The second contains the games with his French opponents. The third and fourth present a detailed account of the respective matches with Harrwitz and Anderssen. The concluding chapter of the second volume expresses the author's own reflections on the American champion's extraordinary triumphs and future prospects.
These are the elements of which this work is composed, the merits of which we fully acknowledge; we cannot, however, conclude these remarks without animadverting to some points which must obtrude themselves to the English reader. First and foremost among them is the way in which the German author speaks of Morphy in the first volume; his praises sound like an apotheosis, no Roman poet ever addressed more flattering or high sounding epithets to his Cæsars. Even Caïssa's crown of glory seems to grow pale before this new-born light. No living Chess player, nay, even none of our dead celebrities could be compared to him, whose rising reputation is, as yet, in its first phase, and whom, when in his full glory, no Pantheon could hold, nor Westminster Abbey enshroud. Far less high sounding, however, are the praises meted out to the youthful hero in the cantos of the second volume, at the end of which there seems to be even an inkling of the possibility that some player may yet be found whose lance may not be shivered upon the unconquered breast-plate of this fearful paladin. Similar discrepancies on other points may be found in the two volumes. Although we fully agree with Max Lange in the estimate of Anderssen's play, and think with him that in his match with Morphy he has played considerably below his strength, we cannot but disagree with him in his estimate of Harrwitz's play, who, as he seems to infer, has played up to his strength. Whoever peruses the games between Morphy and Harrwitz must easily see that in the latter part of the match, Harrwitz laboured under some inimical influence, moral or physical, whatever that might have been, we leave it to him to explain.
In the glossaries we have found much interesting matter, and many details with which we were, as yet, unacquainted, especially as to the match between Anderssen and Morphy; as to these, however, we must refer our reader to the book itself, or the English translation by Herr Ernest Falkbeer, which has united the two volumes into one, added a goodly number of games to the original edition, and enriched it with translator's notes, which, considering Herr Falkbeer's skill as a Chess player, must considerably augment the intrinsic value of the work. In comparing the English text with the German, we were struck with the correctness of the translation, especially in the notes, where redundant phrases and periphrastic style are the prevalent characteristics of the original, thus making an exact translation doubly difficult.
