The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1889-10-19
wonderful Watches.
John ". Wright in St. Louis Republic !


John W. Wright in St Louis Republic.
For years old DIR. Allan, the Scottish
physician, was suspected of being wizard,
an opiuion which was considered all but
confirmed when, in 1880, he provided HIM
self with silver watch of the regulation
size and style. CHANGING to stop with
ueighbor over night and it being somewhat
cold, he laid the watch near his body and
covered it with the bed quilts 50 that the
chilly weather would not affect the works
Next morning he arose rather abruptly and
left the house without removing his treas
ure from its coy nest in the bed.
In Kidding up the room the servant dis
covered sthe internal ehattering thing,
and Immediately concluded that il must be
the old doctors familiar spirit, conclu-
sions which were hardly arrived at before
she had fed wildly from the room. Other
servants were called and the whole array
charged the schattering thing in the bed.
Clubs and tongs were freely used, but the
case was strong and the thing still chartered
de6antly. One of the girls, more courag-
eous than the others, finally agreed that
she would take the tongs and carry the
thing to the moat and drown it, proceed
inc fraught with danger, but at lat decided
upon. The Others followed at respecta-
bic distance with hoes, clubs and shovels,
with which they proposedtO pounce on the
thing should it attempt to attack the heroic
Girl. When the old doctor returned for his
watch he was informed of what had been
done. one of the servants leading the way
to where the thing had been drowned. L.
was found hanging on a bush on the bank
of the moat The failure to beat or drown
the thing to death fully convinced the ser
wants that it was in reality the old wizard
spirit, and they could not be persuaded to
touch it.
This story Is related simply to show
what rarities watches must have been even
at that late period Of the seventeenth cen
fury.
A MARVEL IN ITS WAY.
In 1869 one of the admirers of George
III caused to be made for that monarch
watch which was marvel in Its way. IL
had calendar hand which pointed to the
DAYS Of the month aud Of the year. In
stead of making revolution every month,
Ike the calendar watches of to-day, It took
the whole 365 days to get once around.
The dial plate was only two inches IN
diameter, therefore, the figures must have
been very minute, otherwise the 300 nu-
merals could not have been arranged around
the border.
The annual dial calendar was but one
of 4 number Of extras with which this
watch was provided Amoveable diamond
performed diurnal revolutions as regular
as did the great orb after which It was
modelled il struck the hours, the half hours
and the quarters, while an inside dial plate
revolved IN a manner clearly exhibiting the
variations of the seasons.
The English kouse Of commons, follow
ing suggestion of Sir Isaac Newton, ap-
pointed 4 committee june IL, lila, with
power to- offer reward of f20, 900 to any
one who would invent an accurate time
keeper for use at sea in determining lougi-
tude. After many years of labor and
study the invention was announced as per
fected However, the inventor, John Har-
rison. did not receive the reward for his
labor until September Is, l764.
Keyless watches have been known for
the past 100 years, but not until within
the past twenty-five have they come into
general use
1t would take columns to enumerate all
the dainty and wonderful little time-pieees
that have been made during the past 400
years They have been made not larger
than pease, and set in rings for physicians
to facilitate the counting Of the pulse.
They have been fixed in bracelets, brooch
Is, eye glasses, tops Of umbrella handles
and even on the ends of lead pencils, where
they occupy the same position as the rub
Der.
In 1888 matchmaker Of Dresden ex-
hibited a watch made entirely Of paper.
The paper was chemically prepared, and
the maker claimed that it would be as
serviceabIe as if made Of the material or
dinarily used.
The same year, at fair held at Wor-
cestershire, England, the Crowthers Bros
& Co. exhibited one made entirely of iron.
WONDER OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
An ingenious prisoner at Kariaus, Boz
hernia. recently constructed watch, eight
eentimeters in diameter, with no other
tools or material except two needles, spool
of thread, newspaper and some rye straw.
The wheels, posts and cogs are all made Of
the rye straw. which. il is well known, is
quite coarse and tough. 1t runs six hours
without winding and keeps good time. 1t
is now in possession of the project of
Kariaus, who considers it the greatest
marvel of the Nineteenth century.
The most ingenious, perfect and COM
plex watch ever manufactured was sent
out from the works of Patek, Philippe 4
Co.. of Geneva, Switzerland, in July, 1877,
and is now in the possession of Baron
Nicholas. 1t is what is known as the full
sized sshunter." On one side there is a
dial Of the regulation kind, exhibiting the
hour. minute and second hands, also an in
dependent ehronographie hand which marks
the fifths of seconds. The same dial has
repeating mechanism, which strikes the
hours. quarters and minutes.
The opposite dial has hands pointing to
the months, weeks and days Another
large central hand on this dial, if set at the
of each year, correctly points to
an moon phases and also acts as perpet-
ual calendar. 1t is so constructed as to
admit of its keeping two different times,
say standard on one side and sun time on
the other.
You can spoil hat by wrong brushing
Never use a whisk broom or stiff brush on
1 felt hat. Remove the dust with soft
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