iTER LIFE 
 
 i. BUCK. 
 
 i, 25 CENTS.
 
 / - 
 
 oo
 
 PAUL MORPHY. 
 
 HIS LATER LIFE 
 
 C. A. BUCK. 
 
 WILL. H. LYONS, 
 NEWPORT, KENTUCKY. 
 JANUARY, 1902.
 
 PUBLISHERS PRFACE. 
 
 C. A. Buck of Toronto, Kansas is the 
 
 % 
 
 author of this interesting and comprehen- 
 sive biography of Paul Morphy. 
 
 Mr. Buck has gathered from authentic 
 sources facts and data in the later life of 
 Morphy that have never been published. 
 Several years were devoted to securing in- 
 formation; a month was then spent in New 
 Orleans verifying and adding to his store of 
 facts; Morphy's relatives and friends giv- 
 ing him great assistance. The matter first 
 appeared in a prominent Western news- 
 paper. With Mr. Buck's consent, I now 
 offer it in its present form. I have added 
 a portrait of Mr. Morphy from a photo- 
 graph taken immediately after his return 
 from Europe, also his autograph. 
 
 WILL H. LYONS.
 
 PAUL MORPHY. 
 
 The chronicles of Chess, amplified as it is 
 by a literature richer than that of any other 
 game, offer to the student nothing to com- 
 pare with the career of Paul Morphy, the 
 game's greatest master. A number of cir- 
 cumstances conspire to make Paul Morphy 
 an unique and monumental character in 
 chess history. The two salient factors of 
 his fame were, of course, his wonderful 
 chess play and of his extreme youth during 
 the period of his active chess career. Inci- 
 dentally, the fact that he was the only 
 master of the first class that America had 
 produced up to his time augmented his 
 prestige; and then, too, his personality, 
 marked as it was by many graces of the 
 mind, added lustre to his fame. His later life, 
 during which he met with many disappoint- 
 ments and reverses, finally resulting in a 
 mild form of mania, adds a melancholy in-
 
 6 PAUL MORPHY. 
 
 terest to his career. It was such a contrast 
 to what his j'outh gave promise of that it 
 seems almost tragic in its aspects. 
 
 It is curious to note that while the name 
 of Paul Morphy is known wherever chess is 
 played, and most every practitioner of the 
 game is familiar with his chess, yet there 
 are few players of to-day who know of his 
 later life, dating from his return from Europe 
 in 1859. A sketch of Morphy's later life, 
 however brief and fragmentary, should pro- 
 perly be prefaced by a review of his chess 
 career, not only in the interest of a har- 
 monious whole, but that the reader may 
 have a better understanding of some phases 
 of his character that developed with the 
 maturity of years. 
 
 Paul Morphy was born in New Orleans, 
 June 22, 1837. He learned chess at the age 
 of ten, graduated at Spring Hill college, near 
 Mobile, Ala., in 1854, studied law and was 
 admitted to the bar in April, 1857. He was 
 gifted with a wonderful mind, its precocious
 
 PAUI, MORPHY. 7 
 
 powers being revealed not only in chess but 
 in his studies as well. It should be noticed 
 that before he was twenty years old he had 
 graduated at college and at a law school, 
 his learning embracing fluency in four lan- 
 guages and ability to recite from memory 
 nearly the entire Civil Code of Louisiana. 
 
 Morphy's chess practice during his child- 
 hood was mainly with his father and his 
 uncle, Ernest Morphy. He gave evidence 
 of a keen aptitude for the game and was 
 soon able to defeat them both, although his 
 uncle especially was a strong player. His 
 natural capacity for chess was shown in his. 
 seeming divination of the proper moves in 
 the openings before he had ever studied them. 
 Ernest Morphy wrote to Kieseritzky in 
 October, 1849, that his nephew, then a little 
 over twelve years old, had never opened a 
 chess treatise but that "in the openings he 
 plays the 'coups justes' asif by inspiration." 
 As a matter of fact, Morphy did not at any 
 time have the benefit of chess books in the
 
 8 PAUI, MORPHY 
 
 sense of keeping a number of them at hand 
 for study and reference. What few books 
 he made use of he went through quickly as 
 possible, and after having mastered the con- 
 tents he gave them away. James McCon- 
 nel, the elder, of New Orleans, has a book 
 of the tournrment of 1851 which Morphy 
 gave him when fifteen years old. The book 
 had been issued but a short time when 
 Morphy secured this copy. He soon played 
 over all the games and then gave it to his 
 friend. The volume is especially interesting 
 on account of numerous marginal notes in 
 Moprhy's own handwriting by which he 
 expressed his opinion of the games and cer- 
 tain moves. As is well known, this book 
 was edited by Staunton, and young Morphy, 
 like a child of genius, made a captious com- 
 ment on Staunton' s chess play by writing 
 on the title page to make the authorship 
 read like this: "By H. Staunton, Esq., 
 author of the Hand-book of Chess, Chess-
 
 PAUIy MORPHY. 9 
 
 Player's Companion, etc. (and some devilish 
 bad games)." 
 
