AUTOMATON CHESS-PLAYER. 



279 



imperfectly shown, while at the present time 

 nearly half of the chest is excluded from view. ; 

 When the drawer G G is pushed in, and the 

 doors A and C closed, the exhibitor adjusts the 

 machinery at the back, in order to give time to the 

 player to take the position shown in a front view 

 in Fig. 71, and in profile in Fig. 72. In this 

 position he will experience no difficulty in execut- 

 ing every movement made by the automaton. As 

 his head is above the chess-board, he will see 

 through the waistcoat of the figure, as easily as 

 No. 71. No. 72. 



through a veil, the whole of the pieces on the 

 board, and he can easily take up and put down a 

 chess-man without any other mechanism than that 

 of a string communicating with the finger of the 

 figure. His right hand, being within the chest, 

 may be employed to keep in motion the wheel- 

 work for producing the noise which is heard 

 during the moves, and to perform the other move- 

 ments of the figure, such as that of moving the 

 head, tapping on the chest, &c. 



A very ingenious contrivance is adopted to 

 facilitate the introduction of the player's left arm 



