nnecessary to
dwell upon them. We will only suggest that, although the top of the box
is apparently a board of about three inches in thickness, the spectator
may satisfy himself by stooping and looking up at it when the main
compartment is open, that it is in reality very thin. The height of the
drawer also will be misconceived by those who examine it in a cursory
manner. There is a space of about three inches between the top of the
drawer as seen from the exterior, and the bottom of the cupboard--a
space which must be included in the height of the drawer. These
contrivances to make the room within the box appear less than it
actually is, are referrible to a design on the part of the inventor, to
impress the company again with a false idea, viz. that no human being
can be accommodated within the box.

12. The interior of the main compartment is lined throughout with
_cloth. _This cloth we suppose to have a twofold object. A portion of
_it _may form, when tightly stretched, the only partitions which there
is any necessity for removing during the changes of the man's position,
viz: the partition between the rear of the main compartment and the rear
of the cupboard No. 1, and the partition between the main compartment,
and the space behind the drawer when open. If we imagine this to be the
case, the difficulty of shifting the partitions vanishes at once, if
indeed any such difficulty could be supposed under any circumstances to
exist. The second object of the cloth is to deaden and render indistinct
all sounds occasioned by the movements of the person within.

13. The antagonist (as we have before observed) is not suffered to play
at the board of the Automaton, but is seated at some distance from the
machine. The reason which, most probably, would be assigned for
this circumstance, if the question were demanded, is, that were the
antagonist otherwise situated, his person would intervene between the
machine and the spectators, and preclude the latter from a distinct
view. But this difficulty might be easily obviated, either by elevating
the seats of the company, or by turning the end of the box towards them
during the game. The true cause of the restriction is, perhaps, very
different. Were the antagonist seated in contact with the box, the
secret would be liable to discovery, by his detecting, with the aid of a
quick car, the breathings of the man concealed.

14. Although M. Maelzel, in disclosing the interior of the mac