*584 



SCIENCE. 



Science, for the player to change his position, (see Fig. 20.) and 

 Curiosities to replace the false back and partition, preparatory to 



in - the opening of the great cupboard. 



V ^*Y* P/ The machinery is so thinly scattered over this cup- 

 board, that the eye surveys the whole space at on 

 glance, and it might seem necessary to open a door at 

 the back, and to hold a lighted candle there, as an in- 

 stance ; but the artifice is dictated by sound policy, 

 which teaches that the exhibitor cannot be too assiduous 

 in affording facilities to explore every corner and re* 

 cess, which, he well knows, contains nothing that he is 

 desirous of concealing. 



The chest may now be wheeled round for the pur* 

 pose of showing the trunk of the figure ; leaving, how- 

 ever, the front doors of the great chamber open. The 

 bunch of keys, too, should be suffered to remain in the 

 door (D) ; for the apparent carelessness of such a pro- 

 ceeding will serve to allay any suspicion which the 

 circumstance of locking the door (B) might have ex- 

 cited, more especially as the two doors resemble one 

 another in point of construction. 



When the drapery has been lifted up, and the 

 doors hi the trunk and thigh opened, the chest may be 

 returned to its former situation, and the doors be 

 closed. In the mean time the player should withdraw 

 his legs from behind the drawer, as he will not so easi- 

 ly effect this movement after the drawer has been 

 pushed in. 



Here let us pause a while, and compare the real 

 state of the chest at this time, with the impression 

 which, at a similar period of an exhibition of the Chess 

 Player, has generally been left on the minds of the 

 spectators ; the bulk of whom have concluded that 

 each part of the chest had been successively exposed ; 

 and that the whole was at that time open to inspec- 

 tion : whereas, on the contrary, it is evident that some 

 parts had been entirely withheld from view, others but 

 obscurely shown, and that nearly half of the chest was 

 -then excluded from their sight. Hence we learn how 

 easily, in matters of this sort, the judgment may be led 

 astray by an artful combination of circumstances, each 

 assisting the other towards the attainment of one ob- 

 ject. 



When the doors in front have been closed, the ex- 

 hibitor may occupy as much time as he finds necessary, 

 in apparently adjusting the machinery at the back, 

 whilst the player is taking the position described in 

 Figs. 22. and 23. In this position he will find no diffi- 

 culty in executing every movement required of the au- 

 tomaton : his head being above the table, he will see the 

 chess-board through the waistcoat as easily as through 

 a veil ; and his left hand extending beyond the elbow 

 of the figure, he will be enabled to guide its hand to 

 any part of the board, and to take up and let go a 

 chess man with no other " delicate mechanism" than a 

 string communicating with the finger. His right hand 

 being within the chest, may serve to keep in motion 

 the contrivance for producing the noise, which is heard 

 during the moves, and to perform the other tricks of 

 moving the head, tapping on the chest, &c. 



" In order to facilitate the introduction of the 

 player's left arm into the arm of the figure, the latter 

 is obliged to be drawn backwards ; and to account for, 

 and conceal this strained attitude, a pipe is ingeniously 

 placed in the automaton's hand. This pipe must not 



pression to the spectators of winding up a spring, or 

 weight, and to serve as a signal to the player to set 

 the head of the automaton in motion. 



The above process is simple, feasible, and effec- 

 tive ; showing indisputably that the phenomena may 

 be produced without the aid of machinery, and there- 

 by rendering it probable that the Chess Player derives 

 its merit solely from the very ingenious mode by 

 which the concealment of a living agent is effected. 



Science, 



Explanation of Plate CCCCLXXXr. Fig. 1626. 

 Fig. 16. A perspective view of the Automaton, Explana- 

 seen in front, with all the doors thrown open. Fig. 17. tlon of Plate 

 An elevation of the back of the Automaton. Fig. 18. CC CCLXXXV. 

 An elevation of the front of the chest, the dotted lines 

 representing the player in the first position. Fig. 19. 

 A side elevation, showing the player in the same posi- 

 tion. Fig. 20. A front elevation, showing the second 

 position. Fig. 21. An horizontal section through the 

 line WW, Fig. 20. Fig. 22. A front elevation, showing 

 the third position. Fig. 23. A side elevation of the 

 same position. Fig. 24. A vertical section through the 

 line XX, Fig. 23. Fig. 25. A vertical section through 

 the line YY, Fig. 22, showing the false back closed. 

 Fig. 26. A similar section, showing the false back 

 raised. 



The following Letters of Reference are employed in all 



the Figures from 16 to 26. 



A, Front door of the small cupboard. B, Back 

 door of ditto. CC, Front doors of large cupboard. 

 D, Back door of ditto. E, Door or ditto. F, Door 

 in the thigh. GG, The drawer. H, Machinery in 

 front of the small cupboard. I, Screen behind the 

 machinery. K, Opening caused by the removal of 

 part of the floor of the small cupboard. L, A box 

 which serves to conceal an opening in the floor of the 

 large cupboard, made to facilitate the first position ; 

 and which also serves as a seat for the third position. 

 M, A similar box to receive the toes of the player in 

 the first position. N, The inner chest, filling up part 

 of the trunk. O, The space behind the drawer. PQ, 

 The false back turning to the joint at Q. R, Part of 

 the partition formed of cloth stretched tight, which is 

 carried up by the false back, to form the opening be- 

 tween the chambers. S, The opening between the 

 chambers. T, The opening connecting the trunk and 

 chest, which is partly concealed by the false back. 

 U, Panel which is slipped aside to admit the player." 



2. On the Process of Cutting Steel lailh Soft Iron. 



It has for a long time been the practice of the Shak- On thepro- 

 ers in America to cut the hardest steel with a revolv- cess of cut- 

 ing wheel of the softest iron. The experiment was tj 8 Steel 

 successfully tried by Mr. Barnes in America, and also 

 by Mr. Perkins in London. Mr. Barnes made a circu- 

 lar plate of soft sheet iron, with which he cut a file into 



two, without its being in the least degree impressed by 

 the file. During the operation of cutting a steel saw 

 plate, there appeared a band of intense fire round the 

 soft iron which continually emitted sparks with great 



violence. He afterwards cut out the saw teeth by the 

 same means. 



Some persons have supposed that this remarkable 

 result arises from the iron makins the steel red hot 



r "' 



soft 



be removed till the other arrangements are completed. before it is cut, so that the process is nothing more 

 " When all is ready, and the pipe removed, the ex- than a peculiar method of cutting steel when rendered 

 hibitor may turn round the winder, to give the im- J soft by heat. This, however, does not seem to be a 



6 



