The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1890-06-26

AheFe IS also the skull of a man
Gnu TWO statues of small boys, one of
wnom turns the hour glass eyerv time
sno CLOCK strikes, the other Containing
hlmself by putting forth a rod. Above
Onese' IN turn, are statues (alles orica1\
Oh spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter
IN the upper part still above the
iaS6 named statues, are the figures of
iouf old men; these strike the Quarter
nours with their hammers on a rono,
he statue OF Death, hideous LOOKING
SAeleton, comes out to strike at each
quarter, but is driven off by statue of
Ghrlse' with a spear in his hand. for
tnree-quarters; but in the fourth ouar-
Ter the figure of Christ retreats and
Deatn strikes the hour with a bone Ae
soon as he finishes striking he falls in a
neap and all the chimes are set ringing.
Twice each day the image of a cock
which sits on the top of the framework
rlses' flaps his wings and crows aloud. y
Williams 'Rarities of Mechanical In
genulty'' says that it run continualIv
Tor two centuries without renairs
'Rhineland Tales" makes a statement
strangely to the contrary. 1t saws:
The inventors name was
soon On every tongue and members
Oh the guild from Basil tried in vain To
purchase the clock. Strasburg became
alarmed lest the maker (name NOT
glVen) should sell it to rival citv. and
made sure that it would not leave the
town by purchasing it and selecting
chapel in the cathedral for its re-
ception. The Basil emisssaries were
much enraged, and demanded that
the inventor make duplicate of
his wonderful machine. He agreed
to the proposition, but the Strasburr an
thorities would not permit the master
artist to construct another clock on the
same principle. The inventor declared
that his talents were his own, and that
he would not ask the leave of any one to
exercise them. This aroused the ire of
the presiding magistrate, who ordered
that the clockmaker have his eyes put
out He asked to be allowed the privi
lege OF adding some final improvements
TO his work before his light was shut
out forever, and the request was granted.
Long and tenderly he gazed upon
his crowning work until the reyenpefuI
magistrate gave the surgeons orders to
pierce the inventors eyeballs. Neryed
to madness, and knowing that his time
hadcome, the gray-haired artist snatched
a spring from the clock. The works be-
gan to whiz, the weights fell rafting to
the floor, while the bell pounded out
hundreds of hours in the course of few
minutes, breathing out its final sound in
tone of despair. The inventor, whom
the surgeons had blinded while the
clock was wrecking itself, stood erect
and cried out at the top of his voice:
Rejoice, proud citizens, in my work;
the clock is destroyed, and my revenge
is complete
The clock, according to the authority
last above cited, was silent for nearly
two and half centuries, when it was
fully restored by a young Partisan arti-
san in 1S42.
From the above accounts it is safe to
conclude that there is really wonder
ful astronomical clock in the Strasburg
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. 1t
is sad commentary on the unreliabili-
ty of history that the story of such
inventor and his work should
have become mere legend in the short
space of three centuries.
1t is well-known fact that the great
Charles ", was a skillful
watch and clock maker, as well as a
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, III 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 |
late, when the art of watch and clock |
making was in its infancy, he construct
I'D striking clock small enough to be |
worn as an ear pendant, and which for |
Derfectness has never been equaled. |
This wonder is still preserved among
,ther monastic relics at st. just and is
Tiewed by hundreds of ambitious young
lock makers, who wish to become per-
ect in their art, each year. It is less
han three-fourths of an inch tall and
,nly half that wide, yet it has forty-two
distinct pieces, including wheels, screws
md springs, to say nothing of the nine
cen pieces of which the case and alarm
re formed. Charles kept his clocks ar
anged around the sides of his cell on
helves and his watches on a plush COW
red table in the center of the room, all
Except his marvellous pendant clock,
which he continually wore in his ex-
oyal ear.
Before its destruction by the French
oldiers in 1898, the Heidelberg clock
coupled prominent place in the dome
f the Town Hall. As the hammer
truck each hour the figure of an old
nan, almost hfe-size, opened the door
nd walked out in full view of the
treets below, removed his hat, bowed
nd returned to his niche. As he closed
he door cock tapped his wings and
rowed; Father Time made some blind
trokes with his scythe while some
oldiers dressed as French and Germans