Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-01-29
HOW TIME is COUNTED IN n,
PIES.
Half am Hour After Sunset ia .,
O'Clock.

Half an Hour After Sunset ia ..
O'Clock.
A correspondent writes from Nanlo.
to The London Times: The mode ~
reckoning time is a question Of 90
much y terest to all Englishmen
whether : home or ia foreign lands
that | venture to hope a few words
on the subject may not be unaecenf
able, Several letters have appearsd
in The Times starting objections to
the change proposed to be made in tbe
horometry of England am so ac-
customed, from a long residence n
southern Italy, to the counting of time
from one to twenty that | am
not likely perhaps to be equally sepsi.
BILE to the difficulties which some NAV
feel and there is fxity in the startin9
time which renders the mode Of
reckoning suggested for England
much easier than it can be in these
southern lands. Midnight is invari.
able, while sunset varies from dav In
day, making a considerable differ
ence in the course of fortnight. and
creating the necessity of altering the
clocks TO that extent. Half an honr
after sunset is "a o'clock, and from
that point we begin in this country to
open. a fresh account with time. On the
day on which | am writing the sun
sets here at 4:37, and a o'clock Is
therefore 5 :07 o'clock, while / o'clock
will be now COZ o'cl, ok. The mani.
fest advantage of counting from MD
night as proposed in England Is
evident. 1t is apprehended by some
that the striking Of the hours from
to "a might occasion a considerable
disturbance to nervous and sicklv
persons. This is difficulty which Is
easily obviated, as it is here. The
twenty-four hours are divided into
four parts of six hours each, so that
our ears are never distressed by more
than four bells at time, with the
respective quarters. But how to
distinguish between those diyisiopsp
it may be asked. The peasantry settle
the question in a very simple manner.
At the termination OF the first division
of SIX hours they announce that the
first 'tintin' Latin tintinno) has
sounded. the second tintin will of
course announce that twelve hours
have elapsed, and so on till 25 o'clock.
But withoHt paying attention to these
indications of the lapse Of time, no
one with q degree of observation or
power Of calculation can mistake the
first divieion of six hours for the
second, or making any confusion
with the remaining divisions. As to
the dial plate of the clock or the
watch, it is marked in the same way
as that in countries where what is
called French time is observed from
/ TO ~; and the same remlrks that
were applied to the hours as they are
announced by the clock bell will serve
for the calculation of the dial. There
can be no difficulty for anyone pos
Sessing of the minimum of common
sense to determine whether 2 o'clock
on the dial is two hours after mid
night, or ii o'clock. My only object
has been to show that in those coun-
tries where it has long been in use the
ecclesiastical mode of calculation has
been attended with no practical diff
Guilty, and very much less difficulty
will attend in England, where an
iuvariable hour viii be the point of
departure. Italians have also another
help, inasmuch as at II o'clock the
bells ring out thirty three times that
being the assumed age of Jesus
Christ 1t wants then three hours of
"a o'clock, and arrangements are made
accordingly.