The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-12-26
Before the Oay of Clocks.

| TO date life so largely depends on the exact
ALLEGATION OF time, that the man OF today
cannot understand how nations existed ere
clocks ticked tie hours away He cannot
| understand any form of civilization exist
| ing without its handspring the clock Yet
\ this indispensable accompaniment Of our
| daily life, says the London Standard, IS but
| just over five centuries old, which. in COM
| paroSin with the long duration OF ancient
vanished but complex civilizations. Of
which the Egyptian IS the most consp.cu-
Gus. is very moderate extent OF time.
The first clock. in our sense of the word
seems 10 have been for we are not sure
as TO what clocks they were which, in
| S72. the Venetians invented. OF which they
sent a specimen to Constantinople). one
made in 1874 for Charles V. of France. It
vas very big one. weighing several hui
| dred-weights, and made by a converted
Arab. named Henry de iVc, and those who
| are curious may find fun details IN Frois-
sart. This clock was put up in the Round
| Tower OF the palace. and for months vast
crowds assembled TO watch the novelty's
action and details. It is not with this, how
| ever, or any Of the succeeding efforts OF
| clockmakers, that We are concerned, but
at a far anterior date with the contrivances
by which men measured time and supplied
in some degree the place OF the clock. And
back 10 remotest ages must We go,
The water-clock. otherwise the clepsydra.
seems. unless the Egyptologists find some
thing fresh in that land of incessant discov-
| cries from the most far mists OF time, 10
have ben the first scientific effort al not
ingthe hours. \ good many people talk
giibiy about the clepsydra who neither
know its precise construction nor the ma
tion who have the credit of constructine
1t. That belongs to the Assyrian, and i.
! far back as at least over $500 years ago
the clersydra was used il Ninevah under
the sway of the second Sardanapaius. l.
was brass vessel Of cylindrical shape
holding several gallons of water which
comfy only emerge through one tiny hole
in the side. Thus the tr:eklng OF the fluid
marked certain amount of time. and the
water was emptied about half-a-dozen
times per diem. In Ninevah there was one
at the palace. and one in each signal from
a watchman on tower at the moment OF
sunrise, and each had an attendant, whose
business was 10 refill the cIepsydra as soon
as 1t was emptied, the fact being an
nounced by crierS, much as in the last cen
;ury the watchmen drowsily shouted the
hours at night throughoutths streets of
London. Some five centuries later an an
onymous genius made great improvement,
by inserting tothed wheels, which revolv-
ing turned two hands on a dial in clock
fashion, thus showing the progress of time
which from one filling 10 emptying aver
aged two hours and half In this shape
the clepsydra, which was then chiefly pro-
durable in Egypt, became Introduced TO va
rious other nations, including Rome where
it fiourished with various splendid embel-
lishments until the end of the empire.
The sun-dial stands next in the order OF
time TO the clepsydra. 1t was invented al
Alexandra some five centuries and a half
b. Z. Unlike the water-clock. IL 1ourished
through all the centuries. even unto our
own days, where it fifty adorns many
stately or simple oid-world garden and
smooth, shady lawn. 1t was naturally of
greater constant use in other clirnes than
those of our ''brumous'' Isle, from the far
larger amount of sunshine these enjoyed
But some fine and famous sun-dials have
long existed within the realm, and the in
scr.ptions have not been the.r least charm
of the past During the Dark Ages the
clepsydra SENS 10 have vanished with Ro-
man empire. It's reintroduction into Eu-
rope is due 10 that hero of our young days
the Caliph Harounal-Raschid, the famous
potentate Of Bagdad having sent in the
year sN a splendid specimen TO Charlie
masne. But just about or a little before
this time France nit on another mode of
marking time by the invention of the hour
glass, destined TO as long an existence as
the sun-dial. Indeed, properly made, this
was a valuable and accurate time-p.ece,
provided it was regularly turned.
We need not do more than alludc 70 The
habits after the Reformation. and especial
ly in Scotland, of preachers measuring
their discourses by the hour-gass in the
pulpit. These marked an hour exactly.
Those first made in CharlemagDe's day ran
for twelve hours. After the great hit upon
Il method OF measuring time which shows
that there was no Saxon one. though very
probably some of the monasetr.es Chen he
only homes of knowledge were acquainted
with water-ciocks and hour glasses. If not
by practical knowledge, at any rate by
hearsty However the kingdom in general
followed Alfreds plan. which, though in
gen.ous. necessarily lacked anything Ike
the accuracy Of the other inventions. Yet
the Kings idea was hailed as a wonderful
effort to genius. which, for such an era
by comparison with the general ignorance, |
il was. AS every school-boy On this case
literally knows. Alfred marked time by /
rushlights. A long existence. By the way,
has the rushiight enjoyed. seing that md /
dle-aged people still remember It's use in /
the nursery az night. and the reflection OF I
the circular holes in the tall metal shades (
on the ceiling. Alfred. says an ancient au- /
thority. that ne might properly know how /
the hours passed. made use Of burning Ia j
pers which were marked with lines and |
fixed in lantaorns. an exped ent Invented /
by himself" so, by the way. were IN Ss2 /
the ianthorns OF scraped horn, which suli 1
some oid-fssh!one1 rustics prefer 70 glass; I
But tapers. however, were then very ex- 4
pensiye The King might himself use these.
but probably the ruShEsht was used by 4
people ia general.
White Of Seiborne mentions how IN MS /
time and nelghb borGood the poorer classes
stripped the rushes in summer OF the Find
a regular even rib from tor 10
bottom to support the pi,h. and dipped
them in scaltng fat Also that a GOOD
rush measuring two feet four inches and
4 half. being mounted. burnt only three
minutes shor; OF an hour. bus something
Ike regularity might have been sttainsl. I
But always with exceptions. for the cOg-
sistency Of the grease not being the same
the process OF refining "a; Tot benz. |
rushhgn;s must have burnt
iast some slow. However. these tapers
)r rushiights sem 20 have been from iai-
.ime up 20 that Of Edward the Coutesso.
re only generally known precursors %
locks in England. Not untz TIE reig7. o;
he latter monarch we're houT-g.8sses use1
% any extent.
However. in computing time. ne most
iurious. sld among the most sEc.en;, ex-
sted in China, and ss the Cycle %
,s,hay' has revolte5 unalfsres for ages
% wonder !; is stili IN use there. irne Wa