The age-herald., 1898-01-02
Before th6 DduS Of Clocks Various
 EKD6dI6ntS For Learning Tim6 Of Ddu


days, the Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid, the famous potentate of Bagdad having sent in the year S07 splendid specimen to Charle- magne. But just about or a little before this time France had hit 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 valuable and accurate time-piece, provided it was regularly turned.
 We need not do more than allude to the habits after the Reformation, and especial ly in Scotland, of preachers measuring their discourses by the hour-glass in the pulpit. These marked hour exactly. Those first made in Charlemagnes day ran for twelve hours. Alfred the Great hit upon a method of measuring time which shows that there was Saxon one, though very probably some of the monas- teries 0hen the only homes of knowledge) were acquainted with water clocks and hour glasses, if not by practical knowledge, at any rate by heresay. However, the kingdom in general followed Alfreds plan, which, though ingenious, necessarily lack ed anything like the accuracy of the other inventions. Yet the kings idea was hailed as wonderful effort of genius, which, for such an era by comparison with the gen. eral ignorance, it was. As every school boy Gin this case literally knows, Alfred marked time by rushlights long ex- istence, by the way, has the rushlight joyed, seing that middle aged people still
 
 and the reflection of the circular holes in the tall metal shades the ceiling. AL fred, says an ancient authority, that he might properly know how the hours pass ed, made use of burning tapers which were marked with lines, and fixed in lanthorns, an expedient invented by himself' fso by the way, were in SS2, the lanthorns of scraped horn, which still some old-fashion- ed rustics prefer to glass;. But tapers, however, were then very expensive. The 1yf ,fxr,t D1f the rushlight was used by people in gen eral.
 White, of Seborne, mentions how in his time and neighborhood the poorer classes stripped the rushes in summer of the rnd, leaving regular even rib from top to bot tom 70 support the pith, and dipped them in scSding fat. Also that a good rush measuring two feet four inches and a half, being mounted burnt only three minutes short of an hour. Thus something like regularity might have been attained. But always with exceptions for the consisten- cy of the grease not being the same-the process of refining fat not being known some rushlights must have burnt fast, some slow. However, these taperS or rush. lights seem to have been from this time up to that of Edward the Confessor, the only generally known precursors of clocks in England. Not until the reign of the latter monarch were hour-glasses used to any ex- tent, though here and there in monaslSries and houses. the owner or which had traV- eled intelligently, specimens probably ex- isted As for the water-cock, the first in this realm seems to have been brought here by Richard I.
 Of all primitive methods of telling the time, however, the most curious, and among the most ancient existed in China, and as the Cycle of Cathay' has revolved unaltered for ages, no wonder it is still in use there. Time was guessed by re- course to the harmless necessary cat. By examination of her eye the Chinaman could and can, make fair shot at the hour by inspection of the creatures pupil. At noon it is said completely to contract, so that thin hair-like perpendicular line only de- notes the pupil, which again after noon be- gins to dialate. The floral clock of Linaeus is, of course, comparatively modern. But, doubtless in remote ages there were some. at least among hunters, herdsmen, and shepherds, who would note the closing or unclosing of the petals of certain flowers at particular times-morning noon, and evening. There was, after the downfall of the Roman empire, one rude method or computing time, among the hordes of bar barians who overran Italy. Something like a rude division of time was obtained by setting a follower of the chief to empty a helmet full of small pebbles one by one into an empty one of similar size.