The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-10-10

W
nrobIeIns in astronomy" II delighted those
who Maid half crown TO see and hear 1t with
moving figures and shifting scenery, Whlch
rolled away to musical accompaniment, IN true
modern Transformation" style. The musical
part embraced "four sets of keys" so that
those who did not like the mechanical playing
could have their better tastes gratifed by the
music of living performers. The Rev. j. Wes-
ley tells in his journal of a clock which he saw
at LuTgan, in Ireland in 1862, which was not
merely musical, but vocal. A figure of an old
man, in a case with curtain drawn before it,
stood over against a clock. Every time the
clock struck he opened the door with one
hand, drew back the curtain with the other,
turned his head as if looking round on the
company, and then said, with clear, loud,
articulate voice, ''past one" or two, or
three, as the case might be. The maker, a
Mr.. Miller, wanted to sell the wonder;
but, although so many came to see it
that he was in danger of being ruined by
his loss of time in showing it, no one seemed
inclined to purchase it, or even reward
his ingenuity-so he wisely took the whole
thing to pieces. Christopher Pinchbeck, who
gave his name to the famous alloy of which
our forefathers were content to have their
watch-cases made, was a noted constructor OF
musical al-timekeepers; he called his house by
the sign of the "Astronomico- Musical Clock"
We may infer that the clock mentioned above
as having been exhibited at the Royal EX-
change was one of his construction; for the
detailed advertisement of it answers exactly
to an advertisement of the clocks made by
him, which appeared in weekly journal in the
year l72l, nineteen years before the exhibition
and a few years after Pinchbeck's DEATH
There was another eminent mechanical genius
who made wonderful clocks in the last
century; his name was James Cox, and
he was not merely mechanic, but had some
ideas of the Importance of art in beautifying
mechanisms, for he employed Nollekens,
the sculptor, and Zofany, the painter, to
make designs for his works. lie made a host
of curious and costly toys with the hope of
selling them to Indian princes, but the Indian
war frustrated his designs, and he was obliged
to turn his curiosities to account by exhibiting
them. This expedient failed, and at last he
obtained private act of Parliament empower
ing him to dispose of his museum by lottery.
| The collection must have included some really
wonderful specimens of ingenuity and eX-
| quisite workmanship; precious stones and
| metals were the chief materials employed in
| their manufacture; but the most curious of
| them hardly come within the limits of our
subject, and we are here obliged to pass them
| by without description. Mason, contempo-
rary poet, said, in allusion to the display
Great Cox, at his mechanical,
Bids orient pearls from golden dragons fall
| Each little dragonet, with brazen grin,
|
e es Thsp we %bss b ad b the MSeS
| The selrsame pearls in nice graduation. all
| Around one common centre rise an d fall"
After all, musical-clock resolves itself into
| little more than a musical-box, set going at
certain times by a timekeeper lust as an
alarum is let off. The connection between the
| clock and the music is not more intimate than
was the music and steam which constituted
an exhibition entitled ''Music by Steam,'' Of
| fered to the curiosity -mongers in London few
| IL 4.
sisted in barrel organ turned by little steam
engine
The mention of alarums leads us to notice
one or two of these useful clock accessories
that come within range of the curious. A
| very active member of this family of mechani-
| cal watchmen was erected in the nursery OF
| Dublin WOrkhouse a century ago, the inscrip-
ton on which sufficiently describes it-"For
the benefit of infants protected by this hospi-
| tai, Lady Arabella Denny presents this clock,
| to mark, that as children reared by the spoon
must have but a small quantity of food at a
time, it must be offered frequently; for which
purpose this clock strikes every twenty
minutes, at which notice all the infants not
asleep must be discreetly fed" Alarum clocks
have been made that, besides rousing the
sleeper, would ignite match and light can
die for him to get up by, and we lately saw one
| that in addition to these functions, boiled a
cup of coffee for the early riser's breakfast.
The wonderful couch shown at the 1851 Exhi-
bition, which tilted its occupant out at any
desired hour is probably in the memory Of
many reader of these remarks; but perhaps
the prettiest and most agreeable of these con-
trivances was the bed made by Bohemian
mechanic in 1858, which set off with one o
Auber's gentle airs when it was pressed by q
tired body, and thundered forth a clashine
march at the time the sleeper desired to b.
awakened.