Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-02-10
ALARM CLOCKS.
The Ba|ky Kind That Will Ex-
asperate Anyone's Patience.
Experiences Of a Man Who Had Par
ticuIarly Bad One.
Mental Suggestions. Mathematical caIcula.
Itions and Patience Fall TO Affect II.

A clock can De ilne IiloSl contrary |
thing under the sun. 1t is more than |
human when it once takes a contrary |
streak. A balky horse is not to be |
compared with balky clock. With a |
horse all there is to do is ITO surprise |
him or to get his attention changed |
upon some other matter and off he |
vii, go. but with a clock it is different.
greatly 50. The machine Will hang off |
with persistency that would do JUS
even more annoying than one Of that
class of men. which is, as everyone
knows, saying much. Like the insur-
ance men though. the clock is some
thing that we must endure and would
not do without.
The alarm clock of the present age
is not an expensive thing. 1t takes but
dollar from the pocket of any man
| to buy one OF these clocks that are
| warranted To be nickel plated and 10
| run for 10 years if properly cared for.
| The question that has risen in the
| mind of many is this. What is, proper
care? Is it not enough to wind it
carefully each night and then let it
alone? Under such care should 1t not
submit to running for at least six
months?
This clock question has been a great
one to friend Max and it is as yet .un-
| solved. To let him tell it in his own
words. the experiences he has been
through are enough to make anyone
who has had a similar experience pity
him from the bottom of their hearts.
| II bought the animal of a dealer in
the articles of that SORT. bought 1t at
the jewelry store. as thought I
would be able to obtain a better one If
bought at a high-toned place. than to
buy it of dealer who sold everything.
l wish now ] had bought l9-renter
and not had the tone that went with 1t.
| The clock was as sulky as a spoiled
lady of fashion from morning until
night. For the first few weeks it
graced the stand at the head OF my bed
and occasionally woke me from my
slumbers to4arise in the morning when
it was necessary for me 40 arise
earlier than usual. Then all of Il sud
den it took it into its head to ge.
funny ] saw how gay ii was getting
but thought it was something in a
mistake must have made, But no,
it was in the clock.
Il wished to awake one morning 10
catch a train with a party cf other
men. | awoke at 1 and without glanc-
ing al the clock remarked that for so
early in The morning ii was remark
ably light. Then | looked al the clock
Horrors. no one knows the feeling that
comes over man who wakes from Il
slumber and finds that the train his
firm supposes him to be on has been
gone a half an hour. and he is apt to
miss an important engagement. He
turns cold all over and he feels smaller
than a brownie when he realizes that
he has not the power to awake at his
pleasure. Three thousand resolutions
run Though his mind as to the action
he will take in the future. If these
resolutions could be kept he never
would miss another train in his life
Seeing that clock had failed to ring the
alarm at the time | set it. and was
now mockingly pointing at :, | jumped
out of bed and said just one great big
damn. There was volume Of mean
ing in that little word though For a
moment | thought over the situation.
and though in my boyhood had been
at the head Of my classes in mental
arithmetic and in all branches of
mathematics, l could not figure how
was to catch that train that had gone
half an hour before.
AS though to mock me that blamed
clock began to ring the alarm. Then
saw that there was something wrong
with the machine. For an hour or
HioTt anu HndiIy 1OunQ the
combination that run the alarm in it's
present state. BY course of progress
sions and other methods. l was able to |
set the alarm so that it would ring to |
minute to the time l wished. even in !
its disorganized state
We'll. that day I took later train,
and still later as l received all that l |
would have received by going on the
earlier. got so that could joke over
my clock. 1t happened that was too
previous, as my troubles were net over
by any means. l was to catch the
same early train two mornings after
and by my series of mathematics. /
figured in less than an hour and a half
just how to set the clock to wake me
at $50. giving me time to rise and eat
my breakfast before train time.
went to bed without a care. Oh, my
confidence in that clock was something