The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-04-26
The StrasburGl, Cathedral and
(,1n1.IG

This clock is one of the notoretes Of the in
terror, though ! assure you that after looking at
the Cathedral felt that the machine up in the
corner was boys play concern, and not worth
having its name shed abroad through all the
world. 1t came right for me to be there at noon,
when the principal performance of the clock
comes off. And there must have been two hun
dred more at the same time to see the same
thing, the ma ajority of them boys and loafers
from the street of Strasburg. At twelve o'clock
precisely the machinery began to move little
boy angel seated some six or eight feet up
the clock (for the concern reaches almost to the
roof of the building) struck a bell, then a
similar little angel turned an hour-glass
which he holds forever and ever in his hands
(and turns every hour in facO, then three
or four figures higher up, which appear
to be "A foot or a foot and half long, and repre-
sent childhood, youth and old age, march out
in succession in front of an old skeleton of
Father Time, or Death, and as each one passes
the old chap he strikes bell fixed there, and
at the same time Death himself strikes the bell
with human bone that he holds in his hand;
then higher up still, twelve other figures, re-
presenting the twelve Apostles. march around III
succession before figure of Christ and turn
! ing salute him, Christ at the same time lifting
| his hand in benedictiOn over the head of each
! one, and, TO crown ALL three or four times dur
! ing this complex operation rooster (mOre ee-
gantly called cock), rs large as life, and stand
ing on the very top of the clock, lifts his wings
| and crows with exceeding naturalness, and with
a voice that fills the whole cathedral and adds
|
! when he and the priest happen to be both in
| exercise at the same time.
All of these many figures move with the
| regularity of machine work. and are highly
puppet-likc, and | should like to take crowd of
| boys 10 see it, because it is curious and funny
| but aside from a certain sOemnity like that
! which attends any measured marking of the
| eternal flow of time (like the slow ticking of
| clock in a still house. or the stroke of the hours
| by night in the resounding bell tower, there is
| nothing impressive in the renowned Strasburoh
| clock and in. great cathedral, one solitary
| deep-yOiced bell to announce the hours and the
! quarters would speak more than all the angels
| bones, apostles, and roosters put together.
The spire OF the cathedral is the highest in
the world (46S tect), but it does not appear So
! and if you were told that il was only 300 feet
high, YOU would easily enough believe it. But
oh the work laid out on that spire. There is no
end TO it, and it would take all day to study it
out and then you would not get it all, partly
! because the bulk of il is so far away from you.
Around the solid spire there is woven n beautiful.
open network OF stone and there are statues
and equestrian forms, and animals and gro
tcs sQues. and stone allegOries and stone poems,
and stone history, and stone conceits, and stone
70. cites, and arabesQues, though the brain OF
the architect had become suddenly alive with
curious and beautiful things which Hocked out
of him like ants out OF hill and took their
places by the tens OF thousands in spire and
form and then were turned suddenly into stone,
and liked forever, for the amaZement of all
generations. In this description / include the
whole front clear to the pavement, for in the
outer arch OF the door at the foot of the spire
there is carving enough, representations OF
Seriptural subjects, for an hours study. | die
not climb that 46S feet, but contentcd myself
with standing on the opposite side of the square
and making out what ] could of the intricate
and beautiful work with my feld-glass-fo
Strasburg has the decency not to crowd he
cathedral but gives it space to show itself il
its full glory Cor. Of Hartford Post.