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diff --git a/34180-h/34180-h.htm b/34180-h/34180-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..06b1040 --- /dev/null +++ b/34180-h/34180-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,7697 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Exploits and Triumphs in Europe of Paul Morphy, by Paul Morphy'S Late Secretary.. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + h1,h2,h3,h4 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; +} + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; +} + +table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; +} + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; +} /* page numbers */ + +.bbox {border: solid 2px;} + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + +.u {text-decoration: underline;} + +.caption {font-weight: bold;} + +/* Images */ +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; +} + +/* Footnotes */ +.footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + +.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + +.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + +.fnanchor { + vertical-align: super; + font-size: .8em; + text-decoration: + none; +} + +/* Poetry */ +.poem { + margin-left:50%; + margin-right:10%; + text-align: left; +} + +.poem br {display: none;} + +.poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em -8em;} + +.poem span.i0 { + display: block; + margin-left: 0em; + padding-left: 3em; + text-indent: -3em; +} + +.poem span.i2 { + display: block; + margin-left: 2em; + padding-left: 3em; + text-indent: -3em; +} + +.poem span.i4 { + display: block; + margin-left: 4em; + padding-left: 3em; + text-indent: -3em; +} + +.larger {font-size:larger;} +.smaller {font-size:smaller;} +.contchap {text-align:center;padding-top:1em;} +.contpagenum {text-align:right;padding-right:0.5em;} +.gap2 {margin-top:2em;} +.gap4 {margin-top:4em;} +.padright2 {padding-right:2em;} +.padtop1 {padding-top:1em;} +.ralign {text-align:right;} + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Exploits and Triumphs, in Europe, of +Paul Morphy, the Chess Champion, by Frederick Milnes Edge + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Exploits and Triumphs, in Europe, of Paul Morphy, the Chess Champion + +Author: Frederick Milnes Edge + +Release Date: November 1, 2010 [EBook #34180] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EXPLOITS AND TRIUMPHS *** + + + + +Produced by Suzanne Lybarger, Kathryn Lybarger, Brownfox +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 365px;"> +<img src="images/morphy.png" width="365" height="571" alt="Paul Morphy" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p> +<h4>THE</h4> + +<h2>EXPLOITS AND TRIUMPHS,</h2> + +<h3>IN EUROPE,</h3> + +<h4>OF</h4> + +<h1>PAUL MORPHY,</h1> + +<h2>The Chess Champion;</h2> + +<p class="center">INCLUDING</p> + +<p class="center">AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF CLUBS, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES</p> +<p class="center">OF FAMOUS PLAYERS, AND VARIOUS INFORMATION AND</p> +<p class="center">ANECDOTE RELATING TO THE NOBLE</p> +<p class="center">GAME OF CHESS.</p> + +<h4 class="gap2">BY</h4> + +<h3>PAUL MORPHY'S LATE SECRETARY.</h3> + +<p class="center">ILLUSTRATED WITH TEN PORTRAITS ON WOOD.</p> + +<p class="center larger gap2">NEW YORK:</p> +<p class="center larger">D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,</p> +<p class="center">346 & 348 BROADWAY.</p> +<p class="center">M.DCCC.LIX.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span></p> + + + +<p class="smaller gap4 center">Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859,</p> + +<p class="smaller center">BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,</p> + +<p class="smaller center">In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the</p> +<p class="smaller center">Southern District of New York.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p> + + + +<p class="gap4 center">THIS RECORD</p> + +<p class="smaller center">OF</p> + +<p class="larger center">PAUL MORPHY'S</p> + +<p class="center">ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE OLD WORLD,</p> + +<p class="center">IS DEDICATED</p> + +<p class="smaller center">TO</p> + +<p class="center">The Members of</p> + +<p class="center"><b>THE FIRST AMERICAN CHESS CONGRESS,</b></p> + +<p class="smaller center">BY</p> +<p class=" center">THEIR MOST GRATEFUL</p> +<p style="margin-left:50%;">AND OBLIGED SERVANT,</p> +<p style="margin-left:60%;">THE AUTHOR.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p> + + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE.</h2> + + +<p>I am much indebted, in the following pages, to +the kind assistance of that able writer and veteran +chess-player, Mr. George Walker, who has furnished +me with most of the very interesting and +valuable information contained in the fourth chapter +of this work. I am likewise under obligations +to Herr Löwenthal for many anecdotes relating to +chess celebrities of the past, and other information; +and also to Mr. George Medley, Honorary Secretary +of the London Chess Club, and Mr. Ries, of the +Divan.</p> + +<p>The cuts with which this work is embellished +have been engraved by the well-known Brothers +Dalziel. The portrait of Paul Morphy, copied from +a photograph taken shortly after his arrival in London +last year, is an excellent likeness.</p> + +<p>The portraits of Messrs. Staunton, Boden, Anderssen, +and Löwenthal, are copies of photographs,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span> +for which they sat at the Manchester Meeting, in +1857. The originals of Messrs. Saint Amant and +Harrwitz are admirably executed lithographs of +those gentlemen, taken about four years ago, and +that of Mr. Mongredieu is copied from a photograph +kindly lent for the purpose.</p> + +<p>I am under great obligations to Mr. Lewis, who +came to London expressly to sit for his likeness; +and I feel assured that my readers will value this +"very form and feature" of an amateur who was +famous before Labourdonnais was known outside +the Régence; and whose works are found in every +chess-player's library.</p> + +<p>I had considerable difficulty in obtaining the +portrait of Mr. George Walker. Photographs, +lithographs, etc., of that most popular of all chess +writers, did not exist, and many friends prophesied +that his likeness would not be in my book. But I +importuned him so that he relented, and confided to +my care an oil painting, for which he sat five years +ago, and which was the only portrait of him in +existence.</p> + +<p>My readers can judge of the resemblance of the +other cuts by the portrait of Paul Morphy. I only +wish my story was as good.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> + + +<table summary="Table of Contents"> +<tr> +<td> </td> +<td class="smaller">PAGE</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER I.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">MORPHY'S FIRST GAMES</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER II.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">THE FIRST AMERICAN CHESS CONGRESS</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_4">4</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER III.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">MORPHY PREPARES TO START FOR EUROPE</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_12">12</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER IV.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">CHESS IN ENGLAND</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER V.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">MORPHY IN ENGLAND</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_57">57</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER VI.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">THE STAUNTON AFFAIR</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER VII.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">MORPHY IN FRANCE</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_140">140</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER VIII.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">THE CAFÉ DE LA RÉGENCE</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_144">144</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER IX.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">THE MATCH BETWEEN MORPHY AND HARRWITZ</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER X.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">MORPHY'S GREATEST BLINDFOLD FEAT</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_159">159</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER XI.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">CONTINUATION OF THE MATCH WITH HARRWITZ</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_166">166</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER XII.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">MORPHY IN SOCIETY</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_170">170</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER XIII.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">MORPHY AND THE FRENCH AMATEURS</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_176">176</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER XIV.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">MORPHY GETS BEATEN</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_183">183</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER XV.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">MORPHY AND ANDERSSEN</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_186">186</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER XVI.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">MORPHY AND MONGREDIEU</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_197">197</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" class="contchap">CHAPTER XVII.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2">TROPHIES</td> +<td class="contpagenum"><a href="#Page_200">200</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smaller padright2 padtop1">VALEDICTORY</td> +<td class="contpagenum padtop1"><a href="#Page_203">203</a></td> +</tr> +</table> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2 class="gap4">PAUL MORPHY.</h2> + + + +<h2 class="gap2"><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2> + +<h3>MORPHY'S FIRST GAMES.</h3> + + +<p>Paul Morphy's father, Judge Morphy, of the Supreme +Court of Louisiana, beguiled his leisure hours +with the fascinations of Chess, and, finding a precocious +aptitude for the game in his son, he taught him the +moves and the value of the various pieces. In the +language of somebody,—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"To teach the young Paul chess,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">His leisure he'd employ;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Until, at last, the old man<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Was beaten by the boy."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>I have here spoilt a very pretty story. The report in +chess circles is, that the young Paul learned the moves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> +from seeing his father play with his uncle, Mr. Ernest +Morphy, long ranking amongst the first players in the +Union, and one of the brightest living ornaments of +American chess. One evening—so runs the tale—this +gentleman awaited the arrival of the Judge, when +Master Paul impudently offered to be his antagonist. +What was the uncle's astonishment at finding the +stripling a match for his deepest combinations, and +what the father's surprise on discovering a very Philidor +in his son of ten years! Deschapelles became a +first-rate player in three days, at the age of something +like thirty. Nobody ever believed the statement, not +even Deschapelles himself, although his biographer +declares he had told the lie so often that he at last forgot +the facts of the case. But the story about Morphy +beats the Deschapelles story in the proportion of thirty +to ten. I sorrowfully confess that my hero's unromantic +regard for truth makes him characterize the above +statement as a humbug and an impossibility.</p> + +<p>Paul's genius for Chess was, very properly, not +permitted to interfere with his educational pursuits. +At college (in South Carolina) until eighteen years +of age, he had but little time for indulgence in his +favorite game, nor did he find any one capable of +contending with him. When the vacations allowed of +his playing against such adepts as his father and uncle, +or such well-known paladins as Mr. Ernest Rousseau, +of New Orleans, and Judge Meek, of Alabama, he soon +showed himself superior to all antagonists. In the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> +autumn of 1849, Herr Löwenthal, the celebrated Hungarian +player, visited the Crescent City, and out of +three games against the young Paul, then but twelve +years old, he lost two and drew one. It is but reasonable +to suppose that the desire of atoning for this +defeat had something to do with Herr Löwenthal's +challenging his youthful victor, on his arrival last year +in Europe.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2> + +<h3>THE FIRST AMERICAN CHESS CONGRESS.</h3> + + +<p>A circular was issued by the New York Chess +Club, in the month of April, 1857, "for the purpose of +ascertaining the feasibility and propriety of a general +assemblage of the chess players resident in America." +This "met with a hearty and zealous response from the +amateurs and clubs of the United States. So favorable +was the feeling everywhere manifested, that it was +deemed advisable to proceed with the undertaking, +and to complete at once the preliminary arrangements."<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> +In consideration of the movement having +been initiated by the New York Chess Club, it was +conceded that the meeting should take place in that +city.</p> + +<p>Some of the founders of the New York Chess +Club still live to do honor to the game. I believe that +Mr. James Thompson and Colonel Mead suckled the +bantling in times of yore, sometimes forming the entire +of the Club without assistance. In that day of small<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> +things, I believe, too, they defeated the Norfolk (Va.) +Club, proving themselves just two too many for their +opponents. Then they travelled about from house to +house, as their members increased, with the arrival of +Mr. Charles H. Stanley, Mr. Frederick Perrin, and +others. About 1855 or 1856, the Club made the acquisition +of two enterprising young players, Mr. Theodore +Lichtenhein and Mr. Daniel W. Fiske; and to the +latter gentleman is due the credit of first suggesting +this Chess Congress, which made known to fame the +genius of Paul Morphy.</p> + +<p>In the summer of 1857, being then engaged on the +New York Herald, I used occasionally to tumble into +the basement of an edifice opposite the newspaper +office, where a jolly, fat German, with a never-to-be-remembered +name, regaled his visitors upon sausages +and "lager." Here the members of the Chess Club +were wont to congregate; for the landlord had provided +chessmen and boards as an inducement to +visitors.</p> + +<p>One afternoon being engaged in a game with a +brother reporter, a gentleman, whom I subsequently +learned was Mr. Theodore Lichtenhein, stepped up to +us, and put into our hands the prospectus of the approaching +Chess Congress, stating his opinion that an +event of so much importance merited newspaper publicity. +So began my acquaintance with American chess +amateurs. Although possessing but little skill as a +player, I had a strong liking for the game, and de<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>termined +that every thing in my power should be done +to render the meeting successful.</p> + +<p>My visits to the saloon, and eventually to the Club, +became frequent, and the Committee of Management, +finding that I both could and would work, did me the +honor of appointing me one of the secretaries.</p> + +<p>The Congress was advertised to open on the 6th of +October, but players began to arrive some weeks previously. +First of all came Judge Meek, of Alabama, +a truly imposing specimen of a man. Soon after him +followed Mr. Louis Paulsen, from Dubuque, Iowa, +whose astonishing blindfold feats out West were the +theme of general talk, and almost total disbelief, +amongst Eastern players. From Judge Meek we first +heard of Paul Morphy's wondrous strength. He told +the New York Club that if the youthful Louisianian +entered the tournament, he would infallibly wrest the +palm of victory from all competition.</p> + +<p>We were much afraid, nevertheless, that Mr. Morphy +would be unable to quit his legal studies for the +purpose of attending the Congress, but when Mr. +Fiske announced the receipt of a telegraphic despatch, +which stated that he was <i>en route</i>, everybody hailed +the news with satisfaction. Mr. Paulsen now came to +the support of Judge Meek, and declared that Paul +Morphy would carry off the first prize in the tournament; +giving, as the grounds of his opinion, some two +or three published games of the young Louisianian, +which he considered worthy to rank with the finest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> +master-pieces of chess strategy. Benignant fate brought +the young hero safely to New York, some two days +before the assembling of the Congress.</p> + +<p>Who that was present that evening does not remember +Paul Morphy's first appearance at the New +York Chess Club? The secretary, Mr. Frederick +Perrin, valorously offered to be his first antagonist, and +presented about the same resistance as a musquito to +an avalanche. Then who should enter the room but +the warrior Stanley, tomahawk in one hand and the +scalps of Schulten and Rousseau in the other. Loud +cries were made for "Stanley! Stanley!" and Mr. +Perrin resigned his seat to the new comer, in deference +to so general a request. Thus commenced a contest, +or rather a succession of contests, in which Mr. Stanley +was indeed astonished. "Mate" followed upon +"mate," until he arose from his chair in bewildered +defeat.</p> + +<p>The following day, the assembled delegates and +amateurs from the various clubs, organized the Congress +by the election of a president, in the person of +Judge Meek, with Mr. Fiske as secretary, four assistant +secretaries, marshals, treasurer, etc. All these +matters of detail, as well as the games played, the laws +passed, etc., etc., will eventually appear in the long +looked for "Book of the Congress," forthcoming with +the completion of the "British Museum Catalogue."</p> + +<p>In the absence of the "Book of the Congress," I +must give a slight sketch of its proceedings, in order to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> +trace the career of Paul Morphy <i>ab initio</i>. After +taking possession of the magnificent hall which the +New York Committee of Management had chosen for +the meeting, the sixteen contestants in the Grand +Tournament, proceeded to pair themselves off by lot. +Never was fate more propitious than on this occasion +in coupling the antagonists. It is obvious, that however +apparently equal in strength two opponents may +be, one will prove stronger than the other. This is an +axiom requiring no proof. Out of sixteen, one is better +than the rest, and one out of the remaining fifteen is +stronger than the fourteen others. The latter player +may be drawn in the first round of the tournay with +the former, and though he stand incomparably the +superior of all but one, he loses every chance of a prize +by being put immediately <i>hors du combat</i>.</p> + +<p>Amongst the sixteen players who entered the lists, +two were unmistakably the strongest, namely, Messrs. +Morphy and Paulsen; and much fear was manifested +lest they might be drawn together, in the first round. +Such, however, was not the case. Mr. Paulsen was +coupled with Mr. Dennis Julien, the well-known problem +maker, and a gentleman whose hospitality to chess +players scarcely requires praise from me. Mr. Julien +had allowed his name to be entered in the Grand Tournament +in the absence of the representative of Connecticut, +Mr. S. R. Calthrop, but the latter player arriving +shortly after, Mr. Julien was but too happy to resign in +his favor. Mr. Morphy's antagonist was Mr. James<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> +Thompson, of New York, a gentleman who finished his +chess education at the Café de la Régence, and the +London Chess Divan, noted for the brilliancy and +daring of his attack, and his pertinacity in playing the +Evans' Gambit wherever he has a chance. If Mr. +Thompson had not been pitted against such a terrible +opponent, in the first round, he would have tested the +powers of some of the other players.</p> + +<p>Mr. Morphy's second opponent was Judge Meek. +As they took their seats opposite each other, one +thought of David and Goliath; not that the Judge +gasconaded in any wise after the fashion of the tall +Philistine, for modesty adorns all his actions; but +there was as much difference in cubic contents between +the two antagonists, as between the son of Jesse and +the bully of Gath, and in both cases the little one came +out biggest. Judge Meek sat down with an evident +conviction of the result, and although he assured his +youthful opponent, that if he continued mating him +without ever allowing him the least chance, he would +put him in his pocket, he consoled himself with the reflection +that Paul Morphy would serve everybody else +as he served him.</p> + +<p>Hitherto our hero had won every game. In the third +round he encountered the strongest player of the New +York Club, Mr. Theodore Lichtenhein, a gentleman +who had formerly been President of the Circle des +Echecs at Königsburg in Prussia, and an admirable +exponent of the Berlin school of play. Mr. Lichten<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>hein +eventually carried off the third prize in the tournament, +and although he did not win any game from +Mr. Morphy, he succeeded in effecting "a draw," +which, against such a terrible enemy, is almost worthy +of being esteemed a victory.</p> + +<p>Mr. Paulsen had also been successful in the first and +second rounds without losing or drawing a single game, +and, as if to keep even with his great rival, he, too, had +made "a draw" in the third section of the tournament—with +Dr. Raphael, of Kentucky. Now was to +be decided the championship of the New World, and +notwithstanding that the majority anticipated the result, +yet many of the spectators thought that the Western +knight might prove a hard nut for Morphy to crack. +Mr. Paulsen's game is steady and analytical to a nicety. +Modelling his operations on profound acquaintance with +Philidor, he makes as much out of his Pawns as most +others of their Pieces. In reply to Mons. de Rivière, +I once heard Morphy say, "Mr. Paulsen never makes +an oversight; I sometimes do."</p> + +<p>It is only justice to Mr. Paulsen to state, that he +never for one moment imagined that he would beat +Mr. Morphy. So exalted was his appreciation of the +latter's wondrous powers of combination, that he has +been frequently heard to declare—"If Anderssen and +Staunton were here, they would stand no chance with +Paul Morphy; and he would beat Philidor and Labourdonnais +too, if they were alive." And when, after the +termination of the Congress, Mr. Morphy offered Pawn<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> +and Move to all and every player in America, Mr. +Paulsen declared that he could easily give those odds +to him. But this invariable confession of inferiority +did not at all interfere with his doing the utmost to +become victor, although supremacy was only to be decided +by one player scoring five games. If I recollect +rightly, it was in the third game that Mr. Morphy committed +an error, which spoiled one of the finest combinations +ever seen on a chess-board. This combination +consisted of some eighteen or twenty moves, and its +starting point was one of those daring sacrifices which +European players dignify with the title "à la Morphy." +Certain of the inevitable result, (<i>humanum est erraret</i> +almost loses its signification when applied to his combinations,) +our hero played rapidly, and misplaced a +move. The result was, loss of attack and a piece, and +apparently of the game; the most ardent admirer of +Paul Morphy believed it was impossible for him to +avoid defeat. But though angry with himself for his +carelessness, he was not disheartened, but set to work +with courage, and effected "a draw." The latter part +of this game is a masterpiece of perseverance and +strategy. The result of the tournament is well known. +Mr. Morphy won five games, drew one, and lost one in +the concluding section—only one battle lost during the +entire campaign. The annals of chess do not furnish a +similar victory.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> Prospectus of "The National Chess Congress."</p></div> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2> + +<h3>MORPHY PREPARES TO START FOR EUROPE.</h3> + + +<p>Arriving in Europe three months before Mr. Morphy, +I was in some sort,—not from any consent or +knowledge on his part, his <i>avant courier</i>; and the fact +of my having been one of the Secretaries at the New +York Chess Congress, joined to my acquaintance with +him, afforded me the opportunity of conversing frequently +with prominent English players in reference to +this new meteor in the chess firmament.</p> + +<p>Shortly after my arrival in London, I called upon +the Secretary of the St. George's Chess Club, Thomas +Hampton, Esq., and introduced myself to him. Chess +is a bond of brotherhood amongst all lovers of the +noble game, as perfect as free masonry. It is a leveller +of rank—title, wealth, nationality, politics, religion—all +are forgotten across the board. Every chess player +recognizes this, and none more so than Mr. Hampton, +who gave me the warmest of welcomes. He told me +that every Saturday there was a full attendance of +members, and kindly invited me to visit the club on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> +that day, promising to introduce me to Mr. Staunton. +I was but too happy to accept this invitation, being +desirous of learning how far the prowess of Paul Morphy +was appreciated by one so eminent in the chess +world.</p> + +<p>My acquaintance with the young American was a +passport of general interest to all present on the following +Saturday. In addition to Mr. Staunton, I met there +Herr Falkbeer, Messrs. Barnes, Bird, "Alter," and +other luminaries, and many were the questions asked +in reference to Mr. Morphy. But I am bound to say +that the feeling with which he was regarded in the +United States was not participated in by English +players. I was told by one gentleman—"Mr. Morphy's +games are very pretty, but they will not bear the test +of analysis." Another said—and his opinion was universally +endorsed—"It is quite possible that Mr. Morphy +may arrive at the highest rank, nay, even that he +may become a second Labourdonnais, but he cannot +have the strength his admiring countrymen wish to +believe. Chess requires many long years of attentive +study, and frequent play with the best players, and +neither of these your friend has had. Depend upon it +he will find European amateurs very different opponents +from those he has hitherto encountered." This rather +nettled me, but it was reasonable and just. Any one +possessing the slightest acquaintance with the game +knows that it partakes more of hard, laborious application +to arrive at first-rate skill, than of mere pastime.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> +Very few of Morphy's games had been seen in Europe, +and his opponents were not, certainly, of a class to +rank with the Stauntons, Löwenthals, and Anderssens +of the Old World. Was it reasonable to suppose that +a youth, just out of his teens, who had devoted but +little time to chess, and who was about to meet first-rate +players for the first time, should possess the experience +and lore of men double his age? At the present time, +now that he has unmistakably proved himself the +superior of all living players, I feel utterly at a loss to +solve the problem of his skill. At college, until +eighteen years old, what time could he find there, except +out of school hours, for the required practice, and +what antagonists worthy of him? From eighteen to +twenty, he was engaged in reading for the bar. During +that period he was as frequent a visitor at the +chess club as circumstances would permit, but certainly +not sufficiently so to increase his strength. Who were +his antagonists? His father had almost entirely abandoned +chess; Mr. Ernest Morphy had settled in "the +West," and Mr. Rousseau, absorbed in the sterner +duties of life, held the same relation to the game as +Mr. Lewis in England. To one and all of his opponents, +except these gentlemen, he could give the rook; +and playing at odds is somewhat different from contending +with even players. He met strong players for +the first time at New York. Paulsen, Lichtenhein, +Thompson, Montgomery, Marache were all northern +players, and new to him, and vastly superior to the an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>tagonists +he had previously encountered. There is but +one way to account for his annihilation of all precedent. +His skill is intuitive, and I doubt much whether his +prodigious memory has been of assistance to him. In +answer to a gentleman in Paris as to whether he had +not studied many works on chess, I heard him state +that no author had been of much value to him, and that +he was astonished at finding various positions and solutions +given as novel—certain moves producing certain +results, etc., <i>for that he had made the same deductions +himself, as necessary consequences</i>. In like manner, +Newton demonstrated, in his own mind, the problems +of Euclid, the enunciations only being given; and +I can think of no more suitable epithet for Morphy than +to call him "the Newton of Chess."</p> + +<p>But <i>revenons à nos moutons</i>. Morphy's achievements +at the Congress in New York induced many to +believe that America now possessed a champion capable +of contending with the proficients of Europe, and it +was proposed that he should be backed by the American +Chess Association against any player who would +take up the challenge. I am sorry to say that the +action of certain prominent men prevented the gauntlet +being thrown down. These gentlemen said, "He beats +us because he is better versed in the openings, but +such players as Löwenthal and Harrwitz will be too +strong for him. He wants experience, and were we +to make this national challenge, we should appear +ridiculous when our champion is defeated, which he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> +certainly would be." The proposal, however, got +noised abroad, and the following paragraph appeared, +in consequence, in the Illustrated London News:</p> + +<blockquote class="gap2"><p class="center">"CHALLENGE TO EUROPEAN CHESS PLAYERS."<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a></p> + +<p>"The American Chess Association, it is reported, +are about to challenge any player in Europe to contest +a match with the young victor in the late passage at +arms, for from $2,000 to $5,000 a side, the place of +meeting being New York. If the battle-ground were +to be London or Paris, there can be little doubt, we +apprehend, that a European champion would be found; +but the best players in Europe are not chess professionals, +but have other and more serious avocations, the +interests of which forbid such an expenditure of time +as is required for a voyage to the United States and +back again."</p></blockquote> + +<p class="gap2">I would say, by way of parenthesis, that such a +being as a professional chess player does not exist in +the United States. Paulsen is a tobacco broker, with +tendencies to speculating in "corner lots." (Western +men know what that means.) Lichtenhein deals in dry-goods, +dry wines and Italian opera; Thompson is the +proprietor of a magnificent restaurant; Colonel Mead +devotes himself to democratic cabals at the New York +Hotel; Fiske is an admixture of the Chess Monthly,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> +the Astor Library and Scandinavian literature; Perrin +and Marache are bothered daily with banks, "bears" +and "bulls." Chess professionals, indeed! they do not +grow in the United States.</p> + +<p>Mr. Morphy returned to his native city without +any further action having been taken, but the New +Orleans Chess Club determined that the challenge +should be made, and they addressed the following +letter to Mr. Staunton, at the commencement of last +year:</p> + +<blockquote class="gap2"><p class="ralign"><span class="smcap">New Orleans</span>, <i>February 4, 1858</i>. +</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Howard Staunton, Esq.</span>,</p> + +<p>Sir,—On behalf of the New Orleans Chess Club, +and in compliance with the instructions of that body, +we, the undersigned committee, have the honor to invite +you to visit our city, and there meet Mr. Paul +Morphy in a chess match. In transmitting this invitation, +permit us to observe, that we are prompted no +less by the desire to become personally acquainted with +one whom we have so long admired, than by the very +natural anxiety to ascertain the strength of our American +players by the decisive criterion of actual conflict +over the board.</p> + +<p>We can see no valid reason why an exercise so intellectual +and ennobling as chess, should be excluded +from the generous rivalry which exists between the +Old and the New World, in all branches of human +knowledge and industry. That the spirit of emulation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> +from which this rivalry arises has not, hitherto, been +made to embrace our chivalrous game, may be mainly +ascribed to the fact that, although the general attention +paid to chess in the United States during the last fifteen +years has produced a number of fine players, yet +their relative force remained undetermined, and none +could assert an indisputable right to pre-eminence. +The late Chess Congress has, however, removed this +obstacle, by finally settling the claims of the several aspirants +to the championship; and it must now be a +matter of general desire to fix, by actual contest with +the best European amateurs, the rank which American +players shall hold in the hierarchy of chess.</p> + +<p>For this purpose it was suggested that Mr. Morphy, +the winner at the late Congress and the present American +champion, should cross the ocean, and boldly encounter +the distinguished magnates of the transatlantic +chess circles; but it unfortunately happens that serious +family reasons forbid Mr. Morphy, for the present, to +entertain the thought of visiting Europe. It, therefore, +becomes necessary to arrange, if possible, a meeting +between the latter and the acknowledged European +champion, in regard to whom there can be no +scope for choice or hesitation—the common voice of +the chess world pronounces your name; and to us it is +a subject of congratulation that the sceptre of transatlantic +chess is wielded by one who, with respect to +regularity of communication between the two countries, +and for other reasons, enjoys facilities for accept<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>ing +our invitation possessed by no other European +player.</p> + +<p>We take the liberty herewith to inclose a series of +proposed "terms of the match," which has been drawn +up, not for the purpose of imposing conditions, but with +a view to obviate the necessity of repeated correspondence. +We have been studious to make these terms as +equitable as possible, and to include all matters upon +which contestation was likely to arise. You are respectfully +invited to suggest any alterations which you +may deem advisable, not only in the minor points embraced, +but also as to the amount of the stakes, the +time fixed for the commencement of the match, &c., &c.</p> + +<p>Fully subscribing to the wisdom of the proposal +made by you in the introduction to the "Book of the +Tournament," we beg leave to express our entire willingness +to insert a clause providing that "one-half at +least" (or even <i>all</i>) "of the games shall be <i>open</i> ones."</p> + +<p>In conclusion, Sir, receive the assurance that it will +afford us extreme pleasure to welcome among us a gentleman, +who is as greatly admired for his powers in +play as he is esteemed for his many and valuable contributions +to the literature of chess.</p> + +<p>Hoping soon to receive a favorable answer, we remain, +with distinguished regard, your obedient servants,</p> + +<table summary="signatures"> +<tr> +<td class="smcap padright2">E. W. Halsey,</td> +<td><span class="smcap">Chas. A. Maurian, Jr.</span>,</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap padright2">Francis Michinard,</td> +<td><span class="smcap">P. E. Bonford</span>,</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap padright2">E. Pandely.</td> +<td> </td> +</tr> +</table> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span></p> + + +<p class="gap2 center">TERMS OF THE MATCH.</p> + +<p>1. The amount of the stakes, on each side, to be five +thousand dollars, and the winner of the first eleven +games to be declared the victor, and entitled to the +stakes.</p> + +<p>2. The match to be played in the city of New Orleans.</p> + +<p>3. Should the English player lose the match, the +sum of one thousand dollars (£200) to be paid to him +out of the stakes, in reimbursement of the expenses +incurred by him in accepting this challenge.</p> + +<p>4. The games to be conducted in accordance with +the rules laid down in Mr. Staunton's "Chess Player's +Handbook."</p> + +<p>5. The parties to play with Staunton chessmen of +the usual club-size, and on a board of corresponding +dimensions.</p> + +<p>6. The match to be commenced on or about the +first of May, 1858, (or on any other day during the +present year most agreeable to Mr. Staunton,) and to +be continued at not less than four sittings each week.</p> + +<p>7. In order that the stay of the English player in +New Orleans be not unnecessarily prolonged, he shall +have the right to fix the hours of play at from ten +o'clock, <span class="smaller">A. M.</span>, to two, <span class="smaller">P. M.</span>, and from six to ten o'clock, +<span class="smaller">P. M.</span></p> + +<p>8. The time occupied in deliberating on any move, +shall not exceed thirty minutes.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p> + +<p>9. The right to publish the games is reserved exclusively +to the contestants, subject only to such private +arrangements as they may agree upon.</p> + +<p>10. The stakes on the part of Mr. Staunton to be +deposited prior to the commencement of the match in +the hands of ——; and those on the part of Mr. +Morphy, in the hands of Eugene Rousseau, Esq., cashier +of the Citizen's Bank of Louisiana.</p></blockquote> + +<p class="gap2">On the 3d of April, Mr. Staunton replied to this +very flattering communication as follows, through the +"Illustrated London News:"—</p> + +<blockquote><p>"<span class="smcap">Proposed Chess Match between England and +America for One Thousand Pounds a Side.</span>—We have +been favored with a copy of the <i>defi</i> which the friends +of Mr. Paul Morphy, the chess champion of the United +States, have transmitted to Mr. Staunton. The terms +of this cartel are distinguished by extreme courtesy, +and with one notable exception, by extreme liberality +also. The exception in question, however, (we refer to +the clause which stipulates that the combat shall take +place in New Orleans!) appears to us utterly fatal to +the match; and we must confess our astonishment that +the intelligent gentlemen who drew up the conditions +did not themselves discover this. Could it possibly +escape their penetration, that if Mr. Paul Morphy, a +young gentleman without family ties or professional<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> +claims upon his attention, finds it inconvenient to anticipate, +by a few months, an intended voyage to Europe, +his proposed antagonist, who is well known for years to +have been compelled, by laborious literary occupation, +to abandon the practice of chess beyond the indulgence +of an occasional game, must find it not merely inconvenient, +but positively impracticable, to cast aside all +engagements, and undertake a journey of many thousand +miles for the sake of a chess-encounter? Surely +the idea of such a sacrifice is not admissible for a single +moment. If Mr. Morphy—for whose skill we entertain +the liveliest admiration—be desirous to win his +spurs among the chess chivalry of Europe, he must +take advantage of his purposed visit next year; he will +then meet in this country, in France, in Germany, and +in Russia, many champions whose names must be as +household words to him, ready to test and do honor to +his prowess."</p></blockquote> + +<p>Can this mean aught else than, "Come over to +England and I will play you?"</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> Illustrated London News, December 26th, 1857.</p></div> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p> + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2> + +<h3>CHESS IN ENGLAND.</h3> + + +<p>Most of us know how "Box," when called upon by +"Cox," to give explanations of the improper attentions +he (Box) was paying to C.'s wife, hums and haws and +begins, "Towards the close of the sixteenth century;" +when Cox very properly cries out, "What the deuce +has the sixteenth century to do with my wife?" +Many of my readers may, like Cox, want to know what +a great deal my book contains has to do with Paul +Morphy; all I have to say, in reply, is,—if you don't +like it, skip it; more especially the following thirty +pages, which, nevertheless, will be interesting to all +chess-players.</p> + +<p>Chess seems to have first acquired social importance +in England during Philidor's residence in that +country. Judging from the number of titled names +attached to his work as subscribers, the British aristocracy +were, in his time, much given to the game, but +"nous avons changé tout cela," and the English nobility<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> +nowadays, with but a few notable exceptions, confine +their abilities to "Tattersall's" and "Aunt Sally."</p> + +<p>"What a fall was there, my countrymen!"</p> + +<p>Surely the "King of Games," which has enlisted +amongst its votaries such names as that of the victor +of Culloden, and his rival, Maréchal Saxe; without +enumerating those of all the greatest warriors of many +centuries, might still offer inducements to their comparatively +unknown descendants. We have thousands +of men, composing the British aristocracy, at a loss to +get rid of their time; sauntering down to their clubs at +mid-day; listlessly turning over the leaves of magazines +and reviews, until their dinner-hour arrives. Why, in +the name of common sense, do not these men learn +something of chess, and thus provide themselves with +a pastime which not merely hastens Time's chariot-wheels, +but quickens the intellect? One gets tired of +billiards, cards, horse-racing, etc., but your chess-player +becomes more enamored of his game, the more he +knows of it.</p> + +<p>It may have been that gentlemen and nobles affixed +their names to Philidor's book, out of compliment or +charity, but it is doubtful whether their descendants +would now do so, even from those considerations. +Must we measure the capacity of dukes and lords by +that intellectual standard, "Aunt Sally?"</p> + +<p>Philidor certainly did much for chess, particularly +in England. He possessed peculiar advantages for so +doing. In the first place he had true talent; his powers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> +for playing blindfold excited extraordinary interest at +the time, not merely amongst chess players, but especially +with the titled crowd. His political antecedents +increased the general interest, and, last and best of all, +he was a foreigner. If Philidor had been an Englishman +he would hardly have sold a copy of his book.