The Exploits and Triumphs, in Europe, of Paul Morphy, the Chess ChampionEdge, Frederick Milnes
History
The Exploits and Triumphs, in Europe, of Paul Morphy, the Chess Champion
Edge, Frederick Milnes
Chess; Morphy, Paul Charles, 1837-1884
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 _Hotel Meurice_ would be inconvenient, for many
reasons; and within a day or two of our arrival, had located ourselves in
the _Hotel Breteuil_, at the corner of the _Rues de Rivoli_ and _du
Dauphine_, 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 _Régence_. 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 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 _mazette_.
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 "_un rude gaillard_." 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 him but De Rivière
and Harrwitz, the Prussian amateur merely winning a small majority.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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