a narrow neck of sea called the Straits of Constantinople, or the Bosphorous. The sea of Marmora again, is connected with the Mediterranean, still further to the south-west,only by the narrow strait called the Dardanelles, anciently the Hellespont. Hence Constantinople commands the whole intercourse between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, with the noble rivers flowing into the latter, such as the Danube, the Dniester, the Dnieper, and the Don; hence the importance of Constantinople as the capital of the Eastern empire and afterwards of the Ottoman empire; and hence the anxiety of the cabinets of Europe at the present moment respecting the future fate and possessorship of that city. To the east and south of Constantinople is the large and beautiful country of Asia Minor, through which we have just conducted the reader, and the whole of which is possessed by Turkey; north-west is the large country of European Turkey; and south-west, after passing through the sea of Marmora, is the Levant or Archipelago, a large bay stretching northward from the Mediterranean, and separating Greece from Asia Minor, studded, too, with numerous islands. Whenever our readers meet in the public journals with a notice of political or diplomatic occurrences between the various European powers at Constantinople, it may be useful to remember that this Archipelago, or cluster of small islands, as well as the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmora, must be traversed before communication of a maritime nature can be held with Constantinople. He will also be able to form some idea, especially with a map before him, of the reason why so great importance is attached by these powers to the Dardanelles. This narrow strait is, in fact, the key to Constantinople and the Black Sea.

It will be remembered that in our First Route we conducted the reader to Astrakhan in the Caspian Sea, and there dismissed in a few words the remaining part of the journey through Russia. We shall follow a somewhat similar plan on the present occasion, for the following reasons. We hope shortly to accompany our readers in a steam voyage down the Danube, through the Austrian and Turkish Empires; and have also in hand a course of papers on Turkey and the Turkish provinces. These will collectively afford a tolerably clear insight into Turkish topography, and thus save the necessity of treading that ground on the present occasion. With regard to Constantinople itself; its mosques and bazaars; its seraglio; its oriental customs and peculiarities; here are abundant materials for two or three of our numbers, and must therefore be passed over here. A few general remarks, then, will conclude our present route.

English travellers proceeding from Persia to England, by way of Constantinople, pursue different routes after leaving

that city. Lieut. Lumsden, in 1820, returned by way of Odessa on the Black Sea, Lemberg, Cracow, Vienna, Munich, Switzerland, and France, to England. Sir James Alexander, in 1826, passed through Constantinople, Shumla, Bukharest, Vienna, Frankfort, and so through Belgium to England. Mr. Fraser, in 1835, after leaving Constantinople, came by way of Adrianople, through Bulgaria and Servia into Austria, and thence through Belgium to England. Let us endeavour to determine the number of miles over which our journey has carried us. When a traveller is proceeding with great rapidity on horseback, through countries where he knows not how soon he may be attacked by depredators, where he has to traverse mountain and valley, forest and plain, where he meets with few inns, and those few badly provisioned, where scientific instruments and books must be dispensed with, and where nothing analogous to an English coach-road exists, we cannot look for a very accurate measurement of road gone over, and must not be surprised if the estimates of different travellers are somewhat at variance. In such a case we may take a mean between the estimates as the nearest approach we can make to correctness.

Lieutenant Lumsden estimates the journey by sea from Bombay to Muskat, at the entrance of the Persian Gulf, 1280 miles; from Muskat to Bushire 400; from Bushire to Shiraz, 170; Shiraz to Ispahan, 220; Ispahan to Tabriz, 540; Tabriz to Mount Ararat, 160. Sir James Alexander estimates the last four distances, respectively, at about 180, 280, 680, and 160. As Sir James took a somewhat circuitous route in some parts, we may perhaps estimate the distance from Bushire to Mount Ararat at about eleven hundred miles, or from Bombay two thousand eight hundred. From this point to Constantinople, along the northern part of Asia Minor, is estimated by Sir J. Alexander at about thirteen hundred miles, and by Sir R. Porter at about twelve hundred; taking the latter, we have four thousand miles from Constantinople to Bombay. Neither Porter, Alexander, nor Fraser, gives an itinerary from Constantinople to London, but Lieutenant Lumsden estimates the distance from Odessa on the Black Sea, through Russia, Austria, Bavaria, and France, to London, at about seventeen hundred miles. The route here taken is probably two hundred miles longer than the usual route from Constantinople via Vienna and the Netherlands, to London.