</p> + +<p>Philidor organized a chess club in London, which +met at Parsloe's Coffee House, St. James street. At +the present day little is known of that early association, +and we cannot even tell whether the members +were numerous. After his death, chess seems to have +languished; Parsloe's club dragged on its existence +during some years, dying from inanition about 1825. +The London Chess Club, first organized in 1807, kept +alive the sacred fire; but that was the only community +in England during the first quarter of this century +where the game was publicly played. Some years +after the establishment of the London, the Edinburgh +Chess Club started into existence. In 1833, a great +impetus was given to the game by the commencement +of a weekly chess article in the columns of "Bell's Life +in London." Amateurs now had an organ which could +record their achievements; men hitherto unknown +beyond their private circles felt, that the opportunity +was afforded them to become famous throughout the +country, and provincial clubs started up here and there. +Chess players cannot but regard that paper as a very +nursing mother for Caïssa, and certainly never hear it +mentioned but their thoughts revert to the veteran<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>—George +Walker. I once heard that gentleman relate +the following anecdote as a proof of how little was +known of chess, in England, previous to the year 1833.</p> + +<p>Travelling towards the north somewhere about that +period, he put up one night at a hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon. +Now any man with music or poetry in his soul, +would, under such circumstances, wander towards the +home of Shakspeare, or to his last resting-place; provided +always that fear of rheumatism, or influenza, did +not render him regardful of the rain which then fell +"like cats and dogs." How to pass the evening was +the question. Only one other traveller in the coffee-room, +and he as uncommunicative as Englishmen proverbially +are. Mr. Walker did not feel like going to +bed at seven o'clock in the evening, and the idea of +throwing out "a feeler" struck him as interesting. +"Did Traveller play chess?" Traveller did. "Would +he have a game?" Yes, he would. The waiter is +thereupon summoned, and ordered to bring in a set of +chessmen. Waiter, strongly suspicious that Mr. +Walker means skittles, finally awaked to consciousness, +and, with a smile of triumph, produces a backgammon +board.</p> + +<p>The very idea of an opponent obliterated all fear +of the weather in Mr. Walker's breast, and he sallied +forth in quest of the desired pieces. Toyshops, libraries, +etc., were entered, but the proprietors scarcely understood +what was asked of them, and Mr. W. finally +returned to the inn to dispatch "Boots" to the solici<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>tor, +doctor, and neighboring gentry—but all to no purpose. +Thereupon mine host suggested a note to the +parson, but that individual having just rendered himself +famous for all time by cutting down Shakspeare's +mulberry tree, Mr. Walker replied that such a man +could not possibly know anything of the game, and it +would be useless to send to him. So the two travellers +were forced to console themselves with the intricacies +of draughts.</p> + +<p>After the death of Philidor, the strongest players +were Sarratt, De Bourblanc, Lewis and Parkinson. +Sarratt and Mr. Lewis may be looked upon as chess +professors. We all know the story of the former's +playing with the great Napoleon, and the struggle +between pride and courtesy (very silly courtesy, indeed!) +finally overcome by Sarratt's drawing every +game. This could not have been a satisfactory result +to the "Little Corporal," for he never seemed partial +to leaving things <i>in statu quo ante bellum</i>. Sarratt +was a schoolmaster, Parkinson an architect, and Mr. +Lewis commenced life as a merchant's clerk, and eventually +embarked in the manufacture of piano fortes. +This information has nothing whatever to do with the +reputation of the above gentlemen, as successors of +Philidor, and I only mention it because chess players, +like other men, are not adverse to hearing what does +not concern them.</p> + +<p>The continental blockade and long wars with Napoleon, +isolated England from the rest of the world,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> +and completed the decay and fall of chess for a time. +But the game did not languish in France and Germany. +About 1820, the Holy Alliance (of Sovereigns against the +people) began playing its pranks: proscribed fugitives, +martyrs to liberty—<i>soi disant</i> and otherwise—came +over to England in shoals, and amongst them were to +be found thorough adepts in the mysteries of chess. +These refugees rekindled the fire in Britain. They +brought with them new and unknown German and +Italian works, and made Englishmen acquainted with +far more extended information than could be found in +Philidor's meagre work.</p> + +<p>Before we enter on the new era of chess, I may add +for the benefit of such of my readers as are not "up" +in its history, that Lewis was the pupil of Sarratt, +and McDonnel the pupil of Lewis. It is difficult, from +the paucity of existing <i>data</i>, to judge of the strength +of former players as compared with modern examples. +Mr. Lewis had been accustomed at one time to give +McDonnel pawn and two; but, when these odds became +too heavy, he declined playing longer, and may +be considered to have retired from the arena. Mr. +Walker thinks that, in their best play, Messrs. Sarratt +and Lewis were a pawn below Morphy, and he ranks +the latter with Labourdonnais and McDonnel, stating +his belief that the two latter would have played up to +a much higher standard if provoked by defeat. For +my own part, I think it is indisputable that the reputation +of these two players is, at this day, entirely based<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> +on their eighty published games, and when Herr +Löwenthal's much looked-for collection of Morphy's +contests is published, we shall then be enabled to judge +of the American's strength, as compared with those +celebrated masters.</p> + +<p>The influx of foreigners into London was introductory +to the establishment of numerous chess circles +in different coffee houses. Hundreds of "exiled +patriots," bearded Poles and Italians, congregated together +to smoke and play chess, and soon infused a +general passion for the game amongst the Londoners. +The first room specially devoted to chess, of which we +have any account, was one opened by Mr. Gliddon, and +this led to the establishment of the London Chess +Divan.</p> + + + +<p class="center gap2">THE LONDON CHESS DIVAN.</p> + +<p>What chess player has not heard of the far-famed +resort of the devotees of Caïssa? The Café de la Régence +may be the Mecca of chess, but the Divan is indisputably +its Medina. Chess Clubs have risen and +fallen, and the fortunes of the survivors have waxed or +waned; but the Divan flourishes in spring-tide glory, +the <i>Forum Romanum</i> for players of every clime and +strength. Now my readers must not suppose that I +am about to attempt a history of the "Divan in the +Strand," as the Cockneys call it; for I should then +have to write the history of modern European chess. +I merely intend a sketch, from which they will learn<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> +with how much reverence that classic spot is to be regarded.</p> + +<p>Somewhere about the year 1820, a tobacconist, +named Gliddon, opened a room in the rear of his shop, +King Street, Covent Garden, which he fitted up in +Oriental style, and supplied with papers, chess periodicals +and chess-boards, calling the establishment "Gliddon's +Divan." Amongst his patrons was a Mr. Bernhard +Ries, who soon perceived that there was room in +London for a similar undertaking on a much larger +scale. He accordingly opened a grand chess saloon in +the building now occupied by the Divan. This was so +far back as 1828. It was, at first, on the ground-floor, +in the room known as Simpson's Restaurant, but when +Mr. Ries gave up the establishment to his brother, the +present proprietor, in 1836, that gentleman transferred +the Divan to the vast saloon up stairs. In 1838, Mr. +Ries (No. 2) found the Westminster Chess Club suffering +from paralysis, its sinews (of war) being grievously +affected. He purchased the good-will and furniture of +the club, giving the members private rooms on the +first floor of his house for their exclusive use. The +boards and men now in use at the Divan were made +expressly for the Westminster Club when first established. +The members in their new locale soon found +that whilst some twenty boards would be going in the +public room, the game languished with them; and in +the course of two years the club broke up and became +absorbed in the Divan. This will invariably be the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> +case when a private and exclusive chess association +holds its meetings contiguous to a public resort devoted +to the same game. During the past year, the Paris +<i>Cercle des Echecs</i>, which met in rooms over the Café +de la Régence, found that the influence of the arena +down stairs was too great for them, and they broke up +their meetings, and are now to be found <i>en masse</i> in +the public café.</p> + +<p>In 1842 Mr. Ries invited Labourdonnais to come +over from Paris, and play exclusively at the Divan, +which offer that great master accepted. But his constitution +was already shattered, and the malady which +eventually carried him off interfered with his devoting +much time to chess, and no matches of importance +were played by him during the period. It was next +door to the Divan, at No. 6 Beaufort Buildings, in +rooms taken for him by Mr. Ries, that Labourdonnais +finally succumbed to that terrible antagonist who, +whatever the opening may be, brings the game of life +to one inevitable ending—death!</p> + +<p>Who, known to fame in chess during the past quarter +of a century, has not assisted in making the Divan +classic ground? Of bygone palladins we might instance +Popard, Fraser, Zenn, Daniels, Alexander, Williams, +Perigal, and a host of others, never for a moment +forgetting Labourdonnais and Kieseritzky. The +veterans Lewis and Walker made it a place of constant +resort before they withdrew from the chess arena. +In the Divan, Staunton rose from a Knight-player to a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> +first rate. St. Arnaud, Anderssen, Harrwitz, Hörwitz, +Kling,—in fact all the great living celebrities—make it +their house of call when in London, whilst the brilliant +<i>corps d'élite</i> composing the phalanx of English players—Löwenthal, +Boden, Barnes, Bird, Lowe, Falkbeer, +Wormald, Campbell, Zytogorsky, Brien, &c., &c., may +frequently be found there, ready to meet all antagonists. +When Mr. Buckle casts a "longing, lingering +look behind" at his first love, he offers homage to +Caïssa at the Divan. But we must stop, or we shall +fain run through the whole list of living players.</p> + +<p>In the room are busts of Lewis, Philidor, Labourdonnais, +and other <i>vieux de la vielle</i>, and the library is +replete with all the chief works on chess. From noon +to midnight, players of every shade of strength are to +be met with;—amateurs who learned the moves last +week; professors who analyze openings, adepts inventing +new defences, and editors who prove satisfactorily +that the winner ought to have lost and the vanquished +to have gained. [<i>Salām</i> to the Divan! May it live a +thousand years!]</p> + + +<p class="gap2">The Divan has certainly done much to spread a +liking for the game amongst the masses; but, at the +same time, it has somewhat interfered with the formation +of a flourishing West End Chess Club. There is +no city in the world in which so much chess is played +as London, and the British metropolis should certainly +show, at least, one club numbering from 500 to 1,000<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> +members. Club life is an institution peculiar to Englishmen; +divans, even when so well managed as Ries's, +partake rather of the Gallic element, being of the <i>genus</i> +café. Your aristocratic Briton frequents not the public +saloon, preferring the <i>otium cum dignitate</i> of the private +club. I am aware that chess in England is not +fostered by the upper ranks of society: its amateurs +are to be found mainly in the middle classes. Shopmen, +clerks, professors of the arts, literary men, &c., +form its rank and file. The majority of these, I speak +of them as Englishmen, object to a place of public resort +from various reasons. Smoking displeases some, +and smoking is part and parcel of a divan. The Automaton +itself could not get on without its <i>tchibouk</i>. +All the advantages and none of the drawbacks of a +public hall, are to be obtained at a club; especially when, +as at the St. George's, one room is set apart for smoking. +Surely the late impulse given to chess by Paul +Morphy's European feats, will increase the members of +these chess associations, which are incontestably the +best schools for progress in the game.</p> + +<p>About the year 1824, three or four young gentlemen +who had recently learned chess, or rather the mechanical +part of it, and had been playing a good deal +together, made vain inquiries as to the existence of a +Chess Club at the West End of London, being desirous +of showing off their abilities to new advantage. The +foremost of these ambitious juveniles was Mr. George +Walker, the eminent Chess writer, and an author, too,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> +whose never failing <i>bonhommie</i> is worthy of Lafontaine. +Finding that "westward the star of empire" +and of chess had not, as yet, begun to "take its way," +they resolved to have a Club of their own. Philidor's +Club could not be said to exist; the flame was flickering +in some obscure corner, and the last member was +preparing to leave. But the sacred fire was not to die +out:—George Walker and his fellow youngsters built +an altar for it at the Percy Coffee-House in Rathbone +Place, Oxford Street, and blew the flame into a perfect +blaze. Percy's Coffee-House was then a first-rate hotel: +Belgravia, Brompton, Pimlico, were corn-fields and +market-gardens, and the aristocracy had not emigrated +from the neighborhood of Oxford Street. The denizens +of that ilk might be supposed to find some leisure for +the enjoyment of such a pastime as chess, and Walker +and Co. soon enlisted upwards of a score of recruits. +Night after night the members played what they in +their innocence called chess, finishing the Monday evening +with a supper, after which harmony and "the flowing +bowl" prevailed. Things went on swimmingly in +this Mutual Admiration Society, until one of the members, +Mr. Perrier, of the War Office, upset the <i>status +quo</i> by bringing into their midst Mr. Murphy, the celebrated +ivory miniature painter, and father of Mrs. +Jamieson, the authoress. Dire was the result; Mr. +Murphy proved a very Trojan horse in this West End +Ilium: for, as Mr. Walker says, "he entirely dispelled +the illusion of the 'bold Percies' that they had been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> +playing chess." He gave them one and all a Knight, +essayed the Gambit on every occasion, and not one of +the young gentlemen could make a stand against him.</p> + +<p>As though not sufficiently humiliated, Mr. Murphy +introduced Mr. Lewis to them, and the new comer +completed their bewilderment by giving them the +Rook and sweeping them clean off the board. But +with such a master, the Percies, by dint of diligent +study and practice, rapidly improved, and it was suggested +to Mr. Lewis that he should open a private club +at his own house. After a short delay this was accomplished, +and nearly all the members joined Mr. Lewis, +when he opened subscription rooms in St. Martin's +Lane—classic ground surely, for a former Chess Club +had lived and died at Slaughter's Coffee-House, hard by.</p> + +<p>Mr. Lewis collected quite a number of players +around him, and was in fair way to find his enterprise +profitable; but the most prominent members demurred +to his not playing with them so much as they desired, +more especially as Mr. Lewis did not appear to regard +the institution as a Free School for the inculcation of +Chess. The best of the young amateurs were Messrs. +Walker, Brand, Mercier and McDonnell; the last, the +best of the lot. McDonnell received from Mr. Lewis +the odds of Pawn and Two Moves, but when he had +fairly surmounted that advantage and could win every +game, his antagonist declined playing on even terms, +much to McDonnell's disappointment. This, however, +appears to be the usual course with leading chess play<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>ers,—Deschappelle's +conduct in regard to Labourdonnais +being a notable example of the fact. There are +peculiar idiosyncrasies in chess human nature, as, for instance, +the remarkable reserve and "<i>don't-come-nigh-me</i>" +<i>feeling</i> with which leading amateurs treat each +other. Go into any public or private chess association, +and you will find that the superior craft steer clear of +each other as a general thing; reserving their antagonism +for matches few and far between.</p> + +<p>The Club subsequently removed to the bottom of +St. Martin's Lane, and shortly broke up, McDonnell +and others returning to the London Club, whence they +had migrated. A futile attempt was afterwards made +to establish a grand aristocratic silk and satin club in +Waterloo Place, the door of admission to which could +only be opened with a golden key of ten guineas. +Here lots of every thing could be found except chess, +and no wonder, for the game does not find supporters, +to any extent, among the rich, depending mainly upon +individuals to whom ten guineas are a consideration. +The club expired in twelve months. Caïssa thus lost +her last foothold at the West End, and Mr. Lewis +henceforth virtually abandoned the practice of chess.</p> + +<p>The question has frequently been asked, whether +and how Mr. Lewis played Labourdonnais? They +played together on three different occasions, <i>in all +seven games</i>, of which Labourdonnais won five and lost +two. The first time they met was at the house of Mr. +Domitt, Hon. Sec. of the London Club, and two All<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>gaier +Gambits were played, each winning one. As +they had just done their duty to a very good dinner, +and society was then divided into two, three, and four +bottle men, Labourdonnais remarked, "The victory is +not likely to be gained by the better player, but by +him who carries his wine best." This reminds me of a +<i>bon mot</i> of Mr. Boden. Somebody remarked in his +presence that two amateurs (whose names to mention +"decency forbids") were both drunk, though engaged +in a match game: he replied—"Then the best player +will win."</p> + +<p>After the conclusion of the two games, Messrs. Mercier, +Bonfil and Domit, particular friends of the English +player, challenged Labourdonnais to play Mr. Lewis a +match of twenty-five games at £5 a game. This was +rather too bad, considering that Labourdonnais, to use +his own words, was "without a friend or a shilling in a +foreign country;" but he laughed the challenge away +as a joke in his own witty manner, by saying that "in +such case he must be the best player who could offer +to play for the highest stake," a reply which so pleased +a gentleman present, Mr. Brand, that he cried out, +"Labourdonnais shall play Lewis a match of 25 games +at £10 a game, and I will find his stakes." It is stated +that Mr. Brand evinced considerable ill-feeling towards +Mr. Lewis, at the time, in consequence of the latter's +preferring a move recommended by Mr. Mercier in the +match then pending between the London and Edinburgh +clubs, to one proposed by himself, and perhaps<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> +this was the reason for his offering to back the Frenchman +against his own countryman. But Mr. Lewis's +friends did not accept the challenge, and the two +champions confined their contests to five off-hand +games, which were played at the residences of Messrs. +Bonfil and Mercier, Lewis winning one and Labourdonnais +four, so that the final result was:—</p> + +<p class="center">Labourdonnais, 5—Lewis, 2—Drawn, 0.</p> + +<p>The above occurrences took place on the occasion +of Labourdonnais' first visit to London, many years before +his famous encounters with McDonnell.</p> + +<p>About the year 1830, a gentleman of great parts +and education, named Huttmann, finding his share of +this world's loaves and fishes not precisely what he +could wish, opened a coffee house in Covent Garden. +His patrons belonged to what society calls the "upper +classes," for his prices were high and his refreshments +first-rate; two considerable attractions to men +of means. Amongst the frequenters of the rooms +were Mr. Henry Russell, the since celebrated singer; +Captain Medwin (Byron's medium), and Mr. Mackay, +now Dr. Charles Mackay, the poet. Doctor +Mackay was in New York during the chess tournament, +and visited the rooms on that occasion, but +we were then unaware of his early acquaintance with +the game.</p> + +<p>At Huttman's Coffee House, the habitués were +gentlemen in quest of quietness; men of calm, reflect<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>ive +turn, given to chit-chat in nooks and corners; smoking +a genuine "Havana" over a cup of unquestionable +"Mocha," and reading that everlasting refuge for an +Englishman, "<i>The Times</i>." Just the atmosphere for a +chess-board, and two or three were accordingly introduced. +Now you can never get chess-boards into any +establishment, without the fact becoming immediately +known amongst amateurs. Mr. George Walker soon +got wind of the arrangement, and forthwith reconnoitred +the lines. The result of his observations was +that he suggested the formation of a chess club in the +first floor rooms, and to this Mr. Huttmann assented. +Mr. Walker forthwith began drumming about for recruits; +electing himself secretary, <i>pro tem.</i>, he drew up +a set of rules, and got out printed circulars, and it was +not his fault if any person with whom he claimed even +bowing acquaintance, escaped from the meshes of the +proposed club. Within a few days he had canvassed +all his earliest chess friends, and had rallied round the +standard of Caïssa between twenty and thirty defenders. +It was resolved to style the association</p> + + +<p class="center gap2">THE WESTMINSTER CLUB,</p> + +<p>and Captain Medwin was elected the first president.</p> + +<p>We are upon classic ground. Who does not remember +the feats performed within the walls of this +home of the glorious departed? Who shall forget the +oft-told wonders of that golden age of chess? Any +thing related of the Westminster Club is swallowed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> +with willing faith by gaping acolytes. Those were +glorious days, indeed, the Homeric age of zatrikiological +worthies! Amongst the early supporters of the +Club were the Rev. Mr. D'Arblay, (son of Madame +D'Arblay,) Mr. Skelton, (so well known about town as +"Dandy Skelton,") Mr. Nixon, organist of the Bavarian +Catholic Church, in Warwick Street, Duncan +Forbes, Professor of Oriental languages at University +College, and many other celebrated literary characters. +The proprietor, Mr. Huttman, followed the enterprise +with spirit. Every cigar he sold in the coffee-room +was wrapt in a printed problem; and, in addition, he +published a periodical penny miscellany on chess. Such +extraordinary exertions quickly bore fruit, and, in a +short time the Club rose to something like fifty members. +The room in which the meetings were held became, +in consequence, so hot, that it was deservedly +styled "the oven."</p> + +<p>Emboldened by success, Mr. Huttman began to +look about for new and more commodious quarters; +these he eventually found on the opposite side of the +street. Certain gamblers had there taken a house, and +furnished the principal apartments in sumptuous style, +for the sole purpose of decoying thither a young foreign +nobleman, who, in one night, is said to have lost +there upwards of £30,000. The house having served +their diabolical ends, was of no further use to them, +and Mr. Huttman rented it. Here the Westminster +Club was enshrined. Amongst the chief supporters<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> +were Mr. George Walker, Hon. Sec.; Mr. B. Smith, +M. P.; Albany Fonblanque, Esq., of <i>The Examiner</i>; +Messrs. Perigal, Slous, Popert, McDonnel, and many +others from the London Club. In 1833, Labourdonnais +and McDonnel played their different matches at these +splendid rooms.</p> + +<p>By the continued exertions of Mr. George Walker, +the number of members was increased to three hundred. +What a glorious muster-roll! Why should the "old +days" not live again at the West End? Surely the +ranks of chess players are not thinned, nor is their +strength diminished. Our Löwenthals, Bodens, Birds, +Stauntons, Barneses, Buckles, Wormalds, Falkbeers, +Briens, Zytogoroskys, Lowes, Hannahs, etc., etc., +etc., are worthy descendants of West End men of the +olden time, without even enlisting the support of such +city magnates as the Mongredieus, Slouses, Medleys, +etc., of the ancient and virile London Club. Many +members of the Westminster still make love to the +nymph Caïssa; such historical names as Slous and +Walker for instance. But, in addition to the above-mentioned +general officers, we now possess a constantly-increasing +rank and file, recruited from the chess-playing +militia of schools and private families. Chess is +assuming vast proportions in England and America: +scarcely a weekly paper of any circulation but gives a +column to the game; and certainly no newspaper editor +would do so if he did not find it pay. At the West +End of London, there now exist two clubs of impor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>tance, +the old St. George's and the new St. James's; +the Philidorean Rooms in Rathbone Place partaking +rather of the divan character. Neither of these clubs +require proficiency in the game as a passport for membership; +and a gentleman receiving the Queen would +be just as eligible as the amateur giving it. Surely the +advantages offered for increasing one's strength in this +intellectual struggle of mind against mind, should be +an inducement for young players to enroll themselves +in one or the other of these two associations.</p> + +<p>When the Westminster had grown up into a goodly +body of three hundred members, Mr. George Walker +began to find that the duties of secretary were interfering +seriously with his other pursuits, and he therefore +resigned the office, and was succeeded by Mr. +William Greenwood Walker, to whom the chess world +is so much indebted for taking down the games of McDonnel. +The Club had arrived at its Augustine era, +and, in 1838, its fortunes began to wane; the proprietor +getting into pecuniary difficulties. Mr. Huttman +could not let well alone. He introduced a daily dinner, +on plans so profoundly calculated, that the more persons +who dined the more he lost. He got the Club, +also, into bad odor, by allowing chess to be played +there on Sundays. Musical soirées and other nonsense +followed; the main object of the establishment thus +became ignored, and, instead of new members joining, +the old ones fell off one by one, and the princely mansion +in Bedford street was shortly to let. Mr. Hutt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>man's +pecuniary difficulties perilled the very existence +of the Club, notwithstanding that the members handed +over to him the reserve fund, amounting to a few +hundred pounds. No Club can be said to be in safety +without such a fund upon which to fall back in case of +emergency, as for instance, retirement of members. +Members of chess clubs will retire—prominent ones +even—a very frequent cause being marriage; the +backsliders, however, often come back eventually.</p> + +<p>The Westminster Club being now without house or +home, looked about for some benevolent individual +who would "take them in and do for them." Such an +one they found in Mr. Ries, proprietor of the Divan in +the Strand, who offered them private rooms in his establishment; +thither the <i>débris</i> of the old Westminster +forthwith removed. Each member was provided with +a latch-key, with which to let himself in at the private +door. Here it was that Mr. Staunton appeared for the +first time in chess-circles, although he was never a +member of the Westminster Club. In its new quarters +the association drew out an existence of twelve +months, giving up the ghost in 1840.</p> + +<p>About this time, the veteran writer and encyclopædist, +Alexandre, made a lamentable <i>fiasco</i> at his +Café de l'Echiquiér in Paris; an establishment which +he vainly hoped would entice away the <i>habitués</i> of the +Cafés de la Régence et de Procope. Coming over to +London, he made the acquaintance of Mr. Staunton, +and the two players struck hands together, and resolved +to open a chess establishment as a partnership<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> +concern. Alexandre put in his little all—the change +out of his Paris capital—and he and his coadjutor +opened rooms at the Waterloo Chambers. A very +good locality, perhaps too good, for rents in that neighborhood +are rather high. Some twenty or thirty old +players rallied round them, but the attempt was only +of short duration. The two <i>camarades</i> took to squabbling +and vilifying each other; and, within a year, the +Club was formally dissolved at the request of the members.</p> + +<p>All connection now being severed between the +members and Messrs. Alexandre and Staunton, the +amateurs convened a private meeting for the purpose +of examining their prospects and taking steps for reorganization. +Mr. George Walker advertised for a +large room, and was answered by Mr. Beattie, proprietor +of Beattie's Hotel, George street, Hanover +square. Here, once again, the remains of the "old +guard" planted their standard, and in special, solemn +convocation, under a full sense of their responsibility, +and with all due solemnity, they christened their Club</p> + + +<p class="center gap2">THE ST. GEORGE'S,</p> + +<p>the name being suggested, in the first place, by the +baptismal appellative of their virtual founder and Hon. +Sec., Mr. George Walker; and, secondly, because +the meeting was in George street, in the parish of +St. George's. The Club was exceedingly prosperous +during the first year of its existence, much being +due to the fostering care of Mr. B. Smith, M. P.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> +for Norwich, who was assiduous in his attendance, and +a capital "whipper-in" of members. The room was +large, well proportioned, and well ventilated, cooking +first-rate, wines unexceptionable. Wine, by the by, +makes your game brilliant, if not sound. Dull, unimaginative +Zsen would have been betrayed into an attempt +at brilliance and dash, with a couple of bottles +of "old crusted" under his belt. But it began to appear +as though a West End Club could be nought but +an "annual." Mr. Beattie failed in business, and the +St. George's were turned out of doors, wanderers for a +season, without prospect of refuge. And the devotees +of Caïssa were on the town for some weeks, two or +three of the leading and most active assiduously on +the watch to find a fresh location, but almost in blank +despair as to the result.</p> + +<p>Mr. B. Smith was a large shareholder in the Polytechnic +Institution, Regent street. The managing +committee of that estimable establishment were, about +this time, endeavoring to form reading-rooms by subscription, +in the first floor of their building, facing Cavendish +square. It was suggested to the committee +that chess and reading might be combined; that one +large room facing the square should be set apart for +reading exclusively, and two smaller ones be devoted +to chess. A meeting was forthwith convened, Mr. +Nurse representing the proprietors of the Institution, +the chess players present being Mr. B. Smith, Mr. +Richard Penn, and the indefatigable and indomitable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> +George Walker. These three gentlemen guaranteed +that one hundred members, paying an annual subscription +of three guineas each, should be enrolled in the +Chess Club within twelve months; and, once again, +the red cross of the St. George's was floating bravely +in the air. Forthwith commenced the hunting up of +old members of the Westminster and other West End +Clubs: touching and tender circulars were issued by +Mr. Walker, adjuring the straggling devotees of Caïssa, +by all the recollections of their first and early loves, by +all their hopes of a glorious hereafter, to rush once +more to the rescue. Could such pathetic appeals fall +unheeded upon the chess-lover's ear? No. A hundred +and fifty members reiterated "no" to the accompaniment +of their one hundred and fifty three-guinea +subscriptions. "Royal Blue-Book" notabilities enrolled +themselves; as, for instance, the present Lord +Ravensworth, Dr. Murray, Lord Bishop of Rochester, +the Honorable Charles Murray, Mr. Brooke +Greville, Mr. Albany Fonblanque, the Messrs. Hampton, +Lord Clarence Paget, and a host of other fashionables. +So the St. George's flourished for years, and it +began to appear that a Chess Club at the West End +could, under proper management, become a permanent +institution.</p> + +<p>It was in this <i>locale</i> that Mr. Staunton played his +first match with Saint Amant, and, losing it, took his +revenge by winning in his turn at Paris. For some +reason or other, the French amateur displayed unac<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>countable +nervousness during the progress of the +match in his own capital. The Baronne de L——, who +is well known in Parisian <i>salons</i> as an excellent player +and firm supporter of the game, assured me but lately +that she had no easy task in instilling courage into her +countryman, startled as he was by Mr. Staunton's winning +game after game from him. Warming up under +the merry rebukes of his fair inspirer, Saint Amant +began to turn the tables upon his antagonist, and it +seemed as if he would anticipate the result of the contest +between Löwenthal and Harrwitz. Mr. Staunton, +however, eventually won, and the stakes were +deposited for the third and deciding match, but Mr. S. +was taken ill, and it was never played. It is unfortunate +for Mr. Staunton's reputation that the plea of bad +health was so frequently used by him when opponents +appeared, more especially as he is the first to ridicule +such an excuse when coming from others. And it is +more than ever unfortunate in this instance, because +the French players declared that, judging from the +later games of the match in Paris, it was obvious that +Mr. Staunton would have succumbed to their champion +if the third and deciding heat had not been prevented +by the Englishman's indisposition. And many of them +even affirm that Mr. S. felt this and acted in consequence.</p> + +<p>It may be added that the St. George's Chess Club +had been installed at the Polytechnic Institution some +years before Mr. Staunton joined them, as an honorary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> +member, in compliment to his rising reputation. Mr. +Staunton was laid under lasting obligations to Mr. +George Walker, by the latter's bringing him from obscurity +into public notice, not merely by introducing +him to the London chess world, but, in addition, by +flattering notices of him in his works. He may, in +fact, be considered the pupil of Mr. Walker, and the +courtesy with which he has always treated his benefactor +makes one think of Labourdonnais's delicacy +towards his old master Deschappelles.</p> + +<p>It would seem as though chess-players, like other +men, "get weary in well-doing," and constantly stand +in need of fresh stimulus. Nothing could have been +more suitable or comfortable than the accommodations +of the St. George's at the Polytechnic, and yet they +got to yearning after they scarcely knew what. The +cry was raised that members ought to be able to dine +at their Club, and they forthwith migrated <i>en masse</i> to +apartments in Crockford's Club, transmogrified into an +eating-house on a splendid scale, and styled "The Wellington." +Here they dwindled away, and the St. +George's would have finally disappeared from existence +had it not been for the kindness of Mr. Thomas +Hampton, who offered them apartments at New Palace +Club Chambers, in King street, St. James's. Under +his fostering care, and the patriotic manner in which +he is continually arranging matches and organizing +tournaments amongst the members, the St. George's +has largely increased its muster-roll of amateurs, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> +bids fair to enjoy more halcyon days than ever. In +these rooms Paul Morphy played part of his match with +Herr Löwenthal, and vanquished the well-known amateur +"Alter," in a contest at Pawn and Move. And in +dismissing this now prosperous West End Club, I must +not forget to mention, for the benefit of those of my +readers who are ignorant of the fact, that it was the +St. George's which initiated and successfully carried +out the Grand International Tournament of 1851, in +which the Teutonic element made itself so conspicuous.</p> + +<p>Experience seems to teach us that no West End +Club can be permanently prosperous, without a recognized +professor of the game being constantly, or frequently, +in attendance; one whose object is the interest, +not of himself, but of chess, willing and ready to +play with all comers for the benefit of all. In such a +Club as the London, where the members are business +men, there is no hollow principle of <i>caste</i>; social democracy +exists, and the players play, talk, laugh, and +eat together on a perfect equality, be they simple +clerks or merchant princes. At the Court End of the +town manners are reserved; and such a thing may +happen as two members of the same Club waiting several +years, before an introduction justifies them in +speaking to each other. A professor would bring all +these stupid <i>convenances de la société</i> to a speedy end, +and, by his recognized position in the Club, arrange contests +between members of equal force, and thus further +the objects for which they are associated.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p> + + +<p class="center gap2">THE LONDON CHESS CLUB.</p> + +<p>In the very heart of the City of London, under the +shadows of the Bank and Royal Exchange, and but a +step from Lombard street, the London Chess Club +holds its daily sittings. Who would expect to find +such an association in such a place? Is the quiet of +the chess arena consonant with the hum of busy multitudes, +hurrying to and fro in never-failing ardor after +the yellow god? Are stocks and scrip and dividends +allied to gambits and mates? Shall Lloyd's Capel +Court and the Corn Exchange furnish supporters of +Caïssa? Come along with me to Cornhill. Stop! +This is Purssell's restaurant. We'll walk up stairs. +This room on the first floor is devoted to billiards. +Above it meets the Cosmopolitan Club, and on the +third floor—out of reach of the noise below—is the +famous old "London," of which every player of note +during the past fifty years has either been a member +or visitor.</p> + +<p>It is between three and four o'clock in the afternoon, +and the rooms of the Club present the usual appearance +at that hour. In the right-hand corner we +perceive the President, Mr. Mongredieu, engaged in +dire conflict with Mr. Maude, to whom he has offered +the advantage of Pawn and Move. Readers of the +<i>Chess Players' Chronicle</i>, of the <i>Palamède</i>, and <i>La +Régence</i>, have known Mr. Mongredieu for long years +past, as an amateur of first-rate force, who gets him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>self +invariably into difficulties at the commencement of +a game, by his unvanquishable contempt for book openings, +but who comes out all right at last, by his masterly +tactics in the middle of the contest. Possessed +of a fund of native English humor, and a finished +scholar withal, he keeps up a running fire of wit and +anecdote throughout the game, in which the lookers-on +join. By his side is Mr. George Medley, the Secretary +of the Club, whose name is also a "household word" +to amateurs; he and Mr. Mongredieu ranking as the +strongest players of the association. The latter gentleman +has run in for an hour's play from the Corn +Exchange, being in fact one of those men who, before +the knowledge of Political Economy had become diffused +amongst the masses, were styled "the rogues in +grain." Mr. Medley has just arrived from the Stock +Exchange, where, after "Bearing" or "Bulling" Mr. +Slous, George Walker, and Mr. Waite during the morning, +he meets them at the Chess Club towards three +o'clock, and they become as much absorbed in the mysteries +of the game as though it were the business of +their lives.</p> + +<p>If you wish to see what influence chess can have +upon individuals, just analyze the London Club. The +members are not "men of straw," but sound, substantial +citizens, with balances at their bankers heavy +enough to buy up half-a-dozen lords. Does a Rothschild +or a Baring negotiate a loan? Here you will find +men to take up the greater part, if not the whole of it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> +Is capital for a railroad wanted? You need not wander +much further. Look around you, and you will recognize +many of the foremost of Great Britain's merchant +princes; men pushing England's commerce into every +bay and inlet of old ocean, carrying the British flag +across seas and lakes, and penetrating continents; causing +British cannon to thunder at the gates of Pekin, and +opening Japan to the commerce of the world. These +are the children of the men who first planted foot in +Hindostan, descendants of those who established England's +colonies. These are the men, the very men, who +repealed the Corn Laws in 1846, established the principle +of Free Trade, and told a proud, titled aristocracy—"We, +the middle class, the merchants, bankers, +and manufacturers of Great Britain, are the source of +all power in England, as we are the source of her +greatness."</p> + +<p>An admirable demonstration of these ideas is to be +found in the London Chess Club. This association has +flourished with never-failing vigor since its establishment +in 1807, whilst Clubs have risen, waned, and died +at the fashionable end of the town. City men are +too patriotic and too proud to allow their Club to languish; +and, depend upon it, whilst the old London +counts a single member, that one last man will, from +his own purse, find funds to keep it alive, inscribe on +his colors "<i>Lateat scintillula forsan</i>," and shout with +stentorian lungs for recruits.</p> + +<p>The London Chess Club organized on the 6th of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> +April, 1807, Mr. Augustus Hankey being first President, +and the committee numbering among its members +Sir Astley Cooper, the celebrated surgeon, Sir +Isaac Lyon Goldsmid, and others of almost equal eminence. +The meetings took place at Tom's Coffee +House, in Cornhill. Such men as Sarratt, Lewis, +Walker, McDonnel, Cochrane, Popert, Perigal, Staunton, +Fraser, etc., have either been members of the Club +or frequenters of it. A good story is told of Perigal, +who, for a long period, officiated as the Honorary Secretary. +At the time Deschappelles made his ridiculous +challenge to play any English amateur a match at +Pawn and Two moves, Mr. Perigal was sent out to +Paris to arrange preliminaries with the gasconading +Frenchman. Deschappelles soon showed how little he +was in earnest, and the ambassador returned without +having effected any thing. On being questioned at the +"London" as to the appearance, manner, etc., of the +French champion, he said, with much gravity—"Mr. +Deschappelles is the greatest chess-player in France; +Mr. Deschappelles is the greatest whist-player in +France; Mr. Deschappelles is the greatest billiard-player +in France; Mr. Deschappelles is the greatest +pumpkin-grower in France, and Mr. Deschappelles is +the greatest liar in France."