The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1879-02-07
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For many ages sutOnatIs iiguree
have been source Of wonder and de
ight 20 all sorts of people, from the
monarch on his throne % the humbleSt
,f his subjects. As far back as four
hundred years before the Christian
re an ingenious mecanIc invented =
7ooden pigeon which was capable othE
ng n long distance In the thirteenth
.entury Albertus Magnus and Roger
Bacon are said to have made the tig
ire Of a porter which would open
loor. and also a wooden head which
would speak, while another ingenious
mechanic succeeded in imparting life
like motion TO a fly.
Tn the beginning Of the eighteenth
cput,Iry an ingenious Frenchman made
n pantUmime in five acts, which was
moved by machinery and NJ Cadmus
constructed for the amusement of
Loufs XIV, an automatic carriage,
which is said to have been nearly per
teol.
In 1888 NJ Vaucanson constructed
and placed on public exhibition
finite player, which pressed the instru-
ment to its lips and produced the
notes with It's fingers. precisely like
living human being. Three years later
the same ingenious mechanic made
hageolet- player, which played a vari-
etv Of tunes on that instrument, with
the accompaniment of n tambOurlne,
which he beat with the left hand. In
the same year VI. NaucaHson pro
duccd q duck which ate, swan, press
cd its plumage, and actually digested
it's food This famous auJOmatOn was
repaired Uy Robert IIoudin, the Pari-
sian conjuror, who found the trick to
be rs simpH rs it was interesting.
Jacques \aucansOn, the maker of
thcse autUmata, was q native of GTeHO-
blc, where hc was born in lTO9. When
a mere bOv he made a clock, and also
several curious toys which were moved
by machinery.
Among the wonderful automata in
vented during the present century is
the writing boy of the older and the
piauoIyrtc player Of The younger DIOz.
the ll-tcr OF which, when performing,
followed it's hands with its eyes, and,
at the conclusion Of the piece, bowed
gracefully TO the audience. Droz's
writing boy was publicly exhibited
in Germany about thirty years ago.
The machinery Of this automaton was
80 complicated that no one was able
to dCcjpher It's manner Of action. Some
doubts Of natural origin being enter
tanned, .hc boy and its constructor
were suspected Of the black art and
I'm,
i5h InuuisitiOn, from which they oh
tanned their freedom with great ditli-
Cu.5y.
Another wonderful automauon vas
q 10y invented by NJ. Maillardet,
which wrote and drew with q pencil
while knccliug ON one knee. Aaillar-
det also CONSTRUCTED MANY other in
genious autOmJta. including q steel
spider, 81 caterpillar, a lizard and 4
mouse, al Of which moved as uatuI-
ally as living animals
InI~I2 the famous Naclzii exhibit
el an antOmutCn trumpCtcr.Of his own
construction This ingenious figure
would play several popular march es
accompanied hy q full orchestra. The
sound OF the trumpet was said 20 be
very fine, and even more agreeable
than that produced by the ablest mu
sieiau.
In 1888 q speaking machine was cN
hihiJcd before the American PhiIoso
phi-u Society This machine was III
vented by Mr. BcIle, who labOrcd six
teen years in bringing it 30 perfection
und allerru.d destroyed it in q frenzy
..- One oil the latest adopts in automH
tic art is Robert lIoudin, a native o
Blois, and the son Of q matchmaker
In 1914 lie exhibited an autOmatol
writer. which attracted the notice O
Louis Philippe and his family. Til
figure drew as well rs wrote answer
to-quc5tiUus. Ioudin afterward con
strucLcd nightingale, which sang aul
Mapped its wings like q living bird
One of the most marvellous coutri
vanccs ever produced was doubles
e. the auJOmatou chess player, which @
various periods ast0nishcd and deligL
ted the world. II was constructed Il
ITG9 by VI dc kcmpelcn, of Prcsl
burg 70 Hungary. NJ Kcmpclcl
died i'm 1904, and two years aftcrwau
the chess player was exhibited by
new owner. On one occasion OF il
exhibition the Emperor Napoleon Ell
tered the list as q player, and wa
badly beaten Ia the year 1915
was exhibited by Naelzcl i'm the priu
cipal cities of the United States, inclu
ding Boston.
In the memoirs Of Robert Iloudi
the secret of The performance of Tn
chess player are fully revealed
Polish dwarf named WourOuskv, bot
Of whose Thighs were shattered by
cannon ball while fighting in reyOI
atRigl, was concealed in this image
which represented Il Turk of the na
tural size, wearing the costume OF hi
country, and seated behind q Jo
shaped like q chest of drawers Tn
chess player was seated immCdiatel
under The Chc=s-bOarj of the autOm;
ton and from every one Of the sixty
four squares was suspended by silk
tinv metallic ball. and as each of th
CAe,smcn had % magnet inside, whe
10 was placed ON square it drew %
Tie ball beneath while the balls, tn
other squares remained suspended
By turning the handle attached to th
arm OF The figure and moving the fI
ger springs, the concealed pIaye
caused IL TO take up the piece 20 {
played. which was indicated bv Oh
falling BAN, and when it was place
upon % sguare, the ball was drawn ~
The writiiatsl Poo once had the q,