The construction of the interior being thus understood, the chess-player may be introduced into the chest through the sliding panel U, Fig. 74. He will then raise the false back of the large cupboard, and assume the position represented by the shaded figure in Figs. 68 and 69. Things being in this state, the exhibitor is ready to begin his process of deception. He first opens the door A of the small cupboard, and from the crowded and very ingenious disposition of the machinery within it, the eye is unable to penetrate far beyond the opening, and the spectator concludes, without any hesitation, that the whole of the cupboard is filled, as it appears to be, with similar machinery. This false conclusion is greatly corroborated by observing the glimmering light which plays among the wheel-work when the door B is opened, and a candle held at the opening. This mode of exhibiting the interior of the cupboard satisfies the spectator also, that no opaque body, capable of holding or concealing any of the parts of a hidden agent, is interposed between the light and the observer. The door B is now locked and the screen I closed, and as this is done at the time that the light is withdrawn, it will wholly escape observation. The door B is so constructed as to close by its own weight, but as the head of the chess-player will soon be placed very near it, the secret would be disclosed if, in turning round, the chest door should by any accident fly open. This accident is prevented by turning the key, and, lest this little circumstance should excite notice, it would probably be regarded as accidental, as the keys were immediately wanted for the other locks. As soon as the door B is locked, and the screen I closed, the secret is no longer exposed to hazard, and the exhibitor proceeds to lead the minds of the spectators still farther from the real state of things. The door A is left open to confirm the opinion that no person is concealed within, and that nothing can take place in the interior without being observed. [Illustration: _Fig. 70._] The drawer GG is now opened, apparently for the purpose of looking at the chess-men, cushion, and counters, which it contains; but the real object of it is to give time to the player to change his position, as shown in the annexed figure, and to replace the false back and partition preparatory to the opening of the great cupboard. The chess-player, as the figure shows, occupies with his body the back compartment of the small cupboard, while his legs and thighs are contained in the space O, behind the drawer GG, his body being concealed by the screen I, and his limbs by the drawer GG. The great cupboard CC is now opened, and there is so little machinery in it, that the eye instantly discovers that no person is concealed in it. To make this more certain, however, a door is opened at the back, and a lighted candle held to it, to allow the spectators to explore every corner and recess.