</p> + +<p>A match by correspondence was commenced in 1824, +between the London and Edinburgh Chess Clubs, and +was won by the latter. Two games were commenced +simultaneously, the moves being forwarded every night<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> +through the post-office. On one occasion the Londoners +sent off three moves at once, half-an-hour in advance +of their usual time; and after the letter was +posted, it was discovered that the last move was +founded on a miscalculation, and might lose the game. +Application was immediately made at the office for the +letter to be returned, but such a thing was impossible +without an order from the Secretary of State. A +second letter was thereupon despatched to Edinburgh, +retracting the move in question, but the <i>cannie</i> sons +of Auld Reekie held them to their first showing, and +the London Club lost the game in consequence. Shortly +afterwards, the Edinburgh Club made a similar blunder, +but they, somehow or other, induced their postmaster +to produce the letter, and they corrected the +move on the outside. Of course the Londoners +wouldn't stand that.</p> + +<p>In the spring of 1846, Staunton played and won +his match with Harrwitz at the rooms of the Club, and, +in the summer of the same year, he there also vanquished +Harrwitz, in a contest of seven even, seven +pawn and move, and seven pawn and two games. In +the latter part of that year, and in the same locality, +Harrwitz and Hörwitz played a match, the former +scoring eight games to his opponent's seven; and, meeting +again subsequently, a similar result was effected. +In 1847, the Club entered on a match by correspondence +with the Amsterdam <i>Cercle des Echecs</i>, the latter +having sent a challenge of £50 to any London club.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> +One game lasted five years, and was won by the Englishmen, +and a second game was drawn. The Londoners +scored the third, and this game is considered +to be one of the finest and most brilliant contests by +correspondence on record. The players selected by the +Club to represent them in this celebrated match were +Messrs. Mongredieu, Slous, Medley, and Greenaway—a +glorious quartet, who are now stronger than ever.</p> + +<p>The London Chess Club did not take part in the +Tournament of 1851, because the St. George's, under +the auspices of Mr. Staunton, wished to assume a +position derogatory to their claims; nor was it proper +that the oldest and most influential Club in the United +Kingdom should play second-fiddle to a much younger +association. But they gave a cup of the value of one +hundred guineas to be played for by the foreign amateurs +then in London, and Anderssen, Szabs, Zsen, +Kling, and Harrwitz were amongst the contestants. +The cup was won by Herr Anderssen.</p> + +<p>In 1852, '53, Harrwitz and Williams played a match +at the London Club, the first-named player winning a +large majority of the games. And, finally, on Paul +Morphy's being challenged last year by Herr Löwenthal, +this Club, ever foremost in the interests of chess, +doubled the latter's stakes, and offered the combatants +battle-ground for half the games in their saloons. Nowhere +has Paul Morphy met with a heartier English +welcome than from the veterans of this flourishing +association.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span></p> + +<p>Amongst the strongest amateurs now figuring on +the muster-roll of the London Chess Club are those +"ancients," Messrs. Slous and George Walker, and +Messrs. Mongredieu, Medley, Maude, Greenaway, and +Brien. "May their shadows never grow less!"</p> + + +<p class="center gap2">THE PHILIDOREAN ROOMS.</p> + +<p>A chess establishment has lately been opened, under +the above title, in Rathbone place, Oxford street, partaking +of the peculiar character of the Divan, in the +Strand. The admission, as in the latter, is either by +subscription, or by entrance fee of sixpence, which +includes a cup of coffee or cigar.</p> + +<p>As the Philidorean is too youthful an undertaking +to possess a history, I must confine myself to mentioning +some of the principal frequenters, and, considering +the size of the rooms and its age, the establishment may +well be proud of its supporters. The well-known +Austrian amateur, Herr Falkbeer, may be found there +daily, with such proficients as Brien, Zytogorsky, +Wormald, Kenny, Healey, and the rising star, Campbell, +together with many others, scarcely less known +to fame. As the Philidorean is centrally situated, in +the midst of a very populous and influential neighborhood, +and too far from any similar place of resort, it +will probably hold its own, and become one of the +great temples of Caïssa.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p> + + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2> + +<h3>MORPHY IN ENGLAND.</h3> + + +<p>It is easy to understand that when a man, and especially +a young man, feels his strength in any department of +thought or action, he will be desirous of putting his +abilities to the severest test, so as to take that rank to +which he is entitled. Paul Morphy perceiving that it +was a hopeless task endeavoring to induce the chess +magnates of the Old World to visit America, resolved +to cross the Atlantic himself, and it would be difficult +to imagine a more chivalric act in one so young than +thus embarking on a voyage of many thousand miles, for +the sake of finding new antagonists. The journeyings +of Il Puttino from Italy into Spain to battle with Ruy +Lopez—the travels of the admirable Crichton through +different countries of Europe, are mediocre in comparison +with this.</p> + +<p>But an obstacle stood in the way of the proposed +voyage. Paul Morphy was not yet of age, and it +would be necessary to first obtain the consent of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> +family. This was difficult, for, in addition to other +reasons, objections were made to our hero's entering +on so public a career, interfering, too, as it would for a +time, with his legal pursuits. A committee was appointed +by the Chess Club to wait upon Mr. Morphy's +family to request their consent to the much-desired +voyage, and this was ultimately granted. Strong hopes +were entertained in England that the American champion +would assist at the meeting of the British Chess +Association in Birmingham, and, for that purpose, the +committee had offered to place at his disposal a certain +sum to cover his expenses. This was not accepted, +Mr. Morphy little wishing to travel as a professional +chess-player. At the commencement of the month of +June, the following announcement appeared in the +<i>Illustrated London News</i>:</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">ANNUAL MEETING OF THE CHESS ASSOCIATION.</p> + +<p>It was noticed in our columns last week that this event, the +Chess-players' Derby day, was fixed to commence on the 22d +of June. The arrangements of the local committee are, of +course, not yet complete, but it is whispered that they have +succeeded in insuring the presence of the American chess phenomenon, +Paul Morphy, an attraction, of itself, sufficient to +secure the largest attendance which has been known for years.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The date for the assembling of the Association was +ultimately postponed until the latter part of August, it +being feared, with reason, that the sitting of Parliament +would interfere with the attendance of many who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> +would otherwise be present. The committee wrote to +inform Mr. Morphy of this postponement, and again +urging him to visit Europe, but he was already <i>en +route</i> before the latter reached New Orleans.</p> + +<p>I was both surprised and gratified when I read the +announcement of Paul Morphy's arrival in the <i>Illustrated +London News</i>. Now, thought I, these men who +do not believe in an American chess-master, will be +convinced. We'll see if Morphy's games are merely +"pretty," and "will not bear the test of analysis;" and +whether "he'll find plenty of matches." I wended my +way to the St. George's, feeling confident that I should +find Morphy there, and, after waiting a short time, I +had the pleasure of welcoming him to England. But, +having arisen up from a sick bed to travel, joined to +the fatigues of a first voyage across the Atlantic, he did +not appear in as good fighting trim as when I had last +seen him in New York.</p> + +<p>On Mr. Staunton's arrival, Paul Morphy asked him +if he had any objection to play an off-hand game. Now +it is Morphy's almost invariable custom to wait to be +asked; the solitary exceptions to this rule (to my +knowledge) being in the cases of Messrs. Staunton and +Harrwitz. Mr. Staunton declined the offer on the +ground of an engagement preventing, and, notwithstanding +that they met frequently at the St. George's, +he would never consent to a contest of the most friendly +description. Doubtless he was desirous of first observing +Morphy's capabilities against other players. The well-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>known +amateur, "Alter," whose games frequently +grace the columns of Mr. Staunton's paper, offered +himself as a sacrifice. "Alter," however, was not the +first to measure skill with the young American, the +Secretary of the St. George's, Mr. Hampton, having +already played two games with him, on a previous occasion.</p> + +<p>Morphy and "Alter" ultimately effected a score of +"Alter" 1, and Morphy 4. His next antagonist was +Mr. Barnes, and the result of their play was, at first, +most surprising. During several successive days they +scored alternate games, and the London chess world +consequently measured Morphy's powers by this antagonist. +Ultimately the former recovered from the +effects of his voyage, and the proportion was established +of 19 to 7, the last ten or twelve games being +scored by Morphy almost without a break.</p> + +<p>The first challenge which the young American received +in London was from Herr Löwenthal. Morphy +says that no one can mention this gentleman's name, +without announcing the fact that he was one of the celebrated +triumvirate in the match between Pesth and +Paris. Herr Löwenthal and the 19th century came +arm and arm into the world together, so that he has +been contemporary with many who have gone to another +sphere. He was led into chess from sheer jealousy, +not of woman, but of a man. At a <i>café</i> in Pesth, +much frequented by amateurs of the game,—in fact the +Magyar Café de la Régence,—he noticed that a crowd<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> +invariably surrounded a certain table after 4 o'clock in +the afternoon; and, on further inquiry, he learned that +the best chess-player in Hungary took upon himself +daily to astonish the natives there. That player was +Zsen. Zsen was a clerk in the office of Archives at +Pesth, and, when the business of the day was over, he +repaired to the above-mentioned spot to play chess for +a nominal stake, which never exceeded a <i>zwanziger</i> +(sevenpence English). Another peculiarity of his was, +that, no matter what the strength of his opponent might +be—queen, rook, knight, or pawn player—he never +would give any odds. His game was dull, analytical, +and sound to a tiresome extent, his only object being +to get through the <i>opening</i> and <i>middle</i>, and then winning +became a certainty; for all his strength came out +in the <i>endings</i>, and a very good place, too, for it to +appear in. Zsen went to Paris in 1831, and played +some games with Labourdonnais at the odds of Pawn +and Move, winning the majority. He then told the +great Frenchman that he did not like playing for stakes +as a general thing, but that he would propose to him a +match of twenty-one even games for 200 francs; but +Labourdonnais declined. And who will say he was +wrong? for what pleasure could there be in sitting +down day after day before the dullest player in Christendom, +for the eventuality of 200 francs? Zsen was +so frightfully slow, even in ordinary games, that he +would have worn out 200 francs' worth of his opponent's +pantaloons before the match was half through. He was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> +an exceedingly nervous man, and this quality particularly +evinced itself during the Tournament of '51, to the +eminent delight of his London friends. But he was a +good-hearted, amiable man, never losing his temper, +and ever ready to declare that he hadn't won the game, +but his opponent had lost it.</p> + +<p>We left Zsen over a move at the Pesth café. Herr +Löwenthal observing what interest seemed to be taken +in chess, thought he should like to try his hand at it, +and forthwith pored over such works on the game as +he was informed would initiate him into its mysteries. +Obtaining a little knowledge, he soon after began playing +daily with Zsen, receiving no odds, because, as before +stated, Zsen would not give any, upon principle. +During eighteen months, Löwenthal never scored one +game. But whilst Zsen was away on his travels at +Paris and elsewhere, he made rapid progress, particularly +in the openings; and on his antagonist's return, +he induced him to give the advantage of Pawn and +Move, and Zsen lost every game. Returning to even +play, the latter won the large majority; but with constant +practice, Löwenthal decreased the distance between +them, although he never turned the tables upon +his adversary. Herr L. considers that, in their best +play, Grimm would win three games to Zsen's seven, +and four to his six. Most chess-players finished Grimm +some years back, but he still flourishes "down East." +After the Hungarian agitation of 1848, he fled into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> +Turkey, and is now settled in Aleppo, where, as he +turned Mussulman, he no doubt revels.</p> + +<p>Grimm was a music publisher in Pesth, and, according +to Herr Löwenthal, a man of high intelligence, being +a celebrated <i>pianist</i> and a thorough proficient in +the German, French, Italian, and Latin languages. He +was also renowned as a whist-player, and his equal at +the billiard-table was not to be found throughout the +entire Austrian Empire. His chess was the antithesis +of Zsen's, being "brilliant, but not over sound," qualities +which find favor with "the gallery," but are dangerous +to one's backers in a match. This interesting +triumvirate—Zsen, Grimm, Löwenthal—had it all their +own way, in Pesth, until July, 1842, when Alexandre +came there, and then they had him too. Alexandre +brought his Encyclopædia, or the Encyclopædia brought +him, and both of them got sold in the Hungarian capital. +He thought the idea of anybody there beating +him, simply preposterous; but was irresistibly convinced +to the contrary when Grimm & Co. did it with +so much charming facility, that he told them they were +a match for the Paris <i>Cercle des Echecs</i>, and advised +them to send a challenge forthwith. The triumvirate +were shy at first, then did as they were told, and, to +their surprise, the Paris Club accepted their <i>défi</i> by return +of post, enclosing the first move. The match consisted +of two games, and 1,250 francs a side; the reader +can learn, on inquiry at Café de la Régence in Paris, +who didn't win it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p> + +<p>Herr Löwenthal's business led him twice a year to +Vienna, and on those occasions he improved his play +with the amateurs of the <i>Cercle des Echecs</i> of that +capital. In 1846, he won a match of Hampe, beating +him nearly 2 to 1. About the same period he visited +Breslau, and won a majority of games (off-hand) from +Anderssen. He then steered for Berlin, "the city of +the seven stars"—Heyderbrandt, Bledow, Bilguer, +Hanstein, Mayet, Hörwitz and Mendheim. The first +of these paladins was absent from the capital, but Herr +L. met him subsequently at Vienna, and Heyderbrandt +won a majority of two games. With Hanstein, Löwenthal +effected an even result, but got the better of +Mayet. In Von der Lasa's absence, Bledow was incontestably +the strongest player of the club; but Bledow +was jealous of his reputation, and declined opposing the +Hungarian, until strongly urged by the members. +Herr Löwenthal states that Bledow evinced the greatest +generosity. Having a certainly-won game, but not +wishing to damp a young reputation by defeat, he said, +"Oh, I suppose it can only be a drawn game," and +forthwith made a move which allowed his antagonist +to escape and draw the contest. Not many Bledows +in this world!</p> + +<p>In 1849, Herr Löwenthal visited the United States, +during the contest between Messrs. Stanley and Turner. +With the latter gentleman he played two matches, +winning both, and subsequently accompanied him into +Kentucky, where he commenced another with Colonel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> +Dudley, being again successful. Thence he strayed to +Cincinnati, where he met his fellow-countryman, Colonel +Pragay, and travelled with him to New Orleans, +carrying a letter of introduction to Mr. Eugene Rousseau. +Immediately on arriving he was taken ill with +fever; but on recovery, he called upon that gentleman +and heard, for the first time, of Paul Morphy. Our +hero, then but twelve years of age, won two games, +drew one, and lost none; and although Herr Löwenthal +did not imagine that he thus made the acquaintance +of a master whom he would eventually rank as +the superior of every chess-player that ever lived—Labourdonnais +not excepted—yet he felt satisfied that his +youthful opponent would rise to equality with the +strongest living amateurs. As proof of this, I will give +a paragraph from <i>The Era</i> of October 5th, 1856, twelve +months before Paul Morphy was known outside of +Louisiana. Herr Löwenthal writes as follows:</p> + +<blockquote><p>"<span class="smcap">Chess in America.</span>—The progress Chess has made in +America is almost, if not quite, equal to that which it has +achieved in England. This is more than might have been expected; +for in a comparatively new country men may be supposed +to be busier and more restless than in an old one, and it +seems to be rather against probabilities that a game, requiring +quiet thought and study, should have been developed to the +same extent as more bustling amusements in America. Yet +that it is so is proved by the fact that in almost every large +town there is a Chess Club, and many of these clubs are in communication, +and play games by correspondence. Another proof +is also to be found in the number of papers regularly devoting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> +a part of their space to chess, and giving, as the English chess +papers do, well-contested games, with notes, problems, and +chess intelligence. Among the first in rank of these is the +<i>Albion</i>, the chess column of which is, we believe, edited by +Mr. Stanley, and among the latest of the accessions to the +chess ranks we observe <i>Frank Leslie's Illustrated Paper</i>. In +the first rank of the players in New York (between which and +Philadelphia a correspondence match is now going on) we may +mention Messrs. Stanley, Sullivan, Thompson, and Perrin. +We must pay some <i>attention to chess in America if we mean to +keep our laurels green</i>. The men of the New World are not +apt to lag behind when they throw themselves into any pursuit, +and if we do not take care, we may have the next chess +champion from the far west."</p></blockquote> + +<p>Herr Löwenthal, on quitting the Crescent City, returned +to Cincinnati, where he was induced to settle. +He opened a smoking and chess divan, and was on the +high road to fortune, when he received a letter from +Mr. Charles H. Stanley, in New York, enclosing one +from Mr. Staunton. This communication invited Herr +Löwenthal to attend the International Tournament at +London, in 1851, and ambition prevailed over cupidity. +He, however, got ousted in the first round of the tournay, +his antagonist being Mr. Williams, but he turned +the tables upon that gentleman soon afterwards, by +beating him in a set match.</p> + +<p>When the St. George's Chess Club removed to St. +James's street, Herr Löwenthal was elected secretary +out of one hundred and forty candidates, and officiated +in that capacity during four years. "<i>The Era</i>" newspaper +commenced a chess column in February, 1854,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> +and he was selected by the proprietor to conduct it—our +readers know with what success. A few months +ago, the <i>Illustrated News of the World</i> announced its +intention of devoting a column weekly to the game, +under the direction of Herr Löwenthal, and he also +edits an elementary chess article in the <i>Family Herald</i>. +A fair amount of weekly work for one man; especially +when his book labors and frequent play at the London, +St. George's, and St. James's are taken into consideration. +The last-named club is his own child, and promises +to become one of the most flourishing in the metropolis.</p> + +<p>Herr Löwenthal did not regard his play with Morphy +at New Orleans as any test of their respective +strength, but it was not at all agreeable to his feelings +to have it recorded against him that he was beaten by a +boy of twelve. So, on Paul Morphy's arrival in England, +he hastened to challenge him, and of course a match +was immediately agreed upon. It was at first arranged +that the match should be for £50 a side, and the victor +he who first scored seven games, but the challenger +possessed so many warm friends, all of whom wished +to have a share in the stakes, that it was proposed to +Morphy to double the amount and increase the number +of games to nine. It is lucky that Morphy was +not born a woman, for he never says "no" to any +proposition, and he did not to this. Half of Herr Löwenthal's +stakes were found by the London, and the remainder +by members of the St. George's; and it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> +stipulated that the games should be played alternately +at the rooms of those two clubs.</p> + +<p>My readers know the result. According to the +opinion, or rather the statements, of numerous London +players, Herr Löwenthal played much below his usual +strength—one gentleman stating that his combinations +were unworthy of a rook-player even. I was used to +this, and liked it. The New Yorkers had uttered +similar stuff, saying that Morphy only beat them because +he knew the openings better, and I can state on +authority that all the players in Europe came to a +mutual understanding not to play their game when +Morphy was their antagonist. But there was also +another reason for the latter's success. He frightened +his adversaries, not by his strength, but by his personal +appearance. This boy of twenty-one, five feet four +inches in height, of slim figure, and face like a young girl +in her teens, positively appalled the chess warriors of +the old world—Narcissus defying the Titans. Herr +Löwenthal was the first to give Morphy his due; before +the final game in the match was played, he said +to me: "I felt chagrined at the result of the first one +or two games, because I thought that I ought to have +won them; but now I feel no longer dissatisfied, for I +am convinced that I am vanquished by superior +strength." And he has since told me—"After the first +game I went home saying to myself, 'Well, Morphy is +not so terrible after all!' The second <i>partie</i> failed to +change my opinion; but, in the third, I saw all my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> +combinations twisted and turned against me, and I felt +myself in a grasp against which it was almost vain to +struggle." Chess-players will shortly see this noble-minded +gentleman's opinion of Morphy fully expressed, +in a collection of the latter's games which he has lately +been engaged in editing.</p> + +<p>The following extract from <i>The Era</i> newspaper +thus announces the result of the match to its readers:</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">FINISH OF THE GREAT CHESS MATCH.</p> + +<p>The match between Mr. Paul Morphy and Herr Löwenthal +came to an end on Saturday the 22d, the American carrying the +victory. Although it was universally remarked that Herr +Löwenthal's play was far below his usual strength, it must at +the same time be admitted that the play of Mr. Morphy marks +that gentleman out as one of the finest players in the world. +We shall be glad to see him engage with other great European +players, in order that it may be proved which is the stronger +in the game, the Old World or the New. We believe Mr. +Morphy is ready to challenge all comers. There is something +exceedingly romantic and chivalrous about this young man's +coming over to Europe and throwing down the gauntlet to all +our veterans. He is certainly a very admirable Crichton of +Chess, and, like the accomplished Scot, he is as courteous and +generous as he is brave and skilful.</p> + +<p class="ralign"><i>The Era</i>, August 29th, 1858.</p></blockquote> + +<p>When the above match was only about half through, +another was arranged between our hero and "Alter," +the former giving the odds of Pawn and Move. In +conversation one day with some gentlemen at the St. +George's, Paul Morphy had expressed himself dissatis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>fied +with "Alter's" having won a game from him, +stating that he could give him the odds of Pawn and +Move. This coming to "Alter's" ears, he stated to +Mr. Hampton, the secretary of the Club, that he felt +confident Mr. Morphy could do no such thing, and that +he would very willingly play a match with him, in a +friendly spirit, to convince him to the contrary. Whereupon +Mr. Hampton brought the cartel to Morphy, who +gladly accepted it, and, the two principals being put +face to face, it was agreed that a set of ivory club-size +Staunton chessmen should become the property of the +winner of the first five games. Now "Alter" had been +playing for months past at those odds (P. & M.) with +Mr. Staunton, holding his own against that gentleman, +and he considered that if he (Mr. S.) could not beat +him, certainly Morphy could not. So confident was he +of the result, that he told the young American: "Were +it not for my position (meaning as a clergyman), I would +willingly play you for a thousand pounds." As far as +he was concerned, Morphy, too, was confident. Before +the contest commenced, he said to me: "'Alter' may +win two games, but he will not win more;" and I +would here notice his (M.'s) power of estimating an opponent's +strength. When the preliminaries were settled +with Herr Löwenthal, he stated to me: "If I +cared about betting, I would bet that Löwenthal does +not win five games. Of course there will be plenty of +draws, but he will not get more than four." On our +way to Paris, he said: "Well, now I am going to play<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> +Harrwitz, and I would bet the same as I did about +Löwenthal;" and when he was preparing to meet Anderssen, +he awarded four games to the Prussian champion. +In every instance he overrated his opponents, +or, perhaps I should rather say, underrated himself.</p> + +<p>The preliminaries were soon settled, all ceremony, +seconds, &c., being dispensed with; the only condition, +that I can recollect, was in regard to smoking. "Alter" +observed that gentlemen could use the weed in +the room where the match was played, but it must be +in moderation, so as not to render the atmosphere insupportable. +"Alter" gave a capital example on the +first game: he sat down in front of Morphy with an +ordinary cigar in his mouth; when that was nearly +finished, he ordered the waiter to bring him a full-sized +<i>regalia</i>; cutty-pipe and "birdseye" followed the <i>regalia</i>; +and then he left the room to fetch an immense +<i>meerschaum</i>, from which he blew clouds worthy of +Peter Stuyvesant and the Knickerbockers.</p> + +<p>"Alter" was thoroughly acquainted with the peculiar +nature of the "pawn and move" game; Morphy, +on the contrary, was less accustomed to those odds +than to any other. In New Orleans, he did not engage +even players, or any, in fact, but such as he gave the +knight, and much more frequently, the rook. In New +York he played a short match at pawn and move with +Mr. Stanley, and that may be considered his introduction +to such odds; I was therefore as much astonished +as any one when I saw him make such short work of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> +"Alter," who never won a single game, and only succeeded +in drawing two. I am afraid that this result +seriously interfered with Mr. Staunton's fixing a day +for the commencement of the match between himself +and Morphy.</p> + +<p>It must not be supposed that our hero was devoting +all his time to chess, or that the game was always uppermost +in his thoughts. A foreigner, and especially +an American, feels bound to visit all "the lions" of the +English metropolis, and Morphy was no exception to +the rule. I was almost constantly with him, and certainly +no subject was less frequently referred to than +chess. I have been amused with the conduct of gentlemen +on similar occasions, who seemed to think that no +other subject than that could interest him, and after +pertinaciously confining the conversation to the game, +took upon themselves to declare that it was the single +thought of his life. So that, in England, he is looked +upon as a chess automaton. In France they give him +the very opposite character, complaining of his aversion +for the game.</p> + +<p>Precisely the same thing was observable in their +references to the peculiar style of his play. In England, +they considered him the very <i>beau-ideal</i> of brilliancy, +comparing him to McDonnel, and to "Cochrane, +without his faults." In Paris, however, they characterized +his game as "<i>solide</i>, close, and analytical, +not possessing brilliance like Labourdonnais;" although +these Frenchmen, one and all, with the ex<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>ception +of De Rivière, forced their close openings +upon him.</p> + +<p>Since Mr. Staunton's voluntary relinquishment of +what he terms "actual play," confining himself to consultation +games and "odds," Mr. Boden is admitted to +be the best English player. The B's certainly form a +strong phalanx amongst London amateurs, numbering +such names as Buckle, Boden, Barnes, Brien, Bird; +but the first-named gentleman has long since quitted +the lists. Mr. Boden was no exception to the rule of +English players in their opinion of Morphy, on the latter's +arriving in Europe; but he was one of the first to +be convinced of the American's superiority, and, with +John Bull honesty, immediately avowed it. The admirably-conducted +chess column in <i>The Field</i>, is under +his supervision; and his remarks therein on Morphy's +tactics are too well known to require any comment +from me. I have heard him state his conviction that +no one could possibly be better adapted for the game, +whether physically or mentally; and he, too, like Herr +Löwenthal, ranks Morphy above all known players. +In the month of January last, he drew my attention to +one game in particular, between our hero and Anderssen, +stating that he was satisfied "Labourdonnais +would have lost it ten times over." Now it requires +great courage on the part of any man to place a player +beside Labourdonnais, much more above him. Herr +Löwenthal says that he does not wonder that the chess +world is so backward in giving Morphy the rank to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> +which he is entitled; "but few players are capable of +appreciating his games, and it was only after careful +analysis that he could form a proper opinion of them." +He assured me that he has frequently been confounded +at the depth of Morphy's combinations whilst engaged +in their work, expressing his firm conviction that when +a collection of his games shall be placed before the +public, the chess world will rank Morphy above all +players, living or dead.</p> + +<p>The proportion in which Morphy had beaten Mr. +Boden was so great, namely, five to one, that a prominent +member of the St. George's remarked on hearing +it, "Well, I did not think any player living could win +in such proportion." I remember a similar occurrence +in reference to Mr. Perrin, the late secretary of the +New York Chess Club, some weeks before the appearance +of Paul Morphy in that city. In answer to a +friend, this gentleman replied, "That is the same as saying +that a player could give any of us a piece," (meaning +the principal members of his club, who were considered +about on a par with each other.) "Now, I +don't think that Labourdonnais, even, could give me +the knight." Morphy, nevertheless, after beating him +at even, at pawn and move, and pawn and two, offered +him the knight, which was accepted "for trial's sake;" +and out of five games there was a difference of the odd +victory, but my memory fails me as to whether it was +won by Morphy or not. Mr. Perrin will not feel displeased +at my mentioning this fact, because it is pretty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> +well conceded now, that where any other player can +give pawn and two moves, Morphy can very easily give +the knight. European celebrities, in making comparison +of the strength of different amateurs, leave Morphy +out of the question; and when they compare him +at all, it is only with Labourdonnais. And very few of +them, too, would scruple at taking odds from him. +On the publication of his challenge to Mr. Harrwitz to +play a match at pawn and move for 500 francs, Mr. +Boden stated in <i>The Field</i>, "There is more than one +English player who will be glad to meet Mr. Morphy +on these terms."</p> + +<p>The majority of his games in London, Morphy +played at the Divan. It was a general subject of regret, +after he had vanquished the different amateurs in +the capital, that Mr. Bird was absent in the North, and +that the American might leave before that gentleman +could visit London. Mr. Bird is a terrible fellow for +attacking right and left; his game was described as +the counterpart of Morphy's, it being added that he +was just the antagonist our hero required. At last, +Mr. Bird arrived, and the result between the two was +more startling than ever, Morphy winning ten to one. +It is but just to state that Mr. Bird was somewhat out +of play, as he himself observed; adding, however, that +he never was a match for his antagonist. It gives me +much pleasure to relate such instances as these, because, +as a general rule, there are no more self-confident +mortals than prominent chess-players.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span></p> + +<p>It would be difficult to remember all the men with +whom Morphy played at the Divan; or, rather, with +whom he did not play. But I must not forget that +merry individual, Mr. Lowe. It was in the Divan that +Mr. Staunton played Mr. Lowe that celebrated match +at pawn and move, the play in which on both sides, as +Mr. S. observed, "was unworthy of second-rate players +in a third-rate coffee-room," because Mr. Staunton was +beaten. Since that occasion, Mr. Staunton has slighted +the Divan, but Mr. Lowe still flourishes there, ever +ready to meet all comers, and if not nightly playing +somebody, at all events nightly making everybody +laugh. Mr. Lowe made trial of Morphy privately, immediately +on the latter's arrival, and forthwith ran to +the Divan to tell everybody, much to everybody's disgust, +that not one of them would have any chance +against the American. They all laughed at him, the +only reply being, "Oh, Lowe, you're a funny fellow!"</p> + +<p>Before the Birmingham meeting, Morphy had met +all the leading Metropolitan players, with, of course, +the exception of Mr. Staunton. And yet perhaps I +should not except that gentleman, for our hero had +played in two consultation games with him, Mr. S.'s +ally being "Alter," and Morphy's, Mr. Barnes. +Messrs. Barnes and "Alter" are well matched. Both +of these consultation games were won by Messrs. +Barnes and Morphy.</p> + +<p>As the latter part of the month of August approached, +considerable curiosity was evinced in various<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> +quarters as to whether Paul Morphy would then be a +contestant in the tournament. Although not a Yankee, +he nevertheless displayed as much "cuteness" under +oft-repeated interrogatories as the downiest "down +Easter;" feeling what an important bearing his determination +would have upon the expected match with +Mr. Staunton. In a subsequent chapter will be found +his reasons for not entering the lists on that occasion. +He was well aware that his decision must necessarily +produce considerable disappointment, but he was conscious +that a tournament triumph is by no means an +accurate test of strength. If chess can ever become a +game of chance, it is under such circumstances; and +the only sure criterion of the respective strengths of +two opponents is by actual hand-to-hand encounter.</p> + +<p>But Morphy did not intend disappointing the Birmingham +gentry altogether, and felt convinced that if +he played six or eight games blindfold before the association, +they would pardon his absence at the opening +of the meeting. After the tournament had got into +the second section, he left London and arrived at Birmingham +before the day's proceedings had fully commenced. +I had the pleasure of accompanying him, and +on our arrival at the College in which the meeting of +the British Chess Association was held, we found quite +a crowd in the commodious rooms provided by the +Committee of Management. The President of the +Birmingham Club, Mr. Avery, introduced the young +American to the members of the association, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> +cheers with which he was received were such as seldom +come from others than Englishmen. Morphy advanced +up the room without the slightest embarrassment, although +his reception was as unlooked-for as it was flattering. +Saint Amant, who was present, wrote a brilliant +account of the meeting to the Paris journal <i>Le +Sport</i>, and I am only sorry that I have not the article +in question by me at the present moment. The style +of the article, however, is indelibly fixed in my memory, +reminding one of the Lays of the old Troubadours. +Saint Amant writes prose in poetry, and he has made +of Morphy an epic hero. He tells the Parisians that +the young American is no mere pale-faced boy, visiting +foreign lands to increase his powers; but "a citizen of +the United States, who comes to claim a sceptre in +Europe." Then again, "his walk is that of a king, and +he advances through the crowd of strangers like a +monarch receiving homage from his court." But he +does not forget to state that Morphy is innately +modest, and that all this admiration has no bad effect +upon him; for such has been the theme of every one +who has been brought in contact with him.</p> + +<p>Most of the principal players in England were assembled +at Birmingham, in August, 1858. Amongst +them, Staunton, Löwenthal, Boden, Bird, Kipping, +Owen, Salmon, Avery, Hampton, the President of +the Association, Lord Lyttelton, Falkbeer, Brien, etc. +The prominent feature of the meeting was of course +the tournament prizes of sixty and twenty guineas, for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> +which Messrs. Staunton, Löwenthal, St. Amant, Falkbeer, +Kipping, Owen, Hughes, Brien, Smith, Ingleby, +Bird, Zsabo, Hampton, Brettlestone, and Salmon contended. +The sixteenth player was intended to be +Morphy, but not appearing in time, he was ruled to +have lost all further share in the contest. It was matter +for much disappointment that Mr. Boden did not +enter the lists, especially after the gallant fight he had +made at the previous meeting of the association in +Manchester. The final result was that Herr Löwenthal +carried off the first prize, and Herr Falkbeer the +second; and, so far as the former gentleman was concerned, +almost every player was both astonished and +gratified at the <i>dénouement</i>. It was only during the +week preceding the Birmingham Festival, that the +Hungarian had succumbed to his youthful antagonist, +and he had consequently entered on a fresh contest +with all the disheartening recollections of defeat; a +defeat, too, which he expressed his belief had seriously +damaged his chess reputation. Prominent London +players had criticized his games with Morphy in an inconsiderate +spirit, the almost universal statement being +that he had not played up to any thing like his usual +strength. The criticisms on his moves in the widely +circulated columns of the <i>Illustrated London News</i> +were cruel to a degree; slighting allusions being made +to his "bookish theoric," etc. Yet this old veteran +goes down to the field of battle with unshaken courage, +wins two games, one after the other, from Mr. Staunton<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> +in the second section of the tournay, and carries off +the first prize in the teeth of fourteen able competitors. +This result proved one thing beyond a doubt, namely, +that Morphy's late triumph was the consequence of his +superior strength, and not from mere want of practice +and skill on the part of Herr Löwenthal. And it also +verified the observation of Mr. George Walker, in +<i>Bell's Life</i>, that "Mr. Morphy beat Mr. Löwenthal +because Mr. Morphy was stronger than Mr. Löwenthal." +Oh, Mr. Walker! Mr. Walker! what a rude +way you have of putting naked truths before the +public!</p> + +<p>Of course Morphy was not allowed to twirl his +thumbs in idleness, especially with so energetic a master +of the ceremonies as Mr. Avery. This gentleman +soon arranged a contest between our hero and Mr. +Kipping, the leading Manchester player, and exponent +of the Evans' Gambit. Mr. K. had the move, and +played the opening he has so much at heart; Morphy +accepted, under the impression that he, too, knew +something about the Evans'. First game scored by +the American, the Manchester amateur thirsting for +revenge. Morphy, in his turn, plays the Evans', and +Mr. Kipping cries "enough." No other single games +were played by Morphy during the meeting, the leading +celebrities present being engaged in the tournament, +but our hero made up the difference by astonishing +the natives with a display of his blindfold powers.</p> + +<p>When Morphy declared his intention, in London,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> +to play eight games without sight of the board, there +were very few who believed the thing possible. They +knew that Labourdonnais and Philidor had played two +or three games simultaneously, and that Kieseritzky +and Harrwitz had repeated the performance in later +times, but there was a wide leap from three to eight +antagonists. Harrwitz had earned a great reputation +in Europe by his blindfold prowess, and was regarded +without a rival, although many other players, such as +Anderssen, De Rivière, etc., had occasionally met two +or three antagonists at a time. Here was "a coil;" +this young champion of the West, not satisfied with +vanquishing all the chess veterans of England over the +board, prepares to cast for ever into the shade the most +astonishing performances of this and past ages. Well +might Saint Amant declare that it was enough to +make the bones of Philidor and Labourdonnais rattle +in their graves!