The Indianapolis journal., 1883-10-27
TUE srRAsBURG CLOCK.
The Famous Machine Not What 1t Is
Cracked Up To Be.

whose every motion is so perfectly natural
as to almost deceive even the most ooservant.
That is had that sort of mental picture,
and when one goes to see the clock he goes
to see the wonderful pageant and does not
think. thought nor care rap about the
rest of it. That is, 1 went there with that
idea and 1 stepped into the dimly-lighted
transept of the great cathedral where the
clock is and found myself on the outskirts
of large crowd of tourists of almost all ma
tionalities who stood with uncovered heads
in the cool darkness of the place, anxiously
waiting for the moment to arrive when, high
noon having struck, they could see with
their own eyes the things which had caused
them so much wonderment when read from
the pages of book. 1t is rather an impress
siye moment that's a fact. One goes there
with his mind full of expectation, hardly
knowing what to look for stands there on
the outskirts of an expectant crowd, hushed
and silent save tor now and then a shuffling
of feet, as some tired pilgrim changes his po-
s;tion to rest himself, suppressed whisper
from some female pilgrim who cant keep
still any longer or halt-smothered sign
from some tourist who wonders when it VIII
begin; stands there in the enshroudipg gloom
of the place, not knowing at what instant the
performance may begin and catch him blind
ed with the darkness so that he can see moth
ing of it, stands there for long minutes, his
eyes gradually becoming used to TIE gloom
until the indistinct outlines of the dim shape
in front of HIM gradually resolve themselves
and he sees the famous clock in all its par
ticulars, his eager eyes glancing hastily over
it and taking it all in. But there is nothing
very wonderful about the outside of the
clock and one feels a little disappointed at
the twelve or fifteen feet high and eight or
ten broad structure, its front adorned with
rather dim decorations and cut up with va
rious hooks, crannies, pigeon-holes and gal
leries and with several wooden figures five or
six inches high stuck around over it. At
one side stands tower surmounted by the
figure of a rooster ''chanticleer' the guide
book calls him-and containing the weights
which give motive power to the whole mech
anism On the front of the main edihce,
some three or four feet from the ground. are
the dials which indicate the seconds, min
utes, hours, days of the week and month
and the movements OF the planets.
When the hour of noon comes there is a
preliminary whirr of machinery set in mo-
ton and a silvery toned bell begins to strike
the four-quarters of the hour. At each
stroke of the bell the figure of an angel
raises a hammer held in his right hand and
strikes bell held in his left. At first glance
one wonld suppose that the sounds came
from the bell the angel holds, but this turns
out to be an illusion--for one soon notices
that the angels hammer does not quite
touch his bell when he makes his stroke,
and that the sound and the stroke do not
angels bell is a dummy bell, and a wooden
dummy bell at that. This discovery sort of
rouses ones suspicious, and he notices that
the angels movements are stiff, hesitating
and "woodeny," so to speak, and do not at
all represent the movements of a human
being unless it be a human being badly
stffened by rheumatism. One comes to the
conclusion that the angel is badly in need of
oiling At the side of the angel is the figure
of a genius which, as soon as the fourth
stroke comes from the bell stiffly and jerk
lily turns over an hour-glass and resumes his
former immovable position beside it,
Higher up is the figure of Death represented
by a skeleton, and around this skeleton are
grouped figures representing Boyhood,
Youth Ma hood and Old Age-the four
quarters of the hour. The skeleton has a
thigh bone in his right hand, and with this
hone-the head OF it-he is supposed to strike
the hours upon a bell at his side but he re-
ally doesn' do anything of the kind. His
bell is also wooden one and his bone does
not reach the bell by an eighth of an inch
when he aims those slow, hesitating, jerky
blows of his at it. Besides, he gets a little
premature once in while and strikes his
bell before the real one goes off; at other
times he is a little behind hand and brings
his bone down an instant after the real bell
has sounded. Itwould be superhuous to say
ibat the skeleton not only needs greasing
ont also regulating
While the skeleton is going through with
his dumb show and pretending to strike the
twelve strokes of noon a door at the upper
part of the clock suddenly pops open and a
figure OF the Savior appears and moves
stiffly and ierkily forward a few inches. Then
at the left hand of this figure another door
opens with a snap and figure of one of the
apostles appears. He springs forward
a few inches, stops as if surprised to
find himself in the presence of so many pro-
fare tourists, hesitates a single instant, as if
debating whether to retreat or put bold face
on the matter and 90 ahead, finally resolves
on the latter course, makes another jerk for
ward and advances unsteadily until opposite
the Savior Here he makes full STOP, turns
suddenly Wi tn a snap which would decapitate
a living man, faces the Savior makes a clumsy
movement which might pass for an obeisance
If one did not know any better, receives the
stiff1y given benediction, jerks himself around
to the left, resumes his haltng. rheumatic
journey toward en- open door on the Sayior's
left, and disappears In the meantime an
other figure of another apostle has followed
that of the first, goes through with the same
jerky, uncertain pantomiine, and takes his
exit in the same rheumatic manner. So it
goes on until all of the twelve apostles have
passed in review. Then. the door having
slammed behind the last apostle, the figure
of the Savior raises it's wooden arms in very
wooden way, bestows a blessing on the assem-
bled tourists-most of whom are sadly in
need of a real one-and is whisked jerkily
away. l hope that no one will accuse me of
irreverence or blasphemy if 1 suggest that it
would be fine idea to extend the lubricat-
ing of the figures on the clock so as to take
in at least the twelve apostles.
When the figure of the apostle Peter APP
pears the chanticleer on the summit of the
weight-tower begins to bestir himself. He
raises his head ruffles the feathers on his
neck in a very natural manner claps his
wings over his face until the whole cathedral
re-echoes with the sound; claps chem three
separate, distinct and deliberate times, and
proceeds to crow. His head goes far back
his breast protrudes, his beak opens to its
widest extent, his white tongue shows plainly
and he delivers his crow from out ''his lofty
and shrill-sounuing throat" with that pecu-
liar forward duck of the head one sees in the
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