The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-12-12
TINE -MEASURERS
IN TWO PARTs--PARr n.

we'll as literature, it seems, delighted to hatter.
Louis was therein represented upon MS
throne, surrounded by the electors OF the Ter
man States and the princes OF Italy VINO ao-
Vanced towards him doing homage, and retired
cbiming the quarters of the hours with their
canes. The kings of Europe did the same, ex-
cent that they struck the hours instead of the
quarters. The maker, Burdeau, advertised
his intention Of exhibiting this work Of art in
public and knowing the stubborn resistance
offered to his sovereign by William III, he de-
terrnined to make the English monarch's
eaigy particularly plant, SO that when its
turn came he should show an especial hu-
mility. 'Willam, thus compelled, bowed
very low indeed; but at the same moment
some part Of the machinery snapped asunder,
and threw lie Grand Monarque' PROSTATE
from his chair at the feet of the British king.
The news of the accident spread in every di-
rection as an omen; the king was informed of
il, and poor Burdeau was confined in the
Bastile."
Clock-omens, it seems, have not been con-
fined to the work Of this unfortunate French
man. GA correspondent of Notes and Queries
for March %, 1861, relates the following ac-
count of a curious omen or coincidence
On Wednesday night or Thursday morning,
at o'clock, the inhabitants of the metropolis
were reused by repeated strokes of the new
great bell at Westminster and most persons
supposed it was for a death in the royal
family. There might have been about
twenty slow strokes when it ceased. 1t proved,
however, to be due to some arrangement Of
the clock, for at A and 5 O'Clock, ten or
twelve strokes were struck instead Of the
proper number On mentioning this in
the morning to a friend, who is deep in
London antiquities, he observed that
there is an opinion in the city that
anything the matter with st. PauPs great
bell is an omen of i'll to the royal family; and
he added:--T hope the opinion will not extend
to the Westminster bell.' This was at IL on
Friday morning. l see by the Times this
morning that it was not till A. M. the la
mented Duchess of Kent was considered in the
least danger and, as you are aware she ex-
pired in less than twenty-fOur hours. 4
! am told the same notion obtains at Windsor"
century after Burdeau's masterpiece
much more useful work, and one perhaps
equally characteristic of the nationality of its
maker, was executed for George III by Alex
ander Cumming, of Edinburgh, which regis
tered the height of the barometer. "This was
effected by circular card, of about two feet in
diameter, being made to turn once in a
year. The card was divided by radii lines
into three hundred and sixty-tive divisions
the months and days being marked round the
edge, while the usual range of the barometer
was indicated in inches and tenths by circular
lines described from the centre. A pencil
with a fine point pressed on the card by a
spring, and held by an upright rod floating on
the mercury accurately marked the state of
the barometer; the card, being carried forward
by the clock, brought each day to the pencil.
IT Wss not even necessary to change the card
at the years end, as pencil with different
colored lead would make distinction between
two years. This barometer-clock cost nearly
two thousand pounds, and the maker was
allowed,a salary of two hundred pounds per
annum to keep it in repair"
Taking leave of these ingenious complica-
tions, we may say indeed that in nothing ha:
''man sought out many inventions" or exhi
bited his diligence and patience, more thar
in the science of clocllmaking. Earth, air
fire, and water have been pressed into hi
service tor this purpose-the sand or eartl
clock being worked like the water clock; tn,
air-clock consisting in the pumping of a bel
lows like those OF an organ, the gradua
escape of the air regulating the descent of j;
weight, which carried round the wheels; ant
the fre-clock being formed upon the princi
pie of the smoke-aok, the 'wheels beinI
moved by means of a lamp, which also CAV
light to the dial this clock was made Il
announce the several hours by placing at each
corresponding number of crackers, which wer
exploded at proper times" This very alarming
time-piece was outdone by a cannon clock
placed in 1882 in the gardens of the Palais Royal
ga burning-glass was fixed over the vent of
cannon, so that the suns rays at that moment
of its passing the meridian were contracted by
the glass on the priming, and the piece wa:
fired; the burning-g glass being regulated foI
this purpose every month" At Greenwich
Observatory there is a most ingenious wind
clock, which, however is not time -measurer
but registers for itself, with pencil and paper
the wayward action of the wind. ''Eacl
minute and each hour has its written record
without human help or inspection. Once
day only an assistant comes to put new
blank sheet in the place of that which ha
been covered by the moving pencils, and tn
latter is taken away to be bound up in
volume. This book might with truth be let
tered, The History of the Wind; written b.
ItselP-an Holian Autobiography"
The well-knOwn and simple piece
mechanism called a cuckOO-clock ha
been the cause of some spiritual mis-
chief. An assortment of them wa
taken by certain missionaries to the Friendly
Islands, the inhabitants of which resolutel
refused to attribute them to science; the
believed that each contained a spir
which would detect thief If ANYTHING weT
stolen from their English visitors. When
native was sick, the cuckoO-clock was alway
sent for, as being ''great medicine" UnfO
tunately, however, one of the clocks got OF
OF order, and since the missionaries did nc
understand how to set it right, they fell int
contempt, and lost their usefulness.
The two most curious examples of clock
M4Ik-apart from intricaoy-to which Nj
W9ou mas introduced us, are the cloclS-lOc
ana the cock-bed. The former, made b
lOcksmlth OF Frankfort in 1859 COZ