</p> + +<p>I well remember Paul Morphy's first blindfold contest +in New York. It was on the occasion of Paulsen's +playing against four antagonists without sight of the +board. Morphy offered to be one of his adversaries, +and to meet him on the same conditions; and somewhere +about the twentieth move he announced mate +in five, much to Paulsen's astonishment, who did not +think the crash was so near, although well aware he +was "going to the bad." Mr. Paulsen got such an insight +into Morphy's blindfold capabilities, that he subsequently +observed to me, "Mr. Morphy can play as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> +many games, without seeing the board, as I can, only +he is so unwilling to lose a game."</p> + +<p>It will here be well to mark the difference between +the blindfold performances of these two gentlemen. +Both of them <i>see the boards</i> in the mind's eye equally +well, but there the resemblance stops. Paulsen's contests +average fifty moves, whereas Morphy's seldom +extend beyond thirty. The former is a <i>balista</i>, the latter, +a rifle bullet. What each is over the board, he is +with his back turned to it, and there are many even in +Europe who maintain that Morphy's blindfold feats are +more brilliant than his usual mode of play. Paul +Morphy, however, attaches very little importance to +these displays, calling them mere <i>tours de force</i>, notwithstanding +that they appear so wonderful to the multitude. +To quote a favorite expression of his, one frequently +used by him in speaking on the subject—"It +proves nothing."</p> + +<p>A young gentleman has lately appeared somewhere +in Germany, who, we are informed, has reproduced Morphy's +performances at Birmingham and Paris. In fact +he is represented to have precisely re-enacted the +American's victory in the French capital, playing +against eight <i>strong</i> antagonists, winning from six and +drawing from two. There seems some "method" in +this; at least I for one cannot help feeling suspicious, +especially as the news is heralded to the world in connection +with Morphy's name. I have seen one of the +games played on the occasion, in which this young<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> +gentleman announces mate in ten or twelve moves—an +astonishing announcement, indeed, under the circumstances. +The whole affair is beautifully managed +throughout, and, whether played blindfolded or over +the board, marks the player as an amateur of the very +highest order. Was the transaction <i>bona fide</i>? Now +I do not wish to depreciate any man for the sake of +benefiting another. <i>Palmam qui meruit, ferat.</i> We +know that Morphy has played against eight antagonists +on two separate and most public occasions, and that +the most eminent players in England and France were +witnesses of his performance. If Germany does possess +a second Morphy, let him step forward and prove +his identity, and I, for one, will do him reverence. +Cannot that responsible body, the Berlin Chess Club, +tell us something tangible about him, and why it is that +we never heard any thing about him till now? Perhaps +he is a new Deschappelles, and has acquired chess +in forty-eight hours, on hearing of Morphy's feats. +The Berlin Schackzeitung can surely investigate this +affair, and enlighten us on what seems very much like +a <i>ruse de guerre</i>—an invention of the enemy.</p> + +<p>But let us return to Birmingham. Mr. Avery asked +the young American what eight antagonists he would +select; when the latter replied that it was immaterial +to him, but that he should prefer all strong players. +There were then in the room Messrs. Staunton, Saint +Amant, Löwenthal, Boden, Falkbeer, Brien, and others +of not much inferior strength, and Morphy was in hopes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> +that many, if not all, of these gentlemen would offer +themselves as opponents. But he was mistaken, and +great difficulty was experienced by the Committee of +Management in making up the required eight, who +were, finally, as follows: Lord Lyttelton, President of +the British Chess Association, Rev. Mr. Salmon, the +strongest Irish player, Messrs. Kipping, Avery, Wills, +Rhodes, Carr, and Dr. Freeman. Paul Morphy was +put up in a corner at the end of the room, and, every +thing being prepared for action, he threw open his portholes +and gave the signal, "Pawn to King's Fourth on +all the boards."</p> + +<p>Of course I am not going to mystify the general +reader with the scientific details of the contest. I know +that Lord Lyttelton had the first board, and received +the deference due to his exalted rank, by being the first +put <i>hors du combat</i>, and I remarked, too, that after his +lordship had decided on his various moves, he would +get up from his seat, walk towards the end of the room, +and contemplate Morphy, as though desirous of seeing +how he did it. And I know, too, that St. Amant was +running from table to table, giving advice to one and +the other with his continual "Il va croquer ça," as an +intimation that one or the other must look out for a +pawn or piece in danger. And then, too, Morphy kept +on checking Mr. Avery's king by moving his rook from +the seventh square to the eighth, backwards and forwards, +until that estimable gentleman declared it was a +drawn game, when a bystander horrified him with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> +information—"That is only after fifty moves; Morphy +will keep you there until he has kiboshed the others, +and then he will honor you with his sole attention." +But the game was finally declared drawn.</p> + +<p>And, at the finish, how everybody applauded when +Morphy arose, the vanquisher of six, having only lost +the game with Mr. Kipping—through an oversight at +the beginning. And how everybody was astonished +when he stepped from his seat as fresh as a newly +plucked daisy, and Mr. Staunton examined him closely +to find traces of fatigue. Then indeed his not playing +in the tournament was forgiven and forgotten.</p> + +<p>Then there was the soirée, and the capital matter-of-fact +address of Lord Lyttelton. His lordship lauded +Morphy to the skies, both for his blindfold and other +play, and referred to the match with Mr. Staunton, +trusting that Morphy would beat every other antagonist +but that gentleman. Nothing more now remained +to be done in England for some months to come; and +Morphy returned to London, to prepare for his campaigns +on the Continent.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2> + +<h3>THE STAUNTON AFFAIR.</h3> + + +<p>We must anticipate the events of a few months, in +order to place the discussion with Mr. Staunton where +it properly belongs, viz., with Morphy's achievements +in England. I do not think I have omitted a single +fact or incident connected with an affair which has now +become history, and my readers will agree with me +that Mr. Staunton has suffered a far worse defeat by +not playing the match than if he had been vanquished, +as everybody says he would have been.</p> + +<p>In dealing with this most delicate question, I feel +desirous of letting facts, as far as possible, speak for +themselves; but as it is the province and the duty of +historians to seek the causes of events and to criticize +the actions of their <i>dramatis personæ</i>, I shall record, +in all honesty and kindliness, what I believe to have +been the motives at work in this contest. And, in order +that nothing may remain unsaid, I shall give all +the correspondence on the subject, both <i>pro</i> and <i>con</i>.</p> + +<p>Paul Morphy's principal object in coming to Europe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> +was to play a match with Mr. Staunton. I am well +aware that a young gentleman travelling for the first +time in foreign countries must have many objects in +view; but in this particular case, the pretext for the +voyage, the very inducement for his friends to consent +to his journey, was to repeat that challenge personally, +in England, which Mr. Staunton had declined, on the +ground of the place of combat not being in Europe. +It is necessary that this point should be understood, +because much of the controversy hinges upon it. If +we examine the challenge addressed to Mr. Staunton +by the New Orleans Chess Club, we find therein two +main ideas: 1stly. That Mr. Staunton is a representative +of European chess. 2ndly. That American players challenge +him to combat with their representative. Mr. +Staunton's reply raised but one objection; and that objection +led Paul Morphy across the Atlantic, in order +to remove the only stumbling-block in the way of the +contest.</p> + +<p>I was constantly with Morphy after his arrival in +London, and a frequent subject of conversation between +us was the match with Mr. Staunton. That, too, was +the first, the principal topic at all the London Clubs +we visited, and every thing but the date was looked +upon as decided. Mr. Staunton, however, had not, as +yet, stated explicitly that he accepted the challenge, +but he did so <i>viva voce</i> shortly after Mr. Morphy's +arrival, and subsequently, in the <i>Illustrated London +News</i>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></p> + +<p>It seems as if Mr. Staunton had refrained from +accepting the <i>défi</i> until a somewhat accurate estimate +could be formed of his challenger's strength. Previously +to the latter's arrival, Mr. S.'s opinion of him was +not at all equal to that entertained by his countrymen +in America, nor did any player in England give him the +rank which he now holds. There were no means by +which to judge of his force. Not a dozen of his games +<i>all told</i> had been seen in Europe, and his antagonists +were comparatively unknown, with the exception of +Mr. Charles H. Stanley. But that gentleman had, for +some years, withdrawn from the chess arena, and his +play with Morphy did not, certainly, equal his former +exploits with Rousseau and Schulten. It was, therefore, +absolutely necessary to await the result of his play +with some known European antagonist; and I feel +confident that the stature of his ability was measured +on his first twelve or fifteen games with Mr. Barnes. +Judging from these <i>parties</i>, Paul Morphy was little, if +any thing, superior to that gentleman, but time had not +been allowed him to recover from the fatigues of his +voyage, and I have always remarked that travelling, +even by rail, seriously deteriorates Morphy's game.</p> + +<p>In accepting the challenge, Mr. Staunton postponed +the commencement of the match for a month, "in order +to brush up his openings and endings." This was too +reasonable for Morphy to decline. Subsequently, as +will be seen by the latter's correspondence, Mr. Staunton +obtained a postponement until after the Birmingham<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> +meeting, in August. In the mean time, the young +American had won the match with Herr Löwenthal, +beaten "Alter" in a set contest at "pawn and move," +and startled the chess community by the imposing +manner in which he had triumphed over every opponent. +Public opinion had changed in respect to him. +This was evinced by the way in which the London +players, almost universally, spoke of the proposed +match. I have heard gentlemen at the London Chess +Club, the Divan, nay, even at the St. George's, declare +repeatedly—"Mr. Staunton now knows too well what +antagonist he will have to deal with. Depend upon it, +he will find means of backing out." This language, +repeated at every turn, necessarily caused Paul Morphy +some anxiety. On myself, however, I can conscientiously +declare it had no effect. I did not believe it +possible that any man having so publicly accepted a +challenge, would attempt to avoid a contest, and expressed +this opinion to Mr. Morphy, "It will be well +not to accept all that one hears. Mr. Staunton has +numerous enemies; do not allow yourself to be prejudiced +by them, but look upon his acceptance of the +challenge as a certainty that the match will come off."</p> + +<p>With yet unshaken confidence in Mr. Staunton's +intention to play, Paul Morphy addressed him a short +note, ten days prior to the Birmingham meeting; to +this he received a somewhat lengthy reply, the main +point in it being that Mr. Staunton still required "a few +weeks" for preparation. Morphy responded forthwith,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> +entirely removing all ground for further excuse by +"leaving the terms to himself." Here was an unjustifiable +mode of putting an end to diplomacy! Mr. S. +could not continue a correspondence with one so overwhelmingly +courteous, and he left London for Birmingham +without even acknowledging the receipt of the +letter.</p> + +<p>Much argument has been built up against Paul Morphy +on his non-appearance in the tournament, and one +writer has endeavored to prove from it that he was +afraid to meet Mr. Staunton. Before leaving London, +the latter gentleman assured his young opponent <i>that +he should not enter the lists, but should confine himself +to simple consultation games</i>. Why Mr. S. changed +his mind, it is not for me to say; although I might +argue that Mr. Staunton sallied forth courageously +when he was certain that "Achilles keeps his tent." +However, Paul Morphy's first reason for not entering +the tournay was that, his main object being to meet +Mr. Staunton, and that gentleman having stated his intention +of confining himself to a mere consultation +game, as in past years, there was no chance of their +crossing swords, and, consequently, no use of his spending +two or three weeks in a contest which never could +be a decisive test of skill. But, when repeated telegrams +assured him that the English champion had decided +on becoming a contestant, there were still stronger +reasons for his continued declination. These reasons +were the consequences of Mr. Staunton's own acts,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> +added to the opinion of nearly every London player, +that that gentleman was seeking an opportunity to +evade the match. All these occurrences had somewhat +shaken Mr. Morphy's faith, and he could not but be +suspicious of his antagonist's movements. <i>He therefore +declined positively and finally to enter the tournament, +under the belief that, whether he won or lost in that contest, +it would be equally to the prejudice of the challenge. +Mr. Staunton might say, "I have beaten Morphy; +what is the use of further contest?" or "He has beaten +me, I am consequently out of play. It would be madness +to attempt a set match."</i> This, and this only, prevented +Paul Morphy from visiting Birmingham at the +commencement of the tournament. Had he gone there +when requested, every influence would have been +brought to bear to induce him to alter his determination, +and he merely consulted the interests of the contest +he had so much at heart, by keeping out of temptation +until the tournament was too far under way to +admit of his entering it.</p> + +<p>But the meeting of the association afforded an admirable +opportunity to obtain from Mr. Staunton the +naming of the day on which the match should commence. +Part of the proceedings of the anniversary was +a public soirée, and Paul Morphy resolved that he +would then ask his antagonist, in the face of all present, +to fix the date. I had the pleasure of accompanying +our hero to Birmingham, and I witnessed the disagreeable +<i>contre temps</i> which upset this admirable intention.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> +Crossing the courtyard of the college on the morning +of the soirée, we met Lord Lyttelton, Mr. Staunton, +Mr. Avery, and, I think, Mr. Wills. Now I do not +know whether Mr. Staunton had got wind of what was +to occur, but his action certainly frustrated Morphy's +plan, and, for the moment, gave him the advantage. In +all such rencontres the man who gets the first word +has the attack, and Mr. Staunton instantly availed himself +of it. He opened fire by declaring that he was entirely +out of play—that he had long been engaged on a +great work—that he was under bonds to his publishers +accordingly—that he might subject them to a loss of +many thousands in playing at the present time, and so +forth. But he never stated aught that appeared to intimate +the possibility of the match not coming off +eventually, his plea being that he required further time, +in order to put sufficient matter into the hands of the +printers, and to prepare himself subsequently for the +contest. It was now Morphy's turn, and the attack +changed hands. The question was put: "Mr. Staunton, +will you play in October, in November, or December? +Choose your own time, but let the arrangement +be final." The answer was: "Well, Mr. Morphy, if +you will consent to the postponement, I will play you +at the beginning of November. I will see my publishers, +and let you know the exact date within a few days." +The association now looked upon the affair as decided, +and Morphy left Birmingham, firmly believing that the +match would come off after all.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p> + +<p>On the 28th of August, within a few days of the +above conversation, the following extraordinary announcement +appeared in the <i>Illustrated London News</i>:</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">A SPECIMEN OF MR. STAUNTON'S STYLE OF PLAY.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Anti-book.</span>—As you surmise, "knowing the authority," +the slang of the sporting paper in question regarding the proposed +encounter between Mr. Staunton and the young American +is "bunkum." In matches of importance it is the invariable +practice in this country, before any thing definite is settled, +for each party to be provided with representatives to arrange +the terms and money for the stakes. Mr. Morphy has come +here unfurnished in both respects; and, although both will no +doubt be forthcoming in due time, it is clearly impossible, until +they are, that any determinate arrangement can be made. 2. +The statement of another contemporary that the reduction in +the amount of stakes from £1000 aside to £500 was made at +the suggestion of the English amateur is equally devoid of +truth; the proposal to reduce the amount having been made +by Mr. Morphy.</p></blockquote> + +<p>I was perfectly astonished when I read this statement. +"Mr. Morphy had caused the stakes to be reduced +from £1000 to £500 a side." Without mentioning +Englishmen, there were Americans in London and +Paris who asserted that Morphy could be backed +against Mr. Staunton <i>for £10,000, and the money be +raised within twenty-four hours</i>. I mentioned this fact +to a noble lady in Paris, in order to show the confidence +in which the young American was held, and she +replied, "Oh, as regards that, you may tell Mr. Morphy +from me, that for £10,000 against Mr. Staunton or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> +any player in Europe, he must not go further than my +house."</p> + +<p>I asked Morphy to demand an immediate retraction +of the unblushing statements contained in the above +paragraph, but he replied—"When a man resorts to +such means as these, he will not stop until he has committed +himself irremediably. Let him go on." Shortly +after that Mr. Staunton changed his tactics. Let not +the reader suppose I am about to represent things +otherwise than they appear on the record. Let him +take up the files of the <i>Illustrated London News</i> from +the time of Morphy's arrival in England to his match +with Harrwitz; let him examine the analysis of the +games, the notes to the moves in that paper, and he +will invariably perceive that the American's antagonists +<i>could</i> or <i>might have</i> won, the necessary inference being—"There's +nothing so extraordinary about Morphy's +play, after all." A change appeared in the criticism on +the eight blindfold games at Birmingham, but, then, +Morphy stood alone, and interfered with no one's pretensions. +When, however, the match with Harrwitz +came off, Mr. Staunton's tone was suddenly altered, and +this gentleman who, previously, had scarcely a word of +commendation for Morphy, now talked of "combinations +which would have excited the admiration of Labourdonnais."</p> + +<blockquote><p>"The force of 'language' could no further go."</p></blockquote> + +<p>Mr. Morphy judged from this unexpected change +of tone that Mr. Staunton either believed that these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> +contests with continental players would take up so +much of his time in Europe, that he would have to +leave without playing him; or that Mr. S. was experimenting +on the maxim—"There are more flies +caught with honey than with vinegar." He therefore +addressed him the following letter, and in order that +the public might no longer be under misapprehension +as to the case in hand, he sent copies of the communication +to those papers which had shown him marked +kindness in Europe. At the suggestion of a very +shrewd and attached American friend, a copy was also +forwarded to the editor-in-chief of the <i>Illustrated London +News</i>.</p> + +<p>The publication of the letter to Mr. Staunton, in so +many journals, was a judicious proceeding. Newspapers +are not fond of embarking in a discussion which +may probably "draw its slow length along," and terminate +angrily. Besides, whatever the feeling might +be on the merits of the case, Mr. Staunton was certainly +in the position of English champion, and John +Bull does not like it to be proclaimed that one of his +sons shows the "white feather." But, at the same time, +rivalry exists between all journals as to precedence of +news, and one paper would not willingly be behind the +others in giving Morphy's letter. Accordingly, the following +Saturday, <i>Bell's Life</i>, <i>The Era</i>, <i>The Field</i>, and +the <i>Sunday Times</i> published it as follows:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span></p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">MORPHY'S LETTER TO STAUNTON.</p> + +<p class="ralign"><span class="smcap">Cafe de la Regence, Paris,</span> <i>Oct. 6, '58</i>.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Howard Staunton, Esq.</span>:</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>,—On my arrival in England, three months since, I +renewed the challenge to you personally which the New Orleans +Chess Club had given some months previously. You +immediately accepted, but demanded a month's delay in order +to prepare yourself for the contest. Subsequently, you proposed +that the time should be postponed until after the Birmingham +meeting, to which I assented. On the approach of +the period you had fixed, I addressed you a communication, +requesting that the necessary preliminaries might be immediately +settled, but you left London without replying to it. I +went to Birmingham for the express purpose of asking you to +put a stop to further delay by fixing a date for the opening of +our match; but before the opportunity presented itself you +came to me, and, in the presence of Lord Lyttelton, Mr. Avery, +and other gentlemen, you stated that your time was much occupied +in editing a new edition of Shakespeare, and that you +were under heavy bonds to your publishers accordingly. But +you reiterated your intention to play me, and said that if I +would consent to a further postponement until the first week +in November, you would, within a few days, communicate with +me and fix the exact date. I have not heard further from you, +either privately, by letter, or through the columns of the +<i>Illustrated London News</i>.</p> + +<p>A statement appeared in the chess department of that +journal a few weeks since, that "Mr. Morphy had come to +Europe unprovided with backers or seconds," the inference +being obvious that my want of funds was the reason of our +match not taking place. As you are the editor of that department +of the <i>Illustrated London News</i>, I felt hurt that a gentleman +who had always received me at his club and elsewhere +with great kindness and courtesy, should allow so prejudicial +a statement to be made in reference to me—one, too, which is +not strictly in accordance with fact.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p> + +<p>Permit me to repeat what I have invariably declared in +every chess community I have had the honor of entering, that +I am not a professional player—that I never wished to make +any skill I possess the means of pecuniary advancement—and +that my earnest desire is never to play for any stake but +honor. My friends in New Orleans, however, subscribed a +certain sum, without any countenance from me, and that sum +has been ready for you to meet a considerable time past. Since +my arrival in Paris I have been assured by numerous gentlemen +that the value of those stakes can be immediately increased +to any amount; but, for myself personally, reputation +is the only incentive I recognize.</p> + +<p>The matter of seconds cannot, certainly, offer any difficulty. +I had the pleasure of being first received in London by the St. +George's Chess Club, of which you are so distinguished a +member; and of those gentlemen I request the honor of appointing +my seconds, to whom I give full authority in settling +all preliminaries.</p> + +<p>In conclusion, I beg leave to state that I have addressed a +copy of this letter to the editors of the <i>Illustrated London +News</i>, <i>Bell's Life in London</i>, <i>The Era</i>, <i>The Field</i>, and <i>The +Sunday Times</i>, being desirous that our true position should +no longer be misunderstood by the community at large. +Again requesting you to fix the date for our commencing the +match,</p> + +<p style="margin-left:10%">I have the honor to remain, sir,</p> +<p style="margin-left:30%">Your very humble servant,</p> +<p style="margin-left:50%"><span class="smcap">Paul Morphy</span>.</p></blockquote> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 657px;"> +<img src="images/image2.png" width="657" height="416" alt="MR. STAUNTON. MR. BODEN. HERR LÖWENTHAL." title="" /> +<table style="width:100%;" class="caption" summary="captions 1"> +<tr> +<td style="text-align:left;width:33%;">MR. STAUNTON.</td> +<td class="center" style="width:33%;">MR. BODEN.</td> +<td class="ralign" style="width:33%;">HERR LÖWENTHAL.</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<p>At the same time Mr. Morphy forwarded the following +communication to the Secretary of the St. +George's, requesting the Club to appoint his seconds in +the match:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>—</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">MORPHY'S LETTER TO THE ST. GEORGE'S CLUB.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">T. Hampton, Esq.</span>,</p> +<p style="margin-left:2em;"><i>Secretary of the St. George's Chess Club</i>:</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>,—I beg respectfully to inform you that the New Orleans +Chess Club has deposited £500 at the Banking House of +Messrs. Heywood & Co., London: that sum being my proportion +of the stakes in the approaching match with Mr. +Staunton.</p> + +<p>I shall esteem it a great honor if the St. George's Chess +Club will do me the favor of appointing my seconds in that +contest. To such gentlemen as they may appoint I leave the +settling of all preliminaries.</p> + +<p>May I request you to lay this communication before the +members of the Club, and to oblige me with an early answer?</p> + +<p style="margin-left:10%">I have the honor to remain, Sir,</p> +<p style="margin-left:30%">Your very humble and obed't serv't,</p> +<p style="margin-left:50%"><span class="smcap">Paul Morphy</span>.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Cafe de la Regence, Paris,</span> <i>Oct. 8th, 1858</i>.</p></blockquote> + +<p>It would be difficult to imagine a more respectful +and kindly letter than that to Mr. Staunton. Since +Morphy's arrival in Europe he had considered himself +ill-used by that gentleman. His games had been annotated +in an inferentially depreciatory manner, his +victories <i>accounted for</i>, and his antagonists excused. +He had been placed in a ridiculous light before the +public by the utterly false assertion that he had come +to Europe to challenge Mr. Staunton or any one else—<i>without +a groat in his purse</i>. And yet he never +charges Mr. Staunton with being the author of the +falsehood, although Mr. S. is the known editor of the +chess column of the <i>Illustrated London News</i>. He +positively invites explanation in the most charitable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> +and Christian-like manner; never even calling the statement +in question, as he might have done, a positive untruth, +but politely characterizing it as "not strictly in +accordance with fact."</p> + +<p>The <i>Illustrated London News</i> did not immediately +publish the letter, or make any remark upon it, as did +the other papers; but at the commencement of the +week, Paul Morphy received a private communication +from Mr. Staunton, as follows:—</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">STAUNTON'S REPLY TO MORPHY.</p> + +<p class="ralign"><span class="smcap">London</span>, <i>October 9th, 1858</i>.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>,—In reply to your letter, I have to observe that you +must be perfectly conscious that the difficulty in the way of +my engaging in a chess-match is one over which I have no control. +You were distinctly apprised, in answer to the extraordinary +proposal of your friends that I should leave my +home, family, and avocations, to proceed to New Orleans for +the purpose of playing chess with you, that a long and arduous +contest, even in London, would be an undertaking too +formidable for me to embark in without ample opportunity +for the recovery of my old strength in play, together with +such arrangements as would prevent the sacrifice of my professional +engagements. Upon your unexpected arrival here, +the same thing was repeated to you, and my acceptance of +your challenge was entirely conditional on my being able to +gain time for practice.</p> + +<p>The experience, however, of some weeks, during which I +have labored unceasingly, to the serious injury of my health, +shows that not only is it impracticable for me to save time for +that purpose, but that by no means short of giving up a great +work on which I am engaged, subjecting the publishers to the +loss of thousands, and myself to an action for breach of contract, +could I obtain time even for the match itself. Such a sacrifice<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> +is, of course, out of all question. A match at chess or cricket +(<i>proh pudor!</i> why don't he say, "or skittles"?) may be a +good thing in its way, but none but a madman would for either +forfeit his engagements and imperil his professional reputation. +Under these circumstances, I waited only the termination of +your late struggle (with Mr. Harrwitz) to explain that, fettered +as I am at this moment, it is impossible for me to undertake +any enterprise which would have the effect of withdrawing +me from duties I am pledged to fulfil.</p> + +<p>The result is not, perhaps, what either you or I desired, as +it will occasion disappointment to many; but it is unavoidable, +and the less to be regretted, since a contest, wherein one of the +combatants must fight under disadvantages so manifest as those +I should have to contend against, after many years' retirement +from practical chess, with my attention absorbed and my brain +overtaxed by more important pursuits, could never be accounted +a fair trial of skill.</p> + +<p style="margin-left:10%">I have the honor to be,</p> +<p style="margin-left:30%;">Yours, &c.,</p> +<p style="margin-left:50%"><span class="smcap">H. Staunton</span>.</p> +<p><span class="smcap">Paul Morphy, Esq.</span></p> + +<p>P. S.—I may add that, although denied the satisfaction of a +set encounter with you at this period, I shall have much pleasure, +if you will again become my guest, in playing you a few +games <i>sans façon</i>.</p></blockquote> + +<p>Now the sending of this private communication was +a strange course for Mr. Staunton to adopt. It seemed +to be a bait for Morphy, in order that Mr. S. might use +his reply in the forthcoming article in the Illustrated +London News. The young American resolved that all +the correspondence should be public and above-board, +and did not even acknowledge the receipt of the letter. +The Saturday following, Mr. Staunton gave as excuse +for not publishing Morphy's missive, the length of M.'s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> +games, but promised it and his own response "next +week."</p> + +<p>On Saturday the 24th of October, the two following +effusions graced the columns of <i>Bell's Life</i>. They had +also been sent to <i>The Era</i>, <i>The Field</i>, and <i>The Sunday +Times</i>; but, being anonymous, and inclosing no name +or address, were refused admittance.</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">ANONYMOUS LETTER, APPARENTLY FROM MR. STAUNTON.</p> + +<p class="ralign"><span class="smcap">Trinity College, Cambridge</span>, <i>Oct. 9</i>.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Editor</span>: If you enter any chess circle just now, the +questions sure to be asked are, "How about the Staunton and +Morphy match? Will it come off? Suspect Staunton wants +to shirk it?" Now to these questions it is not always easy to +give an answer, and yet they ought to be answered, so as to +allow of no possible misconstruction amongst either friends or +foes. There is one insinuation which may be very briefly disposed +of, namely, that Mr. Staunton wishes to avoid playing. +Every one who knows him is perfectly aware that he is only +too ready to play at all times, and that at every disadvantage, +rather than incur even the faintest suspicion of showing the +white feather. For the benefit of those who have not the +pleasure of knowing him, or whose memories are not over tenacious, +I may cite as an example that in 1844, after vanquishing +St. Amant, upon a hint in the French papers that his opponent +had expressed a wish to have his revenge, Mr. S. at once started +for Paris once more, and challenged him to the field; that +from 1840 to 1848 Mr. S. played with every antagonist, foreign +and English, that could be brought against him; and at the +Chess Congress, in 1851, he rose superior to all personal considerations, +and did not shrink from risking his hardly-earned +reputation, when the state of his health was such that he felt +he could not do himself justice; and all this solely that the +tournament might not want the <i>éclat</i> which his presence could +confer upon it. But, sir, I would submit that this is not sim<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>ply +a question between Mr. Staunton and Mr. Morphy. We are +all interested in it. Mr. Staunton is the representative of English +chess, and must not be allowed to risk the national honor +in an <i>unequal contest</i>, to gratify either the promptings of his +own chivalrous disposition or the vanity of an antagonist. +"Oh! then you admit that Morphy is the better player?" No +such thing. The question is, not as to which is the better +player, but whether, if they meet now, they can do so on equal +terms. Now, I call it an <i>unequal contest</i> when one player, in +tiptop practice, with nothing to distract his attention, engages +another who is quite out of play, and whose mind is harassed +by the unceasing pressure of other and more important avocations. +This is precisely Mr. Staunton's case. He is engaged, +in addition to his customary occupations, upon a literary work +of great responsibility and magnitude, which leaves him scarcely +a moment for any other pursuit; certainly not for chess practice. +Indeed, were it merely a question of time it would be +almost impossible for Mr. Staunton to play a match at the +present moment; but this is a matter of small importance compared +with the mental strain which accompanies such incessant +labor. There is nothing which requires more concentration +of thought than chess. One moment of relaxed attention, and +the fruits of the most profound combination are scattered to +the winds. Real chess between two great players is no mere +recreation, but a severe study, and should never be attempted +when there is any thing else to claim the least share of that +attention which alone can insure success. If Mr. Staunton can +steal a few months from business, and devote himself wholly +to chess, by all means let him do so, and then meet Mr. Morphy +when and where he pleases, and I for one should have no fear +for the result. If he cannot do this, I trust he will have moral +courage to say "No." If not, his friends should say it for him. +He is at least "Pawn and two" below his force of ten years +back; and I repeat that he owes it to the English chess world, +whose representative he is, not to meet Mr. Morphy at such +odds, when he has every thing to lose and nothing to gain. In +the present instance, moreover he is under not the slightest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> +obligation to play, as Mr. Morphy gave him no intimation that +he was coming over at this particular time, and I believe +Mr. Staunton was not aware of his intention of so doing till he +was actually <i>en route</i>; and it is certainly rather a heavy price +to pay for the position which Mr. Staunton justly occupies if +he is to be held bound to enter the lists with every young adventurer +who has nothing else to do, and who happens to envy +him the laurels so fairly won in many hundreds of encounters +with nearly all the greatest players of the day. The result of +any match which he might now play with Mr. Morphy would +prove literally nothing as to their relative chess powers, and +I am very unwilling to believe that the American would at +all value a victory snatched under such circumstances.</p> + +<p style="margin-left:10%;">Yours obediently, M. A.</p> + +<p>P. S. Since writing the above my attention has been drawn +to a letter in <i>Bell's Life</i> addressed to Mr. Staunton by Mr. +Morphy, in which the latter tries to assume the character of +a much-injured and ill-used man. Now, how stands the case. +From the time when he made his sudden appearance here to the +present moment Mr. Morphy has been fully aware that the +delay in the proposed contest did not depend upon Mr. Staunton, +who, so far as he is personally concerned, was, and is, prepared +to play; though it does not speak much for that man's +sense of honor who would ever think of forcing on a contest +when the inequality is so immense as it is between Mr. Morphy's +position and that of Mr. Staunton—the one with literally +nothing to do but to go where he lists to play chess, the other +with scarcely time for sleep and meals, with his brain in a +constant whirl with the strain upon it; the one in the very +zenith of his skill, after ten years of incessant practice, the +other utterly out of practice for that very period. Now, let any +one read the reply of Mr. Staunton to the preposterous proposal +on the part of Mr. Morphy's friends, that he (Mr. S.) +should go over to New Orleans, and then say whether Mr. +Morphy, after publicly announcing in the American papers +his inability, from family engagements, to visit England before<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> +1859, and then choosing to come over without a moment's warning, +has anybody but himself to blame if he finds there is considerable +difficulty in inducing a man with family cares, and +immersed in professional engagements, to sacrifice all for the +sake of engaging, upon the most unfair and unequal terms, in +a match at chess? If Mr. Morphy does not see the force of +what I have advanced, perhaps the following analogous case +may bring conviction home to him. Let us suppose some ten +or fifteen years have elapsed, and that Mr. Morphy, no longer +a chess knight-errant, eager to do battle against all comers, has +settled down into a steady-going professional man, (the bar, I believe, +is his destination,) and with bewildered brain is endeavoring +to unravel the intricacies of some half-dozen lawsuits put +into his hands by clients, each of whom, in virtue of his fee, is +profoundly impressed with the belief that Mr. Morphy belongs, +body and soul, to him. Presently comes a rap at the door, +and in walks a young man, fresh from school or college, and +at once proceeds to explain the object of his visit, with:—"Mr. +Morphy, I come to challenge you to a match at chess. +I am aware that you are quite out of practice, while I am in +full swing. I freely admit that you may have forgotten more +than I am ever likely to know; that you have a reputation to +lose, while I have one to gain; that you have not a moment +you can call your own, whilst I have just now nothing in the +world to occupy my attention but chess. <i>N'importe.</i> Every +dog has his day. I expect you to play me at all costs. My +seconds will wait upon you at once; and if you decline I shall +placard you a craven through the length and breadth of the +Union." How would Mr. Morphy reply to such a challenge? +Very much, I suspect, as Mr. Staunton now replies to his:—"I +have no apprehension of your skill; I am quite willing to meet +you when I can, but I must choose my own time. I cannot put +aside my professional engagements, to say nothing of the loss +of emolument entailed by such a course, and risk my reputation +as a chess-player at a moment's notice, just to gratify your +ambition." In giving such an answer Mr. Morphy would do +perfectly right, and this is precisely the answer which Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> +Staunton now gives to him. And why Mr. Morphy should +feel himself aggrieved I cannot possibly imagine. There is one +other point which I think deserves mention, namely that four +years ago, on the occasion of his being challenged in a similar +manner, Mr. Staunton put forth a final proposal to play any +player in the world, and to pay his expenses for coming to England. +This <i>defi</i> remained open for six months, and he announced +that if not taken up in that time he should hold himself +exonerated in refusing any future challenges. I now leave the +question in the hands of the public, who will, I doubt not, +arrive at a correct appreciation of its merits.</p> + + +<p class="center">ANOTHER VERY DISGRACEFUL ANONYMOUS LETTER.</p> + +<p><i>To the Editor of Bell's Life</i>:</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Editor</span>,—It is a pity chess-players will not "wash +their dirty linen at home." Among a few frivolous noodles to +whom chess forms the staple of life, Mr. Morphy's jeremiads +may assume an air of importance, but to sensible men they +sound ineffably absurd, while to those who take the trouble of +looking a little below the surface they appear something worse. +For what are the plain facts of the case? Mr. Morphy started +for England, not to play a match with Mr. Staunton, for he was +told that that gentleman was too deeply immersed in business +to undertake one, but to take part in a general tourney to be +held in Birmingham. Upon arriving here he duly inscribed +his name on the list of combatants, and paid his entrance fee. +On hearing this, Mr. Staunton, in a spirit of what some may +call chivalry, but which, looking at his utterly unprepared +state for an encounter of this kind, ought more properly to be +termed Quixotism, entered his name also. Well, what happened? +On the mustering of the belligerents, Mr. Morphy, +who had come six thousand miles to run a tilt in this tournament, +<i>was not present</i>. In his place came a note to say particular +business prevented his attendance. A message was +despatched, intimating that his absence would be a great disappointment, +&c., &c. His reply was, that, understanding nei<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>ther +Mr. S. nor any other of the leading players would take +the field, he declined to do so. A second message was forwarded, +to the effect that Mr. Staunton was then in Birmingham +expressly to meet Mr. Morphy, and that he and several of the +best players were awaiting Mr. M.'s arrival to begin the combats. +To this came a final answer, to the effect that the length +of time that the tourney would last prevented Mr. Morphy +from joining in it, but he would run down in two or three days. +Passing over the exquisite taste of this proceeding, and the disappointment +and murmurs it occasioned, I would simply ask, +if Mr. Morphy thought himself justified in withdrawing from a +contest which he had come thousands of miles to take part in, +and to which he was in a manner pledged, upon pretences so +vague and flimsy, what right has he to complain if the English +player choose to withdraw from one to which he is in no respect +bound, and against which he may be enabled to offer the most +solid and unanswerable objections? In asking this, I beg to +disclaim all intention of provoking a chess-players' controversy, +a thing in which the public take not the slightest interest, and +for which I individually entertain supreme contempt. I am +moved to it only by the spirit of</p> +<p style="margin-left:10%;"><span class="smcap">Fair Play</span>.