The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1870-11-11
What Time is 1t.
BIZ AMANDA t. JONES.


A few years ago I went with party Of
merry friends to spend several days at 9
beautiful place in the country, where We
expected to see flowers and fountains, riv-
era, forests, lakes and the most wonderful
bridge in the world, called Portage Bridge.
It was late when we arrived, and there
was nothing to be seen that night; but the
next rnorninQ-avakened by the roaring
waterfall Just before the house, crept
down stairs, thinking would take walk
before breakfast. Some one had risen be-
fore me, for the front door was set open
and the wind was blowing through the
hall, bringing in the swinging branches Of
a climbing rose, set thick with flowers.
There was lust one red ray darting from
the east TO kiss the sweetest bud of them
all; only one ray, it was so early.
6H,rSI what was that2 There was
r-s.,e in one corner of the hall. near the
ceiling; some bird has been sleeping there
all night / thought, and looked up expect
ing he would fly out and hurry away for
his breakfast.
What happened then? A little door OPEN
ed rnd the bird few out, but did not fly
away. He nodded his pretty head toward
me and sang Cuckoo, i've times, to let
me know it was five o'clock and then dart
ed DdCK ana Tue QOOr SIub. lOL 10 Ld44 oeAu
all he had to say that time.
l'I bought that clock in Switzerland"
said gentleman who came into the hall
moment after; ssand although have bought
a great many curiosities IN my travels over
the world, have nothing that prize 30
much; it is so pleasant to have each hour
begin and end with a song"
Pleasant indeed But although my
friends clock was q treasure, there are
clocks in the world much more wonderful
The most wonderful of all is at Strasburgh
cathedral in France.
When it is time for the hour to bestruck,
/ q figure, with wings, to look like an angel,
opens door, makes low bow to the i'm
age of Mary (the mother of Christ) and
strikes the right number Of times upon q
bell. Another angel stands holding an
hour glass which ne turns as soon as the
first has finished striking. A golden cock
flaps its wing and crows twice. A bell is
struck once at each quarter Of the hour;
first by child with an apple, then by
youth with an arrow, then by man with
q staff, and last By an old man with
lcrutch. There are several other curious
things besides these, SO that this clock Is
really one of the wonders Of the world.
4 But what did people use, before clocks
were invented, in order to tell the time Of
day? and how was it, that, out of all their
many contrivances for that purpose, there
came at last to be real figured, wheeled,
ticking, cuckoo-singing time-plece, such as
lny friend had found In Switeriandf
The earliest Southern nations began 70
mark time with q sun-dial; not the flower
of that name. but an instrument consisting
of two parts; a plate Of metal called o
r,,,o,nsn which was set on edge IN such
/. manner as 20 point exactly north and south
and another plate, called a dial, set so that
|, the shadow of the gnonen would always
I f.U nnon IL on one side or the other ex-
cent at exactly noon. The dial had marks
! for hours, half-hours, ETC., and when the
shadow touched q certain mark, its number
would tell the hour. ,,
That did very well for q beginning. Still
! there would be times when the sun did not
! shine all day long. Quite lately-only 3
thousand wears ago-Alfred the Great, q
oood and wise king of the Saxons, IN Eng
: and invented a curious plan Of telling the
time by night as well as by day. He made
; way candles twelve inches long, marked at
4 aonal distances, and six OF these
. candles would burn twenty-four hours.
To he sure the winds would sometimes
vhirl in and put them out, so he made
3 cases for them Of thin white horn; that Il
the way lanterns came to be made.
: There was way of telling time severa
9 thousand years ago, by putting water II
something that had hole In the bottom
I When II had all slid through, it was called
: the end of the hour; not very correc'
measure you may guess.
You may have seen hour giasses' tne,
I are so made that small quantity OF sane
= viii slip through little tube from on
" class to another. When the sand has al
! run out OF the upper glass, an .nour na
: passed, and you turn tue cuneus clocl
: upside down to set the sand running
a again. ,-o-o rss,
in making clocks, they were turned By LIT
+ ia streams of water. About seven hun
= dred wears ago, weights began to be used
= = that BY sinking very slowly, turned u
- wheels. l-is-
p In those days q clock was thing to 0
er taken care of! Only four hundred an
y ffty wears ago, King Henry vi OF England
ls selected a trusty man to take cars OF 70
% eourt-house clock, and paid him whi
VI would be. in our currency, twenry-ns
3 cents day for so doing.
u II ia but little over two hundred yeai
S sinee a man in London, named hlcnar
- Harris, invented clock with pendui1n
70 and soon after watches were made. NJ
40 40 until that time had the clocks told anythln
al bnt the hour; the minutes and second
10 had 10 take care Of themselves.
" @'e- So you see that there have been So
es clocks. water clocks, candle clocks, san
OF clocks wheel clocks and pendulum clock
and / have heard OF many others that we
yery strangely made; one in partcuia
o, that was kept running BY mouse; 80 tn
ne was mouse clock. But the prettlest clocl
let I ever saw were Four O'eoeks brig
to S1de.