Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-09-11

prisei All, let him take her if he dare
''For what doth 1t prof. man If he gain
the whole chessboard and lose his gamer"
Again, a pawn would advance in some
distant corner of tho board. Moltkekut
knits his, brow; scowls savagely; then sets
himself stolidly to survey the field He
moves, smiling; my purpose is plain to him.
What matter? The automaton prompts me
and I confront him with a new combina-
tion; another skirmish ensuing which re-
quires the utmost nicely Of management on
his part to avert crushing overthrow.
In this way the battle surged to and fro
for three long hours-neither side gaining
any advantage, and every point being con-
tested as fercely as though the fate OF en-
pires hung in the scales The afternoon
sun beat obliquely into the room-throwing
the shadows of the spectators fitfully across
the board, like clouds that trembled beneath
the iron chariot of Mars Absolute silence
reigned; only broken at intervals by the
husky, half-muttered "check" of Moltke,
or my own clearer, more confident chal-
lenge. At last the game drew to close
MoItke folded his arms across his breast
and announced draw in FIVE moves This
was so obvious that Andersen, who had
been keeping score, threw aside his pencil,
and lunged for vacant chair toward which
Houdin had begun pilgrimage.
A young man named Hamilton, Houdin's
pupil and frequently his proxy, took ad-
vantage of the laughter and diversion
caused by this slight disturbance, and, re-
placing the chessmen in their box, put the
board beyond the reach OF scrutiny which
might discover its secret mechanism. Now
Morphy, whom the insufficiency of chairs
compelled to lean against the furloughed
stove, began in his slow, impressive manner
to descant upon the game.
"The most remarkable feature Of your
play" he said, turning to me, ''was the ap.
parent unconcern with which you launched
against him the most astonishing and intri-
cate coups de main" Then, taking the
card, upon which Andersen bad penciled
the score, he exclaimed: "One hundred and
twenty-four moves in three hours, a
gem. pregnant with possibilities; it is un-
parallelledl'
Now turning to Moltke he went on, in
tones OF bitter irony: ''Well my German
friend, do you now relish the truth in the
found your way intothe smithy at last? Has
the dent merchante been dulled?"
Moltke, with a gesture of impatiepce,
was about to retort, when Andersen inter-
posed
"Getrost, Helmath, dein Spiel war
fehlerlos" BE cheered, Helmuth; your
game was faultless!] But the great soldier
would not be comforted. To him remise
was as CALLING as defeat He could not
brook failure: holding success to be math-
ematical certainty corollary of all his
actions. So at least it seemed to me, and
think his subsequent military career con-
frmed this estimate.
After some wine had been partaken of
the company dispersed-never again to re-
assemble. Moltke returned to Germany a
few days after, with the Grown Prince; so
also Andersen and Dufresne when the chess
congress was over; while Morphy, the
young invincible, after an extended tour,
went back, laden with glory, to his native
land
The only one 1 frequently met was
Houdin. Always the same Asmodeus-like
eatirist, the suave schemer, the brilliant
meteoric intellect We played quite often,
with varying fortunes. Sometimes would
importune HIM to fetch the Monitor from
its place of concealment, to draw aside the
veil of silence and secrecy which hid that
wonderful achievement of human in
genuity from the world. Then he would
raise his finger warningly and remind me
of nv promise.
"Shall I not dispose of my handiwork at
my own pleasure? There are still certain
parts which wish to perfect. I want this
to be the crowning marvel of my magic, the
inheritance OF the world from me, the
dernier mot of my career"
Wearying of reiteration, at last kept
nv peace