Morning journal and courier., 1893-03-08


Between the palsce yard at Westminster
and the top of the clock-tower there are
four hundred and twenty steps No one
predisposed to heart disease, even In Its
mildest form, whether an orphan and an
alien OF son Of the soil and burdened
with large gro1iug family, should under
any circumstances attempt to CLUB these
steps unless accompanied By fe or acci
dent insurance policy and a guide. The
mere presence of a guide need not be &C
cspted as ssfequsrd against spople1y,
particularly if the guide be Mr.. w. ].
Prim, the resident engineer Of the palace,
for although not exactly youthful in mere
years, he is 60 accustomed TO going up and
down the four hundred and twenty steps
that six trips in day have no worss ef-
feet upon him than to put rszor edge on
his appetite. Besides he will keep telling
you interesting things as he climbs far
ther away from you, and common polite
ness makes IL necessary that you should
occasionally make an effort, even 81 the
expense of a frsc:ured lung, to say eome-
thing la return, every effort Of thia SORT
on your part bringing yen nearer to the
grave as well a. closer 10 the top Of the
clock-tower. Having arrived on q level
with one of the disls, you sesrch with an
exhausted glance for g chair, forgetting
that chairs are not really part of the ne.
cessary equipment of a clock tower, and
not finding any, ycu lean In a languish-
ing way against the wall and transfer a
square foot or more of whitewssh from
the wall to your top-cosf, a. the same
time ignitiDg your hair with the assist
ance of one of the eighteen gas-jsts by
which the dial is illumined.
The clock for which Big Ben strikes
the hours is the largest in the world.
Looking at the dial from the northern
footwsy of Great George street, or from
the Embsnkment, the dial looks az II Its
diameter might be equal to the space
that a man of medium size could cover
with outstretched arms. This estimate
hardly does the dial justice, for its d.
smeter Is tventy-thres feet. From the
ground the minutes on the dial look like
ordinary minutes, and as IL they were
close together. AS a matter of fact, they
are q foot apart. The numerals are two
feet long. The minute hand, with the
counter balsnce-the heavy end that pro-
jects beyond the center of the dial-is
fifteen feet In length. This hand is 80
massive that during g snow-storm some
times the clock is retarded by the weight
of the fakes that alight upon 1t. Still
the clock is seldom behind or ahead of
time, as 1t is regulated from Greenwich
every day at noon The dial is made of
two thicknesses of glass, one of clear and
the other of opal. These are rolled to.
gether. There is crack in the dial that
looks down upon New Scotland yard.
How Ii was made is not known, for the
glass Is too strong to be cracked In q
collision with any of the birds that fire.
ouent the cleck tower. Each dial, for,
of course, there Is one for each point of
the compass, Ia illuminated 81 night by
eighteen gas Jets. Between the lights and
the dial there Is a space of about three
feet. Electricity was tried, but it threw
shadows on the dial, so return was
made to gas.
The clock room Is sn apartment about
atteen feet square. Fully q third of It
Is occupied by the works. The other
two thirds are filed with "ttck- tick
tick-tickr tha. never stops and that bo'es
holes through people who are unsccus-
TONED to it The "tick" is large enough
and loud enough to supply about Q hun
dred clocks of the style thst stand on
the floor and are on terms of intimacy
with the ceiling. The pendulum is too
long for the room, and is accommodated
with hole In the aoor, go that Its swing
is familiar to two apartments. 1t does
not look unlike the drIving-rod of huge
engine. When the chimes announce that
another quarter of an hour has fed there
is q frightful commotion In the clock
room. A large double fan whizzes around
as If time were worth one hundred
pounds second, and 1t wanted about
an hour. 1t stops as suddenly as 1t be-
gan, and then a ratchet, on which the
spindle runs, makes ripping, crunching
noise, that In the dark would strike ter
ror to the heart of 8 stone dog. The
clock is wound up by hand. 1t is wound
up twice q week. The winding lie done
by two men who are supposed not to
have q weak spot in their frames. Esoh
winding up occupies four hours, during
which no vacation for refreshment pur-
poses Is permitted The men halt while
the Quarters are chimed. No difficulty
has ever been experienced In inducing
them to halt According to an inscnp'
tion on the works, This clock was made
| In the year of our Lord 1854" from the
design Of Mr.. Edmund Beckett Denison,
by Messrs. Dent.
To reach the home of Big Ben from
the clock-room 1t lie necessary to elimt