Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1890-06-03

--t iost the maker name not
gwen should sell 1t TO rival citv. and
inaae sure that 1t would not leave tha
Town by purchasing 1t and aeleetina
chapel In the cathedral for e.. -,
ceptlon. The Basil emisssaries wan
u'uch enraged, and demanded that
Suo inventor make duplicate n,
ms wonderful machine. He aoraod
70 the proposition, but the strasburo an.
thorlties would not permit the rnesta.
:. si0' W construct another clock on the
same principle. The inventor declared
that MS talents were his own, and thai
DC would not ask the leave Of anv one n
exercise them. This aroused the ,ro .,
the presiding magistrate, who ordered
mat the ciockmaker have his eves NM
OUT lie asked to be allowed the nri III.
iege Oh adding some final improvements
70 MS work before his light was sbnt
out forever, and the request was yrantad
Long and tenderly he gazed upon
ms GROWING work until the reyengefu]
magistrate gave the surgeons orders t,
pierce the inventors eyeballs. Neryed
10 madness, and knowing that his time
haa come, the gray-haired artist snatched
spring from the clock. The works be.
gan to whiz, the weights fell rattlino tt
the floor, while the bell pounded on,
hundreds OF hours in the course of few
minutes, breathing out its final sound II
tone OF despair. The inventor. whom
the surgeons had blinded while the
clock was wrecking ITSELF stood cree
ana cried out at the top of his voice
Rejoice, proud citizens, in my work
the clock is destroyed, and my revenge
is complete"
me clock, according to the authority
last above cited, was silent for nearly
two and half centuries, when it was
iully restored by young Partisan arti
san in 1912
From the above accounts it Is safe t1
conclude that there is really wonder
full astronomical clock in the Strasburp
cathedral, but it would be out of the
question to decide with any degree OF
certainty by whom or when made, and
what its past and present condition. II
Is sad commentary on the unreliable.
ty OF history that the story of such
wonderful inventor and his work should
have become mere legend in the short
space of three centuries
1t is a well-known fact that the great
emperor, Charles ", was a skillful
watch and clock maker, as we'll as
diplomat and ruler. After his abdica,
ton, Charles retired to the monastery
OF st. Just and occupied his entire time
in studying the mechanical arts, being
delighted beyond measure at his success
as an artisan, in what was then, as now
the most skilled of the handicrafts
That he was head and shoulders above
the common bred tradesmen may be in
ferred from the fact that at that early
date, when the art of watch and clock
making was in its infancy, he construct
ed a striking clock small enough to be
worn as an ear pendant, and which fol
perfectness has never been equaled.
This wonder is still preserved among
other monastic relics at St. Just and ie
viewed by hundreds of ambitious young
clock makers, who wish to become per
| feet in their art, each year. 1t is les
than three-fourths of an inch tall and
! only half that wide, yet it has fortytwt
distinct pieces, including wheels, screws
teen pieces of which the case and ALARM
are formed. Charles kept his clocks ar.
ranged around the sides of his cell on
shelves and his watches on a plush GOV
cred table in the center of the room, all
except his marvellous pendant clock,
! which he continually woe in his ex.
royal ear,
Before it's destruction by the Frencl
soldiers in 1893, the Heidelberg clock
occupied a prominent place in the dome
Of the Town Hall. As the hammer
struck each hour the figure Of an ole
man, almost ife-size, opened the door
and walked out in full view of the
streets below, removed his hat, bowed
and returned to his niche. As he closed
the door a cock tapped his wings and
crowed; Father Time made some blind
strokes with his scythe while some
soldiers dressed as French and Germans
fought ON platform below. At midnight
and noon the chimes played national
airs, and once each twenty-four hours the
life of man was illustrated with figures
depicting the seven ages. Tho astro
nomical charts and diagrams were said
TO have been even more intricate and
complicated than those of the Strasbure
clock. The French soldiers debated
the matter long and earnestly before
destroying such a marvel, until they
saw the French soldiers in the automat
zeal fight on the clocks platform over
come by the German troops, after
which they willingly ruined both clock
and hall.
Early in the present century Lon
| don clockmaker of great wealth caused
a marvellous piece of clock work to be
! contracted and given as present 10 the
| Emperor of China. The body Of The
clock was chariot, to which was at
tached. in imitation of Cupid's outht
two tiuv doves. Behind figure Of Mer
eury seemed to be aiding the dove
horses in the task of pulling the lady
the umbrella and humming bird, whlc
went to finish up the curiously deslgne
affair. The lady stood in the front c
he chariot, covered with the umbrella
which rested on two tiny columns c
yold, holding in one hand the face
the clock. and two ribbons attached l
the heads of her birds with the othel
The humming bird, which swung o'
meath the clock face, acted as pend'
, turn and continually moved from RICH
, to left in seeming perpetual ecstacl
, rhe umbrella above, although to all az
ncarauces not at all connected with III
.locl,-wnrll. WIS in reality the bell whle
the hour, half hour and quarter hou