The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-03-18
IIMFPIECEs AVID PATIENIS
Device Of "a Sick Man Who Wanted to Know
what Time II Was.

h' WIN va MS WOVn GNU NV"I'iNu " WV
with tn" reputedly iniallible regulator. Return
Ing the ~tlmepicce to his pocket with a slight nod
OF satisfaction, he remarked TO his friend
"A good watch IN as necessary to q doctor as
to any one alive. But it's funny to note how
careful about their timepieccs some people nre'
to whom a few moments inaccuracy would make
not the slightest difference I've a patient who,
during rather a long confinement 10 the house,
sent his vale, every day to compare his PCT watch
with this particular regulator, and then had a
TT OF hdsets II all the clocks In the house were
not night to the fraction Of a second. He used
to listen for ,hrlr striking, and would have pre-
fcrred them all 10 strike at the sam" rate and IN
exact unison, This being impossible oi ottnih
ment, he demanded u them that they should
At least all strike. and finish striking, between
the first and last strokes Of the great beauty that
stood in the hall and struck the quarters, and oil
four quarters before the hour There were never
fewer than five strokes, he explained to me even
al | O'Clock; 50 ne did not consider his demand
unreasonable. As The end Of an hour approached
h. would strain his ears for the first whirr OF the
hammers, and b- beCa me 80 lmplacahle toward
u French clock Of great beauty Of appearance
and only Q very slight tendency toward lnnccu
racy that he orler'l It thrown out into the ash
barrel, His daughter duiifully placed the clock
in the barrel, then took il out and earned u 10 her
own apartment
Papa wouldn't want the clock thrown away
II he were we'll, she said in defence Of her duIii-
city, and It's such a favonte ~ mine. But ! dare
not let It strike, u course, she added rcgretfuily
i don't mind shat part, for although I'm so far
away from his rooms, I'm sure papa would hear
il and recognize the tone al once, even II 1t could
be- Induced 10 strike on time The old gentle
man is around all right again now, but I've often
wondered whether hs laughter dare let the clock
strike, even now"
Was that the quoercst Of your experiences in
this line" asked The DOCTORS companion.
We'll, when YOU come to that, it's not easy 20
say which is he quecrest But the one that Of
fprlel me The most amusement. ! think, was an
experience ! he'd up IN Chautauqua last summer
! was called IN To visit n man who had a chrome
disease tia. had kept him out Of active life Tor
some time. and At the time was called IN
was Suffering from a violent attack Of indigestion.
There was a good ieel that was pulling about
the case, ana rs II was In the evening ! was IN
NJ hurry, and sat down for Il chat with the pa
tent, n very pleasant fellow. | inquired very
closely into details; 50 spent over three quarters
Of an hour IN he house. When | first sat down.
the big clock down at the dock struck 8. Purely
from habit, | compared my watch with 1t. There
was but two Or three minutes discrepancy. Well,
W. hal chattei quite a few moments when q small
clock IN the room struck r. again glanced
at my own timepjec". and noticed that the clock
was fifteen minutes slow, but Ms my patient was
talking Driskly made no comment
After what seemed 10 me- a very short time
n dock in an adjoining room struck 49, was
startled AT that and looked al my watch very
hastily II was only half past, s This
time MIR Morris notced nv action, and remarked
that The clock in the next room struck half an
hour last As there Mere still some things |
wanted 10 know more about We continued To talk
for another quarter hnur. Md then a Mig, deep
slowly. mai.s,ically s. THIS lime ! was
nonptnssed. the more 81 as Norris. watching
my face, s%uddcnly hogan 70 laugh
That ClOck, he explained, is q quarter 81
an hour fact, and strikes siS hours fast or slow,
a. you like TO take it
We'll, III be started to say hut didn't
finish and | continued, - Obliged 70 You if
put in order, finished rather lamely. Not one
In the house is right
"oh, its not so bad as you think he replied
all rich, AZ 70 time, us only the striking tina,
Is, fast And as 10 having the clocks put In order
WHY doctor, I've spent n LOT OF time thinking
this al out and getting them ~ work as | liked.
| only got the clock downstairs worked in 10
day; in fact, I've only had that idea since the
night before last | lie awake a good deal ri
night, as | told YOU Well, suppose / wake al
a quarter aticr Il. after a while, the clocks
strike the half.hour, one stroke. Vow how ON
I 10 know II that is a half hwr. or ! O'Clock
] wait half an hour, for can, go 10 sleep again
I'LL know what time il il; and then there is an.
until for the third time the clocks have struck
can determine whether 1t IS IL 80
| or $50 O'Clock Even il it is half pas,
hour before ! know what time II is. So have
carefully studied ont this plan, by which | can
tell every quarter hour exactly what time 1t is.
The doctor paused and drew out his memo.
Il made = note Of his plan. he explained. It's
really ingenious. See here Two O'Clock, oi
course for all practical purposes, would strike
the hours. Bedroom clock, q quarter hour slow
strikes correctly Iihrary clock. time right,
hut strikes y half hour fast Parlor clock. a
quarter hour fast. strikes Sax hours last OF slow
"lou SEQ, said Morris. II ! hear the town
clock, then ! know that's just what IT ~pretends
To BE- II il u this clock here thnt strikes. say,
3. ! know, It is a quarter after > " The
hHrary ;iock strikes i, 3 ,b kn c,Tc, at i once ,ns M,
strikes nine l., is Of course in reality 4 quarter
before 2 So I never have more than a quar-
ter Of an hour 10 wait before | feel satisfied 70 go
Of to sleep again.
The doctors friend was staring in fascination
nt the book in which the performances Of the
different clocks was recorded u,., .n.,
You ever gc, SO you could tell what time it was
when Won were there, without consulting your
own watch"
lie wns sick of and on all summer. 50 | was
often at his house But n few days after my
first visit noticed no clock struck At thrse-1uRr
tirS. an III" six hour fast or slow fellow struck
on the hour ! looked at him inquiringly; his
face took on q disconsolate. much abused eS-
preston, but there was a twinkle ~ amusement
in his eyes as he said
Yes I've bad to make a change in my AZ
rangcmpnts. Mrs, Morris is very sympathetic.
and has been greatly interested in my expert
m"nts, but ther' is n point at which she rebels
an. il has been reached She put tho case ~
me strongly says she doesn't care what d|with
the res Of the clocks, but that Is the clock she
regulates the household by that is the clock by
which she goes 10 class, gets dinner, sends Rose
to her lessons, goes To- lectures and attends church.
She doesn't mind adding or suhtracting six when
II strikes, but III" quarler Of an-hour fast feature
drove her 10 desperation, and she protested So
vigorously that ! finally yielded and STOPPED
the clock for fifteen minutes, so that II nov strikes
on the hour
81 hated 10 do IT, he added, q retfully, and
] tined hard 10 make her pity the sorrows 81 q poor
man lying awake q quarter II an hour longer