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Birmingham</span>.</p></blockquote> + +<p>To these communications the editor appended the +following remarks:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>[We print the above two letters, being all the communications +we have received from Mr. Staunton's party relative to +Morphy's letter in our last. We regret these lucubrations are +anonymous, as not showing how far they really represent the +opinions of Mr. Staunton himself and his friends on the subject. +Regarding their style and phraseology Mr. Staunton may perhaps +ask to be saved from his friends, but that is matter of +taste. We shall feel bound to print brief replies from Paul +Morphy's side. Inferiority once admitted, no matter from +what cause, if Mr. Staunton takes the ground indicated in the +above epistles, Mr. Morphy has but cheerfully and quietly to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> +drop the subject, and will certainly as a gentleman never challenge +Mr. Staunton again. Morphy's friends may still reasonably +inquire why all this was not said in June last, instead of +giving apparent acceptance to the young American's challenge.</p> + +<p>—<span class="smcap">Editor Bell's Life.</span>]</p></blockquote> + +<p>The reader will observe that Mr. Staunton (or his +friends) is the first to commence a newspaper war, +probably under the impression that lengthy <i>protocoling</i> +would sink the real question at issue, or induce +Paul Morphy to reply, and commit himself. But the +latter saw too clearly what eventualities might arise, +and resolved that, in spite of all attacks, he would never +be drawn into discussion. In his letter to Mr. Staunton, +no point was raised on which to build dispute; +Mr. S. was merely required to say what date he fixed +for the match. The most sensitive mind could not be +hurt with any thing in the letter, and yet "Fair Play" +talks of "Mr. Morphy's jeremiads appearing something +worse than ineffably absurd." "M. A.'s" lucubration +did not obtain admittance into any other paper, but +"Fair Play's" shone resplendently in the columns of +the <i>Illustrated London News</i>. I have not learned who +"Fair Play" is; nor do I wish to know.</p> + +<p>When a man's course is straightforward and courageous, +he will always find defenders, and sometimes, +ardent partisans. Morphy's unassuming modesty had +made him friends in every chess community, men who +were ready to battle for him as though it were their +own quarrel. Hitherto, not a word had been said by,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> +or for, Morphy in the press, and he was determined not +to seek succor from that source. The ensuing Saturday +the following letters appeared in Bell's Life, the +first being from a friend of our hero, well acquainted +with the circumstances of the case; and the others +from prominent members of the metropolitan chess +circles.</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">LETTER FROM A FRIEND OF PAUL MORPHY.</p> + +<p><i>To the Editor of Bell's Life in London</i>:</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>,—Two letters appeared in your paper of last Sunday, +one with the signature of "M. A.," the other of "Fair Play." +In justice to fact, those communications must not remain unanswered, +as the misstatements they contain might perchance +mislead some as to the good faith of Mr. Morphy. It is in no +improper spirit that I appear before your readers under my +own name, but simply because, as I intend replying to your +anonymous correspondents with facts, not with hypotheses, I +think I am bound in honor to hold myself responsible for what +I advance. The chess players of London and Birmingham are +not ignorant of the intimacy with which Mr. Morphy has +honored me during his visit to Europe, and they will permit +me to state, that no one is better conversant with the facts +bearing on the case in point than your subscriber. Were it +not that Paul Morphy positively refuses to reply to any attack +upon himself, preferring that his actions should be the sole +witness to his faith, I should not have troubled you or the public +with this communication.</p> + +<p>On the 4th of last February, the New Orleans Chess Club +challenged Mr. Staunton to visit the Crescent City, "to meet +Mr. Paul Morphy in a chess match." On the 3d of April the +former gentleman replied to this <i>defi</i> in the <i>Illustrated London +News</i>, in the following language:—"The terms of this cartel +are distinguished by extreme courtesy, and, with one notable +exception, by extreme liberality also. The exception in ques<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>tion, +however, (we refer to the clause which stipulates that the +combat shall take place in New Orleans!) appears to us utterly +fatal to the match; and we must confess our astonishment that +the intelligent gentlemen who drew up the conditions did not +themselves discover this. Could it possibly escape their penetration, +that if Mr. Paul Morphy, a young gentleman without +family ties or professional claims upon his attention, finds it +inconvenient to anticipate by a few months an intended visit to +Europe, his proposed antagonist, who is well known for years +to have been compelled, by laborious literary occupation, to +abandon the practice of chess beyond the indulgence of an occasional +game, must find it not merely inconvenient, but positively +impracticable, to cast aside all engagements, and undertake +a journey of many thousand miles for the sake of a chess +encounter. Surely the idea of such a sacrifice is not admissible +for a single moment. If Mr. Morphy—for whose skill we entertain +the liveliest admiration—be desirous to win his spurs +among the chess chivalry of Europe, he must take advantage +of his proposed visit next year; he will then meet in this country, +in France, in Germany, and in Russia, many champions +whose names must be as household words to him, ready to test +and do honor to his prowess."</p> + +<p>No one would regard the above observations as tantamount +to aught else than "If you will come to Europe I will play +you;" but we are relieved from the difficulty of discovering Mr. +Staunton's real meaning by his reiterated declarations that he +would play Mr. Morphy. Within a few days of the latter's +arrival in London, the English player stated his intention of +accepting the match, but postponed the commencement of it for +a month, on the plea of requiring preparation. In the month +of July the acceptance of the challenge was announced in the +<i>Illustrated London News</i>. Before the expiration of the time +demanded in the first instance, Mr. Staunton requested that +the contest should not take place until after the Birmingham +meeting. At Birmingham he again declared his intention of +playing the match, and fixed the date for the first week in +November, in the presence of numerous witnesses. Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> +Morphy may have erred in believing that his antagonist intended +to act as his words led him to suppose, but it was an +error shared in common by every one then present, and particularly +by Lord Lyttelton, the President of the British Chess +Association, who recognized the true position of the case in his +speech to the association, stating that he "wished him (Mr. +Morphy) most cordially success in his encounters with the +celebrated players of Europe, whom he had gallantly left home +to meet; he should be pleased to hear that he vanquished all—except +one; but that one—Mr. Staunton—he must forgive +him, as an Englishman, for saying he hoped he would conquer +him."—(Report of Birmingham meeting, <i>Illustrated London +News</i>, Sept. 18, 1858.</p> + +<p>So firmly convinced were the members of Mr. S.'s own +club, the St. George's, that he had accepted the challenge, that +a committee was formed, and funds raised to back him. What +those gentlemen must now think of Mr. Staunton's evasion of +the match can easily be understood; but so strong was the +conviction in other chess circles that he would not play, that +large odds were offered to that effect.</p> + +<p>"M. A.'s" reasons for not playing, or "M. A.'s" reasons +for Mr. Staunton's not playing—a distinction without a difference, +as we shall hereafter show—is that "he is engaged upon +a literary work of great responsibility and magnitude." Did +not this reason exist prior to Mr. Morphy's arrival in June? +and if so, why were Mr. Morphy, the English public, and the +chess community generally, led into the belief that the challenge +was accepted? And what did Mr. Staunton mean by +stating at Birmingham, in the presence of Lord Lyttelton, Mr. +Avery, and myself, that if the delay until November were +granted him, he could in the mean while supply his publishers +with sufficient matter, so as to devote himself subsequently to +the match?</p> + +<p>Mr. Staunton's (I mean "M. A.'s") remark in the letter +under review, "I (Staunton or 'M. A.' indifferently) have +no apprehension of your skill," is hardly consonant with the +previous observation, that "he (Staunton) is at least pawn<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> +and two below his force," unless the "English-chess-world-representative" +wishes it to be understood that he could offer +those odds to Paul Morphy. Nor is it consonant with the +fact that he has never consented to play Mr. Morphy a single +game, though asked to do so, and when frequently meeting +him at St. George's. Of course the two consultation games +played by him, in alliance with "Alter," against Messrs. +Barnes and Morphy count for nothing, as they were gained by +the latter; a result due, doubtless, to "Alter" alone.</p> + +<p>Mr. Morphy, in the eyes of the chess world, can have +nothing to gain from a contest with this gentleman. When +Mr. Staunton has met even players such as Anderssen, Heyderbrandt, +and Löwenthal, he has succumbed; whilst his +youthful antagonist can cite a roll of victories unparalleled +since Labourdonnais. And herein is the true reason for +"M. A.'s" saying, "Staunton must not be allowed to risk the +national honor (?) in an unequal contest."</p> + +<p>In wishing "M. A." adieu, I would state that his style of +composition is so like Mr. Staunton's that no one could detect +the difference. And no one but Mr. Staunton himself would +ever set up such a defence as "M. A.'s"—that of inferiority, +"Pawn and two below his strength," &c. &c. And no one but +Mr. Staunton could have such intimate knowledge of his own +thoughts as we find in the following verbatim quotations from +"M. A.'s" letter: "The state of his health was such that he +felt he could not do himself justice"—"his mind harassed"—"the +other (Staunton) with scarcely time for sleep and meals, +with his brain in a constant whirl with the strain upon it." In +the language of Holy Writ: "No man can know the spirit of +man, but the spirit of man which is in him."</p> + +<p>Served up in a mass of foul language, the letter signed +"Fair Play," contains an obviously untrue assertion, namely, +"Mr. Morphy started for Europe, not to play a match with Mr. +Staunton." This is rather outrageous in the face of the challenge +from the New Orleans Chess Club, and with Mr. +S.'s reply in the <i>Illustrated London News</i> of April 3d. So +much was it Mr. Morphy's desire to play him, and so little his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> +intention to engage in the Birmingham Tournament, that he +informed the secretary he did not regard such a contest as any +true test of skill.</p> + +<p>To sum up the whole matter, I will state the naked facts.</p> + +<p>1. Mr. Morphy came to Europe to play Mr. Staunton.</p> + +<p>2. Mr. Staunton made everybody believe he had accepted +the challenge from Mr. Morphy.</p> + +<p>3. Mr. Staunton allowed the St. George's Chess Club to +raise the money to back him.</p> + +<p>4. Mr. Staunton asked for a delay of one month, in order +to brush up his openings and endings.</p> + +<p>5. Mr. Staunton requested a postponement until after the +Birmingham meeting.</p> + +<p>6. Mr. Staunton fixed the beginning of November for the +commencement of the match.</p> + +<p>If all this do not mean "I will play," then is there no +meaning in language. I beg to subscribe myself, Mr. Editor, +most respectfully yours,</p> + +<p class="ralign"><span class="smcap">Frederick Milns Edge</span>.</p> +<p><span class="smcap">Hotel Breteuil, Paris</span>, <i>Oct. 20, 1858</i>.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The next epistle is from the pen of a former colleague +of Mr. Staunton,—a gentleman whose literary +articles in the <i>Chess Players' Chronicle</i> have earned +world-wide notoriety. In the case under examination, +he dissects Mr. Staunton's procedures with the skill of +an able anatomist.</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">LETTER FROM A COADJUTOR OF MR. STAUNTON.</p> + +<p><i>To the Editor of Bell's Life</i>:—</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>,—In the few remarks that you have appended to the +letters respecting Mr. Morphy's proposed match with Mr. +Staunton you have dealt satisfactorily with the whole matter. +The letters may be considered under two heads, one of which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> +does not refer to, the other is written upon, the actual subject. +That a few lines should be devoted <i>not</i> to the merits of the +case will not surprise your readers, when they remember that, +prejudice being created against, or in favor of, a particular +chess-player, questions are not viewed in their true light; still +less will they be surprised when I take this opportunity of +doing justice to Anderssen, who is indirectly alluded to in one +of the letters. Your Cambridge correspondent ridicules the +notion of any evasion of play on the part of Mr. Staunton. +His virtue, even approaching a fault, has been the continual +search after a match. He resought St. Amant after defeating +him, he exposed himself to every one for eight years, and thus +earned two characters, one that of the chivalrous paladin, the +other that of the representative of English chess. I wonder +that an intelligent writer, such as your correspondent is, should +not have traced the distinction between resuming play against +antagonists already beaten, or likely to be beaten, and commencing +matches with really powerful combatants. I wonder, +also, that he did not inform your readers that at the time at +which St. Amant played with Mr. Staunton, the former, excellent +as he was, received odds from Des Chapelles, who was +out of play; I wonder that, as if with perfect knowledge, he +could write upon such a chess match without alluding to Des +Chapelles' celebrated criticism on the Staunton-St. Amant +games, a criticism which, published in the <i>Berliner Schachzeitung</i> +of 1848, puts both players in their true places. I wonder, +again, that he should not have summed up Mr. S.'s subsequent +victories in two contests, one with Hörwitz, the other +with Harrwitz. I wonder that he should not have told us +that Hörwitz publicly announced his inferiority to Der Lasa +and Hanstein, and that Harrwitz <i>at the time mentioned</i> received +P and two moves, but in the same year defeated Hörwitz, +the very player upon whose defeat, on even terms, Mr. +S.'s reputation mainly depended after his match with St. +Amant. Another instance of Mr. Staunton's chivalry is, says +your correspondent, an offer to "play any player in the world, +and to pay his expenses for coming to England." The best<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> +answer to this is to quote the actual conditions of the challenge +propounded by Sir G. Stephen on Mr. S.'s behalf in 1853: "1. +If the acceptor of the challenge be resident abroad, the stake +on each side shall not be less than £250. 2. If the challenge +is taken up by a player resident in this country, the amount of +stake shall be from £100 to £150. 3. That the match be +played at a private hotel," etc. After the proposal, Mr. Staunton +gave it meaning in a public speech (<i>Chess Players' Chronicle</i>, +1853)—"The challenge was intended for Anderssen's acceptance. +The £250 was to cover travelling expenses in a +foreign country." Now I wish to ask your correspondent is +there here any offer to pay a competitor's expenses? Or will +he read it as others do? "I name £100 for men whom I do +not fear, but £250 for Anderssen, whom, as he beat me in 1851, +I <i>wish</i> to play with. Nominally, the larger sum will cover his +expenses, but as I intend to win, he will practically have to +find £250, his expenses, and the bill at a private hotel, simply +to give me, the chivalrous Bayard, my revenge?" After this +I trust that we shall not hear of chivalry in offering to pay the +expenses of a competitor. "M. A.," as a Cambridge man, may +be asked whether Mr. S.'s engagement "on a work of great +magnitude" (I quote his own words) is equal to Anderssen's +mathematical and philological labors? But Mr. S. is the +representative of English chess. By whose election is he +"<i>divinæ particula auræ</i>?" Des Chapelles was then irreverent, +and I am an iconoclast. Is he self-elected? Then away +with parliaments and associations of chess, and their self-elected +speaker, "Fairplay." I never yet heard of a man calling himself +the representative of any thing English, if he will not carry +out his representation. I have heard of champions of the river +retiring. I have seen them row, and take a beating manfully. +I know that Lewis, Fraser, Slous, Walker, etc., gave up difficult +chess. I never yet heard of half and half play. Either +a man pretends to represent English chess, or he does not. If +he makes his claim, whether self-elected or not, he must play +(a representative, however ignorant, gives his vote in the +House of Commons), if not, he may retire into private life.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> +Morphy may reply to your correspondent and to his coryphæus +at the same time—"I have played for ten years. I am not 21, +but am prepared to play the best European masters now. If +I am challenged when I have taken up another pursuit I will +not do one thing. I will not accept a challenge, and months +after not carry out my acceptance. I will not, after long delay, +name even the day for commencing the match, and then have +no idea of playing. True it is that you may not fairly represent +English chess. Two British players separated Anderssen +from you in 1851, but, Williams being dead, Mr. Wyvill not +playing matches, and you still claiming priority in Anglo-Saxon +chess, I, an Anglo-Saxon, on behalf of the race that +speaks the same language, ask you, will you maintain or resign +your claim?" This is true reasoning. The contest, +"M. A." assures us, would be unequal. Mr. S. is P and two +moves below his strength, yet he represents English play. +Where, then, are the even players, where the P and move +men? Is the fragrance of the P and two moves so refreshing, +that the P and move must not be classed amongst our British +roses? Des Chapelles tells us that Philidor classed Legalle +as a player on even terms, Verdoni as one to receive pawn for +the move, Bernard, Carlier, etc., as P and move players. I +think better of English chess players than to claim, with +"M. A.," our representative in a P and two moves player. +Your Cambridge correspondent will pardon me for attempting +to refute his positions. From the style of his letter I am convinced +that, had he equal experience, he would write much the +same as I have done. "Fairplay's" letter may soon be dismissed; +his argument is, that Mr. Morphy came to Europe not +to play Mr. Staunton (who had previously refused, F. P. should +have added, "to play in America," not in England), but to take +part in the tournament held by the Chess Association at Birmingham; +that he did not play there, sending different answers +for his non-appearance; and, assuming this to be a fault, that +therefore any one may commit the same fault, if he can give +better reasons for the commission. In answer to this, Mr. +Morphy did not come to Europe to play at Birmingham, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> +to test his strength with the cis-Atlantic players. It reads +almost like a joke, when a man writes seriously from Birmingham +to inform us that Morphy came 6000 miles to play the +first two or first three games, especially when every one in +London has known for more than three months that he came +to play long set matches. What was Mr. M.'s behavior? He +came to England in June, and visited Birmingham directly. +He had been offered £70 as a retaining fee on account of the +distance travelled by him (similarly Anderssen, Staunton, etc., +received retaining fees in 1857), but refused the offer, making, +with characteristic generosity, such excuses as "he had not +received the Birmingham letters," and that "the meeting was +adjourned for two months." In other words, Mr. Morphy, +giving up all pecuniary claim, practically paid <i>nearly seven-eighths +of the prizes offered to public competition</i>. Hence he +did not take part in the little contests at Birmingham. He +civilly assented to the alteration of time—he civilly left Löwenthal, +whom he had beaten in a set match, a chance of gaining +the first prize—he civilly gave answers to telegraphic messages, +answers—I regret here that they were more polite than +exact—that meant the same thing, "I leave the contest to +others." If these replies did not—as short telegraphic messages +cannot—express Mr. M.'s meaning, it does not become +those who profited by his chivalry to write in the style of +"Fairplay;" and I am sure that the Birmingham local committee +would be the first to gainsay the latter's statement. <i>He</i> +must be satisfied, at all events, as Löwenthal, just beaten by +Morphy, met Mr. Staunton, whom he was anxious to see pitted +against the young American, and won, thereby saving criticism +as to "What was, might be, or could be." What "will be," +we shall see. Mr. M. went to Birmingham simply to get Mr. +S. to name, <i>in the presence of others</i>, a day for commencing the +proposed match. Then and there Mr. S. named the 1st of +November. A representative of Englishmen should give either +a <i>bona fide</i> acceptance or a refusal. Morphy's motto is "Play, +not talk." He comes and goes to foreign countries to seek +play. He is the "<i>Il Puttino</i>" of the New World. At the risk,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> +then, sir, of being called a "frivolous noodle" by your very +elegant correspondent "Fairplay," I shall take the liberty of +believing what an honest man like Morphy says. I shall not +hold Staunton to be the representative of English chess, but +shall look to younger and more consistent players as far more +likely to maintain what your correspondents call the national +honor, and am, sir, your obedient servant,</p> + +<p class="ralign"><span class="smcap">An English Chess Player</span>.</p> +<p><span class="smcap">East Sheen</span>, <i>Oct. 21, 1858</i>.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The next two letters, also to the editor of <i>Bell's +Life in London</i>, do not profess to argue the question, +but are merely <i>argumenta ad hominum</i>. They serve +to show how warm a feeling in his favor Mr. Morphy +had evoked amongst the fellow-countrymen of Mr. +Staunton.</p> + +<blockquote><p><i>To the Editor of Bell's Life</i>:</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Editor</span>: The general opinion of English chess players +is simply that Staunton is afraid of Morphy. If, as his friends +say, he is out of condition, let him train, or give up the championship +like a man. No one would blame him, at his age and +with his avocation, for declining severe matches; but in that +case he must resign the belt into fresher hands. The champion +ceases to be the champion when he is no longer able or willing +to take up whatever gauntlet is flung down. Let the chivalrous +boy who has crossed the Atlantic to challenge the chess +of the Old World have fair play at the hands of Englishmen. +If we cannot beat him fairly, let us not seek to put him off +with shabby dodges.</p> + +<p style="margin-left:10%;">Yours, &c.</p> +<p class="ralign"><span class="smcap">The Ex-President of Provincial Chess Club</span>.</p> +<p><i>Oct. 20th</i>.</p></blockquote> + +<p>This is sound, straightforward, English common +sense.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p> + +<blockquote><p><i>To the Editor of Bell's Life</i>:—</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Editor</span>: Mr. Staunton either is, or is not, the chess +champion of England, ready to defend his "belt" against all +comers. If he <i>be</i> the champion, he has <i>no right</i> to plead "want +of practice," "literary avocations," or such like excuses, for +"<i>semper paratus</i>" must be a "champion's" motto. If he be +<i>not</i> the champion, why then did he hold himself out as such +by inviting or accepting Mr. Morphy's challenge? Why did +he not say at the first, "I <i>was</i> the champion of England some +years ago, but (<i>solve senescentem</i>) I am not so now; I am only a +private gentleman, engaged in literary pursuits, and so forth." +His true position would then have been clearly understood, and +I am sure Mr. Morphy would never have sought to disturb his +retirement. But will the English chess-playing public allow +Mr. Staunton to put in this plea <i>after all that has passed</i>, and +after all his declarations of willingness to play? I trust, sir, +that, if such an excuse be allowed, at least we shall have the +candor to acknowledge ourselves fairly vanquished, and not +pretend that we have escaped defeat because we have "prudently" +declined the contest. We must be on our guard for +the future how we proclaim as our "champion" a gentleman +who "retires into private life" the moment a formidable rival +appears.</p> + +<p style="margin-left:10%">Yours, &c.,</p> +<p class="ralign"><span class="smcap">Schack</span>.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The week following the publication of the above +letters, Mr. Staunton published in the <i>Illustrated London +News</i> <span class="smcap">PART</span> of Mr. Morphy's communication, with +the private answer sent a fortnight before. The paragraph +in the former, relating to Mr. S.'s iniquitous +statement of Morphy's arriving in Europe without +funds, was entirely ignored, and that, too, in the face +of its having been given <i>in extenso</i> two weeks previously +by four weekly London papers, and a copy sent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> +to his editor-in-chief. <i>Quos Deus vult perdere, prius +dementat</i> was never more thoroughly exemplified, and +the course pursued proves incontestably that Mr. Staunton +possesses a certain kind of courage which does not +stick at trifles. Was it presumable that a man of his +experience would dare to commit such an unwarrantable +act, or did he think that Mr. Morphy would pass +over, in silence, such a suppression?</p> + +<p>The animus was now evident. Mr. Staunton had +never awarded that praise to the young American's +contests which every other chess editor and player in +England and Europe had invariably bestowed: still, no +action could be taken on this. Mr. Staunton had continually +postponed the commencement of the match: +no handle to take hold of was offered here, since he +had, as continually, asserted his desire to play. Mr. +Staunton had announced that the stakes were reduced +from £1,000 a side to £500 at Mr. Morphy's request; +his antagonist was still silent. Mr. Staunton had published +a knowingly untrue statement, and, when the +sufferer complains in such manner as to afford him the +utmost latitude for explanation and apology, he cancels +the paragraph, and does not even deign to refer to it +in his reply. Mr. Staunton caps the climax by declining +finally to play the match. Thus Mr. Staunton's +response to the New Orleans Chess Club, <i>so far as he +was concerned</i>, meant nothing. His acceptance of Morphy's +challenge in London, and the statement in his +paper that the match would come off, meant nothing.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> +His postponements meant nothing. His declarations +before Lord Lyttelton and other gentlemen, at Birmingham, +meant nothing.</p> + +<p>Thus there was apparently an end to the whole matter. +But an eventuality presented itself:—Mr. Staunton +had shown himself capable of perverting facts to his +own benefit, and might he not assert ultimately that +Mr. Morphy was the cause of the match not taking +place? Could he not, too, at the moment our hero +was quitting Europe, declare his readiness to play, +knowing that Morphy must be off? He had so acted +towards Herr Anderssen after the tournament in 1851, +declaring that "the German saw fit to leave," although +he was well aware that the Professor's collegiate duties +at Breslau rendered it impossible for him to stay in +England and play the proposed match. Paul Morphy +therefore closed up every avenue of eventual misrepresentation, +by the following address to Lord Lyttelton, +in his official quality of President of the National Association +of English Chess-players:</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">MORPHY'S APPEAL TO THE BRITISH CHESS ASSOCIATION.</p> + +<p><i>To the Right Hon. Lord Lyttelton, President of the British Chess Association:</i></p> + +<p><span class="smcap">My Lord</span>,—On the 4th of last February the Chess Club of +New Orleans gave a challenge to your countryman, Mr. Howard +Staunton, to visit that city and engage in a match at chess +with me. On the 3d of April Mr. Staunton replied to this <i>défi</i> +in the <i>Illustrated London News</i>, characterizing the terms of the +cartel as "being distinguished by extreme courtesy," but objecting +to so long a journey for such a purpose, and engaging<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> +me "to anticipate by a few months an intended voyage to Europe." +Believing that "a journey of many thousand miles" +was the only obstacle in the way of our meeting, I made immediate +preparation, and, within two months, I had the pleasure +of repeating the challenge personally in the rooms of the St. +George's Chess Club. I need scarcely assure you, my lord, +that Mr. Staunton enjoys a reputation in the United States unsurpassed +by that of any player in Europe since the death of +Labourdonnais, and I felt highly honored when he accepted my +challenge, merely requesting a lapse of one month for the purpose +of preparing himself for the encounter. Within a short +period subsequently, Mr. Staunton obtained my consent to a +postponement until after the annual meeting of the British +Chess Association. A week prior to that event I addressed +him in the following terms:—</p> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span>,—As we are now approaching the Birmingham +meeting, at the termination of which you have fixed our match +to commence, I think it would be advisable to settle the preliminaries +during this week. Would you be good enough to +state some early period when your seconds can meet mine, so +that a contest which I have so much at heart, and which from +your eminent position excites so much interest in the chess +world, may be looked upon as a <i>fait accompli</i>.—I am, dear sir, +yours very respectfully,</p> +<p class="ralign"><span class="smcap">Paul Morphy</span>."</p> + +<p>Not receiving a satisfactory reply to this communication, I +again wrote Mr. Staunton as follows:—</p> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span>,—I must first apologise for not replying to your +previous communication. As you observe, my numerous contests +must be the excuse for my remissness.</p> + +<p>"It is certainly a high compliment to so young a player as +myself that you, whose reputation in the chess arena has been +unapproached during so many long years, should require any +preparation for our match. Immediately on my arrival in +England, some two months since, I spoke to you in reference +to our contest, and, in accepting the challenge, you stated that +you should require some time to prepare, and you proposed a +period for commencing, which I accepted.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I am well aware that your many engagements in the literary +world must put you to some inconvenience in meeting me, +and I am therefore desirous to consult your wishes in every respect. +Would you please state the earliest opportunity when +those engagements will permit the match coming off, such time +being consistent with your previous preparation?</p> + +<p>"The 'few weeks' referred to in your favor seem to be +rather vague, and I shall feel highly gratified by your fixing a +definite period for the contest. <i>I leave the terms entirely to +yourself.</i>—I remain, dear sir, yours very respectfully,</p> + +<p class="ralign">"<span class="smcap">Paul Morphy</span>."</p> + +<p>Mr. Staunton left London for Birmingham without deigning +to reply.</p> + +<p>I attended the annual meeting of the Association for the express +purpose of requesting a definite period for commencing +the match. In the presence of your lordship and other gentlemen, +Mr. Staunton fixed that commencement for the forepart +of November, promising that he would inform me of the precise +date within a few days. I heard nothing further from him on +the subject. Your lordship will have remarked from the above +that Mr. Staunton has thus obtained three separate and distinct +postponements.</p> + +<p>The approach of November induced me to again address Mr. +Staunton, which I did on the 6th of the present month. As +my letter was published in numerous London journals, and was +also sent to the editor-in-chief of the <i>Illustrated London News</i>, +I had a right to expect a public answer, particularly as I had +complained of a false and damaging statement in the chess department +of that paper. On the 16th Mr. Staunton stated editorially +that—</p> + +<p>"Mr. Morphy's games this week exclude both his letter and +Mr. Staunton's reply. If we can spare space for them they +shall be given in the next number."</p> + +<p>On the 9th inst., within a short time of receiving my letter, +Mr. Staunton replied to me <i>privately</i>. As my communication +was a public one, I was somewhat surprised at the course pursued +by a gentleman holding such a position as Mr. Staunton,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> +and did not, therefore, even acknowledge receipt, fearing that I +might thereby be induced unintentionally to commit myself. +Having promised my letter and his reply, Mr. Staunton published +what he represents as such in the <i>Illustrated London +News</i> of the 23d inst. He has thereby transferred the question +from the chess arena to the bar of public opinion, and as a +stranger in a foreign land—a land which has ever been the +foremost in hospitality—I claim justice from Englishmen.</p> + +<p>The most important portion of my letter Mr. Staunton has +dared to suppress. I refer to the following paragraph, published +by various journals, but omitted by the <i>Illustrated London +News</i>, although sent to the editor of that paper as well as +to Mr. Staunton himself:—</p> + +<p>"A statement appeared in the chess department of that journal +a few weeks since, that 'Mr. Morphy had come to Europe +unprovided with backers or seconds,' the inference being obvious—that +my want of funds was the reason of our match not +taking place. As you are the editor of that department of the +<i>Illustrated London News</i>, I felt hurt that a gentleman who had +always received me at his club and elsewhere with great kindness +and courtesy, should allow so prejudicial a statement to +be made in reference to me; one, too, which is not strictly in +accordance with fact."</p> + +<p>On my first arriving in England, I informed Mr. Staunton +that my stakes would be forthcoming the moment he desired, +and I was therefore utterly at a loss to account for so unwarrantable +a statement being made in reference to me, unless with +the intention of compromising my position before the public. +And I would ask your lordship's attention to the terms of the +suppressed paragraph, couched in such language as to avoid all +insinuation of animus, and affording Mr. Staunton the amplest +opportunity for explaining away the difficulty. The course +pursued by that gentleman cannot do otherwise than justify +me in ascribing to him the very worst of motives in publishing +what he knew to be incorrect, in denying me common justice, +and in giving as the whole of my letter <i>what he knew to be only +a part of it</i>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p> + +<p>From Mr. Staunton I now appeal to the great body of English +chess players, I appeal to the British Chess Association, I +appeal to yourself, my lord, as the <i>Mæcenas</i> of English chess; +and, as I visited your country for the purpose of challenging +Mr. Staunton, which challenge he has repeatedly accepted, I +now demand of you that you shall declare to the world it is +through no fault of mine that this match has not taken place.—I +have the honor to remain, my lord, yours very respectfully,</p> + +<p class="ralign"><span class="smcap">Paul Morphy</span>.</p> +<p><span class="smcap">Cafe de la Regence, Paris</span>, <i>October 26, 1858</i>.</p></blockquote> + +<p>To this appeal, Lord Lyttelton made the following +admirable reply, which covers the whole ground:—</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">LORD LYTTELTON ON HOWARD STAUNTON.</p> + +<p class="ralign"><span class="smcap">Bodmin, Cornwall</span>, <i>3d November</i>.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span>:—I much regret that I have been unable till to-day +to reply to your letter of the 26th October, which only reached +me on the 1st inst. With regard to the appeal which you +have made to the British Chess Association, I may perhaps be +allowed to say, as its President, that I fear nothing can be done +about the matter in question by that body. It is one of recent +and rather imperfect organization; its influence is not yet fully +established. It is practically impossible to procure any effective +meeting of its members at present, and it is doubtful +whether it could take any step in the matter if it were to meet. +I must therefore be understood as writing in my private character +alone, but, at the same time, you are welcome, should +you think it worth while (which I can hardly think it can be), +to make further use of this letter, in any manner you may +wish.</p> + +<p>Your letter has but one professed object; that we should +declare that it is not your fault that the match between yourself +and Mr. Staunton has not taken place. To this the reply +might be made in two words. I cannot conceive it possible +that any one should impute that failure to you, nor am I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> +aware that any one has done so. But, in the circumstances, +I shall not perhaps be blamed, if I go somewhat further into +the matter. In the general circumstances of the case, I conceive +that Mr. Staunton was quite justified in declining the +match. The fact is understood that he has for years been engaged +in labors which must, whatever arrangements might be +made, greatly interfere with his entering into a serious contest +with a player of the highest force and in constant practice, and +so far the failure of the match is the less to be regretted. Nor can +I doubt the correctness of his recent statement, that the time +barely necessary for the match itself could not be spared, +without serious loss and inconvenience both to others and to +himself.</p> + +<p>But I cannot but think that in all fairness and considerateness, +Mr. Staunton might have told you of this long before he +did. I know no reason why he might not have ascertained it, +and informed you of it in answer to your first letter from +America. Instead of this, it seems to me plain, both as to the +interview at which I myself was present, and as to all the other +communications which have passed, that Mr. Staunton gave +you every reason to suppose that he would be ready to play +the match within no long time. I am not aware, indeed (nor +do I perceive that you have said it), that you left America +<i>solely</i> with the view of playing Mr. Staunton. It would, +no doubt, make the case stronger, but it seems to me as unlikely +as that you should have come, as has been already stated +(anonymously, and certainly not with Mr. Staunton's concurrence), +in order to attend the Birmingham Tournament.</p> + +<p>With regard to the suppressions of part of your last letter, +I must observe, that I am not aware how far Mr. Staunton is +responsible for what appears in the <i>Illustrated London News</i>. +But whoever is responsible for that suppression, I must say, +that I cannot see how it is possible to justify or excuse it.</p> + +<p>I greatly regret the failure of a contest which would have +been of much interest, and the only one, as I believe, which +could have taken place with you, with any chance of its redounding +to the credit of this country. I still more regret<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> +that any annoyance or disappointment should have been undergone +by one, who—as a foreigner—from his age, his ability, +and his conduct and character, is eminently entitled to the +utmost consideration in the European countries which he may +visit.</p> + +<p style="margin-left:10%;">I am, dear sir, yours truly,</p> +<p style="margin-left:30%;"><span class="smcap">Lyttelton</span>.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Paul Morphy, Esq.</span></p></blockquote> + +<p>Mr. Morphy could not do otherwise than avail himself +of the permission accorded him by Lord Lyttelton, +to publish so full a justification. He thus put himself +right on the record, and prevented any further misrepresentation. +Numerous clubs in the United Kingdom +took action upon the letter, and the following +resolution of the Manchester Chess Club—one of the +most influential in the country—shows what was the +general feeling upon the subject.</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">RESOLUTION OF THE MANCHESTER CHESS CLUB.</p> + +<p>At a special meeting, called in compliance with a requisition +numerously signed, it was resolved—</p> + +<p>"That this meeting, while recognizing Mr. Staunton's +right to decline any chess challenge which he might find inconvenient +and incompatible with his other engagements, +deems it proper (inasmuch as Lord Lyttelton has only felt +himself at liberty to answer, in his private capacity, Mr. +Morphy's appeal to him as President of the British Chess Association) +to declare its full concurrence in the opinion expressed +by Lord Lyttelton in his letter to Mr. Morphy, of the 3d +inst., that in all fairness and considerateness Mr. Staunton +should have told Mr. Morphy, long before he did, that he declined +the proposed match.</p> + +<p>"That copies of this resolution be sent to Mr. Morphy, Mr. +Staunton, and the editor of the <i>Illustrated London News.</i>"</p> + +<p><i>17th November, 1858.