Maelzel’sChess-PlayerPERHAPSnoexhibitionofthekindhaseverelicitedsogeneralattentionastheChess-PlayerofMaelzel。Whereverseenithasbeenanobjectofintensecuriosity，toallpersonswhothink。Yetthequestionofits_modusoperandiis_stillundetermined。Nothinghasbeenwrittenonthistopicwhichcanbeconsideredasdecisiveandaccordinglywefindeverywheremenofmechanicalgenius，ofgreatgeneralacuteness，anddiscriminativeunderstanding，whomakenoscrupleinpronouncingtheAutomatona_puremachine，_unconnectedwithhumanagencyinitsmovements，andconsequently，beyondallcomparison，themostastonishingoftheinventionsofmankind。Andsuchitwouldundoubtedlybe，weretheyrightintheirsupposition。
Assumingthishypothesis，itwouldbegrosslyabsurdtocomparewiththeChess-Player，anysimilarthingofeithermodernorancientdays。
Yettherehavebeenmanyandwonderfulautomata。InBrewster’sLettersonNaturalMagic，wehaveanaccountofthemostremarkable。
Amongthesemaybementioned，ashavingbeyonddoubtexisted，firstly，thecoachinventedbyM。CamusfortheamusementofLouisXIVwhenachild。Atable，aboutfourfeetsquare，wasintroduced，intotheroomappropriatedfortheexhibition。Uponthistablewasplacedacarriage，sixinchesinlength，madeofwood，anddrawnbytwohorsesofthesamematerial。Onewindowbeingdown，aladywasseenonthebackseat。Acoachmanheldthereinsonthebox，andafootmanandpagewereintheirplacesbehind。M。Camusnowtouchedaspring；whereuponthecoachmansmackedhiswhip，andthehorsesproceededinanaturalmanner，alongtheedgeofthetable，drawingafterthemthecarriage。Havinggoneasfaraspossibleinthisdirection，asuddenturnwasmadetotheleft，andthevehiclewasdrivenatrightanglestoitsformercourse，andstillcloselyalongtheedgeofthetable。Inthiswaythecoachproceededuntilitarrivedoppositethechairoftheyoungprince。Itthenstopped，thepagedescendedandopenedthedoor，theladyalighted，andpresentedapetitiontohersovereign。Shethenre-entered。Thepageputupthesteps，closedthedoor，andresumedhisstation。Thecoachmanwhippedhishorses，andthecarriagewasdrivenbacktoitsoriginalposition。
ThemagicianofM。Maillardetisalsoworthyofnotice。Wecopythefollowingaccountofitfromthe_Letters_beforementionedofDr。