THE MATCH BETWEEN MORPHY AND HARRWITZ.
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."
[Illustration: HERR ANDERSSEN. M. SAINT AMANT. HERR HARRWITZ.]
There is probably no man living who plays so much chess as Herr
Harrwitz. All great chess players I know of, are great _lie-a'beds_, 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 Cafe de la Regence,
where he plays, with only a slight intermission for dinner, until he goes
home to bed again. His opponents are generally visitors to the cafe, not
the habitues; 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 Regence in favor of Morphy,
and many the prayers (_French_ prayers) that Harrwitz might succumb to
him.
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
Regence, and was so rabid about Caissa, that he actually wore shirts with
kings, rooks, pawns, etc., printed over the bosoms and tails. Saint Amant
was never a professional chess player, merely regarding it as a pastime.
Loewenthal'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 Riviere, Laroche, are
engaged in mercantile pursuits; Lowe is getting rich with his hotel;
Hoerwitz 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.
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 was delighted with
his victory, thought he was sure of Morphy, and engaged to settle the
preliminaries of a match on the following day.
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 Riviere 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 Riviere and
Journoud resigned their office in the most kindly and willing manner, so
desirous were they of seeing the match come off.
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 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 cafe.
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, _pawn to queen's fourth_. This opening, and
_Philidor in defence_, as second player, you could no more drive him away
from, than you could induce Great Britain to give up Gibraltar. _Pawn to
queen's fourth_ served Harrwitz's turn once, and so did _Philidor in
defence_, but only once, and I do not think it would then, if Morphy had
been in good condition.
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 reminding him of
his approaching contest, and the necessity for _mens sana in corpore
sano_, 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.
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.
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 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 cafe, especially De Riviere
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."
The result of the play with Harrwitz had shaken the faith of the French
players in Morphy. But as we left the cafe, 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.
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 _salons_ 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 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.
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."
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 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.
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.