Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1844-08-22
THURSDAY MORNING, AUGUST %, 1914.
WONDERFUL CLOCK.


Harvard street Church, Boston, wrote a
letter during his tour to Europe, to the
members of the Sabbath school connected
with his congregation. in which he gave
an interesting account Of a wonderful
work of art. After introducing the letter
he proceeds as follows:
There is no subject that can think Of
which will be so likely to interest you as
the great astronomical clock, which
saw tho other day in the Cathedral at
Strasburg. This Cathedral, by the way,
is one of the finest and Oldest in Europe.
1t is very large and its tower or steeple is
the highest in the world. Il is twenty
four feet higher than the great pyramid
in Egypt, one hundred and forty feet
higher than st. Paul's in London, and
:hree or four times higher than the old
South Church in Boston.
The astronomical clock stands in the
inside, in one corner it, and is most
imposing and beautiful edi6ce. Five or
six hundred people visit it every day at
IL o'clock, when IT PERFORMS some extra
ordinary feats, which shall mention pre-.
sently, and several millions in the course
of the year. There have been two or
three clocks in the place, upon the model
of which the present one is formed but
it is almost a new one, and was construc-
ted by a mechanic whose name was
lSchwilgue, 10 1888, to whom a nocturnal
fele or festival was given by his fellow
citizens on the occasion OF its compile.
ton.
To give you some idea Of the size Of
this clock, will compare it with some
other things with which you are familiar,
instead OF saying it was so many feet high
and so many feet wide, &c. Well, then
you remember the size ofthe post Office
in Washington street. 1t is as high as
that, and about as wide, or at least nearly
SO. Its top would reach to the very sum-
NIT Of our meeting house, and its front
would go about half across the front OF
the meeting house. On the top Of it is
the figure Of the prophet Isaiah, about as
large as life /; on its two sides are couple
of stairs 10 60 up into it.
Its front IS beautifully painted, and has
places upon which the hours of the day,
the days of the week, the revolution of
the stars. the motion Of the sun in the
ecliptic, the days OF the month, the sea-
sons Of the year, the phases of the sun
and moon, and great many things, are
indicated. Here, also, in inches prepar-
ed for them, are movable images OF the
Saviour and his twelve apostles Death,
and Time VITA his scythe; the four ages
of human life, and several other forms
which cannot mention.
To give you a little farther idea of its
magnitude, let me say that there are
means Of going inside Of it; and that
some ten or fifteen people, perhaps more,
might stand together in its very heart
and examine the machinery. Mr.. Neaie,
two other gentlemen and myself, with
the conductor went into it and spent
about an hour there. We we1t first into
lower, then into higher, and then still
higher apartment oft, and should think,
of more than thousand peices splendidly
polished and all dependent for the har-
brass pendulum which swings in the CEN
| ire.
But must tell you what this clock
does. 1t not only points out the hours
and the days, the times and the seasons,
| bat the revolutions of the stars, the solar
and lunar equations, the conjunctions and
the eclipses Of the heavenly bodies, their
positions at any given time, and various
changes through which they pass for thou
sands years. 1t points on, apparent time,
mean, or real time, and ecclesiastical time.
On its face you see the motion ofthe stars,
ofthe sun and planets, of the moon and her
satellites. Two little cherubs, who sit,
one on one side, the other on the other,
strikes The quarters of the hour-Death
strikes the hour with a mace,-while
four figures pass and repass before him.
representing the various stages of human
life.
At 10 o'clock every day, when Death
strikes IL, the apostles, who are repre-
scented each with the badge OF his mar
trydom, come out from the clock and pass
before the image of the Saviour, bowling
as they pass, and receiving his benedic-
ton, which he gives with a movement of
thei hand. When the Apostle Peter
makes his appearance, a gilded cock,
which is perched on one side of the clock,
flaps his wings, raises his head. and crows
so long and loud as TO make tho whole
Cathedral ring again. This he repeats
throe times in memorial of the cock that
crowed three times before the fall OF Peter,
during the crucihxion Of our Saviour. or
course the cock makes no farther noise or
motion nil the next day at IL o'clock,
when he repeats the same loud and start
ling crow, Tapping his wings and raising
his head.
HIvING A SwARN.-In the neighbor.
hood of Hereford, England, recently a
swarm Of bees settled under the honnnt Of