Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-05-24
AUTOMATON TRICKS
The Human Machine in the Imam
innate Figure.
THE GREAT CHESS PLAYER.
n Legless Little Man Concealed within
she Body OF De KempelOn's Chess
Champion-Clever COntrivances for
Deceiving the Public.
From the New York Herald

GA VERY PRESTIDIGITATEUR NEGRO
mancer, magician or fakir Of note il
&f ancient and modern times has placed
"a "a almost his chief dependence on auto
AwS mata, illusions or mechanical means
for the entertainment Of patrons, leaving
legerdemain and card tricks for side issues, al
it were. For instance, vaucanson, the French
magician, made a reputation with a mechan
ical duck. Robt. Houdin, who followed him,
used the same duck one Of his principal at
fractions, and Beaumont, another French
magician, made the same duck do good service
for him in public.
Coming down to latter days Robert Heller
mann places a great deal of stress on such
illusionary tricks as the Cocoon, cremation and
decapitstion, while KeIar exhibits Psyche,
Zoe. Fanfare and the Hindoostani black art.
These magicians have a precedent for their
use OF mechanics in their exhibitions, for many
of the ancient wise and learned men devoted
their spare moments to making walking, flying
or other moving figures.
HISTORICAL PREcEDENTs.
In history we find model of Venus was made
by Dadulus. and its motive power was said to
be quicksilver heated and cooled on the inside.
Aulius Gellius, the Greek, speaks of a wooden
pigeon that flew. CassiodoriOus writes Of ma
chimes in imitation of serpents, which wriggled
along the ground and swallowed small anil
mails or objects in their path. On the plains
Of Thebes there can still be seen the re-
mains Of the colossal statues of Memnon,
who, it is said, uttered joyful sounds at
the rising Of the sun and cries of sorrow when
it descended" This they did for hundreds of
years, even until the fourth century of the
Christian era. Arephylus of Tarantium made
q dove that could fly. Reglomtarous is cred
tied with producing eagle that flew from
the city walls saluted the emperor as he ap-
preached and returned, and a fly Of iron,
which would circle the room and return.
Coming down to the thirteenth century Al
bertus Magnus had an automaton a door
keeper that gained wide renown. 1t moved
naturally and is said to have spoken. Its very
cleverness proved its destruction, for Thomas
Aquinas became terrified when it moved that
he broke the automaton to pieces with his staff
and at the same time shattered the heart Of
the invent tor who had spent thirty years on his
work.
Descartes made figure in the form Of a
female and called it his daughter "Francina."
This automaton had as i'll fate as the door
keeper. for superstitious captain of a vessel on
which Descartes had embarked threw Fran
Gina" overheard. because, he argued, the devil
must be concealed in a machine that moved so
like human being.
Skipping few centuries we find that the
Naueanson mentioned above ''made some won
derful automatic" one of which was hageolet
player, who fingered the instrument with the
left hand and banged the tambourine with the
other, executing difficult pieces with the music
with surprising accuracy. Historians notice
his delicate technique with the tambourine.
MaelZel about 1920 made a trumpeter which
played many French and Austrian airs and a
chess player, and then Wolfgang de Kempelon
also made chess player to amuse Marie
Therese.