Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-12-16
THE STRASBURG CLOCK
a Matter OIL Fact Description of the
Evolutions of Its Automata.
Disappointment at the JerlSy Move
ments OF the Rheumatic Fig
Ures---A Little Lubrication
and Regulation Needed.

[Amos Kaeg in San Francisco Chronicle
The little wooden images connected with
the clock and going through their perform
ance in illustration of Biblical event, and,
allegorically, the fight of time, have really
given the Strasburg clock its reputation.
Every writer and observer has followed the
fashion set by the first one who wrote about
them-to whom, in all probability, they did
appear wonderful-and praises their evolu-
tions without stint. So that when one hears
or thinks Of the ''Strasburg clock" he has q
mental picture OF a splendid pageant Of au-
donations which are so skillfully and deity
constructed, and whose every motion is 50
perfectly natural as to almost deceive even
the most observant.
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 various hooks, crannies,
! pig 3on-holes and galleries and with several
wooden figures five Or six inches high stuck
around over it. AT one side stands a 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 mechanism. On the front
| of the main edifice, some three or four feet
from the ground, are the dials which indicate
the seconds, minutes, hours, days OF the week
and month and the movements OF the
planets.
THE HOUR OF TWELVE.
| When the hour of noon arrives there Is
| preliminary whirr of machinery set In mo-
| ton, and silvery-toned bell begins to strike
! the four quarters of the hour. At each stroke
| of the bell the figure Of an angel raises ham,
| mer held IN his right hand end strikes bell
held in his left at FIRST gaence one would
| suppose that the sounds came from the ball
the angel holds, but this turns out to be an
| illusion, for one soon not8ees that the angels
hammer does not quite teoch his bell when
| he makes his stroke and 1,at The sound and
the stroke do not quite correspond In time.
In short, the angels bell Is a dummy bell and
| a wooden dummy bell as that This discpv-
cry sort Of rouses ones suspicious and he no
tees that the angels movements are stiff,
hesitating and "woodeny," 50 to speak, and
do not at all represent the movements OF
human being, unless it be human being
badly stiffened by rheumatism One comes
to the conclusion that the angel is badly in
need of cling.
Attic side of the angel is the figure Of Ge-
| MUS which, as soon as the fourth stroke comes
from the bell stif1y and jerkily turns over an
hour glass and resumes his former immova-
bic position beside it, Higher up is the
figure of Death represented by "a skeleton,
and around the skeleton are grouped figures
representing Boyhood, Youth, Manhood, and
old Age-the four quarters of the hour. The
| skeleton has a thigh bone in his right hand,
and with this bone-the head OF it-he is sup
posed to strike the hours upon bell at his
side, but he really doesn't 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 be 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 of; at other
times he is a little behind hand and brings
his bone down an instant after the real bell
has sounded. 1t would be superfuous to say
that the skeleton not only needs greasing,
but also regulating.
THE SAVIOR AND HIS APOSTLES.
While the skeleton is going through with
his dumb show and pretending to strike the
twelve strokes of noon door at the upper
part of the clock suddenly pops open and a
figure of the Savior appears and moves
stifiy and jerkily forward a few inches.
Then at the left hand of this figure another
door opens with snap and figure of one
of the apostles appears He springs forward
few inches, stops as if surprised to find
himself in the presence Of so many profane
tourists, hesitates a single instant, as if de-
batting whether to retreat or put bold face
on the matter and go ahead, finally resolves
on the latter course, makes another jerk for
ward, and advances unsteadily until opposite
the Savior. Here he makes a full stop, turns
suddenly with snap which would decapi-
tate living man, faces the Savior, makes a
clumsy movement, which might pass for an
> obeisance if one did not know any better, re-
ceives the stifly given, benediction, jerks
himself around to the left, resumes his halt
ing, rheumatic journey toward an open door
on the Saviors left and disappears.
In the mean time another figure of another
apostle has followed that of the first goes
through with the same jerhy, uncertain
pantomime 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 tine
last apostle, the figure of the Savior raises its
: wooden arms in a very wooden way, bestows
blessing on the assembled tourists-moSe. of
WHOM are sadly in need OF real one-and i;
D | whisked ierkily away. l hope no one vii
accuse me of irreyerence or blaspheLny il
suggest That it would be a fine idea to extend
tie lubricating of the figures on the clock sc
as to take in at least the twelve apostles.
3 THE CHANTICLEER.
;: When the figure of the Apostle Peter ap
: peared the chanticleer on the summit of ths
q Weipht-tover begins to bestir himself He