Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1833-01-18
ALEXANDRIA GAZETTE
Eriraet from DR.. Brewstsr's Letters on Natu
rad Magic.

attained some degree'Of perfection IN the con
struction OF autOmata, or pieces Ut mechanism
which initiated the movements Of man and the
lower animals The tripuds which Homer men
tons as having been constructed by Vulcan tor
the banque ting. al Of the gods, advanced Of their
own accord to the table, and again returned to
their place. Selfmovlng tripods are mentioned
BY Aristotle, and PhiIosratus informs US, in his
Life of Apoiioniu, that this philosopher saw and
admired similar pieces uf mechanism among the
sages Of India.
Dedaus enjoys also the reputation OF having
constructed machines that initiated The mp;ions
of the human body Some of his statues are said
to have moved about spontaneously. aud Plato,
ArstOttle, and others have related that 1t was ne
cessary to tie them, in order to prevent them
fcom running away. Aristotle speaks Of wood
Ell Venus, which moved about in consequence OF
quicksilver being poured into its interior; but
Caliistratus, the tutor Of Denasthenes, states.
with sune probability, that the statues of D9da-
lus received their motion from the mechanical
powers. Beck,nan is Of opinion that The statues
of Dedalus differed only from those Of the early
Greeks and Egyptians IN having their eyes open
and their feet and hands free, and that the re-
clining posture Of sume, and the attitude Of
others las il ready to walk" gave rise to the
eyassera,ion that they possessed the power OF
loo emotion.
This opinion, however. cannot be maintained
with any show of reason; for it we apply such
principle in one case, We. must apply il in all,
mud the mind would be left in state Of utter
skepticism respecting the invention OF ancient
times.
| We are informed by AuIus GeIleus. on the au.
thnrity of Favorinus, that Archytas of Taren.
,um, who hourished about 400 years before
Chris,. constructed a wooden pigeon which was
capable Of flying. FaYorinus relates, that when
( il had once alishttd, it could not again resume
it, flight; ant Aulus Geliius adds, that it was
suspended by balancing, AID animated by con-
ceaIed aura spirit.
Among the earliest pieces OF modern mechan-
| ism was the curious watpr.cluck presented to
Char'rmasne Nv the Ralph Harum al Ruschid.
In the dial plate there were twelve small win
dnws, corresponding with the divisions Of the
hours The hours were indicated bv the open
| inc rf the windows. which let out little metallic
balls, which struck the hours by falling upon
brazen bell The doors continued open till twelve
o'clock. when twelve little knights. mounted on
horseback, came out at the same instant, and al
,er parading around the dial, shut the windows, &
returned tn their apartments.
The next automatic Of which any distinct &C
count has been preserved are those OF the ceie.
bratcd John Muller. .or Resiomon'anus, which
have been mentiuned by Klrcher, Baptis,a Por-
Ia, Gassendi. Lana. and Bishop wilkins. This
phiiosopher Is said to have constructed on artih.
cial eagle. ehich flew to meet the Emperor Max
im,lian when he arrived at Nuremburg on the
9Th June, 1870. After soaring alo't in the air,
the eagle IS stated to have met the Emperor at
sume distance from the CITY, aud to have return
ell and perched upon the town gate, where it
waited his approach.
When the Emperor reached the gate, the eagle
stretched ou, hs wings and ssluted him by an in.
cinatiun OF its body. Muller is likewise reported
TO have constructed an iron a.. which was put IN
moion by wheel. work, anh which flew about aud
ll.apsd upon the table. At an entertainment si-
ven by this ph,losopler to some OF his fasi'iar
friends, the Hy flew from his hands. and after
performing considerable round, II returned
again 10 The hand Of its master.
| The Empt ror Charles ", after his abdicati
of the throne, amused himself in his later years
with automata Of various kinds The artist WHOM,
he employed was Janeus Turlianus Of Creme.
ua 1t was his custom after dinner to introduce
upon the table figures Of armed nlen and horses.
Some Of these beat drums, others played up
IN flutes, while third set attacked each other
with spears. Sometimes he let fly w0rden spar
rows, which few back again to their nests
He also exhibited corn-mil!s SO extremely small
that they could be concealed 10 glove, yet SO
powerful they could grind in dav as much corn
as would supply eight men with food for day.
The mex, piece of mechanism of sufficient in
terpst to merit our attention IS that which was
made by NJ Canas for the amusement OF Louis
XIV. WHEN child. 1t consisted OF small
coach, which was ,rawnby two horses, and which
contained the figure Of a lady within. with foot
man and page behind. When this machine was
placed at the extremity ola table of the proper
size, the coachman smacked his whip, and the
horses instantly set of, moving their legs 10
natural manner, and drawing the coach after
them. When the coach reached the opposite
edge Of the table, it turned sharply at right an
gle. aud proceeded along the adjacent edge
As soou as it arrived opposite The place where
the king sat it stopped. the page. descended and
4 opened the coach. door; the lady aiigh,ed, and
with a courtesy presented petition which she
held in her hand. to the king
After waiting some time she again courtesied
and re.entered the carriage. The page cioset