 Paul Morphy first showed the genius of a 
 coming master in the three games he played 
 with L,owenthal, the distinguished Hunga- 
 rian player, in May, 1850, when he was not 
 quite thirteen years old. Of these games he 
 won two and drew the other. His encount- 
 ers, about this time, with Eugene Rousseau, 
 a native of France but then a resident of 
 New Orleans, further showed a surpassing 
 mastery of chess for a boy just entering his 
 teens. Rousseau's rating as a chess player 
 may be judged by the games he played with 
 Kieseritzky on even terms, of which there 
 were more than one hundred, the latter win- 
 ning a bare majority. Morphy and Rousseau 
 played over fifty games during the years 
 1849 and 1850, and Morphy won nine-tenths 
 of them. 
 
 Regarding the games with Lowenthal, 
 it is a curious circumstance that five years 
 after Morphy 's death there appeared in the
 
 10 PAUL MORPHY. 
 
 Chess Review of Havana an apochryphal 
 game wherein Morphy accepted the odds of 
 pawn and move, the claim being made that 
 the game was the third one of the scries 
 played with L,owenthal in 1850. The game 
 had previously been submitted to no less a 
 chess scholar than Max L,ange who pro- 
 nounced it genuine. There were several 
 things, so it was claimed, that clothed this 
 bogus game with verisimilitude, chiefly the 
 fact that of three games played the scores 
 of only two were preserved. Fortunately, 
 however for Morphy 's reputation, Charles 
 A. Maurian, than whom no one is better 
 qualified to pass an opinion on anything 
 pertaining to Morphy, has proved that Mor- 
 phy did not accept odds on that occasion. 
 The claim, notwithstanding Max Lange's 
 support of it, has been utterly exploded. 
 From his thirteenth to his twentieth year 
 Morphy was devoted to his studies, but dur- 
 ing his vacations, which were spent for the 
 most part at home in New Orleans, he
 
 PAUL MORPHY. 1 1 
 
 played chess with the strong amateurs of 
 the city and with such players of force who 
 were sojourning there. Hence, when the 
 first American chess congress convened in 
 New York in October, 1857, n ^ s renown as 
 a chess player had preceded him and he was 
 the cynosure of the chess enthusiasts. He 
 won the first prize in this event, and after 
 the tournament he issued a challenge to play 
 a match with any New Vork player and 
 yield the odds of pawn and move This 
 was accepted by C. H. Stanley, who was 
 one of the foremost players of his time, hav- 
 ing defeated Rousseau in a match by a score 
 of 15 to 8 . The proposed match was for 
 seven games up, but Stanley resigned after 
 five games had been played, Morphy win- 
 ning four and Stanley one. This challenge 
 at the odds of pawn and move was also lev- 
 eled at James Thompson, a player of some 
 force, who participated in the main tourna- 
 ment of the congress. Morphy and Thompson 
 had played as many as eight games together
 
 12 PAUL MORPHY. 
 
 on even terms, including the games in the 
 tournament, and Morphy had won all of 
 them, yet Thompson was not prepared to 
 admit that the disparity of pawn and move 
 existed between them. As Thompson would 
 not accept the odds in casual play Morphy 
 sought to tempt him with the odds in a 
 match. Referring to this matter in a letter 
 home at the time Morphy observes that "he 
 seems to fancy that it is beneath his dignity 
 to accept odds of a player who has won 
 every game contested with him. My im- 
 pression is that I can give him the odds and 
 make even games." But Thompson did 
 not accept the challenge. Attention is 
 called to the chess vanity that prevented 
 Thompson from playing Morphy and take 
 the odds of pawn and move, because after 
 Morphy 's return from Europe eighteen 
 months later he defeated Thompson decis- 
 ively at the odds of a knight ! Winning this 
 match at such odds against a player of
 
 PAUIv MORPHY. 13 
 
 Thompson's ability is regarded by some as 
 Morphy's greatest achievement. 
 
