TUEEIAXUS'S AUTOMATA. 267 



of the throne, amused himself in his later years 

 with automata of various kinds. The artist 

 whom he employed was Janellus Turrianus of 

 Cremona. It was his custom after dinner to 

 introduce upon the table figures of armed men 

 and horses. Some of these beat drums, others 

 played upon flutes, while a third set attacked 

 each other with spears. Sometimes he let fly 

 wooden sparrows, which flew back again to their 

 nest. He also exhibited corn-mills so extremely 

 small that they could be concealed in a glove, 

 yet so powerful that they could grind in a day as 

 much corn as would supply eight men with food 

 for a day. 



The next piece of mechanism of sufficient 

 interest to merit our attention is that which was 

 made by M. Camus, for^ the amusement of Louis 

 XIV. when a child. It consisted of a small 

 coach, which was drawn by two horses, and 

 which contained the figure of a lady within, with 

 a footman and page behind. When this machine 

 was placed at the extremity of a table of the 

 proper size, the coachman smacked his whip, and 

 the horses instantly set off, moving their legs in 

 a natural manner, and drawing the coach after 

 them : when the coach reached the opposite edge 

 of the table, it turned sharply at a right angle, 

 and proceeded along the adjacent edge. As soon 

 as it arrived opposite the place where the king 

 sat, it stopped ; the page descended and opened 

 the coach-door; the lady alighted, and with a 

 curtsey presented a petition, which she held in 

 her hand to the king. After waiting some time 

 she again curtsied and re-entered the carriage. 

 The page closed the door, and having resumed 



