And euery man in his office contente/ how stood the cytees that tyme in worship and renome/ how was renomed the noble royame of Englond Alle the world dredde hit And spack worship of hit/ how hit now standeth and in what haboundance I reporte me to them that knowe hit yf ther ben theeuis wyth in the royame or on the see/ they knowe that laboure in the royame And sayle on the see I wote well the fame is grete therof I pray god saue that noble royame And sende good true and politicque counceyllours to the gouernours of the same &c./ And noblesse of lignage wyth oute puyssance and might is but vanyte and despite.  And hit is so as we haue sayd to fore that theschequer whiche the philosopher ordeyned represented and figured the sayd cyte of Babilone And in lyke wyse may hit figure a royame and signefye alle the world And yf men regarde and take heed vnto the poyntes vnto the middes of euery quadrante and so to double euery quadrant to other the myles of this cyte all way doublinge vnto the nombre of .lxiiii.  The nombre of the same shulde surmounte alle the world/ And not only the world but many worldes by the doublinge of mylis/ whiche doublinge so as a fore is sayd shuld surmounte alle thynges/ And thus endeth the first chapitre of the fourth booke.

[Illustration]

The seconde chaitre of the fourth tractate tretheth of the draught of the kynge/ And how he meuyth hym in the chequer.

We ought to knowe that in this world/ the kynges seygnourye and regne eche in his royame.  And in this playe we ought to knowe by the nature of hit how the kynge meueth hym and yssueth oute of his place/ For y’e shall vnderstande that he is sette in the fourth quadrante or poynt of theschequer.  And whan he is black/ he standeth in the white/ and the knyght on his ryght side in white/ And the Alphyn and the rooke in black/ And on the lifte side the foure holden the places opposite/ And the rayson may be suche/ For be cause that the knyghtes ben the glorye & the crowne of the kynge,’ They ensiewe in semblable residence/ that they doo whan they ben sette semblably on the ryght side of the kynge & on the lyfte side of the quene/ And for as moche as the rook on the ryght syde is vicayre of the kynge he accompanyeth the quene in semblable siege that the Alphyn doth whiche is Iuge of the kynge/ And in lyke wyse the lifte rook & the lyfte Alphyn accompanye the kynge in semblable siege/ In suche wyse as they ben sette aboute the kynge in bothe sides wyth the Quene in manere of a crowne/ That they may seurely kepe the royame that reluyseth and shyneth in the kynge and in the Quene/ In suche wyse as they may conferme and diffende hym in theyr sieges and in theyr places.  And the more hastily renne vpon his enemyes And for as moche as the Iuge, the knyght/ and the vicaire. kepe and garnysshe the kynge on that one syde/ They that ben sette on the other syde kepe the Quene/ And thus kepe they alle the strength and fermete of the royame/ And semblably otherwhile for