hand, and tinged with vermilion as near as possible to the colour of salmon’s roe; from the hook this paste will not easily wash off, and is a most killing bait; but the best baits for bottom or float-fishing for this fish, are old Cheshire cheese, (such as, without crumbling, will mould in the hand), and the pith from the back bone of an ox, with the outward so carefully taken off as not to bruise the inward skin.