 Before leaving New York Morphy amend- 
 ed his challenge to the New York players 
 to embrace any plaj^er in America. The 
 effect of this was to offer the odds of pawn 
 and move to Louis Paulsen of Iowa, the 
 second prize winner of the congress a play- 
 er who, like Morphy, made his first appear- 
 ance before the chess world at this congress, 
 and who, with Morphy eliminated, would 
 have been the most conspicuous player there. 
 No result came of the challenge however. 
 
 Morphy w^ent to England in June, 1858, 
 to play Staunton, the representative of Eng- 
 lish chess, but failed to meet him in a match 
 owing to default by Staunton. They did 
 meet however, in consultation play, Mor- 
 phy's ally being Thomas Wilson Barnes and 
 Staunton' s confere being Rev. J. Owen 
 ("Alter" in chess circles). Two games 
 were played, and Morphy and Barnes won 
 both. Morphy played a match with L,ow-
 
 14 PAUL MORPHY. 
 
 enthal, and won by a score of nine games to 
 three, with two draws ; also a match with 
 Rev. J. Owen, at odds of pawn and move, 
 winning five games and losing none, with 
 two draws. In France he played three 
 matches, winning against Anderssen, 7 to 2, 
 and two draws; against Harrwitz 5 to 2, 
 and one draw; Mongredien 7 to o. While 
 in Europe Morphy gave four seances in 
 blindfold play, at Birmingham, at the Lon- 
 don Chess club, at the St. George's Chess 
 club (London), and at Paris. In each 
 contest he played eight games, and made 
 the unique record of losing only one game, 
 although several were drawn, six by agree- 
 ment. His performance at Paris, consider- 
 ing the strength of his adversaries, is held 
 by some critics to be the crowning achieve- 
 ment in blindfold play. Morphy never 
 regarded this form of chess seriously ; he 
 remarked one time that "it proves nothing." 
 He held to the opinion that a player's
 
 PAUL MORPHY. 15 
 
 strength was measured by his play against 
 single adversary across the board. 
 
 After his sojourn in Paris, Morphy 
 returned to London and played many 
 informal games with the strongest English 
 players, notably with S. S. Boden and 
 Thomas Wilson Barnes. Morphy regarded 
 Mr. Boden as the strongest English player. 
 
 The consensus of opinion seems to be that 
 Morphy's chief claim to preeminence in 
 chess rests upon his victory over Anderssen, 
 winner of the world's tournament in Lon- 
 don in 1851, and admittedly the best player 
 in Europe. In addition to the match games, 
 Morphy and An4erssen played six informal 
 games, of which the Prussian master scored 
 only one. The informal and match games 
 made a total of seventeen games played by 
 these masters, of which Morphy won twelve, 
 and Anderssen three, and two were drawn. 
 Such a result was so overwhelming as to 
 cause consternation in European chess cir- 
 cles, and the chess writers of the time
 
 1 6 PAUL MORPHY. 
 
 sought to sustain the shattered prestige of 
 their master by explaining that Anderssen 
 was in poor health and out of practice at 
 the time. As to the question of practice, 
 Anderssen himself felt that he could play 
 good enough to win the match, and as to 
 his health, he was well enough to travel 
 from Breslau to Paris in order to play. On 
 the other hand, Morphy had been ill in bed 
 for several weeks before the match, was 
 still confined to his bed when Anderssen 
 arrived, and was unable to sit up for several 
 days thereafter. His physician finally per- 
 mitted him to play the match in the hotel 
 and thus avoid the fatigue incident to play- 
 ing in public at the Cafe de la Regence. 
 
 It was while in Paris, during the month 
 of December, 1858, that Morphy 's so-called 
 aversion to chess began to manifest itself, 
 and his feelings in this particular became so 
 aggravated in later years as to create the 
 general belief that he grew to positively dis- 
 like the game. This is a mistake. His
 
 PAUL MORPHY. 17 
 
 experience in European chess circles was a 
 revelation to him. It should be remember- 
 ed that he was a boy, inspired by the ardor, 
 enthusiasm and high ideals of youth ; and 
 loving chess as he did, he w r as shocked and 
 disgusted at the sordid conventionalities of 
 chess practice that was in vogue. The taint 
 of professionalism was repellant to him, and 
 when he saw how the game was madt- a 
 business of, his disgust led him to forsake 
 the haunts of chess. Morphy's idea regard- 
 ing the morals of chess is not suggested for 
 the purpose of making any invidious com- 
 parisons, but simply to establish the fact 
 that it was not chess that he grew to dislike, 
 but the practice of it by those who would 
 make a living by it. As Morphy was fated 
 to be in a way an involuntary victim of his 
 fame as a chess player, his ideas in this re- 
 spect are important as explaining a peculiar 
 phase of his character. 
 
