New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-02-21
/" Big Ben.O


As l pass over the bridge from the Surry
side, the great Palace of Westminster lookf
like prominent feature of some dissolvine
view. Its lamps sparkle over the brigh,
cleaning waters, its windows glow with q
soft yellow light, while high above the din
and hustle Of the streets, the face of the
clock beams down with dull, warm flush
Parliament is sitting, and the two great
rival lights are on their trial up in the Ian
tern. One Of them is just now blazing out
on the other side, and the summit of the
tower, as seen behind. is streaming out
brilliant coruscstions into the silent dark
ness. Leaving the busy streets, make my
way to the foot of the clock tower, enter by
q little grated door, and commence cropping
up little narrow staircase. Everything
about this clock is gigantic. The dials are
twenty-five and q half feet across, and each
of them consequently presents to the world
q surface of nearly 400 square feet. The
figures on them are two feet long, and
the minute space q foot square. In
going once round the face, therefore, each
lance of sixty feet, and in the course
of a year passes over nearly 100 miles.
Thus, since the clock was started,
about fourteen years ago, each of these
points must have travelled little less than
l400 miles; not a bad illustration of what
may be done by sticking to business, even
though the progress may be all but imper-
ceptible. During the same time the bells
within have given nearly 100000 strokee,
one by one, nearly twice over. The hands
themselves are copper tubes attached to
solid gum metal ''stalks," and, together
with the s'counterpoises"- weights at
tached to the spindles inside for tho purpose
of balancing-each Of them weighs nearly
200 pounds. Notwithstanding the ponderous
weight and the enormous sweep Of these
hands, their regularity is marvellous. Twice
every day the clock reports its progress to
the Royal Observatory a. Greenwich by
There its rate is checked by the
ing regulated by actual observation
of the stars during the night. Any
error in the movement OF the great
hands at Westminster is thus detected.
and is telegraphed back. These errors are
registered. and, according to
the astronomer royal, the clock does not
vary a second in week. The winding,
without the striking part Of the mechanism,
occupies twenty minutes. Once more into
the dark staircase, and am presently in
the belfry, with the cold stairs shimmering
through the open masonry, the tiny lamps
twinkliEg up from the world below, and
the frettul wind wailing and rumbling
round the dark, silent monsters that never
give mouth but all London knows it. That
huge black mass in the centre is Big Ben,
nine feet in diameter, eight and three
quarter inches in thickness and between
fifteen and sixteen tons in weight. The
hammer that strikes him has cast-iron
head weighing nearly 700 pounds, and
around the sullen giant are his heralds, the
chimes, one of them weighing $500 pounds,
! M do ir1o dc
md fourth 2IO0 pounds, and sounding d,
E, + sharp and G sharp respectively
The great chieftain himself booming
,ut q terrible bad E. In striking
The quarter, half hour and hour, the first
troke is usually within two seconds of
Greenwich mean time. Big Ben is expected
o begin operations within one second of
rue time, and to do this the fourth quarter
,egins twenty seconds before the hour.
This striking part goes only four days with
tut winding. The operation is performed
vice week and is nearly a days work.
The weights are about ton and half, and
he shafts in which they move are ia feet |
eep. The clock has a pendulum weighing
pward of sixteen shundredweight, and |
Measuring fourteen feet five inches in !
ength. A weird and ghostly place is the |
elfry, with its dense impenetrable shadows |
nd its dim, vague lights, the moaning and |
Obbing of the wind amid the bells. and the |
eep, hoarse tick, tick, tick, tick of it's !!
hudder as gaze down through the gloom
nd the drifting smoke into the world l |
aem to have lett. The hum OF the busy |
multitude comes up dull and subdued |
Y the distance. Far as the eye can
each, myriads of lamps dot out the
treets and squares with their sparkling
res, and through it all the river rolls black
nd silent, with here ana there long trem.
ling pendants Of fire quivering down from
ridge and boat. Up now through the dim,
'ysterious space Immediately over Big Ben.
he spiral staircase leads to slight gallery
: landing about half way up, and from
lis another coils around it into the very
entire of the airy void. Cautiously crop
g my way-for l am quite alone-and at
'ery step firmly clutching the thin iron
Ill, which l can not see, gain the centre
the gloom, and then j1st as am least
linking of it, there is a sudden click and
ang. which we'll nigh startles me into the
'ace below 1t is the chimes going for ten
clock. and in another instant am stand
& holding On to the staircase, amid wild
scordant uproar, which, to q startled
ranger at least, is rather appalling. |
here is a pause now. The reverberations
mble and roll around the walls tor q time,
Id then comes the mighty Ben, with a
Jump which seems to shake the building
its very foundations, and which makes
y trail holding fairly rock to and fro. He
Is done at last, and continue my ascent,
aving him rumbling and growing like a |
i'd beast.-Lei-ure Hour. II
Twenty years ago yesterday, on Saturday,
,bruary 10, 1855, Vice President Wilson
ok his seat in the United States Senate as '
Q successor of Edward Everett. The !
~ 70 Sbo,, ;aJ bo al a. l