, 1873-03-02

at onco arc every way equal to his snglo
concentrated efforts. At last, he beat Stauntou.
the ctess-potenta.e Of the Alo.hcr-Country.
twice IN consultation games; and thet veteran
was afterHa-d too sick to meet bis rival even in
friendly encounter. At Paris, whittier he I'M.
medlately proceeded, Harrwitz, though playing
m ooSoeto gambit, with every variation Of
which he Was familiar, but which no one else
over had heard OF, was compelled by illness af-
ter four straight defeats, to resign tho contin-
uauce OF the series. Such play was enough to
make any one Eick. Loewenthal vas again de-
1eated Anderson end Mongredian went through
tho form Of encounter and capitulation, before
his speedy departure for England md the Con-
tinent. At this time, Mr. staunton, the no1t
distin~ ~uished player in Europe, said OF Morphy,
He must in future giro odds to every opponent,
or play single-handed against several in CONSUL
tation." So began the " consultation gamo," Of
which he lost ltcrnlly none, md in which it was
demonstrated that he could giro immense odds.
sTuE OF PLAY. =. -.
The character Of Morphy's play was uniform,
whether conducting half-a-dozen games simu1ta-
neously, without sight Of rha board, againa. tho
strongest players that could be procured, or
whether playing alone; he WIS ever bold, dash
ing, brilliant, correct. By the latter word, I
mean that 'ho found always tho forcihle move,
without reference to tho depth of thought he
might expect in his antagonist. He played as ii
his antagonist was another Morphy; and it Was
not afterward found that any slduful p1ay
agninst him could haye won. "There Is but
ono way to do thing" he often said-, While
his OVID move was immediate upon his adver-
sary. lie awaited tho reply without impatience or
loss OF his thought. His instantaneous move
ments AID violations Of precedent created some
times sort Of haze OF lallucination,
under which his competitor could not do
justice to himse1f. His friends recount
many singular anecdotes of this fact
He seemed absolutely tirelcss. and played onco
eight games without intermission, with the most
distinguished players Of London in succession,
and Won them ill. While ho would often sacri-
Eco piece after piece even when encountering
players that we're never trihed with, that his coup
might present a more striking tableau, yet he
seemed incapable Of giving any advantage in the
corrte OF the game to eTon an inferior antago-
mist, and punished all mistakes with the surly
quiclness Of nature. He is essentially player
OF the imagination; and that ho cannot talk in
telligently Of his method is proof that it is d
part Of his nature. His only weakness was his
bashfulness. His first games with great players
we're invariably his poorest. He distrusted his
genius until he realized it's omnipotenco. This
was noticeable in his earlier amateur games in
this country. His first encounters with
Paulsen, who would hive carried away
alone the Eastern hunors to his Iowan home.
had he not been the companion of Morphy, were
not successful. Afterwards, in the tournaments
abroad, this naaurdise honte seems to hare been
to degree overcome; still, here, his early play
Was often unequal, and sometimes commonplace,
comparatively. It presented sudden aud strong
contrasts with itself, and, though successful,
sometimes disappointed. In the first great
games with Harrwitz, the French champion, that
experts involved and obscure play, abounding in
ahalf-obsolete opening and novel positions, made
all the early games defeats. In fine, Mozphys
strength, temporarily overshndowed, WAS always
developed by his competitor. He quickly learned
the ground on which his adversary loved to fight, j
and met him invariably there, surprising pro-
fundity with q deeper depth, and ecnpsing bold
ness With cooler daring.
-' 80 RETIREMENT FROM TIE FIELD.
But Morphy returned to be disgusted With
chess. He has never played in public since.
He is sick as with surfeit Of tho very name.
At the time Ect him, ho could think with pa-
tience and pleasure of everything save chess.
With his sbdication, Capt. Mckenzie, Of New
York, remains the best player in the United
States. 81.
Morphy, upon his return, renowned At once
all his chess-connections, and, under dattering
auspices, with eanguine faith in his SUCCESS on
tie part Of all who knew him, and theorists who
did not, he began the study Of the law in the
New Orleans Law-School. What is tho result
He has turned out no lawyer,-not even COM
s. -
nothing,
Once in while, the solitary athlete can be in
duced to show that his power ia only in abey-
ance. eaw him at private seance, just before
/ left, beat simultaneously, in 2s4 hours, six
teen Of the most accomplished amateurs in New
Orleans. His strength has never been fully
tested, and will probably never be fully de-
ve1oped.
Paul Morphy Is poor. Unlike q Yankee, he
finds it impossible to live On his talent. OPP !
portunities there aro in abundance,-rich offers
for public exhibitions of himself rs delicate rs
those grasped at by men who would pretend to
more honor. He steadfastly refuses them He
Was norbidly sonsitive to misjudgment, lest. he
be taken for one who ''trave1s on his muecle,"
and, on all his journeys, betrayed his, own ,e1- |
penses, and always played in the presence only
OF solect companies, to which no money could
gain access. There seems to me to be certain |
attraction in this 6ne delicacy, which one would
encounter not elsewhere among us than in the |
half-foreign society OF New Orleans, amid which
11r. Morphy was reared. It .is dearer to him
than wealth or renown, or the strange gift by
which he must get his daily bread or 60 without |
it. Some thero arc who do not live by bread
alone. CHARLES J. WOODBURY..
PEMClLihGS.
In the uidnghts mystical silence, looking back totha
stt tdIy turning the pages Of Life that's atleaa and
The Past Is we1l-w1itten etory,-a Of pleas