Mobile register and journal., 1845-05-31
From the N. Y. Commercial Advertiser,


 THE AUTOMAToE CHEss-PLAYER.-Thereh has heen inquiry laely, in the newspapers, for the present whereabut of the anomaton chess-player, which once excited 80 much wondering speculation in Europe. li was generally remembered that after the death Of Maelzel the auionalon was sold, with his other ingenious pieces of mechanism; and ru- nor had got abroad that rhe chess player lying, dilapitated and egected, in some lumber room of Philadelphia or New York This, however. appeara to be an uniounded story. communication in the Newark Daily Advertiser tells that when Mael- gel left this country (he died ut seal he took the chess player to pieces and boxed up the parts in eral cases, which were stored at Philadelphia Re gently Dr. s. K Mitchell, of that city. after careful examination Of these disjecta membra, discovered the seciet of their construciion, and has succeeded in putting them together, and the machine is exhi- bt d at Peale's Museum.
 But a more interesting disclosure has been made k seems, at Parls, by one Monsieur Mouret, who was Maelzefs player in Europe. He reveals the secret of the manner Tn which the games play ed. We quote from the Courier & Enquirer:
 "Ihe concealed player seated immediately under the aatomaton's chess board. and may be sup, posed to be looking up 10 it's under surface He there sees representation that board, each square painted to correspond w.ta the square above. the only difference being that, while the maton's board some ofile squai es are occupied by chesemen and others are empty, every of the squares be- heath IS number and furnished with small iron knob suspended by short thread Every chessman oh tic Hu'oInatoll Ooafu contained q smai magnet, Now. suppose the game abont to begini thirt, two chessmen are on the au!omalon's boardj of course, each one having magnet, the hrty-twO iron knobs bereath are drawn up to the board As soon one oi the chessmen is taken up the knob being reIeas ed ron the attraction, drops and the concealed play CT knows al once which square IS vacated.
 As soon as il is placed upon another square the knob beneath is drawn up. and thus indicate the play that has been made The concealed player repeats these moves a small board of his own, and then sets in motion, by stings the Of the aulon,nton and thus the game goes on."
 Maezei's player iu this country, we have been told was German named Slomberger; and he too died, we believe, some three or four years ago.
 Now that l!e present condition of MaelzePs chess player is known, we should like 10 hear something of the duplicate which was constructed by an inge- nj u' son oi New England. For il characteils- tic fact that the secret which had bahled the inge. auily of alI Europe for half century, was here de- iecled and applied in le fabric of second autona- ton befre a lzrl had been year in ihe country. The Yankee machine vas played we believe, by Henry Coleman, since deceased-a son of William, Coleman, the once celebrated editor of the Evening Post. It exhibited in opposition to Maeze's at the corner of Reade or Duane street and Broadway here we saw il and played with it. Maelzel bought it out of the way, as we are told; and if so he probably destroyed 1t. -.. |