Mower County transcript., 1890-06-18
A VALUABLE ME.PiECE.
4 Clolster ClOck Three Hundred Years
Old Owned Ia st. Louis.

Old Owned la st. Louis. n
When tho first clock, horolorium
(hour-teller), was made Is something the
most careful investigation has failed to
discover. It has been stated that the
tlrst clock was invented by an arch
deacon named Paoifens, in the ninth
century, but to establish this fact corrob-
orattve evidence is lacking. 1t is gen.
orally admitted, however, that clocks
existed as early as the twelfth century,
though the earliest description of one is
In tho thirteenth century, when the
Sultan Of Egypt Is said to have sent
horologium to Emperor Frederick II.
The collection Of old clocks with in.
teresting histories has been quite a
mania with some antiquarians, but the
craze has not spread to any extent in
the United States. George w. Childs,
Of the Philadelphia Ledger, is about
the only man who has such collection
In the country, and among 1t he has
some very old and handsome specimens.
One clock which Mr.. Childs values
very highly and which is a valuable
one. because OF its history and tho Incl
dents connected with it. is one which
was torn from q monastery during the
''Reign OF Reason,' or when the People
OF France revolted from the tyranny OF
religion and corruption of nobility. 1t
has been thought for long time that
Mr.. Childs was the only possessor OF
ono Of these clocks, but it has been re-
Gently learned that Mr.. w. II. Rodgers,
Of No. sl4 North Third street, this city,
has similar clock, and one which is as
handsome as that owned by Mr.. Childs.
The clock of Mr.. Rodgers is made of
French walnut veneered with tulip
wood and constructed after the Holland
style. 1t is Z feet 8 inches in height,
and has cap with a glass front, which
fits over and protects the face or indi-
Gator.
of numbers, which are pain ed in blue
on white porcelain set in the brass dial.
One set is for minutes, the other is the
regular flve-minute divisions. The
hands are of blued steel.
The clock strikes quarters, halves
and hours, and has an alarm arrange.
ment, which can be set for any hour.
The works, though supposed to be 500
years old, are in perfect condition,
and the striking bell is particular
ly clear and sweet in tone. The pendu-
lum is s feet 8 inches long, and the
clock beats 4S19 times per minute. Mr.
Rodgers, the present owner of the clock,
bought it in the year 1864 from an old
German clockmaker on Third street,
named Nagel. When he purchased it,
Nagel informed him that tho clock
had come to him from son OF
Mrs. Bedo, French lady of Ste. Gene
We've; that Mrs. Bedo had brought it
from Salan, France, in 1S49, it having
descended to her from her grandmother.
1t was her understa nding, from infor.
nation derived from her ancestors, that
the clock was taken from a monastery
during the French revolution of 1893,
and in he same way fell into the hands
Of her family. The legend is that it
was built by monks for their own use to
summon them to their rites and vigils.
The date of its construction is wrapped
in mystery, but is supposed to have been
early in the sixteenth century.
The clock is q handsome one, and
was made to fill niche in the wall OF
the monastery hail.
Mr.. Rodgers values it at 1925.
The only other cloister clock in the
United States, owned by Mr.. Childs, is
similar in many respects to that Of Mr..
Rodgers, but slightly taller.
The frame is made of French oak,
carved with exquisite skill. 1t stands
nine feet high and the ornamentation
beside the carving is of cast brass. The
general features of the construction are
similar those of Mr.: Rodgers'clock, with
the exception of the kind Of wood, and
that the panels are inlaid with tortoise
shell.-St Louis Republic.