 Morphy returned to America in May, 
 1859, and was greeted with all the enthu-
 
 1 8 PAUL MORPHY. 
 
 siasm due a. conquering hero. In the presence 
 of a vast assembly in the chapel of the 
 University of New York he was presented 
 with a testimonial in the shape of a mag- 
 nificent set of gold and silver chess men, 
 with board to match, the most costly, per- 
 haps, that were ever wrought. The 
 festivities of this occasion were unhapily 
 marred by a dramatic episode that showed 
 Morphy's growing sensitiveness to the 
 ' 'profession of chess. ' ' Colonel Charles D. 
 Mead, president of the American Chess 
 association, was chairman of the reception 
 committee which greeted Morphy, and in 
 his address of welcome he made an allusion 
 to chess as a profession, and referred to 
 Morphy as its most brilliant exponent. 
 Morphy took exception to being character- 
 ized as a professional player, even by 
 implication, and he resented it in such a 
 way as to overwhelm Colonel Mead with 
 confusion. Such was his mortification at 
 this untoward event that Colonel Mead
 
 PAUL MORPHY. 19 
 
 withdrew from farther participation in the 
 Morphy demonstration. The Union Chess 
 club of New York presented Morphy with 
 a superb sterling silver wreath as a token 
 of victory over all. In Boston, also, Mor- 
 phy was given a banquet, at which 
 Longfellow, Holmes, Lowell, Agassiz and 
 many others eminent citizens were present 
 to tender him their congratulations. 
 
 So great an interest did Morphy 's 
 achievements create in chess in this country 
 that Robert Bonner, the enterprising pub- 
 lisher of the New York Ledger, started a 
 chess column in his paper, and secured for 
 it at once widespread popularity by engag- 
 ing Morphy as chess editor at a salary of 
 $3.000 a year, paid in advance. The feature 
 of the Ledger column was the publication 
 of about fifteen of the games between De La 
 Bourdonnais and MacDonnell, annotated by 
 Morphy. Morphy intended to publish all 
 the games between these two masters, as he 
 considered them the finest specimens of
 
 20 PAUL MORPHY. 
 
 chess on record. 
 
 .Shortly after reaching New Orleans 
 Murphy issued a final challenge, offering to 
 give the odds of pawn and move to any 
 player in the world, and receiving no re- 
 sponse thereto he declared his career as a 
 chess player finally and definitely closed, a 
 declaration to which he held with unbrok- 
 en resolution during the whole remainder 
 of his life. 
 
 Morphy made arrangements to practice 
 law soon after his return to his native city, 
 but his fame as a chess player was so over- 
 shadowing that it seemed people were 
 disinclined to regard him seriously in any 
 other capacity. His fellow citizens looked 
 upon him simply as a marvelous chess 
 player and nothing more, and this so irritated 
 him that he began to have an aversion to 
 playing the game even privately. In fact, 
 he became so morbid on the effect of chess 
 on his career as a lawyer that, in spite of 
 all the efforts of his friends and relatives,
 
 PAUL MORPHY. 2 I 
 
 he gave up the work of chess editor of the 
 Ledger, and the contract for which he had 
 been engaged was completed by W. J. A. 
 Fuller. Morphy was associated with D. W. 
 Fiske in the publication of the American 
 Chess Monthly, and although his name was 
 carried on the publication as one of its 
 editors during the five years of its exist- 
 ence (1857-1861) it is known that lie 
 did very little of the work. 
 
 An incident may here be related as show- 
 ing how Morphy was often crucified on the 
 cross of his fame. He became enamored of 
 a wealthy and handsome young lady in 
 New Orleans and informed a mutual friend 
 of the fact, who broached the subject to the 
 lady, but she scorned the idea of marrying 
 a ' 'mere chess player. ' ' Small wonder that 
 he became morbid and abjured the practice 
 of chess. 
 