We may therefore perhaps estimate the distance from Bombay to London, by our present overland route, by way of Bushire, Shiraz, Ispahan, Tabriz, Mount Ararat, Erzeroum, Constantinople, and Vienna, at somewhere about five thousand five hundred miles.

The Hall represented in our frontispiece forms part of the mansion of Littlecot, or Littlecoates, the residence of General Popham; and is situated partly in the parish of Chilton-Foliot, and partly in that of Ramsbury, Wiltshire. The house was erected in the early part of the sixteenth century, by the family of the Darrels; and was some years afterwards, sold to Sir John Popham, Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench in the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James the First. The family of the Pophams was very ancient, and of great note. They were first raised to the rank of nobility by the Empress Matilda and her son Henry the Second. One of them was styled, on account of the offices he filled, "Chauncelar of Normandy, Capitaine of Vernoile, of Perche, of Susan, and Bayon, Tresoror of the King's Household." His body was buried in the Charter-House Church, London; and his effigy was fixed over the door of St. Sepulchre's Church, he having contributed large sums towards its erection. He is said by Leland to have left "a very great treasure in strange coynes." Sir John Popham, the chief Justice to whose hands Littlecoates passed, was among the most eminent branches of the family, having adorned his high station equally by his ability and his integrity. The descendants of this gentlemán, in the male line, inherited the mansion till the beginning of the present century, when it passed by will to General Edward Leybourne, who thereupon assumed the name of Popham. In the family of this gentleman we believe the estate still remains.

The mansion of Littlecoates was built, as has been remarked, "about the time of the termination of feudal warfare, when defence came no longer to be an object in a country mansion." The park in which it is situated comprises an area of about four acres in extent, and is adorned with groups of beautiful trees. On one side of it rises a lofty hill, crowned with wood, and forming a fine contrast with the luxuriant and level meadows spread along the banks of the river Kennet; a branch of which river runs through the garden, and there constitutes a preserve for fish.

Considerable alterations have been made in the exterior of the mansion in modern times; but the interior presents many of the features which it exhibited two or three centuries ago. On the first floor of the building is a noble picture gallery, one hundred and ten feet long, and hung with many curious portraits, painted in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; among which is one of Chief Justice Popham, and one of Nell Gwynne, by Verelst. There is also preserved here a curious piece of needlework, representing a large Roman tessalated pavement, which was discovered in the adjoining park by Mr. George, steward to the estate, in 1728. The Society of Antiquaries caused a plate of it to be engraved by Vertue, and a description to be written by Professor Ward. This pavement measured about forty feet by thirty-three, and seems to have formed the floor of a temple. It consisted of two divisions, the templum and sacrarium, answering to the nave and chancel of our churches. The templum, or outer part, which was nearly square, was ornamented with a compartment of figures inlaid, in the centre of which was a large two handled cup, supported by two sea-monsters with fishes tails, and behind each a dolphin and two conchæ, or shell-fish, probably in allusion to Neptune. Opposite was a border, with a similar cup, supported by two tigers. The floor of the sacrarium was a square, enclosing a circle. Within this circle was a smaller one, in which was a figure of Apollo playing on the harp;

and in four surrounding compartments, four female figures representing the Seasons, riding at full speed. One was exhibited holding a flower in her hand, and seated on a deer, to represent Spring; the second appeared seated on a panther, and holding a swan, as an emblem of Summer; the third, who rested her arm on a branch of a vine, rode on a bull, and personified Autumn; and the fourth, seated on a goat, without anything in her hand, denoted the barrenness of Winter. Exterior to the circle enclosing these figures were three compartments, each displaying a face of the sun, emitting bright and extended rays in the form of a semicircle; many conjectures have been offered respecting the nature and purport of this remarkable specimen of ancient art; but we need not dwell on them here.

