Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1844-08-09
WONDERFUL CLOCK.

The Rev DIR Turnbull, pastor of the Har-
ward street Church, Boston, wrote a letter
during his recent tour to Europe, TO the
members of the Sabbath School connected
with his congregation, in which he gave an
interesting account of wonderful work OF
art. After introducing the letter he pro-
ceeds 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 the
other day in the Cathedral at Strasburg.-
The 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 1t is twenty-four feet higher than
the great pyramid in Egypt, one hundred
and forty feet higher than 81. Paul's in Lon
don, and three or four times higher than the
old South Church, Boston.
The astronomical clock stands in the in
side, in the corner of it, and is a most i'm
posing and beautiful edilice, Five or six
hundred people visit it every day at twelve
o'clock when it performs some eXiraordlna-
ry feats which | shall mention presently,
and several millions in the course of the
year. There have been two or three clocks
in the same place, upon the model Of which
the present is formed but it is almost a
new one, and was constructed by mcchan-
ic whose name was Schwilgue, in 1888, to
whom nocturnal festival was given by his
feow-ci,izens Oh the occasion Of its COM
petion.
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 fee, high, and so
many feet wide, &c. Well, then, you re-
member the size of the post Office in Wash
ington street. 1t is as high as that, and a.
bout as wide, or nearly so. Its top would
reach to the very summit of our meeting
house, and its front would 90 about half a.
cross 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 to 90 up into it,
Its front is beautifully painted, and has
places upon which the hours Of the dav, the
days Of the week, the revolution of the stars,
the motion of the sun in the ecliptic, the
days Of the month, the months, the seasons
of the year, the phases of the sun and moon,
and great many things, are Indicated
Here, also, in inches prepared for them, are
moving images of the Savior and his twelve
apostles. Death and Time with his scythe, !
the four images of human life, aud 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 ii; and that some ten or
fifteen people, perhaps more, might stand to-
gether in its very heart and examine the ma
chiGery. Mr. Neal, two other gentlemen
ho al
and spent about an hour there. We went
first into lower, and then still higher a.
partment of it and saw, we think, more than
thousand pieces splendidly polished. and
all dependent for the harmonious action up
OH the short, thick brass pendulum which
swings in the centre.
But | must tell you what this clock does |
1t not only points out the hours and the days, |
the times and the seasons, but the revolutions
OF the stars, the solar and lunar equations.
the conjunctions and the eclipses of the
heavenly bodies, their positions at any time
and various changes thro' which they pass for
thousands of years. 1t points out apparent
time, mean or real time, and ecclesiastical
time On Its face you see the motion of
the stars,o the sun and planets of the moon
and her satellites. Two little cherubs who
sit one on one side, the other on the other,
strike the quarters of the hour--Death
strikes the hour with mace while four
sgures pass and repass before huI, repre-
senting the various stages of human life.
At IL o'clock every day, when Death
strikes twelve, the apostles, who are repre-
;sented each with the badge of his MARTYR
fuom, come out from the clock and pass be-
foresthe image of the Savior, bowling at the
pass, and receiving his benediction, which
he gives with movement of the hand
When the apostle Peter makes his appear
ance, gded 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 the whole Cathedral ring again This
he repeats three times in memorial of the
cock that crowed three times before the fall
of Peter, during the crucifction of our Sa-
vior. OF course the clock makes no far
Their noise or motion till the next day at IL
O'Clock, when he repeats the same loud and
startling crow, tapping his wings and rails
ing his head.
The Massachusetts Ploughman Boston.
says Hay will not be so abundant in New
England this year as it was last In that
vicinity the bulk will be one-third less. but
the quality will be uood Grams oc oil L;,J