</i></p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p> + +<p>Mr. Staunton was able to cite but one instance of +an association sufficiently hardy to oppose its opinion +to the verdict of Lord Lyttelton. A select circle of +Mr. S.'s friends, the close-borough Cambridge University +Chess Club, ventured the following resolutions, +which were forwarded for publication to several journals, +as a would-be antidote to that of the Manchester +Club.</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">RESOLUTIONS OF THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CHESS CLUB.</p> + +<p>At a meeting of the Cambridge University Chess Club, +held November 26, 1858, the following resolutions were passed +unanimously:</p> + +<p>"That the Cambridge University Chess Club, recognizing +the important services rendered by Mr. Staunton to the cause +of chess, and seeing with regret the ungenerous attacks which +have for some time past been directed against him by a certain +section of the press, notorious for its anti-English tendencies, +are of opinion</p> + +<p>"1. That under the peculiar circumstances in which Mr. +Staunton found himself placed, it was scarcely possible for him +to do otherwise than decline the proposed match with Mr. +Morphy.</p> + +<p>"2. That his allowing the challenge to remain open so long +as there appeared the slightest hope of his being able to play, +was, beyond all question, the proper course to be adopted by +one really anxious for the encounter."</p></blockquote> + +<p>I cannot do better than give the remarks upon the +above resolutions by the "Era" newspaper; they +make mince-meat of the Cantabs' reasonings. The +"Era" answers thus:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>—</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">THE "ERA'S" REMARKS.</p> + +<p>"It will be seen that the Cambridge University Chess Club +constitutes itself the champion of Mr. Staunton against "ungenerous +attacks directed against him by a section of the press, +notorious for its anti-English tendencies." We wish the Cambridge +gentlemen had pointed out the section they refer to. +We were not aware that chess was of any country, or that +there were any anti-English tendencies in connection with it. +The fact is, that the section of the metropolitan chess press, +conducted by foreigners who have made their homes in England, +has hitherto refrained from expressing any judgment in the +dispute, contenting itself with giving the letters ungarbled and +unmutilated; but in chess columns, conducted by Englishmen, +have appeared the remarks pointed at by the Cambridge Club; +so here we have the anomaly of anti-English Englishmen. +With regard to the resolutions which follow the preamble, it is +impossible to cavil at. (1.) There is no doubt that under what +are delicately called "the peculiar circumstances," Mr. Staunton +was right in not playing Mr. Morphy. If a man feels he +would have no chance, it would be foolish for him to venture on +a contest. Resolution (2) is not so impervious to criticism. +Coming from so learned a quarter as Cambridge, we are rather +disappointed at the looseness of its wording. The intention, of +course, was to justify Mr. Staunton in taking the course he has +adopted, but it does not do so. It says he was right in "allowing +the challenge to remain open" till the last moment. If, +indeed, Mr. Staunton had kept the challenge open as long as +possible no one would have blamed him, but that was precisely +what he did not do. He accepted the challenge, and thereby +closed with it, and his friends subscribed funds for the stakes. +What Mr. Staunton did allow to remain open was the day; +and, after repeated promises to name it, that has been postponed +to—never. This is what is complained of in Mr. Staunton's +conduct, and Lord Lyttelton was right, and expressed the +judgment of the great majority of English chess players, when +he wrote that Mr. Staunton might and ought, at an earlier date,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> +to have informed Mr. Morphy of his inability to play. We say +nothing of the paragraphs which have appeared in the journal +of which Mr. Staunton is the chess editor, insinuating that Mr. +Morphy's money was not ready, because he (Mr. Staunton) +may not be answerable for them, but confine ourselves, in conformity +with our English tendencies, to an expression of our +concurrence in the views of an English nobleman, the whole of +the members of the Metropolitan Chess circle, and those of the +provincial clubs who have communicated with us on the subject."</p></blockquote> + +<p>Mr. Staunton's short-sighted policy with regard to +Paul Morphy, had not only caused him to be condemned +<i>vis-à-vis</i> of that gentleman, but his former career +was also dragged into discussion and severely commented +upon. The following letter appeared in the +"Field" a week after the appeal to Lord Lyttelton; +and, as will be seen, it is from the pen of a once warm +friend of Mr. Staunton:—</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">MR. STAUNTON AND MR. MORPHY.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>,—I am desirous, with your permission, of saying a few +words upon the relative position now occupied by Messrs. +Staunton and Morphy, whose proposed encounter has been +brought to such an unfortunate, though not unforeseen, termination. +Now I am well acquainted with Mr. Staunton. I have +been concerned on his behalf in the arrangement of one of his +(proposed) matches, with a player whom he has never ceased +to vituperate since that period when I endeavored so strenuously +to bring them together. I have fought Mr. Staunton's +battles for him by pen and by word of mouth on sundry occasions. +I wish, indeed, I could do so now; for, as a chess player, +and as a laborer in the field of chess literature, I place him on +the very highest pinnacle. Since the time of M'Donnell, I be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>lieve +that no player in this country—not to say Europe—has +ever reached so high a standard as was attained by our English +champion when he did battle with St. Amant. Since that time +he has been the rather concerned in editorial duties, and in intimating +to real or imaginary correspondents in the <i>Chess Players' +Chronicle</i>, (now defunct,) and in the <i>Illustrated London +News</i>, (full of vitality,) what he could do on the chequered +field, if those who dreamed of approaching him could but muster +sufficient money to meet his terms, or what other and peculiar +restrictions (owing to delicate health and "nervous irritability") +he should impose upon any adversary with whom he +engaged himself.</p> + +<p>From what I have seen of Mr. Staunton, I should think the +term "delicate" thoroughly inapplicable to his condition, but +that he is highly irritable, and nervously susceptible of all antagonistic +impressions, no one who knows him can for a moment +doubt.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">How easy 'tis, when destiny proves kind,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With full-spread sails to run before the wind.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>So sings the poet. Destiny <i>did</i> prove kind to Mr. Staunton +when he played his match in Paris with St. Amant. The Englishman +made the most of it, and achieved a splendid triumph. +At the great Chess Tournament in 1851 destiny was not quite so +obliging. The champion from whom we expected so much +had a head-wind against him, and he was beaten. I saw much +of Mr. Staunton at that time. I believe—in all justice let it be +said—that he was thoroughly unnerved, that he was utterly +unequal to an arduous contest, and that his great merits ought +not to be gauged by his play upon the occasion alluded to. He +deserved (he did not receive, for he had never given the same +to others) every sympathy under circumstances which were +intensely mortifying to himself personally, and to us nationally.</p> + +<p>Since 1851 it has been pretty generally understood that +Mr. Staunton's irritability has not diminished, and that his literary +responsibilities have the rather multiplied. Consequently +we had no right to expect, nationally, that he would again be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> +our champion, and contend with the young American, whose +reputation ran before him to Europe, and has accompanied him +ever since his arrival from the United States. We had no right, +I say, to expect this, <i>but for one reason</i>. That reason is to be +found in the chess department of the <i>Illustrated London News</i>, +of which Mr. S. is the acknowledged editor. It has been there +constantly implied—nay, it has been over and over again unequivocally +stated—during the last eight years, that the vanquisher +of St. Amant is still the English champion; that as +such he has a right to dictate his own terms, and that if any +one is prepared to accede to those terms, he (Mr. Staunton) is +prepared for the encounter. It matters not whether the correspondents +to whom these implications are made are real or +(as is generally supposed) imaginary. It is sufficient that certain +statements are made with the intention of conveying a +false impression to the public as regards Mr. Staunton's desire +to play and capability of playing. This is where he is so greatly +to blame; this is the point on which he has alienated from +himself during the last few years so many of his warmest +friends. No one blames Mr. Staunton for not playing with +Mr. Morphy; but every one has a right to blame Mr. Staunton +if, week after week, he implies in his own organ that there is a +chance of a match, if all that time he knows that there is no +chance of a match whatever. This, I affirm deliberately, and +with great pain, is what Mr. Staunton has done. It has been +done times out of number, and this in ways which have been +hardly noticed. If the editor of the chess department of the +<i>Illustrated London News</i> merely states as a piece of news that +Mr. Morphy is coming to England from America to arrange a +match at chess with Mr. Staunton, and Mr. Staunton (being +that editor himself, and being burdened with literary responsibilities +which he knows to be so great as to prevent his playing +an arduous contest) fails to append to such statement another, +to the effect that he has given up public chess, and has no intention +of again renewing it, he is not acting in a straightforward +and honorable manner. But much more than this has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> +been effected. So solicitous has Mr. Staunton been to trade +as long as possible upon his past reputation, that it has been +written in the <i>Illustrated London News</i> since Mr. Morphy's +arrival in this country, that he (Mr. M.) is not prepared with +the necessary stakes for an encounter with Mr. Staunton. +What truth there was in such averment may be gathered from +the admirable letter in your impression of last Saturday from +the young American to Lord Lyttelton. Why is not Mr. Staunton +content to say (what those who like him best would be +glad to be authorized to say for him): "I have done much +for the cause of chess, but I am not equal to what I once was; +and I am hampered by engagements which do not admit of +my playing matches now. I cannot risk my reputation under +such manifest disadvantages as would surround me in a contest +with Mr. Morphy." The public at large would then respect +Mr. Staunton's candor, and have a larger appreciation than +they now have of his great merits. It is true that Mr. Staunton +<i>has</i> said this at last; but he has been forced to say with a +bad grace what ought long ago to have been said voluntarily +with a good one.</p> + +<p>These unpleasant (not to use a harsher term) circumstances +are the more to be deplored at present because of the frank, +courteous, and unassuming conduct of Mr. Morphy upon every +occasion since he set foot in Europe. I have seen him play in +London and in Paris; and I have noted those obliging and unobtrusive +manners which secure to him the good-will of everybody, +and surround him by troops of friends. How is it that +Mr. Staunton is not surrounded by troops of friends likewise? +Is he not a scholar and a gentleman? Has he not many qualifications +for the distinguished literary position he now fills? +Undoubtedly he has. But he has never been able to merge the +personal in the general—to regard his own individuality as +other than the first consideration. Brought into contact many +years ago with players who were not refined gentlemen, an antagonism +was immediately established between the two parties. +Unhappily for the chess world, literary opportunities were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> +afforded in the columns of rival newspapers for the indulgence +of malevolent feelings on both sides. To this warfare there has +never been a cessation. So notorious is the fact of its existence +that it is impossible to rely, in one paper, upon any statement +having reference to the London Chess Club; it is equally impossible +to rely, in the other, upon any statement affecting the +St. George's Club. Ladies who are devoted to "Caissa," and +write to the <i>Illustrated London News</i>, are not aware of these +things. Imaginary correspondents, of course, are utterly ignorant +of them. But we who live in and about London, who +have been behind the scenes at both theatres, know how much +reliance is to be placed upon a certain kind of chess intelligence +with which two rival journals regale their correspondents and +the general public every week. Look even at the <i>Illustrated +London News</i> of last Saturday, and you will see a letter professing +to come from Birmingham, (I think it is a misprint for +Billingsgate,) which is absolutely disgraceful. Why should +Mr. Staunton try to bolster up his reputation (which is European) +with sentiments and language of a purely (I mean impurely) +local character? Why is one player always to be +cried up at the expense of another? Why are ungenerous and +ungentlemanly insinuations to be made against a youth whose +conduct has been characterized by so much unobtrusiveness +and so much good feeling as that of Mr. Morphy? Why is +Mr. Harrwitz always to be run down in the <i>Illustrated London +News</i>? Why are Mr. Löwenthal and Mr. Brien, quondam +editorial <i>protégés</i>, now never spoken of but in terms of disparagement? +Why should Mr. Staunton call upon the <i>cercle</i> +at Paris to insist upon Mr. Harrwitz progressing with his +match with Mr. Morphy at a more rapid pace, when the German +had pleaded ill health as the cause of the delay? Who +has drawn so largely upon the patience of the British public, on +the score of ill health and "palpitations of the heart," <i>et hoc +genus omne</i>, as the generous and sympathizing writer who thus +stabs a rival player when he is down? It is time, sir, that +these things should cease. We are all weary of them. What<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> +better opportunity for crying a truce to these mean and petty +warfares of the pen than the one which now presents itself? +Mr. Staunton is our champion no longer. We must turn to +some one else to uphold the national flag upon that field where +Labourdonnais and M'Donnell fought and struggled. So +anxious am I that good feeling should be restored, and that we +should be united as I see chess players united in other countries, +that I have put together hurriedly these reflections, which, +however imperfect they may be, are true and just. And because +I have observed that the chess department of <i>The Field</i>, +which you so ably edit, is peculiarly free from personalities and +remarkably authentic in its information, I ask you to help me +in the good cause by giving publicity to this letter. I am not +ashamed of what I have written, nor do I desire to shrink from +the responsibility of revealing my name, if it is necessary. I +enclose my card, as a guarantee, and prefer, if it meets your +views, to appear only under the name of—</p> + +<p style="margin-left:10%;"><span class="smcap">Pawn-and-Two</span>.</p></blockquote> + +<p>It is difficult in any country, and quite impossible +in England, to struggle successfully against public +opinion. Mr. Staunton had kept silence as long as +possible, but there was but one course for him to pursue, +namely, in one way or another to own that he was +wrong. The chess circles in which he was once the +most welcome of all comers, now turned on him the +cold shoulder; the first clubs in the kingdom, <i>and +amongst them the St. George's</i>, were signifying their +desire to offer Paul Morphy public dinners; such eminent +players as Captain Kennedy volunteered subscriptions +towards a national testimonial for the young +American, not more as an evidence of their admiration +for him as a master in the game, than as marking their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> +esteem for him as a man.<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a> Mr. Staunton could no +longer resist such a pressure, and besides, he owed +some apology to his paper for the suppression of the +famous paragraph; he therefore addressed the following +communication to his chief, the editor of the <i>Illustrated +London News</i>:</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">MR. STAUNTON'S EXPLANATION.</p> + +<p><i>To the Editor of the Illustrated London News</i>:</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>,—My attention has this moment been directed to a +passage in a letter of Lord Lyttelton to Mr. Morphy, +wherein allusion is made to the "suppression" of a portion of +Mr. Morphy's letter to me, which you published, together with +my answer, in your paper for Oct. 23. I have not seen the +epistle to which Lord Lyttelton's is a reply; but I plead guilty +at once to having omitted, when sending you Mr. Morphy's +jeremiade and my answer, a couple of paragraphs from the +former. My reasons for omitting them were, in the first<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> +place, because they appeared to me to be irrelevant to the +main point between Mr. Morphy and me; secondly, because I +know if the letters extended very much beyond the limited +space you apportion to chess, they were pretty certain of being +omitted, or, as Mr. Morphy phrases it, "<i>suppressed</i>" altogether; +and, thirdly, because I had already written to a friend in Paris +with whom, through my introduction, Mr. M. was living upon +intimate terms, an explanation touching the notice Mr. Morphy +professes to be so concerned at; and from my friend's reply, +which intimated that Mr. M. was about to write to me in an +amicable spirit, I of course supposed there was an end of the +matter, and that I should be permitted to pursue my work, +and this young gentleman his play, without further misunderstanding. +That, after this, and in the face of my endeavors +through your Journal to set his blindfold and other chess exploits +before the public in the most advantageous light—in the +face of every civility which to the extent of my opportunities, +I have endeavored to show him from the first moment of his +arrival in this country—he could reconcile it to his sense of +honor and honesty, to impute to me a wilful suppression of +any portion of his letter, does, indeed, amaze me, and I can +only account for it, by supposing he is under the influence of +very ill advisers, or that his idea of what is honorable and +honest, is very different from what I had hoped and believed it +to be.</p> + +<p style="margin-left:10%;">I am, sir, yours, &c.,</p> +<p style="margin-left:30%;"><span class="smcap">H. Staunton</span>.</p> + +<p><i>November 15.</i></p> + +<p>P. S. That you may judge with what likelihood and with +what propriety Mr. Morphy attributes the omission of the +<i>excerpta</i> to sinister motives, I enclose them, and shall be +obliged by your giving them the additional publicity he craves, +as soon as your space permits:—</p> + +<p>"A statement appeared in the chess department of that +Journal, (<i>The Illustrated London News</i>) a few weeks since, +that 'Mr. Morphy had come to Europe unprovided with backers +or seconds'—the inference being obvious, that my want of +funds was the reason of our match not taking place. As you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> +are the editor of that department of the <i>Illustrated London +News</i>, I felt much hurt that a gentleman who had always +received me at his club and elsewhere, with great kindness and +courtesy should allow so prejudicial a statement to be made in +reference to me; one, too, which is not strictly consonant with +fact."</p> + +<p>"In conclusion, I beg leave to state, that I have addressed +a copy of this letter to the editors of the <i>Illustrated London +News</i>, <i>Bell's Life in London</i>, <i>The Era</i>, <i>The Field</i>, and <i>The Sunday +Times</i>; being most desirous that our true position should +no longer be misunderstood by the community at large. I +again request you to fix the date for our commencing the +match."</p></blockquote> + +<p>Mr. Morphy was not desirous of prolonging the discussion, +after so full and entire an indorsement from +Mr. Staunton's fellow-countrymen, or he could easily +have driven that gentleman further into the mire. But +Mr. S. made two statements in the above letter, which +Paul Morphy could not allow to pass unrebuked, and +he accordingly denied, publicly, that he had received +any introduction whatever from that gentleman, or that +he had even hinted his intention of writing Mr. Staunton, +amicably or otherwise.</p> + +<p>The latter part of the letter is in questionable taste. +As though Mr. S. had acquired any right to misrepresent +facts, publish misstatements, and deny reparation, +on account of "having set his (M.'s) blindfold and other +chess-exploits before the public in the most advantageous +light."</p> + +<p>By so doing, Mr. Staunton merely fulfilled his editorial +duty; for the entire chess world was on the <i>qui<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> +vive</i> after Morphy's exploits. <i>His games were being +published throughout Europe, to the exclusion of nearly +all others</i>, and surely Mr. S. could not allow his paper +to be behind other journals. <i>But he knew full well that, +after the first fortnight or three weeks, Mr. Morphy +never gave him a single partie, being hurt at the ungenerous +treatment evinced towards him in the notes.</i> Mr. +Staunton was using the columns of an influential journal +to crush a dangerous opponent, and, at the time he +penned the above letter, he well knew that Paul Morphy +resented from the first such unfairness, and had +positively forbidden any of his games to be sent to him.</p> + +<p>Mr. Staunton makes reference, in conclusion, to +"very ill advisers." I suppose I must take this mainly +to myself, more particularly as it is not the first time of +his using the expression during the discussion. Without +attempting to defend myself, I would say to Mr. +Staunton: "I can reconcile it with my sense of honor +and honesty, to impute to you a wilful suppression of +the paragraph so frequently referred to. Had you +given that paragraph, you would, <i>per force</i>, have been +obliged to give your reasons for the assertion therein +contained. And I would remind you, sir, that, in all +this discussion, you have never touched the real point +at issue—never apologized for the misstatement of +which Mr. Morphy complains with so much cause. +Paul Morphy is acquainted with the reason for that misstatement, +but he has never evinced a desire to force +you to state it publicly. He can afford to be generous."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></p> + +<p>It may be cause of regret to some that the match +between these two <i>athletæ</i> did not take place. Such a +contest would not have afforded any test of comparison, +inasmuch as Mr. Staunton is not now the player he +was eight or ten years ago. But an infallible test exists +by which to judge of their respective merits—viz. +<i>their games</i>. "By their fruits ye shall know them."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p class="center">MORAL.</p> + +<p>Mr. Staunton's weakness was want of sufficient +courage to say, "He is stronger than I." Löwenthal +said it <i>before his match with Morphy was finished</i>; +Mr. Boden openly avowed his inferiority, as also Mr. +Bird, and many other eminent players. And Saint +Amant, in Paris, led the young hero up the steps of the +throne, and seated him beside Labourdonnais, proclaiming, +"Voiçi notre maitre à nous tous." Had Mr. Staunton +so done, he would merely have anticipated the verdict +of posterity, and honored himself in the eyes of his +countrymen and the world.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> CAPTAIN KENNEDY'S OPINION OF PAUL MORPHY. +</p> +<blockquote><p><i>To the Editor of the Era</i>:</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>,—As I understand that Mr. Morphy contemplates another +visit to England before his return to America, will you permit me, +through your columns, respectfully to suggest to the chess community +of this country the propriety of offering him a public entertainment, +together with some adequate testimonial which may serve +to mark our sense of his transcendent ability as a chess player; and +also our appreciation of him as a chivalrous, high-spirited, and +honorable man—a character which I hope Englishmen know how +to value far more than even any amount of skill at chess.</p> + +<p>Should this proposal take any definite shape, I shall be happy to +be allowed to contribute £5 towards its accomplishment.</p> + +<p style="margin-left:10%;">I am, sir, your obedient servant,</p> +<p style="margin-left:30%;"><span class="smcap">A. A. Kennedy.</span></p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Bath</span>, <i>Jan. 1, 1859</i>.</p></blockquote> + +<p>[Captain Kennedy, we feel sure, in this communication, expresses +the feeling of a large majority of English chess players, and we have +little doubt but that his suggestion will be entertained and carried +out. For ourselves we shall be happy to aid to the utmost in any +plan that is formed for the purpose.]</p></div> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span></p> + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + +<h3>MORPHY IN FRANCE.</h3> + + +<p>On the last day of last August, I awakened Paul Morphy +at an early hour. The Folkestone train left London +Bridge at 9 55 <span class="smcap">A. M.</span>, and there was some twenty +minutes of hard driving to get to the railway station; +but Morphy came down to breakfast with admirable +<i>sang froid</i>, took his own time at the meal, laughed at +my fears of being too late, and got into a cab at least +ten minutes later than we ought to have done. We +arrived at the depot in time to see the doors shut in our +faces. Now this was not agreeable, inasmuch as there +was no other train for Paris, by that line, during the +day. I therefore proposed to Morphy that we should +stroll about until half-past one o'clock in the afternoon, +and then take the route through Dover and Calais, to +which he assented.</p> + +<p>The trip across the Straits of Dover is neither long +nor pleasant, and Mr. Morphy was dreadfully sea-sick; +but his mind was preoccupied with his forthcoming +campaigns in <i>la Belle France</i>, and he observed to me,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> +"Well, now I am going to meet Harrwitz! I shall +beat him in the same proportion as I beat Löwenthal, +although he is a better match-player than Löwenthal. +But I shall play better with Harrwitz." Some of my +readers may object to such an observation; but those +who know Morphy, know that he speaks from thorough +acquaintance with his opponents' capabilities, and conviction +of his own superiority—not from any improper +feeling of pride.</p> + +<p>People suffering from sea-sickness generally recognize +the truth of the maxim, "It is better to give than +to receive:" you have much difficulty in getting them +to take any thing, even fat pork; but if you watch your +opportunity, when the will is stronger than the deed, +and induce them to worry down a modicum of champagne +well up, you infuse new life into them. So I requested +the steward to make us acquainted with his +Silléry Mousseux, and Morphy and I toasted each other +on the deck of the steamboat. On my asking him immediately +afterwards how he felt, he allowed that he +was better; adding, however, that he believed it was +nothing but imagination which worked the cure.</p> + +<p>It was but a short run to the pier of Calais, and the +sea-sickness was forgotten when our feet again touched +<i>terra firma</i>. On landing, we got into a slight difficulty. +Morphy speaks the French language with the purest +Gallic accent, and the officials would not at first consent +to his travelling with a United States passport. This +our hero soon cleared up by reading the <i>gens d'armes</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> +a <i>précis</i> of the settlement, manners, customs, &c., of the +State of Louisiana, and his own antecedents; whereupon +that official restored him his <i>papier règlé</i>, but confiscated +a quantity of underlinen. They told us that +was Customary.</p> + +<p>Eight o'clock in the evening; and if we took the +train forthwith, we should arrive in Paris next morning +at six. Morphy proposed that we should sleep there that +night, and take an early train the following day, which +course would enable us to see the town of Calais. So +we repaired to the Hotel Dessin, attended to our inner +and outer man, and then prepared for a stroll. As the +result of our observations, we agreed Calais must have +been a magnificent town before the discovery of the +principles of architecture. After diligent inquiry, we +could not learn that any one knew when the last house +was built, and Morphy gave it as his opinion that, were +William the Conqueror to revisit Calais, he would find +it unchanged, except in being dirtier. When I reminded +him that the town possessed peculiar interest +for me as an Englishman, he coolly set me down, by +observing that he had a very poor opinion of my ancestors +for wishing to keep such a place.</p> + +<p>The next morning we got into the train at a quarter +to eight o'clock, and commenced the long, dreary +ride of ten mortal hours to Paris. But there was no +way out of the difficulty, and, what with yawning and +dozing between the stations, and grumbling at the tedious +regulation speed of the French railways, we ulti<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>mately +arrived at the capital. Now every traveller, +on getting to this point, thinks he is bound to paint the +various emotions arising in his breast on entering the +city of the Seine. My own sensations were of strong +Anglican bias. I wanted to dine. Morphy is never +betrayed into rhapsody, and what he felt he didn't +speak.</p> + +<p>Having again submitted our baggage to the inspection +of numerous officials, we thanked our stars for +seeing the last of the <i>Chemin de Fer du Nord</i>,—drove +off to <i>Meurice's</i>, where they gave us rooms about the +fifteenth story,—started for the <i>Restaurant des Trois +Frères Provençaux</i>, and got a capital dinner, and then +addressed ourselves to the duties of <i>flaneurs</i>. I knew +the French capital like a <i>gamin de Paris</i>; and, without +saying a word to Morphy of my intention, I led +him quietly down the Palais Royal, past the Théâtre +Français, and right into the Café de la Régence.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p> + + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> + +<h3>THE CAFÉ DE LA RÉGENCE.</h3> + + +<p>Were I called upon to name the central spot in this +whirling sphere, the point round which all other points +revolve, I should say—The Café de la Régence.</p> + +<p>Probably many of my readers will not think so, but +that does not alter the fact. I name that café, not as a +chess player, but from more general reasons. Take a +bowl of water or any other liquid—<i>punch</i> will do—and, +prior to drinking, experiment upon it. Turn it round +and round until the liquid revolves quickly, and mark: +there is one spot in the centre, a bubble, or mass of +foam, which appears stationary, and all the other bubbles +are circling and converging spirally towards it. +So with my café.</p> + +<p>In Paris, every other house is a café. The inhabitants +are divided into two classes:—waiters at the café, +and—frequenters of the café. Paris never existed +until coffee was introduced. Paris is merely a big +café, and is a product of the Mocha berry.</p> + +<p>Every café has its speciality. At Paul Niquet's,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> +for instance, the chiffoniers congregate, and at Tortoni's, +speculators and politicians. Not one of these establishments, +throughout the city, but has its mark, by +which to distinguish it from its fellows, in the same +way as an ugly woman consoles herself with the belief +that she has one quality at least which will captivate +admirers. But the Café de la Régence stands out peculiar +from the rest; it is what they are, and more too. +It is an epitome of all.</p> + +<p>Now the reader must not suppose I am going to +enter on a lengthy history of this far-famed trysting +spot of men of all countries, more particularly as Mr. +George Walker anticipated me many years ago. +Everybody knows that the Café de la Régence and +the Café Procope are the two oldest in Paris; that the +former is so named after the famous Regent Duke of +Orleans; that Voltaire, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Duke +of Richelieu, Marshall Saxe, Franklin, Robespierre, +Napoleon, etc., etc., etc., made it their place of frequent +resort for the purpose of playing at chess. I am +about to give a daguerreotype of the Régence as Morphy +and I found it, and as any one will find it at the +present day.</p> + +<p>The first thing we caught sight of, on entering, was +a dense cloud of tobacco smoke, the product of <i>tabac +de Caporal</i> and <i>cigars de la Régie</i>. The second object +was a massive individual, with Titanic shoulders, whom +we afterwards learned was Monsieur Morel, or, as they +call him there, "Le père Morel," and "The Rhinoce<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>ros." +Having turned the flank of this gentleman, and +our eyes becoming used to the peculiar atmosphere, we +observed that tables were placed as close to each other +as would admit of one's passing between them, and +that chess was being played on some, draughts, cards, +and dominoes on others. In a second room, two billiard-tables +were in full action, surrounded by still +other chess and card parties, whilst the unceasing hubbub +arising from the throng seemed to render mental +abstraction an impossibility. At a table in the first +room, a small crowd was watching the contest between +two amateurs of "ye noble game of chesse playe," +and Morphy's attention was immediately arrested. I +stepped up to the <i>dame du comptoir</i> and made inquiries +as to who was then in the room, and learned +from her that one of the two players Morphy was +watching was Monsieur Journoud, "un de nos plus +forts," the lady added, as though aware I was a stranger. +She informed me that Mr. Harrwitz was then at +Valenciennes, but intended to return to Paris at the +end of the week, in order to meet Mr. Morphy. On +my not expressing any surprise at the mention of the +latter's name, she volunteered the information that Mr. +Morphy was a celebrated American player, who had +beaten everybody he had played with, and that they +expected him yesterday. The lady was pleasingly +voluble, and I encouraged her; this induced her to add +that Monsieur Arnoux de Rivière had just received a +letter from a friend in London, apprising him that our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> +hero had left the English capital, and was <i>en route</i> for +Paris.</p> + +<p>Having learned as much as the <i>dame du comptoir</i> +was able to communicate, I rejoined Morphy, and we +took a second look round the room. Sounds of all European +languages saluted our ears, and types of different +races our eyes. In one corner, a knot of Italians +talked, amicably no doubt, in their rapid, quarrelsome +manner. At one of the billiard tables, a party of Russians +were having it their own way, without fear of +listeners; Americans and English, Germans, Danes, +Swedes, Greeks, Spaniards, etc., jabbered together regardless +of bystanders, making the café a very Babel. +Scores of journals were lying here and there—the +leading newspapers, in fact, throughout Europe—so +that every visitor, no matter what his nationality, could +obtain news of home.</p> + +<p>The crowd seemed, as it always does, to represent +every rank of society. There were military men, from +colonels to privates; one or two priests, who seemed +somewhat out of their element; well-dressed, aristocratic-looking +individuals, who kept together in knots +in different corners; and the invariable <i>pillier de café</i>, +who passes half his existence in such establishments, +and the other half in bed. The Café de la Régence +opens at eight o'clock in the morning, but little or +nothing is done until noon, barring the daily visit of +some three or four patrons who drink their coffee in +silence, and are not seen again until early next day.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> +But at noon men begin to drop in quickly, and, by +two o'clock, the room is as full as it can conveniently +hold, and so continues until midnight.</p> + +<p>The Café de la Régence has only existed on its +present site for a few years; in fact, since Louis Napoleon +has made the many magnificent alterations in +the French capital. Previously, it was next door, in a +<i>locale</i> not half so convenient as the present one. The +café is separated into two rooms on the Rue St. +Honoré; in the larger one, which we have already described, +smoking is permitted to a frightful extent; in +the other, it is strictly forbidden. The latter chamber +is well fitted up, and the ceiling, which is massive, contains +four shields in the cornices, bearing the names of +Philidor, Deschappelles, and Labourdonnais. The +fourth bears the date of the café's foundation, and the +proprietor has stated his intention of placing therein +the name <span class="smcap">Morphy</span>. Perhaps it is already done.</p> + +<p>At the time of our arrival in Paris, the <i>Cercle des +Echecs</i>, or in other words, the Chess Club, met in +rooms over the café. The association had three rooms +set apart for chess, and one for billiards, and Saint +Amant, Devinck, Guibert, Préti, Doazan, Delannoy, +Seguin and Lecrivain were amongst the members. +But the great room down stairs prevented their receiving +any accession of numbers, and the rent being very +high, and funds very low, they gave up their quarters +at the end of last year, and are now to be found in the +café below.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p> + +<p>Morphy would not announce his arrival on his first +visit, preferring to postpone it until the following day. +When it was known that the so much looked-for player +was in Paris, the excitement was great; Frenchmen +live for excitement. M. de Rivière had not been +there lately, but we found Messrs. Lecrivain, Journoud, +Guibert, and numbers of knight and rook-players. The +first-named gentleman, by general request, offered himself +as the initiatory sacrifice, accepting the odds of +pawn and two moves, and managed to score some two +games to Morphy's six or seven. Then M. de Rivière +arrived, and getting the move, played the Ruy Lopez, +which eventuated in "a draw;" and he was subsequently +followed by M. Journoud, who, though one of +the best French players, failed to score a victory. +Morphy had made his mark, and everybody looked forward +to the arrival of Herr Harrwitz, when they hoped +to see fun.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span></p> + + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2> + +<h3>THE MATCH BETWEEN MORPHY AND HARRWITZ.</h3> + + +<p>Saturday came, and so did Harrwitz. We found him +a little man, of about forty, with finely-developed head, +and large, piercing black eyes. In conversation, he is +exceedingly witty and "cool," and many are the good +things told of him. Some of my readers will remember +the rebuke he gave Mr. Staunton, when playing his +celebrated match with that gentleman. Harrwitz had +made a move which caused much reflection to his opponent, +who rolled about on his chair and stroked his +forehead energetically, as only Mr. Staunton can do, +giving spectators the impression that his brain was in +an agony of labor. He examined the position, and re-examined +it; but, the more he looked, the less he liked +it. Savage at being balked, he exclaimed—"Well, +I've lost a move," and thereupon played a piece. +Harrwitz coolly rises from his seat, rings the bell frantically, +and gives the following order: "Waiter, look +about for a move; Mr. Staunton has lost one."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;"> +<img src="images/image3.png" width="650" height="414" alt="HERR ANDERSSEN. M. SAINT AMANT. HERR HARRWITZ." title="" /> +<table style="width:100%;" class="caption" summary="captions 2"> +<tr> +<td style="text-align:left;width:33%;">HERR ANDERSSEN.</td> +<td class="center" style="width:33%;">M. SAINT AMANT.</td> +<td class="ralign" style="width:33%;">HERR HARRWITZ.</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<p>There is probably no man living who plays so much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> +chess as Herr Harrwitz. All great chess players I +know of, are great <i>lie-a'beds</i>, and he is no exception to +the rule. His night-gear and he part company many +hours after sunrise, and he starts forthwith for the Café +de la Régence, where he plays, with only a slight intermission +for dinner, until he goes home to bed again. +His opponents are generally visitors to the café, not the +habitués; for these last have taken great dislike to his +very offensive manner, and will not contend with him. +They say, too, that he evinces an improper desire to +win, and, in consequence, will only give the odds of +pawn and move, when he could well afford pawn and +two, and the knight instead of the rook. In my +character of historian, I am bound to state that the +feeling was very intense at the Régence in favor of +Morphy, and many the prayers (<i>French</i> prayers) that +Harrwitz might succumb to him.</p> + +<p>The two celebrities shook hands together, and Morphy +immediately asked if he would consent to play a +match. The fact is, the young Paul meant mischief. +Everybody in England was loud in praise of Harrwitz's +skill, and prophesied a tough encounter. There was +reason in this; for the Prussian player has given himself +up, body and soul, to the game. Staunton's literary +avocations now permit him but an hour or two +weekly for chess, although formerly he lived in the +London Divan, as Harrwitz in the Régence, and was so +rabid about Caïssa, that he actually wore shirts with +kings, rooks, pawns, etc., printed over the bosoms and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> +tails. Saint Amant was never a professional chess +player, merely regarding it as a pastime. Löwenthal's +duties as chess editor and analyst, prevent his giving +much time to play, and, although he devotes a certain +period weekly to the contests at the London, St. +George's, and St. James's Clubs, he seldom contends +for any stake. Anderssen is absorbed in mathematics +at the Breslau Gymnasium; Heyderbrandt's diplomatic +career engages nearly his entire attention; Buckle has +forgotten his former love; Boden, Bird, Medley, Walker, +Mongredieu, Slous, Kipping, De Rivière, Laroche, +are engaged in mercantile pursuits; Lowe is getting +rich with his hotel; Hörwitz is painting; Kling is a professor +of music; and so on with nearly all European +players. Harrwitz is the only man I know of who seems +to live for chess, and we can, therefore, easily understand +why Morphy was so desirous of playing him.