The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-05-08
The Castle Clock; Or, How Hans Up
set the Solar System.

SET the Solar system.
ALONG time ago there lived on the
banks of the Rhine small boy named
Hans. He was the son of the warder Of
the Castle of Klatterdasche-a stone
castle on wooded hill, not many miles
from Bingen. Below, in the valley
next the river, was the village OF
Schlossburg. Hans and his mother
lived in the village; but his father had
to stay up in the castle, to lock the
doors and windows, pull up the draw
bridge, and wind up the castle clock
every Monday morning.
All this was so long ago that watches
had not been invented, and the big
clock in the southwest tower of the
castle was thought to be truly won
derful piece of machinery. 1t had a
big dial, that could be seen from all
parts of the village, and even from the
other side of the river. 1t had also a
big bell, that sounded the hour. On
still nights it could be heard for miles
up and down the Rhine. 1t was even
said that once the Lorely heard it at her
home on the crags, and was so alarmed
that she forgot to sing to the fishermen.
This fact, however, is not mentioned in
any of the story-books about Miss Lore
ly, which was certainly great a over
sight on the part of her historians.
The people of Schlossburg had neither
clocks nor watches. Clocks cost much
money, and nobody had ever seen a
watch. Before Baron Klatterdasche
put the clock in the castle-tower, they
had depended on the sun and moon and
stars for the time of day and night.
They got up when the cocks crew; and
they went to bed when it was dark, as
they felt sure it must then be night
They planted beans when the spring
frogs piped in the meadows. They cut
the grass when the raspberries were
ripe, and they piled up the winter wood
when the birds flew away. Once, when
there was an eclipse of the sun, the en-
tire population went to bed at half-past
two in the afternoon, only to wake up at
three, in broad daylight. Once fool
ish young cockerel, who had been
dreaming, crowed at midnight. All the
the people got up and started their fires
for breakfast, and were surprised to find
how long the sun was in rising that
morning. So they went to bed again
and slept till noon; for the cockerels,
being disturbed so early, were too sleepy
to crow.
For boys with well-regulated minds
such state of affairs would have been
perfectly dreadful. For Hans and his
playmates of Schlossburg it didn't make
much difference. The sun rose and set
pretty regularly; the moon waxed and
waned just about so; the stars seemed
to go through their motions with reg
ularity that was quite comforting; the
winter and spring and summer and au-
tumn came round in the same order
every year; and all the Schlossburgers,
both young and old, felt sure the entire
universe was carried on pretty much
the same all the time.
When Baron Klatterdasche put up
the clock, and in free lecture at the
town-hall explained what it was for, the
Schlossburgers felt deeply grateful
Now, said they, we can get breakfast,
and have dinner, and put the children
to bed without paying any attention to
the sun or the moon. In fact, the
clock would make them quite independ-
ent of the Solar System. Hans's father,
being the most learned man in the place
Che could write his name and he knew
vulgar fractions), was appointed to
the honorable position of town clock
winder. Soon after this Baron Klatter-
dasche went off to the wars; and so it
happened Hans's father was left in
charge of the castle and the new clock.
The Schlossburgers were very proud
of their clock; and for the first few
nights sat up all night to hear it strike
the hours, as they were not quite sure it
would 90 in the dark. After this they
paic no attention to the cockerels; but
got up when the clock struck five, had
breakfast at six. and went to work at
seven; at twelve they had dinner; at six
they came home to supper; at eight
O'Clock the small children went to bed !;
at nine the bigger boys and girls went
off; and every candle in the place went
out at the same instant on the first
stroke of ten.
Hans's mother used to put the dinner
on to cook by looking at the sun, and
let it boil by an hour-glass. Now she
went to the door and looked up at the
castle, and governed her cooking by the
big clock. Hans's father stayed at the
castle, and every day Hans carried his
dinner up to him. So it happened that
Hans made the acquaintance OF the
castle clock. He stood by when his
father oiled the wheels, and helped him
turn the crank when he wound it up on
Monday mornings. His father explained
every point, and showed him how the
pendulum worked, and how it made the
clock 90 slower when it was heightened
and faster when It was shortened. All