Morphy dreamed of playing the chess king of the 1840's - Staunton, and his friends sent the latter an invitation to visit America. But Staunton declined, citing his busy schedule as a playwright and instead inviting Morphy to visit Europe and promising to have a match then. So Morphy himself set off for Europe. In 1858 he arrived in England, where he easily demonstrated his superiority over the local masters, brilliantly winning a match against Lowenthal (spending the prize money on buying the furniture for the flat of his hard-up opponent!), but, alas, after a lengthy discussion and LOTS of excuses from Staunton, the match with the 48-year old English champion never materialized. They did however play in a consultation game where it was Staunton along with another contemporary master paired up against Morphy and another master. Morphy's side won the game. But why did Staunton hide from a match with Morphy? The explanation is obvious - here we can recall the words of Fischer: "Staunton appears to have been afraid to meet Morphy and I think his fears were well-founded. Morphy would have beaten him, but it wouldn't have been the one-sided encounter that many writers now think it would. It would have been a great struggle." The other masters were crushed one after another by the young American prodigy, and in highly spectacular fashion.