</p> + +<p>To our hero's question, Harrwitz gave a reply so +non-committal, that Morphy said, aside, to me, "He +won't play a match." A crowd had collected around +us, and the Prussian, thinking it an admirable opportunity +for display, asked Morphy whether he had any objection +to an off-hand game. Of course he had not. +Harrwitz had the move, and played an Allgaier Gambit, +which, after a hard fight, he won. Morphy was somewhat +excited, made a mistake in the opening, by which +he lost three pawns for nothing at all, and yet fought +the battle with such determination, that the number of +moves was not far short of a hundred. His antagonist<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> +was delighted with his victory, thought he was sure of +Morphy, and engaged to settle the preliminaries of a +match on the following day.</p> + +<p>The next morning Harrwitz arrived at his usual +hour—noon. He informed Morphy that his friends +were desirous of backing him, but that the stakes were +not made up yet. Morphy replied that that would be +no objection, as he would accept any bets that might +be offered during the match, and they could therefore +begin at once. But another difficulty stood in the +way. Morphy, in pursuance of a settled plan, had +chosen his seconds from the enemy's camp, and had requested +De Rivière and Journoud to act as his friends +in this contest. Harrwitz chose to regard these gentlemen +with feelings of enmity, and stated that, "if there +were any seconds, there would be no match." Morphy +was thus placed in a very equivocal position. Without +being aware of any dispute existing between his future +antagonist and the gentlemen in question, he had chosen +them as his representatives: how could he now ask +them to back out, because Mr. Harrwitz demanded it? +However, on my representing the case to them, Messrs. +De Rivière and Journoud resigned their office in the +most kindly and willing manner, so desirous were they +of seeing the match come off.</p> + +<p>Shortly afterwards Monsieur Lequesne arrived. +This gentleman, the pupil and worthy successor of Pradier, +is now the first of living French sculptors, and the +peer of Marochetti, Crawford, and Gibson. He is also<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> +a strong chess player, and the most active man in +France for arranging matches, tournaments, &c. He +immediately adjourned with Harrwitz, Morphy, and +myself to a private room, to settle preliminaries, and, if +I recollect rightly, Dr. Grosboulogne was of the party. +Harrwitz expressed his dislike to any thing like ceremony, +and objected to their being seconds or umpires +in the affair; sorry were Morphy, Lequesne, and H.'s +own backers, afterwards, that he carried the day on +that point. The only arrangements made were, that +Morphy was to accept all bets offered, that the winner +of the first seven games should be esteemed the victor, +and that the play should take place on four days in the +week; and, finally, at Harrwitz's express stipulation, +the match was to be played in the public café.</p> + +<p>All this being agreed upon, the two champions +came forth, and went at it. On drawing for the move, +Harrwitz was again successful, and played, as he always +does in matches, <i>pawn to queen's fourth</i>. This opening, +and <i>Philidor in defence</i>, as second player, you +could no more drive him away from, than you could +induce Great Britain to give up Gibraltar. <i>Pawn to +queen's fourth</i> served Harrwitz's turn once, and so did +<i>Philidor in defence</i>, but only once, and I do not think +it would then, if Morphy had been in good condition.</p> + +<p>The night before the commencement of the match, +Morphy had been sight-seeing until a very late hour; +and we only got into bed between two and three +o'clock in the morning. He laughed at me for remind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>ing +him of his approaching contest, and the necessity +for <i>mens sana in corpore sano</i>, which I said would be +seriously interfered with by his not taking sufficient +rest. The next day his appearance verified my prognostics, +and he failed to show that impassibility which +ordinarily characterizes him. He says, however, that +Harrwitz beat him because he (H.) played the best +moves; and he would not admit to me that want of +rest at all interfered with his own play.</p> + +<p>Throughout the first game, Harrwitz displayed the +most rollicking contempt for his antagonist, and, at the +conclusion, when Morphy resigned, he rose from his +seat, stretched across the table, and taking the latter +by the hand, he felt his pulse and declared to the +crowd—"Well, it is astonishing! His pulse does not +beat any faster than if he had won the game." Everybody +was disgusted at such a contemptuous proceeding, +but Morphy took it all as quietly as though it were a +part of the match.</p> + +<p>Our hero passed that evening with some friends. +Towards eleven o'clock I said to him, "Now, Morphy, +you really must not have a second edition of last night; +let us get home in good time;" but he replied, "Oh, +don't be frightened, I've got the move to-morrow;" +and, in spite of all I could say or do, we did not get to +bed until nearly four o'clock. Well, what was the consequence? +After getting a magnificent position in the +second game of the match, bodily fatigue came upon +him, and Harrwitz was again victor. The Prussian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> +came out in greater glory than ever, rolling about in +his seat, talking loudly to persons about the board, and +smiling sardonically at his opponent, as much as to say, +"Oh, it takes very little trouble to beat this fellow." +Many leading players in the café, especially De Rivière +and Journoud, were very savage at such conduct, but +I told them—"Mark my words, Mr. Harrwitz will be +quiet as a lamb before the end of next week."</p> + +<p>The result of the play with Harrwitz had shaken +the faith of the French players in Morphy. But as we +left the café, he said laughingly to me, "How astonished +all these men will be if Harrwitz does not get +another game." And he did not. At dinner, I reasoned +the matter with him, saying that the first requisite +for any man engaged in a chess match, was rest for the +brain; and that he ought, by this time, to be convinced +of the absolute necessity of keeping early hours. And +I wound up by exacting a promise from him that he +would never be out of bed after midnight, during the +match.</p> + +<p>In the evening we went to the Opera Comique, +and witnessed a very unsatisfactory performance of +"La Part du Diable." Morphy has a great love for +music, and his memory for any air he has once heard +is astonishing. Mrs. Morphy is renowned in the <i>salons</i> +of New Orleans as a brilliant pianist and musician, and +her son, without ever having studied music, has a +similar aptitude for it, and it is believed that he would +have become as famous therein as in chess, had he given<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> +his attention to it. "La Part du Diable" was a new +opera, and Morphy, after leaving the theatre, hummed +over many of the airs to me, which he had just heard +for the first time, with astonishing precision.</p> + +<p>The next day we took a long drive among the +"lions," and, in the evening, dined at the residence of +that chess veteran and friend of Deschappelles and Labourdonnais, +Monsieur Doazan. Harrwitz was of the +company, and, for the nonce, acted Jupiter Triumphans +in superb style. I felt indignant at such conduct +towards a man so inoffensive and modest as Mr. +Morphy, and I observed: "I am sorry, Mr. Harrwitz, you +have not yet found Mr. Morphy in good fighting trim. +The fact is, he has been preparing to meet you by not +going to bed until common men are about to rise, but +he has promised to retire early in future, and you will +then find in him a very different antagonist." It was +merely a hint, but the gentle Harrwitz did not like it. +The following morning, Morphy said to me at breakfast, +"If I beat Harrwitz to-day, you will say it is because +I went to bed at eleven o'clock;" to which I +replied, "Perhaps; but I do say that you lost the first +two games because you went to bed at four."</p> + +<p>The third and fourth games Morphy scored in beautiful +style. The latter, Staunton declared, "would +have excited the admiration of Labourdonnais," and +the effect upon Harrwitz was interesting. During its +progress, his conduct was quite gentlemanly, with the +exception of a violent shaking consequent upon nervous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> +excitement. There was cause for this. On the other +side of the board sat Morphy, looking, in his peculiar +way, like a block of impassible, living marble, the very +embodiment of penetration and decision. No hesitancy +or excitement there, but all cool, calm action, knowing +where it must end; and, as he rose from his seat, everybody +congratulated him on the score now standing two +to two, and assured him they were confident what +would be the result. We laughed heartily at these +men who, but a few days previous, had looked woefully +chopfallen, fearing that Harrwitz was too strong +for Morphy.</p> + +<p>The fifth game was played on the following Monday, +and the Prussian lost it, although he had the move. +Harrwitz felt uncomfortable, plainly feeling that his +present antagonist was, as he expressed himself to a +friend, "very much stronger than any he had ever +met." We now had several days' intermission from +play, the plea being "ill health;" and, finally, Morphy +received a letter from his opponent, asking for a respite +of a week or ten days, to which a reply was returned +granting the request, on condition that, when the +match was resumed, a game should be played daily, +Sundays alone excepted. At the termination of ten +days, Harrwitz lost the sixth game, so that the score +now stood—Morphy, four; Harrwitz, two; drawn, none. +And the latter, in spite of the agreement, was again +absent from the battle-field for some days.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p> + + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2> + +<h3>MORPHY'S GREATEST BLINDFOLD FEAT.</h3> + + +<p>Awaiting the return of his antagonist, Paul Morphy +announced his intention of playing eight blindfold games, +simultaneously, in the public café. It is needless to assure +my readers that the mere announcement produced +the greatest excitement; the newspapers heralded the +fact throughout the city, and crowds of strangers came +pouring into the Régence, and asking particulars of +the <i>habitués</i> in relation to the approaching performance. +Harrwitz had already asked Morphy to join him in a +public display of the same description, to which the +admission was to be five francs, and Morphy felt embarrassed +in answering him; but the good offices of +Mr. Lequesne arranged the difficulty, without hurting +any one's <i>amour propre</i>, and the proposed exhibition +was set on one side. Morphy has an intense dislike to +money-fingering in connection with chess; and he made +it a <i>sine qua non</i> that, if he played blindfold at all, the +<i>Café de la Régence</i> should be open to any one who +chose to walk in. The proprietor, Monsieur Delaunay,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> +was only too glad to accede to this; not merely foreseeing +that the exhibition would attract crowds to his establishment, +and be an admirable advertisement, but +also from a friendly feeling for our hero. The frequenters +of the place used to say that Delaunay would give +Morphy half his café, if he asked him for it.</p> + +<p>The blindfold struggle was publicly announced to +commence at noon; but, at an early hour, the crowd +was already considerable. The billiard-tables in the +further room were sacrificed to the exigencies of the +occasion; I requested the waiters to put a thick cord +round them, so as to rail off a space for Morphy, and a +large easy-chair, placed in the <i>enceinte</i>, made the whole +arrangements as comfortable for him as could be wished. +He, however, was not up to the mark, as regards bodily +health. Morphy is a water-drinker, and Paris water +would cure any Maine Liquor Law bigot of Teetotalism +in a week. Since the outset of the match with Harrwitz, +he had been ailing, but he preferred playing to +making excuses. His own expression was, "Je ne suis +pas homme aux excuses"—(I am no man to make excuses,) +and he was always ready for Harrwitz, although +obliged to ride to the café. Nothing proves so satisfactorily +to me Morphy's wondrous powers in chess, as +his contests in France, laboring, as he constantly did, +under positive bodily suffering. A man's brain will +often be more than ordinarily active and clear when the +body is weak from late illness; but it is not so when +there is pain existing. At breakfast, on the morning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> +fixed for this blindfold exhibition, he said to me, "I +don't know how I shall get through my work to-day. +I am afraid I shall be obliged to leave the room, and +some evil-minded persons may think I am examining +positions outside." Yet, in spite of this, he sits down, +and, during ten long hours, creates combinations which +have never been surpassed on the chess-board, although +his opponents were men of recognized strength, and, as +a collective body, Pawn and Two Moves stronger than +the Birmingham eight.</p> + +<p>The boards for Morphy's antagonists were arranged +in the principal room of the café, numbered as follows:—</p> + +<table summary="Morphy antgonists"> +<tr> +<td class="ralign">No. 1.</td><td>Baucher,</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ralign">2.</td><td>Bierwirth,</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ralign">3.</td><td>Bornemann,</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ralign">4.</td><td>Guibert,</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ralign">5.</td><td>Lequesne,</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ralign">6.</td><td>Potier,</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ralign">7.</td><td>Préti,</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ralign">8.</td><td>Seguin.</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p>Nearly all these gentlemen are well known in contemporaneous +chess, and formed such a phalanx that +many persons asked whether Morphy knew whom he +was going to play against. Monsieur Arnoux de Rivière +called the moves for the first four, and Monsieur +Journoud for the others; and, all being prepared, Morphy +began as usual with "Pawn to King's Fourth on +all the boards."</p> + +<p>Things went on swimmingly and amusingly. It +was as good as a volume of <i>Punch</i> or the <i>Charivari</i> to +hear the remarks made by the excited spectators; more +especially when the "openings" were past, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> +science of the combatants came out, in the middle of +the game. There was the huge "Père Morel," hands in +his pockets, blowing clouds from an immense pipe like +smoke from Vesuvius, threading his way between the +boards and actually getting fierce when anybody asked +him what he thought of it. Seeing him seated at the +end of the room towards evening, and looking as though +dumbfoundered at the performance, I said to him,—"Well, +Mr. Morel, do you believe now that Morphy +can play against eight such antagonists?" He looked +at me in an imploring manner and replied,—"Oh, don't +talk to me; Mr. Morphy makes my head ache." It is +related of Pitt that, making a speech in Parliament on +a certain occasion, whilst under the influence of sundry +bottles of Port, the doorkeeper of the House of Commons +declared that the son of the great Chatham made +his head ache, so violent was his language, and so loud +his tone. This coming to Pitt's ears, he said—"Nothing +could be better; I drink the wine, and the doorkeeper +gets the headache." Monsieur Potier rises +from his table to show on another board how Morphy +had actually seen seven moves in advance; and Signor +Préti gets quite nervous and agitated as our hero puts +shot after shot into his bull's-eye; and I had much difficulty +in assuring him that no absolute necessity existed +for his playing on, until Morphy mated him; but +that when he found his game was irretrievably lost, he +would be justified in resigning. Monsieur Baucher was +the first to give in, although one of the very strongest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> +of the contestants; Morphy's combinations against this +gentleman were so astonishing, and the finale so brilliant, +that Mr. Walker declared in <i>Bell's Life</i>—"This +game is worthy of being inscribed in letters of gold, on +the walls of the London Club." Bornemann and Préti +soon followed, and then Potier and Bierwirth; Messrs. +Lequesne and Guibert effecting drawn battles; Monsieur +Seguin alone was left. It was but natural that he +should be the last, as he was the strongest of the eight +combatants, and, truth to tell, he did not believe it +possible for any one to beat him without seeing the +board; but this Morphy finally effected in some beautiful +pawn play, which would have tickled Philidor +himself.</p> + +<p>Forthwith commenced such a scene as I scarcely +hope again to witness. Morphy stepped from the arm-chair +in which he had been almost immovable for ten +consecutive hours, without having tasted a morsel of +any thing, even water, during the whole of the period; +yet as fresh, apparently, as when he sat down. The +English and Americans, of whom there were scores +present, set up stentorian Anglo-Saxon cheers, and the +French joined in as the whole crowd made a simultaneous +rush at our hero. The waiters of the Café had +formed a conspiracy to carry Morphy in triumph on +their shoulders, but the multitude was so compact, they +could not get near him, and finally, had to abandon the +attempt. Great bearded fellows grasped his hands, and +almost shook his arms out of the sockets, and it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> +nearly half an hour before we could get out of the Café. +A well-known citizen of New York, Thomas Bryan, +Esq., got on one side of him and M. de Rivière on the +other, and "Le Père Morel,"—body and soul for our +hero—fought a passage through the crowd by main +strength, and we finally got into the street. There the +scene was repeated; the multitude was greater out of +doors than in the café, and the shouting, if possible, +more deafening. Morphy, Messrs. Bryan and De Rivière +and myself, made for the Palais Royal, but the +crowd still followed us, and when we got to the guardhouse +of the Imperial Guard, <i>sergeants de ville</i> and +soldiers came running out to see whether a new revolution +was on the <i>tapis</i>. We rushed into the Restaurant +Foy, up stairs, and into a private room; whilst, as +we subsequently learned, the landlord made anxious +inquiries as to the cause of all this excitement. Having +done our duty to a capital supper, we got off by a back +street, and thus avoided the crowd, who, we were informed, +awaited our reappearance in the quadrangle of +the Palais Royal.</p> + +<p>Next morning, Morphy actually awakened me at +seven o'clock, and told me, if I would get up, he would +dictate to me the moves of yesterday's games. I never +saw him in better spirits, or less fatigued, than on that +occasion, as he showed me, for two long hours, the hundreds +of variations depending on the play of the previous +day, with such rapidity that I found it hard work +to follow the thread of his combinations.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></p> + +<p>Harrwitz was in the café for about an hour during +blindfold play, and he actually had the assurance to say +to me, "You can tell Mr. Morphy, that I will continue +the match to-morrow." I replied: "I feel satisfied that +Mr. Morphy will be willing to do so, but I shall most +certainly object, and all that lies in my power will be +done to prevent his seeing a chess-board until he has +had at least twenty-four hours' rest." And I added: +"You had better not let it be known that you have +made the proposition, or you will be badly received in +the café, depend upon it."</p> + +<p>The evening after his blindfold feat, Morphy very +inconsiderately took a nap in his sitting-room, with the +window open. On my arrival I awoke him, and he +complained of feeling cold. Next morning he was +feverish, and in any thing but a fit state to meet Harrwitz. +Nevertheless I could not induce him to keep his +room; he said to me: "I would sooner lose the game, +than that anybody should think I had exhausted myself +by a <i>tour de force</i>, as some will do if I am absent at +the proper hour." And he rode to the Régence in a +state only fit for a hot bath and sweating powder. +Well might Saint Amant call him the "chivalrous Bayard +of Chess."</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span></p> + + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2> + +<h3>CONTINUATION OF THE MATCH WITH HARRWITZ.</h3> + + +<p>Morphy was at the Régence to the minute, but Harrwitz +was not forthcoming. At last we received a message +from him that he objected to play any longer in +the public café, and requested Morphy to come up +stairs into the rooms of the Chess Club. It would be +difficult to describe the excitement caused by this announcement. +Harrwitz's backers, of whom there were +eight or ten, were very angry; more especially as it +was at his own particular desire that the match was +played in the café. The <i>pretext</i> was, that the warm atmosphere +and noise of the crowd interfered with his +game; the <i>real fact</i>, because everybody, even the +aforementioned backers, were favorable to Morphy. +What was to be done? Our hero, with his clear reasoning, +soon found the correct reply, and he sent back +word that "The Chess Club being a private association, +it would be an impertinence on his part to use their +apartments without their permission." Harrwitz would +not show himself, and the entire affair was near being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> +put a stop to, when certain members of the <i>Cercle</i> kindly +opened the doors of their Club, and Morphy went +up stairs.</p> + +<p>The two principals being again face to face, Harrwitz +commenced with his "same old two-and-sixpence" +pawn to queen's fourth, and before he had got past +the twentieth move, Morphy had the attack, position, +and every thing. But, in process of administering the +<i>coup de grace</i>, Morphy's feverish state told upon him, +and he committed an oversight which lost him a rook, +when within a move or two of winning. It was so +stupid a mistake, that he immediately burst out laughing +at himself. Harrwitz picked off the unfortunate +rook with the utmost <i>nonchalance</i>, as though it were +the result of his own combinations, and actually told +me afterwards, "Oh, the game was a drawn one +throughout." Morphy got a perpetual check upon +him, and it was the only "draw" in the contest.</p> + +<p>What does the American Chess Monthly mean by +calling this palpable oversight "an imperfect combination?"</p> + +<p>Again we had to wait some time for Mr. Harrwitz. +It must not be supposed that this gentleman used his +frequent "leaves of absence" for the purpose of recruiting +that health which he represented as so bad. No, +he came daily to the <i>Régence</i> at the usual hour, and +played with anybody, but Morphy, until past midnight. +He sat down now, in front of his adversary, for the +eighth and last time, apparently in his ordinary health,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> +and fought as tough a battle as any in the contest. +The game lasted to the fifty-ninth move, and then +Harrwitz resigned.</p> + +<p>The score now stood, Morphy 5; Harrwitz 2; drawn +1. Next day Morphy received a verbal message that +"Mr. Harrwitz resigns the match, on account of ill +health." There was something like a row at the <i>Café +de la Régence</i> when this was known, for the Prussian +amateur had not even deigned to consult his backers, +or even to inform them of his intention. Mr. Lequesne, +his stake-holder, was requested by him to hand over +the collected amount, two hundred and ninety francs, +to our hero, and that gentleman forthwith called on +Morphy at his hotel. Of course we got the fullest particulars +from Mr. Lequesne. He informed us that +Harrwitz's backers were furious, and that they, like +himself, were confident that their principal was merely +indisposed in the <i>morale</i>, not at all physically. Morphy +replied that it never was his desire to play for stakes +under any circumstances; and, taking into consideration +the peculiar facts of the case, he would certainly +decline receiving the money.</p> + +<p>Some time afterwards, Mr. Lequesne returned, and +stated that not merely were the different subscribers +to the stakes desirous that Paul Morphy should receive +what had been won by him, but that Mr. Harrwitz +would, for the sake of appeasing his backers, play out +the remainder of the match. Morphy immediately +returned answer, that "Mr. H. having resigned the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> +contest, there was an end of the matter, but that he +(Morphy) was ready to commence a second match immediately." +Harrwitz had had enough of beating, and +he unhesitatingly declined this proposition.</p> + +<p>But a difficulty arose in consequence of Morphy's +refusal to receive the stakes. Letters poured in from +all quarters, complaining that bets on the result of the +contest were influenced by the decision, and Morphy +finally took the two hundred and ninety francs from +Mr. Lequesne. He then caused it to be announced +publicly, that the money was deposited with the proprietor +of the <i>Café de la Régence</i>, that any of the subscribers +to the amount were at perfect liberty to withdraw +their subscriptions, and that the remainder should +go towards defraying Herr Anderssen's expenses to +Paris. And so the money was eventually used.</p> + +<p>Will any of my readers think it possible that Mr. +Harrwitz could, after all this, publish that "he had not +lost the match, but that Mr. Morphy had consented to +its being annulled?"</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span></p> + + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2> + +<h3>MORPHY IN SOCIETY.</h3> + + +<p>All the Paris newspapers soon took to writing about +our hero, from the <i>Moniteur</i> to the <i>Charivari</i>. The +latter, the oldest and most famous of all comic papers, +gave cut after cut and article after article upon him; in +fact, Morphy was its standing joke for a long period. +One day there was a picture representing "Britannia, +astonished at the <i>checks</i> she was receiving in India, requesting +the young American to get her out of the +difficulty." Another represented an individual who +declined entering the <i>Café de la Régence</i> in company +with his wife, "because there was inside a certain Mr. +Morphy who would capture his queen from him." +After the blindfold exhibition, the famous Taxile Delord +wrote as follows:</p> + +<p>"Well, let us have a game of chess. Shall I give +you the rook? Sit down here, and I will place myself +in this arm-chair."</p> + +<p>"Oh, no! Now-a-days, no man who respects himself, +thinks of playing with the board in front of him."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p> + +<p>Upon this imaginary conversation, Delord lets loose +a volley of fun, ending in this manner:</p> + +<p>"I can understand <i>Ecarté</i>, I can appreciate <i>Picquet</i>, +I can even rise to the grandeur of <i>Tric Trac</i>, but don't +talk to me of <i>Chess</i>. That game will bring us back to +tragedy."</p> + +<p>What with the illustrated papers giving Morphy's +portraits, no two of which were ever alike, and the innumerable +articles in the "dailies," he began to be +notorious. Saint Amant wrote that he supplied a want +which Paris had felt for a long time—the want of a +hero. Monsieur Lequesne requested him to sit for his +bust, and threw so much labor of love into the work, +that he produced a <i>chef d'œuvre</i> which all Paris went +to criticize and to praise. All these various occurrences +could not but cause excitement in the <i>salons</i>, and invitations +began to pour in from the Faubourgs St. +Honoré and St. Germain. The first came from the +Duchess de T——. My readers must forgive me for +not mentioning names where a lady is concerned. The +Duchess stated that she had played at chess since a +child, and that she was desirous of becoming acquainted +with a gentleman whom fame heralded as so superior +to all amateurs; but that she had no hope of proving +an antagonist worthy of him. Well, Morphy waited +on his fair challenger, and out of five games each won +two, and one was drawn! Then the Princess M—— +expressed a desire to play our hero, and other great +dames followed; and knowing, as I do, the result, I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> +solemnly declare that, in spite of my confidence in +Morphy's powers of combination, I never would bet a +cent upon him when his opponent is a lady.</p> + +<p>I am not bound to silence when gentlemen are concerned, +and I am glad to mention amongst chess amateurs, +such names as the Duke of Brunswick and Counts +Casabianca, Isouard, and Bastorot. These gentlemen +are thorough veterans in the noble game, and chess +works and periodicals are no strangers to their contests. +Count Casabianca was "at home" every Friday +night, and, whilst some of the company were at whist, +ecarté, or other games <i>de la société</i>, he would always +be in a corner with the Duke of Brunswick, Count +Isouard, Signor Préti, and other chess amateurs. Morphy +played against the Duke and the Counts in consultation, +and, although he almost invariably won, it was +no easy matter.</p> + +<p>H. R. H. the Duke of Brunswick is a thorough +devotee to Caïssa; we never saw him but he was playing +chess with some one or other. We were frequent +visitors to his box at the Italian Opera; he had got a +chess-board even there, and played throughout the performance. +On our first visit "Norma" was performed. +The Duke's box is right on the stage; so close, indeed, +that you might kiss the <i>prima donna</i> without any +trouble. Morphy sat with his back to the stage, and +the Duke and Count Isouard facing him. Now it must +not be supposed that he was comfortable. Decidedly +otherwise; for I have already stated that he is passion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>ately +fond of music, and, under the circumstances, +wished chess at Pluto. The game began and went on: +his antagonists had heard <i>Norma</i> so often that they +could, probably, sing it through without prompting; +they did not even listen to most of it, but went on disputing +with each other as to their next move. Then +Madame Penco, who represented the Druidical priestess, +kept looking towards the box, wondering what was +the cause of the excitement inside; little dreaming that +Caïssa was the only <i>Casta Diva</i> the inmates cared +about. And those tremendous fellows, the "supes," +who "did" the Druids, how they marched down the +stage, chaunting fire and bloodshed against the Roman +host, who, they appeared to think, were inside the +Duke's box.</p> + +<p>Some of the pleasantest hours passed by Paul Morphy +in the French capital were spent at the Baronne +de L.'s. This lady, who has long ranked as one of the +great beauties of Parisian society, is renowned as a +patroness of the arts. Her friendship for the lamented +Pradier has passed into history, and her <i>salons</i> are the +weekly resort of the most celebrated sculptors, painters, +and authors of France. And no wonder, for the Baronne +is gloriously merry and witty, a true child of the +sunny South. A Creole, from the French West Indies, +she immediately took a liking to Morphy, "Because," +said she, "he is another lazy Creole like myself;" and +she invited all her acquaintances to come and see him. +She would get Morphy opposite her, and St. Amant or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> +Lequesne by her side to stop her when she was about +making too serious a mistake, and would play game +after game, making us all laugh the whole time with +her charming anecdotes and <i>jeux d'esprit</i>. How she +would amuse us when she declared that parties and late +hours were killing her, and that <i>they did kill her last +season</i>, and yet she was always as fresh as a newly +plucked rose. When she found how fond Morphy was +of music, the principal singers from the opera would be +present. I remember one night she asked that finest +of living <i>baritones</i>, "the honey-voiced" Graziani, to +play our hero at the odds of the Queen. Signor Graziani +had caught the general enthusiasm, and was applying +his leisure moments to chess with the energy of +a Standigl, and had lately been taking lessons from +Préti. He at first objected to play, from modesty, but +the Baronne had determined he should, and she told +him that, if he would play a game, Morphy would sing +a <i>duo</i> with him afterwards. This was a sparkle of her +fun, of course; but Graziani played, not one, but three +games, and he then said: "If anybody asks me if I understand +chess, I shall say, 'Oh, yes; I play sometimes +with Mr. Morphy.'"</p> + +<p>The United States minister, the Hon. Mr. Mason, +took a warm interest in his young countryman, occasionally +sitting at the board when Morphy was at play. +The Judge is acquainted with the "Mystery of +Chesse," and asked many pointed questions after the +conclusion of the game, as to the why and the where<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>fore +of different moves. It were scarcely right for the +United States government to appoint a minister to the +Court of the Tuileries who is ignorant of chess; it +would be an insult to the memory of Franklin.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p> + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> + +<h3>MORPHY AND THE FRENCH AMATEURS.</h3> + + +<p>Morphy's arrival in Paris, and his doings at the Café +de la Régence, soon began to make him much sought +after. The way in which some folks get lionized in +the French capital is remarkable, and Morphy had to +submit to it, not merely at the café, but even in his +hotel. We soon found that continued residence at the +<i>Hotel Meurice</i> would be inconvenient, for many +reasons; and within a day or two of our arrival, had +located ourselves in the <i>Hotel Breteuil</i>, at the corner +of the <i>Rues de Rivoli</i> and <i>du Dauphine</i>, where we had +a magnificent view of the palace and gardens of the +Tuileries, and were within a stone's throw of the best +quarters of Paris and the <i>Régence</i>. What was our surprise +to learn, subsequently, that Harrwitz was residing +next door to us; and that Saint Amant had, formerly, +occupied the very apartments in which we had installed +ourselves. We had not been long in our new abode +before Morphy received a visit from the grandson of +Philidor. They had a lengthy colloquy together, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> +of course Morphy asked his visitor if he played at chess. +He replied, that he once gave some attention to the +game, but found that he possessed little aptitude for it, +and therefore relinquished all further study; not thinking +it right that any one bearing the name of Philidor +should be looked upon as a <i>mazette</i>.</p> + +<p>Our hero's installation at the Café de la Régence +waked up all the slumbering embers of French chess, +and men who had not been seen for years past came +back to their early love. The well-known Polish amateur, +Budzinsky, was amongst these, and Laroche, contemporary +of Labourdonnais and Deschappelles. Then +we found there such players as Mr. Eugene Rousseau, +of New Orleans, on a visit to his family in Paris, and +who had been so much "at home" in the café in other +years. How proud he was of the fame and feats of his +young fellow-townsman amidst the Gallic paladins! and +how desirous he was that Morphy should encounter +Monsieur Laroche, whose game he characterized as +sound to a terrible extent, characterizing that gentleman +as "<i>un rude gaillard</i>." It was only after Mr. +Rousseau's departure that Laroche and Morphy met, +when we found that the former was "sound," but the +latter "sounder." Mr. L. had not been seen at the +Régence for a long period; some told us that he was +settled in Bayonne, others that he had given up chess +altogether: but the appearance in the chess heavens of +this Star of the West, brought him back to the old +battle-field, and no one could make even games with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> +him but De Rivière and Harrwitz, the Prussian amateur +merely winning a small majority.</p> + +<p>Monsieur Journoud, one of the best known and +strongest of French players, and a member of the Paris +Committee of Co-operation on the International Tournament +of 1851, played upwards of a dozen games at +different times with Morphy; but though he came very +near winning on one or two occasions, our hero always +wriggled out at last at the right end of the horn. +Journoud once described his opponent's game as "disgustingly +correct;" Boden speaks of Morphy's "diabolical +steadiness," which means pretty near the same +thing.</p> + +<p>De Rivière certainly made the best show against +Morphy of all the players in Paris, having scored one +game in good style, and having lost at least one which +he ought to have gained. He had got his opponent +into a position which might be termed "putting it to +him," and Morphy, like the wolf, was—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Dying in silence, biting hard,"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>when he made a move "to please the gallery." Now +Morphy never allows liberties to be taken with so +serious a matter as check mate; he goes straight to +the finish himself without fuss or nonsense, and expects +others to do the same; he, therefore, worked clear out +of his difficulties and forced his opponent ultimately to +resign. De Rivière was mortified at the result, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> +states that he went home very angry with himself in +consequence.</p> + +<p>This gentleman is incontestably the most rising of +the French players, and will make some amateurs +tremble for their chess reputation ere long. In 1851, +he did not know a move in the game, so that his progress +has been rapid; and as he has not yet reached +his thirtieth year, it is only probable that he will become +much stronger; that is, if he will keep up his +practice, which is not certain, inasmuch as he has lately +become "mated" in a manner most agreeable to his +feelings, and we have heard of ladies who object to +their lords and masters making love to other nymphs—even +though that nymph be Caïssa. Let us hope that, +in this instance, pater familias, whose "intentions are +strictly honorable," may be allowed an occasional +respite from the cradle and perambulator, and that +"curtain lectures" will not deter him from hot pursuit +after other men's queens.</p> + +<p>It was soon found useless for any one to play Morphy +even, as he scored almost every game. Meeting +Monsieur Laroche at the café one morning, that gentleman +asked me why our hero did not offer odds to +everybody. I replied that no doubt many gentlemen +would feel hurt at such a proposition being made to +them, and I asked him—"Would you play Morphy at +pawn and move?" to which he unhesitatingly replied +"Yes." M. Journoud was sitting beside him, and he +expressed himself in like manner. On informing Paul<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> +Morphy of this conversation, he requested me to inform +the proprietor of the café that, in future, he should play +no one without giving odds; excepting, however, Herr +Harrwitz. He was most desirous of again meeting the +Prussian amateur, the latter having made some rather +peculiar observations with regard to their match; as, +for instance, that he had not lost the affair, Morphy +having consented to annul it: that he was not a match +player, and played much stronger off-hand: that Morphy +did not beat him by combination, <i>but by sitting +him out</i>, and so forth. But Harrwitz always took care +to keep out of harm's way, and although Morphy came +day after day to the café, with the avowed intention of +meeting him, Herr H. had always got one or the other +reason for not playing.</p> + +<p>Laroche, Budzinsky, Devinck, and other leading +amateurs tried their luck at pawn and move, with no +better result than contending even. Others tried at +pawn and two, as, for instance, Lequesne, Guibert, Lecrivain, +and Delaunay. Who of my chess readers does +not know this brilliant writer in the Palamède, who has +kept everybody on the broad grin throughout his +numerous articles? He is always full of fun and sparkling +wit, and merrily did he display it with Morphy. +The first time they played, Delaunay sacrificed piece +after piece, in a way to terrify anybody but his young +antagonist, and certainly seemed to occupy a position +dangerous to Morphy's peace of mind. The latter made +one of his peculiar moves, when Delaunay observed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> +eyeing the board with one eye, and the spectators with +the other—"<i>Voila un coup du bon Dieu</i>," and then +making his reply, which set our hero reflecting, he added—"<i>Et, +en voila un du diable.</i>" But it was all of +no use, and Morphy soon turned the tables upon him. +M. Delaunay styles himself "<i>un casse échiquier</i>," for +he plays as though driving spike nails. At the London +Divan some months since he astonished the spectators +by breaking one of the pawns, when he immediately +cried out—"Oh, that's nothing; I break the rooks in +Paris."</p> + +<p>Morphy was easily approached by anybody, no +matter what their strength, and I doubt much whether +there is any frequenter of the Régence who did not +play one or more games with him. As he invariably +refused to play for any stake, this pleased them the +more, and set them making comparisons between him +and certain others, not at all complimentary to the latter. +But what pleased them most of all was the quiet +unobtrusiveness of his behavior, and the courtesy with +which he treated everybody. Where his skill gained +one admirer, his manner made ten warm friends.</p> + +<p>Some of my readers may complain that I am "laying +it on rather thick," and ask "Why shouldn't he +be quiet and unobtrusive?" I reply that I am not +to be deterred from writing what I know to be the +fact (having been a witness thereof for several months) +by any accusation of toadyism. I write what George +Walker, Saint Amant, Löwenthal, and all the chess<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> +editors Morphy has met, have written before me; and +they wrote as I now write, because the circumstance is +rather extraordinary. Chess players, generally, are a +class vain and imperious; and young players, like the +young of all classes, are apt to be carried away by success. +How few eminent amateurs are there who do not +give themselves certain airs when winning—aye, and +losing too—lolling back in their seats, sticking their +thumbs in their arm-holes, and regarding the spectators +with a self-satisfied air, as much as to say—"There, +my boys, what d'ye think of that?" One gentleman +at the Régence had long bullied the gallery and his +antagonists in this manner; no wonder, therefore, that +Morphy made warm friends of those who were that +man's enemies.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p> + + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + +<h3>MORPHY GETS BEATEN.</h3> + + +<p>A few weeks after the resignation of the match by +Herr Harrwitz, the amateurs of the Régence invited +Herr Anderssen to visit Paris for the purpose of playing +a match with Paul Morphy. Our hero originally +intended making a visit to the principal chess clubs of +Germany, and especially to Berlin, but having been an +invalid since his arrival in the French capital, he feared +to undertake the long journey by rail, and it was in +consequence of this that the aforesaid invitation was +sent. Herr Anderssen immediately replied, that his +duties as mathematical professor at Breslau presented +an insurmountable objection to his leaving, but that the +Christmas vacation would enable him to meet the +American player in Paris.