We have said that the piece of tapestry, or needlework, representing this pavement, is preserved in the long gallery on the first story. On the ground floor is an apartment still more attractive as a relic or memorial of old times; we mean the Great Hall, represented in our frontispiece. This hall is very spacious, paved with stone, and lighted by large and very lofty windows. It measures forty-six feet in length, twenty-four in width, and twenty-five in height; and its walls are hung with numerous relics of ancient armour, such as coats of mail, helmets, cross-bows, old-fashioned pistols, carbines, leather jerkins, and other defensive and offensive accoutrements. Here is also a pair of elk's horns, measuring seven feet six inches from tip to tip. The old furniture of the room is preserved nearly in the same state as it was in by-gone days, and Mr. Nash has presented them with his accustomed fidelity. Among these articles of furniture is an old arm-chair, said to have been used by Chief Justice Popham; it is constructed of wood, curiously turned, and has a very lofty back, and a triangular seat. The centre of the hall is occupied by a large oak table, reaching nearly from one extremity to the other. This table probably formed the hospitable board on which in days of yore, the vassals were feasted by their lord. Mr. Nash, however, has represented this table as being the scene of the game of "shovel-board," a favourite pastime among the higher classes in the time of Charles the Second; and it appears not unlikely that the same table might serve both purposes.

As the game here alluded to is now quite osbolete, the reader may not deem a few remarks concerning it superfluous. Shovel-board was an inferior kind of billiards, in which a small object was struck or thrown, so as to pass to a particular part of the table. Strutt remarks, that the residences of the nobility, or the mansions of the opulent were not thought to be complete without a shovel-board table; and this fashionable piece of furniture was usually stationed in the great hall. Dr. Plott, in his History of Staffordshire, says:

It is remarkable that in the hall at Chartley, the shuffleboard table, [it appears to have been spelt both ways,] though ten yards one foot and an inch long, is made up of about two hundred and sixty pieces, which are generally about eighteen inches long, some few only excepted, that support underneath, are so accurately joyned and glewed are scarce a foot; which, being laid on longer boards for together, that no shuffle-board whatever is freer from rubs or castings. There is a joynt also in the shuffle-board at Madely Manor exquisitely well done.

The general width of these tables is about three feet, and the surface is as level and smooth as it can be made. The player stands at one end of the table, and near the other end is a mark which determines the success of the player. This mark or line is drawn across the table at a distance of three or four inches from the end, which end is

unprovided with any ledge or stay, and at about four feet distance from this mark or line another is drawn, parallel to it. The toys with which the game is played are flat metal weights, of which each player has four. Each one in turn impels a weight from the near to the remote end of the table; and his object is to use such a

ON CHESS.

VII. CHESS-WRITERS AND PLAYERS.

'CHESS-KING, as designed BY FLAXMAN

High in the midst the rev'rend kings appear,
And o'er the rest their pearly sceptres rear:
One solemn step, majestically slow,

They gravely move; and shun the dang'rous foe;
If e'er they call, the watchful subjects spring,-
And die with rapture if they save their king:
On him the glory of the day depends:

He once imprisoned, all the conflict ends.-SIR W. JONES.

be

seen

THE knowledge of the game of chess has been extensively diffused for many centuries past, as may by the numerous manuscripts and printed treatises which have appeared on the subject. The latter have been written in, or translated into, nearly all the European languages, and several of the Oriental ones; and it may perhaps prove interesting to such of our readers as have not met with any notice of these works, to take a cursory glance at them, and at the players and modes of play they celebrate.

