Editorial: Maelzel's Chess Player [pp. 318-326]

SOUTHERIN LITERARY MESSENGER.
this year, we feel convinced you will, upon proper representation, take pleasure in correcting it, as an impression so erroneous might have a prejudicial tendency.
Under the notice of the Eulogies on the Life and Character of the late Chief Justice Marshall, it is there
stated that "for several years past Judge Marshall had
suffered under a most excruciating mn.alady. A surgical
operation by Dr. Physick of Philadelphia at length
procured him relief; but a hurt received in travelling
last Spring seems to have caused a return of the former
complaint with circumstances of aggravated pain and
danger. Having revisited Philadelphia in the hope of
again finding a cure, his disease there overpowered him,
and he died on the 6th of July, 1835, in the 80th year
of his age."
Now, sir, the above quotation is incorrect in the following respect: Judge Marshall never had a return of
the complaint for which he was operated upon by Dr.
Physick. After the demise of Chief Justice Marshall,
it became our melancholy duty to make a post mortem
examination, which we did in the most careful manner,
and ascertained that his bladder did not contain one
particle of calculous matter; its mucous coat was in a
perfectly natural state, and exhibited not the slightest
traces of irritation.
The cause of his death was a very diseased condition
of the liver, which was enormously enlarged, and contained several tuberculous abscesses of great size; its
pressure upon the stomach had the effect of dislodging
this organ from its natural situation, and compressing it
in such a manner, that for some time previous to his death
it would not retain the smallest quantity of nutriment.
By publishing this statcement, you will oblige
Yours, very respectfully,
N. CHAPMAN, M. D.
J. RANDOLPH, M.D.
To T. W. White, Esq.
MAELZEL'S CHESS-PLAYER.
Perhaps no exhibition of the kind has ever elicited
so general attention as the Chess-Player of Maelzel.
Wlherever seen it has been an object of intense curiosity,
to all persons who think. Yet the question of its mniodus
operandi is still undeternined. Nothing has been written on this topic which can be considered as decisive —
and accordingly we find every where men of mechanical
genius, of great general acuteness, and discriminative
understanding, who make no scruple in pronouncing the
Automaton a pure machine, unconnected with human
agency in its movements, and consequently, beyond all
comparison, the most astonishing of the inventions of
mankind. And such it would undoubtedly be, were they
right in their supposition. Assuming this hypothesis, it
would be grossly absurd to compare with the ClmessPlayer, any similar thing of either modern or ancient
days. Yet there have been many and wonderful automata. In Brewster's Letters on Natural Magic, we
have an account of the most remarkable. Among these
may be mentioned, as having beyond doubt existed,
firstly, the coach invented by M. Camus for the amusement of Louis XlV when a child. A table, about four
feet square, was introduced, into the room appropriated
for the exhibition. Upon this table was placed a carriage, six incihes in length, made of wood, and drawn
by two horses of the same material. One window being
down, a lady was seen on the back seat. A coachman
held the reins on the box, and a footman and page were
in theirplaces behind. M. Camusnow touched aspring;
whereupon the coachman smacked his whip, and the
horses proceeded in a natural manner, along the edge
of the table, drawing after them the carriage. Having
gone as far as possible in this direction, a sudden turn
was made to the left, and the vehicle was driven at right
angles to its former course, and still closely along the
edge of the table. In this way the coach proceeded
until it arrived opposite the chair of the young prince.
It then stopped, the page descended and opened the
door, the lady alighted, and presented a petition to her
sovereign. She then re-entered. The page put up the
steps, closed the door, and resumed his station. The
coachman whipped his horses, and the carriage was
driven back to its original position.
The magician of M. Maillardet is also worthy of
notice. We copy the following account of it from the
Letters before mentioned of Dr. B., who derived his information principally fromn the Edinburgh Encyclopidia.
"One of the most popular pieces of mechanism which
we have seen, is the Magician constructed by M. Maillardet, for the purpose of answering certain given questions. A figure, dressed like a magician, appears seated
at the bottom of a wall, holding a wand in one hand,
and a book in the other. A number of questions, ready
prepared, are inscribed on oval medallions, and the
spectator takes any of these he chooses, and to which
he wishes an answer, and having placed it in a drawer
ready to receive it, the drawer shuts with a spring till
the answer is returned. The magician then arises from
his seat, bows his head, describes circles with his wand,
and consulting the book as if in deep thought, lie lifts
it towards his face. Having thus appeared to ponder
over the proposed question, he raises his wand, and
striking with it the wall above his head, two folding
doors fly open, and display an appropriate answer to
the question. The doors again close, the magician resumes his original position, and the drawer opens to return the medallion. There are twenty of these medallions, all containing different questions, to which the
magician returns the most suitable and striking answers.
The medallions are thin plates of brass, of an elliptical
form, exactly resembling each other. Some of the medallions have a question inscribed on each side, both of
which the magician answered in succession. If the
drawer is shut without a medallion being put into it, the
magician rises, consults his book, shakes his head, and
resumes his seat. The folding doors remain shut, and
the drawer is-returned empty. If two medallions are
put into the drawer togethler, an answer is returned only
to the lower one. When the machinery is wound up,
the movements continue about an hour, during which
time about fifty questions may be answered. The inventor stated that the means'by which the different
medallions acted upon the machinery, so as to produce
the proper answers to the questions which they contained, M ere extremely simple."
The duck of Vaucanson was still more remarkable.
It was of the size of life, and so perfect an imitation of
the living animal that ~dl the spectators were deceived.
It executed, says Brewster, all the natural movements
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