 During the year 1861 Morphj- visited 
 Richmond, Va., seeking to obtain an ap- 
 pointment in the diplomatic service of the
 
 PAUL, MORPHY. 
 
 southern confederacy, but he did not suc- 
 ceed and returned to New Orleans. He 
 was there when the city was captured by 
 the federal forces. In October, 1862, he 
 went to Havana in a Spanish man-of-war, 
 the Blasco de Garay, and after remaining 
 there a few weeks he sailed for Cadiz. From 
 there he went to Paris by rail, where he re- 
 mained until the spring of 1865, when he 
 returned to New Orleans. In 1867 he again 
 went to Paris and remained about eighteen 
 months. 
 
 During the ten years following his return 
 from Europe in 1859 Morphy's practice of 
 chess was limited to casual games with in- 
 timate friends, chiefly with Charles A. 
 Marian of New Orleans and Arnous de 
 Riviere of Paris. It is thought the total 
 number of games played during these ten 
 years would not exceed 75. The complete- 
 ness of his abandonment of the game may 
 be inferred from the fact that although the 
 great International Chess Tournament of
 
 PAUL MORPHY. 23 
 
 1867 was going on in Paris during his third 
 visit to that city he never once visited the 
 scene of its exciting and splendid contests. 
 Morphy played absolutely no chess with 
 anybody after the year 1869. 
 
 The mental derangement which over- 
 whelmed Morphy 's brilliant mind and 
 clouded his later life is a curious chapter 
 in his career, and has given rise to no little 
 wonder among chess players as to the cause 
 and conditions of his mania. Without go- 
 ing into the details of his mental troubles, 
 two conclusions stand out very clearly, 
 namely, that chess in no way contributed 
 to it, and that the reverses he experienced 
 in his material affairs did. The latter con- 
 clusion is borne out by the fact that his 
 mania took the form of a delusion that his 
 brother-in-law, Sybrant by name, adminis- 
 trator of his father's estate, had defrauded 
 him of his legacy. So intensively did this 
 delusion dominate him that his perverted 
 mind conjured up machinations on the part
 
 24 PAUI, MORPHY. 
 
 of Sybrant to poison him in order to quiet 
 his proposed action at law to recover. Mor- 
 phy was perpetually in fear of being 
 poisoned, and as a precaution would eat 
 nothing except at the hands of his mother 
 or his unmarried sister, Helena. This pro- 
 posed action against his brother-in-law 
 absorbed Morphy's attention for many 
 years; being a lawyer himself he busied 
 himself with the details of his suit, and was 
 much about the law courts in consequence. 
 It should be stated, however, that Mr. 
 Sybrant discharged the obligations of the 
 trust entirely to the satisfaction of the court, 
 which is a matter of record. 
 
 It is difficult to fix the time when Mor- 
 phy's mind was noticeable unbalanced. 
 When the second American chess congress 
 was held in Cleveland in 1871 strenuous 
 efforts were made to secure Morphy's 
 attendance, but he persistently declined all 
 invitations that were urged upon him. 
 Rumors of his malady were abroad then ;
 
 PAUL MORPHY. 25 
 
 some people who were in a position to know 
 aver that his mania was perceptible even 
 before that date. Morphy was never legally 
 declared insane; he was so harmless and reti- 
 cent, and lived in such quite retirement at 
 his home, that there was no need of putting 
 him under any restraint. In June, 1882, 
 his family did endeavor to place him in a 
 sanitarium in the hope that he would be 
 benefited. The institution was called the 
 Louisiana Retreat, located near New Or- 
 leans, and under the patronage of the Cath- 
 olic church. Those in the party that 
 accompanied Morphy were his mother his 
 brother Ed\vard, and his intimate friend 
 C. A. Maurian. When they reached the 
 asylum Morphy protested against his deten- 
 tion with such evident sanity, and discussed 
 his civil rights with such a learned knowl- 
 edge of the law, that the Sisters in charge 
 were afraid to assume the responsibility, and 
 he was taken back home. 
 
