The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-06-29

himself on the floor Tn order to make the other lose his balance, and then turned toward the spectators, pointing at his companion with his finger. Near the shepherd a lamb bleated from time to time, and dog approached his mas ter to caress him and to watch over a basket of apples. If any one touched the fruit he would bark until it was put back in its place.
 He presented one of his clocks to King Ferdinand VI, who was so Ge- lighted that he refunded the expenses of the journey and paid in addition 300 louis dor. The king assembled his cOuriers in order to show them his &C., quisition. Among the automatons was clock with shepherd playing on. his
 flute, and a dog guarding a basket of fruit. The dog said Jaquet-Droz, is as faithful as he is we'll behaved. Let your majesty put him to the proof by touching one of the fruits in the bas- ket.' The king endeavOred to take an apple, but the dog immediately threw himself on his hand, barking so natu- rally that hound present in the room responded with all his strength. The courtiers thought that sorcery was at work, and fled precipitately, making the sign of the cross. The king and the minister of marine were the only ones to remain.
 ''The latter asked the shepherd what time it was. As he did not answer Ja- quet-Droz remarked smilingly that he probably did not understand Spanish, and begged his excellency to address him in French. The question was re- peated in that language, and the shep- herd replied immediately. The minis ter was frightened, and he, too. hurried away. In consequence of this seance the Neuchatel artist, fearing that he might be arrested by the Inquisition and burned as a sorcerer, begged the king to invite the Grand Inquisitor to be present. Jaquet-Droz took the clock apart in his presence, piece by piece, showing him all the springs and eX- blaming to him the action of the train. Probably the Inquisitor understood lit- tie or nothing of the matter; neverthe- less. he announced the fact publicly that he discovered no magic and that the mechanism was moved entirely by natural means.
 Three of these automatons, whose perfection exceeded everything which had ever been known in this class of work, are the Young Musician, the Draughtsman and the Writer. A young 1 woman, seated at the harpsichord, exe- cuted several pieces of music with deX- terity, without any person touching the instrument. The Draughtsman, seated on a stool, made drawings with a pen cil, sketching them correctly and then shading them. From time to time he raised his hand to examine his work the better, corrected some defect and blew the dust from the paper. Henri Louis, having gone to Versailles, exhib- ited his automatons to the king. The Draughtsman, to the amazement of the whole court, sketched the portrait of the French king with laurel wreath on his head
 "Jaquet-Droz went over to England, he placed the Draughtsman before the king and soon the hands of the autom- aton were actively at work, but the surprise of those present was boundless when they beheld not the image of the King of France, which they had expect ed, but that of the English monarch. Of course the portraits were not finish ed productions, but presented a general resemblance. ,Y-,.
 The Draughtsr1an of Jaquet- -Droz was not, however, the most remarkable of the works created by the inexhausti- h1a If ict at Hon from the Writer, seated before an iso- lated desk, without contact with any person. He would dip his pen in the inkstand and write, without dictation, slowly, it is true, but distinctly and cor rectly. Each word Occupied a suitable place at the desired' distance from the
 preceding: when line was finished he commence a new one, leaving between
 them the necessary space. The move ments of the eyes and of the arms and hands were admirably initiated. The Writer might even be interrupted. He stopped in the middle of a word, is ask l ed, and wrote another.
 "The means used by Jaquet-Droz fol securing this result have remained un.
 known. The courtiers, scientists and
 the most skillful mechanicians have vainly sought to penetrate the mystery
 It is needless to say that the Writel performed only in the presence of Ja' quet -Droz, which involves the idea oi some action exercised by this artist. II has been supposed that he made use of a magnet concealed in his shoes ol | clothing. This idea was suggested bS his habit of walking back and forth and turning sometimes to one side an6 sometimes to the other, while the au' tomaton was writing; thus perhaps be- | ing able to attract the hook toward the wheel with the aid of magnet anc
 cause it to return by the same force i The lords of the court endeavored, by
 means of other magnets of great power concealed in their clothing, to disturb
 the working of the apparatus by theil attitudes and movements, but in vain
 The automaton wrote with the same ac.
 curacy. The Writer is still in exist. ence. It continues to write, provided
 the hook and wheel are kept in actior
 by the hand. The motive force used by the artist is a secret which unfortunate I T