</p> + +<p>Morphy said, thereupon, that he should be deprived +of the pleasure of crossing swords with the victor in +the International Tournament, inasmuch as he must be +at home before Christmas. On hearing this, I began +to talk the matter over quietly with him, asserting that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> +his voyage to Europe was useless, if he did not play +Anderssen. All was of no effect. Morphy did not +appear to have the slightest ambition, say what I would +to him. He must be at home in December; he had +promised to be there, and home he would go. Very +well; Morphy and I were at daggers drawn and we +began our fight. He said he would go, and I said he +shouldn't. He wanted to know how I could prevent +him; I told him that all the clubs in Europe would stop +him. "Very well," answered he, "I'll be stronger +than all Europe." "Bravo," says I, "that's spirited, at +all events." Says he—says I—says I—says he—and +Morphy went to sleep and I to work.</p> + +<p>Without saying a word to anybody, I set to writing +letters to all the leading Chess Clubs on the Continent +and in England, informing them of the bad move Morphy +was about to make, and requesting those in the +interests of chess to induce him to remain, until at all +events he had met Herr Anderssen. Now, the mere +fact of Morphy staying, as the simple individual, was +nothing; but it was something to make sure beyond all +dispute that he was infallibly the best living player; +and, in addition, to add many games to the finest pages +of chess literature. I am happy to state that the different +clubs thought as I did; so the result will prove.</p> + +<p>After a week or two, Morphy began receiving letters +from Amsterdam, Leipsic, Brussels, Berlin, Breslau, +etc.; from the London and St. George's Chess +Clubs; requisitions signed by the amateurs of the Café<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> +and Cercle de la Régence, expressing the earnest wish +of all that he would remain throughout the winter. +Herr Anderssen wrote him a lengthy epistle, in which +he assured him he did not think it possible he could +leave Europe without playing him, and adding his voice +to the general cry.</p> + +<p>Morphy thought he must go. Then the society in +which our hero was so frequent a visitor began to declare +that he really must remain, and it is hard work +for any man to refuse when a request is backed by such +sweet glances as make requests almost commands.</p> + +<p>Our hero was now wavering, and the game was in +my hands, he not at all sorry if I could win it. I had +one final resource: a pretty little check-mate with a +medical man and a certificate. The doctor, calling on +our patient one day, learned from him that he was +about returning home, whereupon he informed him +that in the then state of his health a winter voyage +across the Atlantic was not precisely beneficial, and +wrote his opinion accordingly. This I took, and inclosed +with other matter to his friends in New Orleans, +and Morphy seeing no way out of the difficulty, ultimately +surrendered, and I had the satisfaction of hearing +him declare that he should pass the winter in Paris. +There was only one person dissatisfied with this. Meeting +Harrwitz shortly after, I informed him with a benignant +smile, "You will be happy to hear that Morphy +has decided to pass a few months longer here." +Harrwitz replied, with a smile that was not benignant, +"Then Mr. Morphy <i>is not a man of his word</i>."</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span></p> + + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2> + +<h3>MORPHY AND ANDERSSEN.</h3> + + +<p>The first week in December, Monsieur de Rivière +received a communication from Herr Anderssen, announcing +his approaching arrival in Paris. A week +prior to this Morphy had been laid up in bed with a +severe illness. The rigors of a first winter in northern +climates had told upon him, and I feared much for the +result. He was leeched, and lost a great quantity of +blood—I told him three or four pints; to which he replied, +"Then there's only a quart left." He was kept +very low during a fortnight, and having to lift him out +of bed only four days before the match with the great +Prussian master, I found him too weak to stand upon +his legs, although in bed he did not feel so helpless. +For two months he had had an antipathy to chess, and +I had experienced the greatest difficulty in inducing +him to go to the Régence at all. When I would ask +him at breakfast what he was going to do with himself +during the day, his immediate reply would be, "I am +not going to the Régence," and he declined invitations +if he thought he should be obliged to play chess.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p> + +<p>When I brought him the news that Anderssen had +left Breslau, Herr Mayet having written me to that effect, +Morphy said to me, "I have a positive chess fever +coming over me. Give me the board and pieces, and +I'll show you some of Anderssen's games." And with +his astounding memory, he gave me battle after battle +with different adversaries, variations and all. How he +dilated on a certain game between him and Dufresne, +in which, though under the mate, he first of all sacrifices +his Queen, and after seven or eight moves forces +his opponent to resign. "There," said Morphy, "that +shows the master."</p> + +<p>What wonderment he has caused with his omnipotent +memory! I have seen him sit for hours at the +Divan and the Régence, playing over, not merely his +own battles, but the contests of others, till the spectators +could scarcely believe their senses. It will be remembered +by many of my readers, that when Mr. +Staunton published the eight blindfold games played at +Birmingham, he omitted some twenty or thirty of the +concluding moves in the game with the Rev. Mr. +Salmon. When we had been two months in Paris, +Herr Löwenthal wrote me to request that I would forward +him the remaining moves, as there was a desire +to have the <i>partie</i> complete. It was nearly midnight, +and Morphy had gone into his bedroom after dictating +me some games played during the day, and, mindful of +Herr L.'s request, I called to him, asking whether he +was coming back, when he replied that he was already<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> +in bed. I said I should be obliged if he would let me +bring him a board and light, in order that he might +dictate me the required moves, when he answered +"There's no necessity for that: read me over what +Staunton published, and I'll give you the remainder." +He called over the omitted moves as fast as I could +write them down.</p> + +<p>Going into Morphy's bedroom one morning at ten +o'clock, whom should I find sitting there but Herr Anderssen? +He had arrived by a late train the night +previous, and his first visit was to his young challenger, +whom he was indeed sorry to find ill in bed, especially +as his absence from Breslau was limited to two weeks. +Morphy assured him that he should be well enough to +play the following week; but Anderssen replied that +he should not like to commence a match until Morphy +was in a fit state to undergo the fatigue. They then +agreed that the match should consist of thirteen games; +in other words, he should be victor who first scored +seven; and, as neither of them desired any stake but +honor, the preliminaries were quickly arranged. From +that we got to talking on various subjects, and Anderssen +informed us, greatly to our surprise, that the +German papers had published a statement to this effect: +"Mr. Morphy has finally decided on remaining in Europe +until spring, in consequence of the pressing solicitations +of his friend, Herr Harrwitz." How we +roared!</p> + +<p>This was Anderssen's first visit to the French me<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>tropolis, +and I immediately offered to show him some +of the lions. So forth we sallied. He was desirous of +going to the Régence; but two hours would elapse before +anybody would be there, and in the mean time he +could see a few public buildings. The first place I took +him to was, of course, the Louvre, and, as it had rained +copiously the night before, I walked him across the +<i>Place du Carrousel</i>, in order to soil his boots with the +mud. Most of his attention was taken up with keeping +that portion of his attire clean; but, when that had +become no longer possible, his leisure was entirely devoted +to sight-seeing. Of course, we could not altogether +avoid talking about the main object of his visit; +he told me he had only seen a few of Morphy's games, +and asked me what was the opinion of the Régence in +reference to his style of play. I replied that it was the +opposite of what they thought in England and America, +characterizing it as sound rather than brilliant; but that +there was a reason for this, inasmuch as the French +players persisted in playing close openings. He replied, +"No wonder; no man would willingly expose +himself to Morphy's thundering attacks," [attaques foudroyantes.]</p> + +<p>On returning to the Régence, we found Harrwitz, +who, by-the-bye, is a fellow-townsman of Anderssen, +and they were at the same school together. The latter +knew that Harrwitz stated that he beat him the majority +of games, and he was most desirous of proving the +fallacy of the assertion, and immediately proposed an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> +encounter. This was accepted, and out of six games, +played on five different occasions, Anderssen won three, +Harrwitz one, and two were drawn. After that, little +doubt existed as to which was the stronger player, and +when, just before leaving Paris, Anderssen was complimented +on this result, he said, "Oh, there is but one +Morphy in the world."</p> + +<p>On the day of Anderssen's arrival, Morphy told his +medical adviser that he must get him well enough to +commence the match on the following Monday. The +doctor said it all depended upon his feeling sufficiently +strong to undergo the fatigue, when his patient replied, +that what he feared was a hard battle exhausting him +too much to continue the struggle next day. On the +doctor's advice, he consented to play the match in the +hotel, so as not to undergo the fatigue of moving, and +it was arranged that only such as were specially invited +should be present, but that the moves should be forwarded +every half-hour to the Régence.</p> + +<p>The Saturday before the commencement of the +match, Harrwitz performed his feat of playing eight +blindfold games simultaneously at the rooms of the Cercle, +only subscribers of five francs or upwards being admitted. +Herr Harrwitz had fixed upon seven o'clock in +the evening as the time for commencing; and I, like many +others, had advised him to choose an earlier hour, or he +would not get through till long past midnight. He replied +that he should finish in from four to five hours; +"he knew this positively because he had been rehearsing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> +for the occasion;" but the result proved how much he +was mistaken, as he did not get through till near sunrise. +His antagonists were mainly rook or rook and knight +players, Signor Préti, the weakest of Morphy's blindfold +opponents, being incomparably the strongest. +Herr Anderssen, who was present, assured me that +many of the players left pieces <i>en prise</i>, as though designedly, +and that, beyond the fact of seeing the boards +in his mind's eye, Harrwitz proved nothing by his exertions. +The strangest affair in connection with this +display is, that although Harrwitz edited a chess column +in the <i>Monde Illustré</i> he never gave a single one +of his blindfold games, nor would he permit any to be +made public.</p> + +<p>Mr. Harrwitz was perfectly in his right mind when +endeavoring to emulate Paul Morphy. But the folks +at the Régence ridiculed what they called aping his +superior, and many were the squibs got off at his expense. +One, the most popular of all, was as follows:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Tu veux singer Morphy, joueur phénoménal;<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Jeune imprudent, tu forces ta nature.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">En vain tu te poses en original,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Tu n'en es que la caricature."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>In plain English prose—"You wish to ape Morphy, the +phenomenon; imprudent young man, you strain yourself. +It is useless to put yourself forward as an original; +you are merely a caricature."—Not complimentary, +certainly.</p> + +<p>On Monday morning, I got Morphy out of bed for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> +the first time since his illness, and, at noon, assisted him +into the room where the match was to come off. No +time was lost in getting to work, and, within five minutes +of his entering, as many moves had been played. +Our hero had first move, and ventured the Evans' gambit, +which he lost after seven hours' fighting, and upwards +of seventy moves. I noticed that he was restless +throughout the contest, which was only to be expected +after having been so long in bed, and without +nourishment.</p> + +<p>Morphy was charmed with Anderssen's defence +throughout, and has frequently cited it as an admirably +conducted strategy. It proved to him that the Evans' +is indubitably a lost game for the first player, if the defence +be carefully played; inasmuch as the former can +never recover the gambit pawn, and the position supposed +to be acquired at the outset, cannot be maintained.</p> + +<p>He did not appear much fatigued after his exertions, +and next morning he had visibly improved in appearance. +Anderssen, now having the move, played +out his king's pawn and knight, and Morphy supposed +he too was going to have a turn at the Evans'. No +such thing; he played that disgusting arrangement, the +Ruy Lopez; but it only came to a drawn game, our +hero believing he himself could have won it, had he +played properly at the end. The third day, Morphy +looked himself again, his complexion being clear, and +his eyes sparkling with all their Creole brilliancy. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> +thought he should like to have a turn at the Ruy Lopez +also, and dashed away at such a furious rate, that +Anderssen resigned in a few minutes over the hour, +some twenty-one moves having been played. Anderssen +immediately asked if he would commence another +game forthwith, and Morphy consented; this fourth +contest being also a Ruy Lopez, but ending likewise in +the discomfiture of the Prussian champion. And this +<i>partie</i> was the last we saw of R. L. during the struggle.</p> + +<p>Morphy now scored the fifth, sixth, and seventh +games, thus having won five consecutively. The eighth +was a draw; the ninth he carried off in seventeen +moves; the tenth, played immediately after, Anderssen +marked in seventy-seven. As the Professor was leaving, +he said to me in his quiet, funny way, "Mr. Morphy +wins his games in Seventeen moves, and I in Seventy. +But that is only natural." The eleventh <i>partie</i> +Morphy scored, thus winning the match; having only +lost two games and drawn two.</p> + +<p>Immediately after each day's play, Herr Anderssen +would walk straight to the Régence for the purpose of +expediting reports of the same to his friends in Leipsic +and Berlin. There were always crowds to meet him, +and to assure him he could have won, and ought not to +have lost; but the Professor smiled at them incredulously. +I have heard him tell them, "Dites cela à M. +Morphy," (Tell that to Mr. Morphy,) over and over +again. One individual, who from the beginning, had +questioned Morphy's superiority,—though he had been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> +beaten by him in the proportion of 7 to 1—told the +Professor in the presence of a crowd of amateurs: +"You are not playing any thing like as well as with +Dufresne."—"No," replied Anderssen, "Morphy won't +let me;" and he added, "It is no use struggling against +him; he is like a piece of machinery which is sure to +come to a certain conclusion." On another occasion +he said: "Mr. Morphy always plays, not merely the +best, but the very best move, and if we play the move +only approximatively correct, we are sure to lose. Nobody +can hope to gain more than a game, now and +then, from him." And, in reply to a question of Monsieur +de Rivière, he said in my hearing: "It is impossible +to play chess better than Mr. Morphy; if there +be any difference in strength between him and Labourdonnais, +it is in his favor."</p> + +<p>I have never seen a nobler-hearted gentleman than +Herr Anderssen. He would sit at the board, examining +the frightful positions into which Morphy had forced +him, until his whole face was radiant with admiration +of his antagonist's strategy, and, positively laughing +outright, he would commence resetting the pieces for +another game, without a remark. I never heard him +make a single observation to Morphy complimentary +of his skill; but, to others, he was loud in admiration +of the young American.</p> + +<p>After the match was over, the two antagonists +played six off-hand games, all gambits, Anderssen winning +one, and Morphy five. These also came off at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> +Hotel Breteuil, and were rattled away inside of three +hours.</p> + +<p>The gallery of spectators who witnessed this great +contest between the champions of the Old World and +the New, was select, if not numerous. There were +present, almost constantly, Saint Amant, De Rivière, +Journoud, Carlini, Préti, Grosboulogne, Lequesne, and +one or two others, and amongst the occasional visitors +were Counts Casabianca and Bastorot, M. Devinck, +the Paris correspondent of the N. Y. Times, and any +of our hero's countrymen who desired to be present. +One night, after the day's battle was over, Morphy and +I were sitting in our room, chatting together, when an +immense stranger appeared and announced himself as +follows: "I am Prince Galitzin; I wish to see Mr. +Morphy." Morphy looked up from a fauteuil in which +he was buried, and replied, "I am he." The Prince +answered, "It is not possible! you're too young;" and +then he seated himself by Morphy's side and told him, +"I first heard of your wonderful deeds on the frontiers +of Siberia. One of my suite had a copy of the chess +paper published in Berlin, the <i>Schachzeitung</i>, and ever +since that time I have been wanting to see you." And +he told our hero that he must pay a visit to St. Petersburg; +for the chess club in the Imperial Palace would +receive him with enthusiasm. I did not hear Morphy +promise to go, however.</p> + +<p>But to return to Anderssen. The Professor came +and went away in a hurry, his vacations only lasting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> +two weeks. As he wished us good-bye, he said slyly to +Morphy, "They won't be pleased with me at Berlin, +but I shall tell them, 'Mr. Morphy will come here.'"</p> + +<p>After the conclusion of the match, I pointed out to +Herr Anderssen certain remarks on his play in the +<i>Illustrated London News</i>, in which the writer observed, +"This is not the play of the victor of the Tournament +of '51." He replied—"Oh, we know Mr. Staunton; in +1851 his opinions of my play were not very high, and +he lost not by my skill, but because he was ill. Mr. +Staunton always has two meanings, one which he writes, +and one which he keeps to himself."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 660px;"> +<img src="images/image4.png" width="660" height="419" alt="MR. LEWIS. MR. GEORGE WALKER. MR. MONGREDIEU." title="" /> +<table style="width:100%;" class="caption" summary="captions 3"> +<tr> +<td style="text-align:left;width:33%;">MR. LEWIS.</td> +<td class="center" style="width:33%;">MR. GEORGE WALKER.</td> +<td class="ralign" style="width:33%;">MR. MONGREDIEU.</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p> + + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2> + +<h3>MORPHY AND MONGREDIEU.</h3> + + +<p>After Anderssen's departure, Paul Morphy declared +he would play no more even matches, and, certainly, +his resolve was justified by the unheard-of manner in +which he had walked over all opponents. There are +but two players who do not confess the inutility of +contending against him on even terms—Messrs. Staunton +and Harrwitz—but then the former would not +fight, and the latter fought and ran away, so that their +opinions, with regard to themselves and Morphy, are +somewhat damaged by circumstances. The opinions +of these two gentlemen are, in fact, peculiar one +towards the other; Mr. Harrwitz declaring that he +can give Mr. Staunton the odds of pawn and move; and +Mr. S., that he also can afford the same advantage to +the Prussian player. But no man in his senses believes +either of them.</p> + +<p>Morphy now determined to offer the pawn and +move to Herr Harrwitz, and forthwith challenged him +to the contest, but the latter respectfully declined, on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> +the grounds that he considered himself quite as good a +player as his challenger. Modest, was it not? especially +just after their late match, and the <i>sauve qui peut</i> manner +in which the Prussian had shown his heels before +its conclusion? Morphy felt so much desire to play +this proposed match, that he even offered to find stakes +to back his antagonist, but all to no purpose. One or +two croakers expressed their opinion that Morphy +would scarcely get a game if the affair came off, when +our hero replied—"If I do not beat him, he will at all +events have to work hard for the odd game."</p> + +<p>Harrwitz having declined all further risk, there now +remained little to be accomplished, and Morphy forsook +the Régence and seemed to have taken a positive +aversion to chess. There was, however, one more adversary +to be overcome; one, who, like Anderssen, +sought out our hero in the French capital, and threw +down his gauntlet, which was immediately taken up. +Mr. Mongredieu, the President of the London Chess +Club, made the journey to Paris expressly to remind +Paul Morphy that before his departure from England, +he had promised to play a match with him, and he now +announced himself as ready for the encounter. Mr. +Mongredieu had no idea of vanquishing his youthful +foe, but in addition to the pleasure of a tilt with him, +he was desirous of seeing by how much Morphy could +beat him.</p> + +<p>The contest came off at Mr. Mongredieu's rooms in +the Hotel du Louvre, Messrs. St. Amant and De<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> +Rivière being the only strangers present. The first +game admirably played by Mr. M. resulted in a draw, +and then Morphy scored seven <i>parties</i> one after the +other, which constituted him victor. The third game, +beautifully managed throughout by Mr. Mongredieu, +slipped from his grasp after nine or ten hours' struggle; +because of his not playing <i>the very best move</i>, Morphy +stepped in at the lucky moment and the day was his. +I can easily understand that Mr. Mongredieu was exhausted +after so many hours' intense application; Morphy +never tires, and no amount of continuous sitting +will ever influence his play. I have seen him sit down, +in New York, at 9 <span class="smcap">A. M.</span>, and beat one antagonist after +another until past midnight, for many successive days, +yet without weakening his play in the least; and when +Paulsen would take half an hour on a move, an hour +over the succeeding one, and on a certain occasion +reached the unparalleled limit of two hours, Morphy +sat calmly looking on, without the slightest evidence of +impatience. Before Mr. Staunton declined Morphy's +challenge, I was frequently amused by gentlemen who +knew the former well, but knew little of the latter, +expressing the opinion that the English player would +tire out his youthful challenger, and win by playing +"a waiting game." I laughed heartily at their fears, +for I knew Morphy could sit out Staunton and the late +Mr. Williams one after the other. And I think my +readers must also be satisfied of this, remembering +Morphy's <i>ten hours' blindfold play at Paris, without +taking even a glass of water, and in bodily pain, too</i>.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2> + +<h3>TROPHIES.</h3> + + +<p>And now that the battles are over, and the campaigns +of this "Attila the destroyer" concluded, let us +count the killed and wounded.</p> + + +<h3>IN ENGLAND.</h3> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Match Games (Even.)</span></p> + +<p class="center">Morphy, 9. Löwenthal, 3. Drawn, 3.</p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Pawn and Move.</span></p> + +<p class="center">Morphy, 5. Rev. J. Owen (Alter), 0. Drawn, 2.</p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Off-hand Games.</span></p> + +<table summary="results 1"> +<tr> +<td>Morphy,</td><td class="ralign">19,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Barnes, 7,</td><td class="ralign">Drawn,</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">10,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Bird, 1,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">1</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">5,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Boden, 1,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">3</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">2,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Hampton, 0,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">2,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Kipping, 0,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">6,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Lowe, 0,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">3,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Medley, 0,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">2,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Mongredieu, 0,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">4,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Owen, 1,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +</table> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p> + + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Consultation Games.</span></p> + +<p class="center">Staunton and Owen, 0. Morphy and Barnes, 2. Drawn, 0.</p> + +<p class="center">Löwenthal and Medley, 0. Morphy and Mongredieu, 0. +Drawn, 1.</p> + +<p class="center">Löwenthal, Mongredieu, and Medley, 0. Morphy, Walker +Greenaway, 0. Drawn, 1.</p> + + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Eight Games Blindfold at Birmingham.</span></p> + +<p>Morphy beat Lord Lyttelton, Doctors Salmon and Freeman, +Messrs. Rhodes, Wills and Carr; drew against Mr. +Avery, and lost the game with Mr. Kipping.</p> + +<p>In addition to the above score there were many contests at +odds, which it is unnecessary to mention; Morphy being almost +invariably successful.</p> + + +<h3>IN FRANCE.</h3> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Match Games.</span></p> + +<table summary="results 2"> +<tr> +<td>Morphy,</td><td class="ralign">7,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Anderssen, 2,</td><td>Drawn,</td><td class="ralign">2</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">5,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Harrwitz, 2,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">1</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">7,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Mongredieu, 0,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">1</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Off-hand Games (Even).</span></p> + +<table summary="results 3"> +<tr> +<td>Morphy,</td><td class="ralign">5,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Anderssen, 1,</td><td>Drawn,</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">2,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Bancker, 0,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">7,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Budzinsky, 0,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">0,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Harrwitz, 1,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">12,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Journoud, 0,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">5,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Laroche, 0,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">2</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">6,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Rivière, 1,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">1</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Odds of Pawn and Move.</span></p> + +<table summary="results 4"> +<tr> +<td>Morphy,</td><td class="ralign">5,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Budzinsky, 1,</td><td>Drawn,</td><td class="ralign">1</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">2,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Devinck, 0,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">2</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">1,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Guibert, 0,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">3,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Laroche, 0,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">3</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Odds of the Pawn and two Moves.</span></p> + +<table summary="results 5"> +<tr> +<td>Morphy,</td><td class="ralign">4,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Delaunay, 0,</td><td>Drawn,</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">5,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Lecrivain, 2,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">3,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Lequesne, 0,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">1</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Consultation Games.</span></p> + +<table summary="results 6"> +<tr> +<td>Morphy,</td><td class="ralign">2,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Saint Amant and Lequesne, 0,</td><td>Drawn,</td><td class="ralign">2</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">0,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">De Rivière and Journoud, 1,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">5,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Duke of Brunswick, Counts Casabianca and Isouard, 0,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">1</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">5,</td><td style="padding-left:2em;padding-right:2em;">Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard, 0,</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Blindfold Games.</span></p> + +<blockquote><p>Morphy beat Messrs. Bancker, Bierwirth, Bornemann, Potier, +Préti, and Seguin, and drew the games with Messrs. +Guibert and Lequesne.</p> + +<p>At Versailles, Morphy, playing blindfolded, won against +Monsieur Chamouillet and the Versailles Chess Club playing +together against him, <i>in consultation</i>.</p></blockquote> + +<p>I should like to say something on the above score, +but feel quite incompetent to the task. I can merely +state that no player who ever lived, (of whom we know +any thing,) can produce such a catalogue of victories. +Surely, it is not too much to declare, on the authority +of so much proof, that</p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Morphy can give Pawn and Move to every +living Player.</span></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span></p> + + +<p class="center gap2"><span class="smcap">Valedictory</span>.</p> + +<p>Paul Morphy has vanquished the paladins of the +Old and New Worlds, and vaulted into the very throne +of Labourdonnais and Philidor.</p> + +<p>Is not this indeed a victory for him,—a triumph for +his countrymen? Shall not this youth be esteemed +worthy of all honor, who, without experience, has, by +his own marvellous genius, eclipsed the brightness of +those stars which have flashed in the chess firmament +before him?</p> + +<p>Chess may be but a game, a pastime, a relaxation; +but Chess has at times absorbed the faculties of the intellectual +in every clime; it numbers amongst its amateurs +the greatest names of battle-fields and thrones; it tells +of warriors, poets, painters, sculptors, statesmen and +divines; it possesses a literature and language of its +own; it makes enemies friends, and finds a temple on +the ocean, in the fortress, and by the peaceful fireside.</p> + +<p>And long as Chess shall last, Paul Morphy's name +will be as a "Household Word," and his deeds be held +in lasting memory.</p> + + +<p class="center">THE END.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Ad_Page_1" id="Ad_Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2>NEW PUBLICATIONS AND NEW EDITIONS</h2> + +<p class="smaller center">PUBLISHED BY</p> + +<h3>D. 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Particularly well written is +the account of life at Cambridge.</i>"—<span class="smcap">Examiner.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<table summary="" style="width:100%"> +<tr> +<td style="width:80%"><span class="larger">Passages from the Autobiography of <span class="smcap">Sidney, Lady Morgan</span>.</span></td> +<td style="width:20%;vertical-align:bottom;" class="ralign">1 vol. 12mo. $1.</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<blockquote><p>"<i>This volume brims with sense, cleverness, and humor. A lively and +entertaining collection of great men's thought and quick woman's observation; +a book to be read now for amusement, and to be sought hereafter for +reference.</i>"—<span class="smcap">London Athenæum.</span></p> + +<p>"<i>A charming book. It is long since the reading public has been admitted +to so great a treat as this fascinating collection of wit, anecdote and gossip. +It is a delightful reminiscence of a brilliant past, told by one of the best wits +still extant.</i>"—<span class="smcap">London Daily News.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<table summary="" style="width:100%"> +<tr> +<td style="width:80%"><span class="larger">Onward; or, The Mountain Clamberers.</span> A Tale of Progress. By <span class="smcap">Jane Anne +Winscom</span>.</td> +<td style="width:20%;vertical-align:bottom;" class="ralign">1 vol. 12mo. 75 cents.</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<blockquote><p class="smaller">CONTENTS.—LOOKING UPWARDS; COLIN AND JEANIE; THE FAMILY AT ALLEYNE; +OFF! OFF! 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By <span class="smcap">J. S. Gibbons</span>. With Thirty +Illustrations, by Herrick.</td> +<td style="width:20%;vertical-align:bottom;" class="ralign">1 vol. 12mo. 400 pages. Cloth, $1.50.</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<blockquote><p><i>A book for every Man of Business, for the Bank Officer and Clerk; for +the Bank Stockholder and Depositor; and especially for the Merchant and +his Cash Manager; also for the Lawyer, who will here find the exact Responsibilities +that exist between the different officers of Banks and the Clerks, +and between them and the Dealers.</i></p> + +<p><i>The operations of the Clearing-House are described in detail, and illustrated +by a financial Chart, which exhibits, in an interesting manner, the +Fluctuations of the Bank Loans.</i></p> + +<p><i>The immediate and exact cause of the Panic of 1857 is clearly demonstrated +by the records of the Clearing-House, and a scale is presented by +which the deviation of the volume of Bank Loans from an average standard +of safety can be ascertained at a single glance</i>.</p></blockquote> + + +<table summary="" style="width:100%"> +<tr> +<td style="width:80%"><span class="larger">History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.</span> By +<span class="smcap">Samuel Greene Arnold</span>. Vol. I. 1636-1700.</td> +<td style="width:20%;vertical-align:bottom;" class="ralign">1 vol. 8vo. 574 pages. $2.50.</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<blockquote><p>"<i>To trace the rise and progress of a State, the offspring of ideas that +were novel and startling, even amid the philosophical speculations of the +Seventeenth Century; whose birth was a protest against, whose infancy was +a struggle with, and whose maturity was a triumph over, the retrograde +tendency of established Puritanism; a State that was the second-born of persecution, +whose founders had been doubly tried in the purifying fire; a State +which, more than any other, has exerted, by the weight of its example, an influence +to shape the political ideas of the present day, whose moral power has +been in the inverse ratio with its material importance; of which an eminent +Historian of the United States has said that, had its territory "corresponded +to the importance and singularity of the principles of its early existence, the +world would have been filled with wonder at the phenomena of its history," +is a task not to be lightly attempted or hastily performed.</i>"—<span class="smcap">Extract from +Preface.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<p><span class="larger">The Ministry of Life.</span> By <span class="smcap">Maria Louisa Charlesworth</span>, Author of +"Ministering Children." 1 vol., 12mo, with Two Eng's., $1. Of the +"Ministering Children," (the author's previous work,) +50,000 copies have been sold.</p> + +<blockquote><p>"<i>The higher walks of life, the blessedness of doing good, and the paths +of usefulness and enjoyment, are drawn out with beautiful simplicity, and +made attractive and easy in the attractive pages of this author. To do good, +to teach others how to do good, to render the home circle and the neighborhood +glad with the voice and hand of Christian charity, is the aim of the author, +who has great power of description, a genuine love for evangelical religion, +and blends instruction with the story, so as to give charm to all her books.</i>"—<span class="smcap">N. Y. +Observer.</span></p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Ad_Page_4" id="Ad_Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span></p> + + +<table summary="" style="width:100%"> +<tr> +<td style="width:80%"><span class="larger">The Coopers; or, Getting Under Way.</span> By <span class="smcap">Alice B. Haven</span>, Author +of "No Such Word as Fail," "All's Not Gold that Glitters," etc., etc.</td> +<td style="width:20%;vertical-align:bottom;" class="ralign">1 vol. 12mo. 336 pages. 75 cents.</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<blockquote><p>"<i>To grace and freshness of style, Mrs. Haven adds a genial, cheerful +philosophy of Life, and Naturalness of Character and Incident, in the +History of the Cooper Family.</i>"</p></blockquote> + + +<table summary="" style="width:100%"> +<tr> +<td style="width:80%"><span class="larger">A Text Book of Vegetable and Animal Physiology.</span> Designed for the use of +Schools, Seminaries and Colleges in the United States. By <span class="smcap">Henry Goadby</span>, +M. D., Professor of Vegetable and Animal Physiology and Entomology, in +the State Agricultural College of Michigan, &c. A new edition. One +handsome vol., 8vo., embellished with upwards of 450 wood engravings +(many of them colored.)</td> +<td style="width:20%;vertical-align:bottom;" class="ralign">Price, $2.</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<blockquote><p>"<i>The attempt to teach only Human physiology, like a similar proceeding +in regard to Anatomy, can only end in failure; whereas, if the +origin (so to speak) of the organic structures in the animal kingdom, be +sought for and steadily pursued through all the classes, showing their gradual +complication, and the necessity for the addition of accessory organs, till they +reach their utmost development and culminate in man, the study may be rendered +an agreeable and interesting one, and be fruitful in profitable results.</i></p> + +<p>"<i>Throughout the accompanying pages, this principle has been kept steadily +in view, and it has been deemed of more importance to impart solid and +thorough instruction on the subjects discussed, rather than embrace the whole +field of physiology, and, for want of space, fail to do justice to any part of +it.</i>"—<span class="smcap">Extract from Preface.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<table summary="" style="width:100%"> +<tr> +<td style="width:80%"><span class="larger">The Physiology of Common Life.</span> By <span class="smcap">George Henry Lewes</span>, Author of +"Seaside Studies," "Life of Goethe," etc. No. 1. Just Ready.</td> +<td style="width:20%;vertical-align:bottom;" class="ralign">Price 10 cents.</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<blockquote><p class="center smaller">EXTRACT FROM PROSPECTUS.</p> + +<p><i>No scientific subject can be so important to Man as that of his own Life. +No knowledge can be so incessantly appealed to by the incidents of every day, +as the knowledge of the processes by which he lives and acts. At every +moment he is in danger of disobeying laws which, when disobeyed, may bring +years of suffering, decline of powers, premature decay. Sanitary reformers +preach in vain, because they preach to a public which does not understand the +laws of life—laws as rigorous as those of Gravitation or Motion. Even the +sad experience of others yields us no lessons, unless we understand the principles +involved. If one Man is seen to suffer from vitiated air, another is +seen to endure it without apparent harm; a third concludes that "it is all +chance," and trusts to that chance. Had he understood the principle involved, +he would not have been left to chance—his first lesson in swimming would not +have been a shipwreck.</i></p> + +<p><i>The work will be illustrated with from 20 to 25 woodcuts, to assist the +exposition. It will be published in monthly numbers, uniform with Johnston's +"Chemistry of Common Life."</i></p></blockquote> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<div class="bbox" style="padding:1em;"> + +<h2>TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES</h2> + +<p>Page 7. musquito as in original</p> + +<p>Pages 16, 20. Variable hyphenation of master-pieces, masterpiece as in +original</p> + +<p>Page 31. palladins as in original</p> + +<p>Page 98. depreciatory as in original</p> + +<p>Page 115. coryphoeus corrected to coryphaeus</p> + +<p>Page 135. In the signature, Keneedy changed to Kennedy</p> + +<p>Page 152. Algaier corrected to Allgaier</p> + +<p>Illustration caption before page 197. MONGREDIEN standardised to +MONGREDIEU (this may be incorrect and a reference to Augustus +Mongredien).</p> + +<p>General. The following words have variable accenting but have been left +as in the original as they are used in quotations: Café, Caïssa, défi, +Régence. Other accents have been standardised.</p> + +<p>General. Variable spelling of McDonnel/McDonnell as in original</p> + +<p>General. Variable spelling of Deschapelles/Deschappelles as in original</p> + +<p>General. Variable spelling of Huttman/Huttmann as in original</p> + +<p>General. Variable spelling of Zytogorsky/Zytogorosky as in original</p> + +<p>General. Variable spelling of tournay/tourney as in original</p> + +<p>General. Variable capitalisation of Street/street in street names as in original</p> + +</div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Exploits and Triumphs, in Europe, +of Paul Morphy, the Chess Champion, by Frederick Milnes Edge + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EXPLOITS AND TRIUMPHS *** + +***** This file should be named 34180-h.htm or 34180-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/1/8/34180/ + +Produced by Suzanne Lybarger, Kathryn Lybarger, Brownfox +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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