As early as the commencement of the ninth century, the game of chess was in such high repute in the East, that Al Amîn, Khalif of Bagdad, is said to have commanded the different provinces of his empire to send to his court all such persons as were the most expert at chess, to whom he allowed pensions, and passed the most considerable part of his time among them. On one occasion, when he was playing at chess with his freed-man Kuthar, without the least apprehension of impending danger, Al Mamûn's forces pushed the siege of Bagdad with so much vigour, that the city was upon the point of being carried by assault. On being warned of his danger, Al Amîn cried out "Let me alone! for I see cneck-mate against Kuthar." This anecdote is quoted by Dr. Hyde from an Arabic history of the Saracens. At this period (about the year 808), chess was not unknown to the monarchs of the West. Charlemagne is represented, in the curious and ancient French romance called Guerin de Montglave, as being exceedingly fond of the game. This romance was alluded to in our History of the Origin of Chess, and the anecdote there referred to is as follows:-"I bet," said the emperor to the hero of the tale, "that you would not play your expectations against me at chess, unless I were to propose some very high stake." "Done," replied Guerin, "I will play, provided only you bet against me your kingdom of

France." "Very good, let us see," said Charlemagne, who fancied himself to be strong at chess. They play forthwith, Charlemagne loses his kingdom, but laughs the matter off as a joke. Guerin, however, is not disposed to view it in this light, and swears by St. Martin and all the Saints of Aquitaine that he must receive some compensation. The emperor then gives him permission to conquer Montglave (Lyon) from the Saracens, and surrenders to Guerin all his right in that city.

Other romances of that period contain notices of the game of chess, and it is in fabulous histories that we get the first mention among western authors of this celebrated amusement. There is nothing to induce the supposition that at this time, the European players had attained any great degree of skill at chess; but we find mention made of a player at Tripoli, in Syria, who in the year 970 was famed for going through the game blind-fold. This man, Jusuph Tchelebi by name, was accustomed to use very large chess-men, and to play not by naming the moves, but by feeling the men, and placing them in the squares or removing them from the board as occasion required. At the period we are now speaking of, the chess-table seems often to have been the scene of fierce dispute, and violent anger. Two or three fatal affrays are represented by the French romancers to have taken place, in consequence of the termination of a game of chess, and though we are prepared for highly-coloured pictures in works of this description, there is no doubt but that some measure of truth is to be found in such recitals, and that they had their foundation in the customs of the times. book published at Stockholm in the Icelandic language, King Canute, so celebrated for his wisdom, is described as resenting very deeply a provocation received at chess. The passage runs thus:

In a

As King Canute and Earl Ulf were playing at chess, the king made a false move, in consequence of which the earl took one of his knights; but the king would not allow this, and replacing the piece, insisted on his playing differently. The earl waxed angry, overturned the chess-board, and was going away, when the king called after him, saying “Ulf, thou coward, dost thou flee?" The earl returned to the door, and said, " You would have taken a longer flight in the river Helga, had I not run to your assistance when the Swedes beat you like a dog; you did not then call me Ulf the coward." The earl then retired, and the next morning the king ordered him to be killed.

Of the fondness of the Danes for chess and dice we have an instance in the fact that when Bishop Etheric came to Canute the Great on important business, and entered the royal presence at midnight, he found the king and his courtiers busily engaged at these games, even at an hour which in those early times must have been considered a most unseasonable one for the purposes of amusement.

In an old book, called the Anatomy of Melancholy, where chess is recommended as "a good and wittie exercise of the minde for some kinde of men; but too troublesome, too full of anxiety," and "all but as bad as study" to others, it is given as an illustration of its tendency to promote a testy choleric feeling in him that loseth the mate, that "William the Conqueror in his younger years while playing at chess with the prince of France, lost a mate, and was so provoked thereat, that he knocked the chess-board about his adversary's pate, which was a cause afterwards of much enmity between them." The chess contest seems to have been afterwards carried on in much the same spirit between their sons, for we find that towards the close of William's reign (1087), he appointed his two sons, Robert and Henry, joint governors of Normandy, and these going together to visit the French king were entertained with a variety of sports. Henry played with the Dauphin (Louis le Gros), at chess, and won a considerable sum of money of him, which so much irritated Louis that he threw the chess-men at Henry's head, using at the same time