The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-07-20
QUEER OLD TlMEkEEPERs.
Giioi % mankind to Escape Winding
Clocks.

| SAuCkSs
Since The first invention of the clocl
man has busted himself in scheming ant
inVentlng ways of winding timekeeper
that YOU'D give as little trouble as pos
slble. For this purpose tine winds, the
tides. the atmosphere, even the moyemen
OF the body, have been utilized.
Long before thu Christian era water
CLOCKS were in use. They were followed
by the sun dials. About the eleventh
century clocks moved by weights ant
wheels began to be used in the monaste
ries OF England. In 1886 the first of thu
wheel clocks publicly seen in England
was placed in ST. Paul's Cathedral. II
1919, when the present st. Pauls was be
gun, project was on foot to make {
clock for the cathedral that should go Ion
years without winding up and cost "a, O0O
The plan was not carried out. The clock
made cost $500 and ran for eight days.
1t was considered great wonder
1t is said that the first pendulum clocks
We're made in England about 1922. Oil.
YER Cromwell owned one of them.
Through the fickleness of fortune it ha 8
since found its way to the PHILADELPHIA
Library, which boasts its possession as
the Oldest clock in America Another
of these early pendulum clocks was made
in Germany in 1640. and was recently ia
ken for repairsato clockmaker in Hart
| ford, Conn. He found that it was wound
| by means of an endless chain and would
go for six months without stopping.
In the London Times in February, i SGT,
an advertisement appeared of the sale of
valuable and curious clock for go. 1t
was warranted to go for twelve months
without winding. The advertisement
stated further that only three such clock S
had ever been made; that one was at
Hampton Court, one in a nobleman IS
family, and one at the advertisers What
fate befell the two latter is not known,
but the one at Hampton Court is still
shown as great curiosity 1t is in the
bedroom of William III. The guard that
| shows the clock always gravely remarks
that surely it is q very great improve
ment on the old Westminster clock, whose
keeper spends two hours arduous labor
The atmospheric clock, which is a sort
OF perpetual hour glass, is one of the in
ventions that goes of itself. In appear
ance it is like long thermometer with
the bulb OF mercury at the bottom. The
glass tube is about three-eights of an
inch in diameter and secured to the frame
by two bands through which it passes
easily. The divisions of time are marked
on each side of the tube. Inside the glass
tube is smaller tube shaped very much
as an hour glass. Some mercury and
scrap of blotting paper for the purpose of
taking up any moisture that might gath
er in the tube are placed at each end The
mercury in the top end of the tube is
placed opposite the mark of the proper
time and it falls to the bottom of the
tube exactly as the time passes When it
has run out from the top of the frame it
can be turned and the mercury set to the
time on the other side. So it registers the
seconds and hours quite as accurately as
any other timepiece. But there is the
turning of the frame to be thought of. a
task as irksome as that of winding a
clock.
A windmill clock, the idea of which
originated in Germany, illustrates a
unique way of winding without hand Ia
Dor. In some spacious chimney where
there is always o good current of air a
windmill wheel is placed. By aid of the
wy Wuoois 0Ae cucular movement is than
passed down the chimney and attached to
thu winding apparatus of the clock that
stands on the nantel shelf. This ia
known as one of the perpetual motion
CLOCKS. The turning of weather cook
by the wind has also been utilized for the
same purpose.
At Fort Garrison can now be seen an
interesting piecs of mechanism for the
purpose of measuring the height of the
tide. 1t LOOKS, aud is in every way ar
ranged, like an old fashioned weight and
pulley clock. Twice in every twenty.
four hours it is wound, and by the tide.
The weights are placed in square box
like arrangement that rests on float on
the water. AS the tide goes out the
weights are gradually lowered, and the
process OF winding takes place. The
clock, as 1t is called, was lately repaired.
owing to damages that it had suffered
from the action of the weather. With
that exception 1t has pursued its unvary-
Ing course year in and year out, with no
other aid or sympathy than that extended
to IL by the tide. In museum in Lon
don was exhibited once clock whose in.
ventor calledsit the Perpetual Motion. !"
1t did not rely on any of the elements for
winding, but was supposed to run con-
tInuously by itself. It's inventor smoke of
1t in this way: "From this piece. nv a
union OF mechanic and philosophio prin.
c1ples motion is obtained which will
continue forever. Steel and brass must
in time decay; still the primary cause Of
its motion being constant ana the frio-
ton lnslgnih can't, it will continue its &C.
ton for longer duration than anv per.
formance has yet been made to do. :" In
appearance 1t was like an ordinary tall.
eight-day clock, with the dial at the top
The sides were of glass, through which
could be seen some cumbersome pepdu-
lum work and cords and pulleys Dia-
monds We're used to resist friction
wherever 1t was possible. The method of
Keeping 1t IN motion was never disclosed.
One OF the most interesting of self |
winding clocks was displayed IN a win
dow on Broadway a season or two AGO.
The case was of bronze and modelled like |
a small Newfoundland dog about ten in.
ches long. The face of the clock was in
the side of the dog. The stroke of genius
was in the pendulum, which with every
movement wagged the dogs tail and |
caused his tongue to go in and out. Rut |
this was not all; at tho even hours the
little dog instead of striking simnly |
bliDked his eyes, very much after The
OF blueeyed china doll. II was
found that in place of the regular appar-
atus for striking there was a lever simi.
larly designed which, at the even bonr
down the dogs eyes, Their fai,
I; - xuai0ht Had ctro,, r.jxx t"A-