The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-05-30
WONDERFUL CLOCKS.
Marvellous Machinery Used for
Keeping Time.
Clocks Made Wholly Of Ice. Straw. Paper
or Hardened Bread-Minute Time
Keepers, One OF Which a King
Wore On His Ear.

Five hundred and eleven years ago,
in February, 1879, Henry Vic, or, as
some authorities give his name, Henry
de Wyck, the Nuremberg Wizard" set
up the first clock, Of which we have any
authentic record, in the palace of the
King of France. Charles V. was King
of France at the time (although he did
not survive the erection of his wonder
full timepiece more than a year and
half, and Nuremberg, 1.-The cradle OF
Europen invention" was the mistress
of all the high mechanical arts. Legend
ary accounts and casual illusions of
various authors to mechanical contriv-
ances for the measurement of time es-
tablish the fact almost beyond shadow
of a doubt, that the clock was known
some years, perhaps centuries, before
the historical effort Of the ingenious and
deft-fngered De Wyck.
1t is known that Frederick H., who
died in 1851, was at one time presented
by the Sultan of Egypt with time
measuring contrivance provided with
wheels and bell. Dante, who died
fifty-eight years before De Wyck, set
his wonderful 'time-teller" going on
the regal palace of the French King, in
three. separate passages of his works
alludes to a striking clock. So, too,
Calmet, who wrote in 1920, speaks of
striking clock used by the Csterian
monks. History is history, whether right
or wrong; making it worse than heresy
for writer to go beyond certain pre-
scribed limits.
AS all the ''authorities'' concur in Civ
Ing to this Nuremberger of uncertain
name, and still more uncertain nativity,
the honor of being the original clock
maker, | shall follow time-honored
precedent and accord to him esteem
which clearly should be divided equally
between several inventors who lived
and toiled in the dawn which followed
in the wake of the night of the Dark
Ages.
Conradus Dasipodius of Strasburg,
who perfected his wonderful astronomi-
cal clock in 1878, is believed to have
been the first to apply his skill to the
marvellous in clock-making.
The best description of it is that of
traveller who spent five hours day for
twenty-one days carefully inspecting
every part of it before attempting to
give to the public a pen-picture of it's
wonderful intricacies. Although couched
In the peculiar language Of the times,
and Astounding in odd and unseeming
expressions, the description is other
wise remarkably clear. He says:
cat Strasburg spent almost full
month, putting in half day each day
for three weeks, studying out the curl
osities to be found in the strange clock
invented by one Conradus Dasipodius.
Before the main part of the clock stands
globe, which shows to perfection the
motions of the heavenly bodies. The
heavens are carried about by a mover
once every twenty-four hours; Saturn,
by his proper motion, is carried once
about every thirty years; Jupiter in
twelve. Mars in two; the sun, Mercury
and Venus in one year, and the moon
once each M nth. In the clock itself
there are two tables, one to the right,
the other to the left. These show the
eclipses of the sun and moon from the
year 1878 to the year 1924. A third table
occupies the middle Of the space in the
clocks interior. This table is divided
into three parts. In the first part a
statue of Apollo and Diana shows the
course of the year and the day thereof,
being turned once about in the course
of twelve months. The second part
shows the year of our Lord and the
equinoctial days, the hours of each day,
the minutes of each hour, and the Sec
onds of each minute, besides Easter and
all other feast days and the dominica
letter. The third part of the table has
geographical description of all Ger
many and France, a plat of Strasburg
and the names of all those who assisted
in building the clock. In the middle
frame of the clock there is an astrolabe
showing the signs through which each
planet passes. and also statues of each
of the seven planets upon round piece
OF iron, lying fiat, so that every day the
statue of the planet that rules the day
comes forth, the others being hidden
within the frame. Above these there is
terrestrial globe, which marks the
quarters, the half hours and the min
utes. There is also the skull of man
and two statues of small boys, one of
whom turns the hour glass every time
the clock strikes, the other contenting
himself by putting forth rod Above
these, in turn, are statues (allegoricaD
of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.
I'm the upper part, still above the
last named statues, are the figures of
four old men; these strike the quarter
hours with their hammers on a gong.
The statue OF Death, a hideous looking
skeleton, comes out to strike at each
quarter, but is driven off by statue of
Christ. with spear IN his hand. fol-
three-quarters; but in the fourth QUAR-.
ter the figure of Christ retreats and
Death strikes the hour with a bone. As
soon as he finishes striking he falls in
heap and all the chimes are set ringing.
'Twice each day the image of a cock
which sits on the top of the framework
rises, flaps his wings and crows aloud. n
Williams "Rarities of Mechanical In.
genuity' says that it run continually
Tor two centuries without repairs.
"Rhineland Tales" makes statement
strangely to the contrary. 1t says:
The inventors name was
soon on every tongue and members