 During all these years of misfortune
 
 26 PAUI, MORPHY. 
 
 Morphy still loved chess, and kept run of 
 the current news of the game down to his 
 death. But he was annoyed, and at times 
 even enraged, at the mention of it. This 
 may seem rather contradictory but it should 
 be remembered that his experience and 
 environments were peculiar. It may be 
 worth while to relate an episode that dis- 
 closes Morphy 's feelings regarding chess 
 better than anything else. Under the 
 pretense of assisting him with his suit 
 against his brother-in-law, a lawyer of New 
 Orleans examined the papers in the case and 
 gave his opinion in Morphy 's favor. He 
 gained confidence to such an extent that 
 Morphy ate a piece of rock candy, first 
 seeing that the lawyer himself had eaten a 
 piece. The lawyer then suggested that he 
 would like, at some convenient time, to play 
 a game of chess with him. Morphy seemed 
 alarmed; made sure that no one was in 
 hearing, and then replied : "I dearly love
 
 PAUL MORPHY. 2J 
 
 chess, but not now, not now when we win 
 the case." 
 
 When Steinitz was in New Orleans in 
 1883 he persistently tried to see Morphy, 
 and Morphy persistently avoided him. 
 After four failures to effect an interview 
 between these two celebrated chess pla\ r ers, 
 friends of Morphy finally secured the prom- 
 ise to meet Steinitz on condition that chess 
 would not even be alluded to. This condi- 
 tion was adhered to, and the interview 
 lasted about ten minuses, but was mutually 
 embarrassing on account of the forbidden 
 subject. When Morphy was first approach- 
 ed by a friend in regard to meeting Steinitz, 
 the remark was made that "Steinitz is in 
 the city," to see what effect it would have 
 on Morphy. He replied: "I know it," and 
 after a pause he continued. "His gambit 
 is not good." There is a world of meaning 
 in these words to one who is familiar with 
 all the particulars to which the words may 
 apply. Morphy was then asked if he kept
 
 28 PAUL MORPHY. 
 
 a board and men at hand to play over games, 
 and he admitted lie did, but he could not be 
 induced to talk further on the subject of 
 chess. 
 
 It is said by those most qualified to speak 
 that Morphy's mutual derangement did not 
 impair his chess powers in the least; that at 
 any time during his later years he could 
 have played with all his pristine brillianc} r 
 and accuracy. 
 
 When Dr. Zukertort was in New Orleans 
 in 1882 he met Morphy on Canal street and 
 handed him his card. Morphy put the 
 card in his pocket without looking at it and 
 then greeted the doctor by name speaking 
 in French. Zukertort was amazed, and 
 exclaimed: "Why, how 7 is it you know my 
 name without looking at my card ? And 
 how did you know I speak French? "Morphy 
 satisfied his curiosity by remarking: "I met 
 you in Paris in 1867, and you spoke French 
 then. ' ' 
 
 Paul Morphy died suddenly at his home
 
 PAUL MORPHY. 29 
 
 in New Orleans July, 10 1884. He had 
 indulged in a long walk during the heat of 
 the day, and on his return home went to 
 the bath room to bathe. It is supposed the 
 shock of the cold water on his overheated 
 body caused congestion of the brain, for he 
 was found dead in the bath tub shortly 
 afterward. 
 
 After his death his trophies were sold at 
 auction. The silver service, consisting of 
 a pitcher, four goblets and a salver, being 
 the first prize won at the chess congress, 
 was bought for $400 by Mr. Samory at New 
 Orleans; the set of gold and silver chessmen 
 was taken by Walter Denegre, acting for 
 the Manhattan Chess club of New York, 
 price $1,550; and the silver wreath sold for 
 $250, also bought by Mr. Samory. 
 
 An engaging pastime of chess writers and 
 critics of late years has been that of com- 
 paring the latter-day masters with Morphy, 
 but so far the most flattering comparisons 
 have never exceeded that of equality with
 
 30 PAUL MORPHY 
 
 the immortal Morphy. None have claimed 
 that he has been surpassed by his success- 
 ors. It is safe to venture the opinion, 
 however, that a great majority of chess 
 players award Morphy the palm of superior- 
 ity over players of all times. Certainly, 
 taking into consideration the fact that he 
 was in no sense a chess student, that he re- 
 garded the game solely as a pastime and 
 himself as an amateur; not forgetting his 
 extreme youth when he achieved his won- 
 derful victories, nor the fact that his chess 
 career covered a period of less than two 
 years remembering all these facts in addi- 
 tion to his sublime chess play and then 
 comparing him with the seasoned veterans 
 of the checkered field, who have devoted 
 years to the analysis and practice of the 
 game, it would not seem beyond the 
 bounds of moderation and reason to regard 
 Paul Morphy as the greatest chess player 
 that ever lived.
 
 Unive 
 
 So 
 
 L