The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1860-04-14


written thsappropriate inscription, ..Discite
this day by lhe curious upon sun-dial now
facing the same Westminster Hall.
There can be. no doubt. however; bat for
a long tirss after The inyentioli Of clocks
and watches-for the latter followed close
upon the heels of the former-they were ex-
tremely imperfect. and of very little real
value. They ought. 10 fact. 70 be regarded
more as costly toys than as really useful
contrivances for measuring time. Up to
the time of Shakespeare, at any rate. they
must have been very imperfect Instruments
indeed for do we not ind him making that
merry mad-cap lord" Byron. IN Love s
Labor Lost. profaneiy institute a compari-
son between women and clocks of his day ::
And I. forsooth in love l, that have been loves
whip; 2. 49,
What ? II ] love sue seek wife
ALTMAN that is like a German eIoek, q
Still a-repairing ever out of frame
And never going aright-baing a Icefeh,
But being watched that it may still go right
We trust the ladies will be induced to
pardon the above highly reprehensible sen
timents, when we remind them that they
were uttered by one who had passed his
life il railing at love; who owns himself TO
have been .'a very beadle to humorous
sigh;'s and who atlast. by an act of retrl-
butive justice, finds himself pierced through
and through--iE short, 'tquite vanquished''
by the soft glances of the gentle Ross
line +. Could my lord. however, have lived
to the present time, he would have found a
wonderful reformation in clocks and watch
es-that the comparison new would really
be compliment. and just one-and. ex-
cepting an occasional disposition to go too
much on tick and TO strike them they ught
not, he would have found that the one could
be as true and as constant as the other, and
stand as little in need of regulating. .
There was one thing. However. which
was wanting in all clocks made up to this
period, without which they could be Of very
little real service, namely. the pendulum -
The origin of its invention is well known !:
the great Calico. happening one day to be
in church at Pisa, was struck with the
isochronous vibrations Of chandelier. sus-
pended by long chain from the roof. and
Immediately conceived the idea of employ
ing the pendulum as regulator for clocks.
By this. isochronisns of the pendulum is
meant that peculiar property or disposition
which it possesses to vibrate arcs of differ
ent lengths, provided that none of them be
large, in the space of time. It is this prop
erty which gives to the pendulup its pecu-
liar value, and is result of the well known
law of gravitation....
Although Calico was undoubtedly the
first 10 perceive the isochronism of the pen
dulum, Huygens previously. investigated
its properties mathema,ically. and published
to the world the valuable results of his in
vestigations and we are further inclined TO
believe, although there are several claimants
for this honor, that he was also the FIRST To
apply the pendulum to regulate the motion
of a clock train. .'
The degree of accuracy with which clocks
and thermometers are now made to perform
is somewhat marvellous. In Queen Eliza
beth's time. a watch. which, by the way,
was about the size of dessert plate, would
seldom 90 for more than few hours. and
that only after fashion of its own. When.
about the sixteenth century. Phillip Of
Spain offered areward of 100000 crowns
for chronomeler which should 20 sufficient
ly well to enable navigators to determine
the longitude at sea. we find Norm, in
speaking Of it to Cardinal Richelieu, say
ing, 81 know not what such an undertaking
would be even to the devil himself, but to
man it would be the height of folly - Now.
it is by no means an uncommon thing for a
chronometer to go for months without. an
error of more than second. whilst the per-
Torrance of our best astronomical clocks
surpasses even this wonderful precisien.-
The perfection to which cl ronome4ers are
now brought makes them extremely valua
hle to navigalors for discovering the longl-
L. Ii IL. 4.
of which is absolutely essential to the safe
ty of our sailors, the supremacy of our ma
Wy, and the stability of our commerce.
Longitude is simply difference in time be-
tween one place and another, caused by a
corresponding difference OF position on the
earth's surface. When, therefore. the cap
tain of vessel departs upon long voyage,
he takes with him chronometer, whose err
ror and rate of variation have been tested,
showing Greenwich time. If, therefore. at
anytime, he wishes to ascertain his longi
tude, or, in other words, his position east
or west of the first meridian, all he has to
do is to compare his chronometer, showing
Greenwich time, with the local time, and
the difference between the two tells him ex-
actly where he is As, however, accidents
may happen TO the best regulated chronOm-
eters, he must have it in his power to tsst
and correct them by a standard which is
tasfalItJIe. To do this, be -eOnsuits time
keeper of grader character, of which the
spacious armament of heaven IS the dial !;
those distant Obs Of light. the fixed stars
the figures and our attendant. satellite, the
moon, both the hour and minute hand As
with steady. unfiagging pace she sweeps
across that mighty dial. he is enabled, by
simple observation with his quadrant. and
reference to his nautical almanac, to as
certain his exact position, and to test the
truth of his chronometer. The tables pre-
pared for his use TO enable him TO do this.
are the result of the most painstaking aud