The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1880-04-09
Two Wonderful Clocks.

One of the most curious clocks ever mad,
was completed not many years ago by Kar
Keller, German miner of Pennsylvania
so nearly resembles the famous Strasburs
clock as to seem almost an imitation bu
| Keller declares that he has never seen thu
| great clock of Strasburg, and that he neyel
even heard of it until his own work wa.
nearly completed. At any rate, some account
of Ketler's clock will be of interest to Amer
lean boys and girls, as the first piece of me
chanism of this sort our own continent ha,
produced.
Keller was occupied three whole years in
| the construction of his wonderful time-pece
during the last of the three working at it day
| and night, and often so absorbed in his under
| taking as 10 forget both food and sleep. He
was man of very limited education, without
any of the advantages of travel or wide OBJ
| servation and the whole work of this curious
clock was performed with no other tools thar
| two common jack-knives.
The clock is eight feet high and four broad
has sixteen sides, and is surmounted by a
globe, over which is a cross. There are four
dial-platcs, all carved in curious, emblematc
figures of most unique design. One of the
dials shows the day of the month; another
the day of the week; third, the minutes and
seconds; and the fourth, the hour of the day
Above the dial-plates, n gallery extends about
half way around the clock, and in the centre
OF this gallery is q carved wooden figure OF
the Saviour, while at each end is q small door
opening into the body of the clock. Over the
right door is an eagle and over the left a
rooster. Twice a day-that is, at noon and
midnight-there is a sweet Ginning of bells,
during which the small door at the right
opens, twelve wooden figures, personating
the twelve apostles, march in procession with
ST. Peter AT their head, all along the gallery.
Each in turn, as he passes the Lord, bows
with face toward him, and then, rcsumng his
former position, walks slowly forward till he
reaches the door at the left, which they all
enter, When Peter sautes the Lord the
cock crows and when Judas, who is in the
rear, with one hand shielding his face and the
other grasping bag, reaches the cock, it
crows twice. AT the extreme corners of the
clock, placed on pcdestals, are beautifully
carved statues of Moses and Elias, and in the
rear are two obelsks ofthe Egyptian style,
inscribed in hieroglyphics, and designed to
symbolic the ancient period of history. The
clock will run thirty-two hours, and, by a
special attachment, the procession of the
apostles may be repeated whenever desired
But the most astonishing thing | ever
heard of in the way of a time-piece is n clock
described by Il Hndoo raiah, us belonging to
a native prince of Upper India, and jealous
ly guarded as the rarest treasure of his lux,
urious palace.
In front of the clocks disk was gong,
swung upon poles, and near it was pile of
artificial human limbs. The pile was made
up Of the full number of parts for twelve per-
feet bodies, but all lay heaped together in
seeming confusion.
Whenever the hands of the clock indicated
the hour of one, out from the pile crawled
just the number of parts needed to form the
frame of one man, part joining itself to part
with quick, metallic click; and, when COM
plcted, the figure sprang up, seized malet,
and walking up to the gong, struck one blow
that sent the sound pealing through every
room and corridor of that stately CASTLE
This done, he returned to the pile and fell to
pieces again. When two o'clock came, two
men arose and did likewise; and so through
all the hours of the day, henumber oftgures
being the same rs the number of the hour, till
at noon and midnight, the entire heap sprang
up, and marching to the gong, struck, one
after another, each his blow, making twelve
in all and then fell to pieces.--.St Nirholos.