The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1903-07-21
FREAKS OF CLOCKS.
THE STRANGE WARNING CHlMeD
FROM STRASSeURG CATHEDRAL.

Pecuiiaritlcs az the TimcpIcce In the
British House of LOrds-The Mad
ness of Mcchlin's Clock - "NVhen
Clocks GO Crazy, Things 60 Daft"
There Is an old saw which declares
that when clocks 20 crazy, things 10
daft"
At a. m. on Sept. p. 1869. the
world famous clock in the great cathe-
dral nj Strassburg commenced 10 chime
without rhyme or reason. II sounded
1870 poals. then stopped, and after an
interval slowly began 10 toll rs If for
q great ON, dead.
The political atmosphere OF Europe
at that time was indicative Of pro
found peace Nothing of danger or dis
grace could ly any possibility be con-
ccivcd of as threatening Sirassburg or
It's Inhabitants Yet less than year
aftcrward the Herman armies hat>en-
circlcd thc city with a ring of steel and
fire The German shells were falling
thickly Zoo hcr street. and squares and
exploding even within tie precincts
OF thc stately cathedral itself. And
precisely 40 q. m. sept. -. 1870 Gen
oral thrich si-ncd the capilulalion
which WAS 60 deliver Strasshurg into
the hands OF the invaders.
In the holsc OF lords IS certain his
tor.cal timcpiccc which Is said to in
yar.ahly suffer from temporary abcr-
ration whenever % member of the royal
family of Britain passes away. The
popularity was first noticed when VIII
liam ~ died Very early in the morn
ing thc clock began TO emit series Of
peculiar mrelug noises. rs though
ra,p'ng for breath. went suddenly
SLOW and finally stopped altogether.
Al efforts 20 start it failed. and OF the
evening OF Tie day OF the funeral IL
rosllricd of It's own accord. nor did ii
give any further trouble whatever for
many years aftcrward.
10 has over and over again been no.
ticed Chat clocks. especially those sit
uatcd I'm the turrcis Of high buildings
having unusually deep foundations. are
liable 10 20 wrong in sympathy with
seismic disturbances happening in dis
tricts sometimes very far away.
ON Nov. ]. 1850. for instance. fully
half the timcpicccs IN Edinburgh We're
affected Many stopped altogether.
Others went slow or fast or started
striking wrongly In this the supcrstl-
tious SAW some calamity impending
and Il was not until news arrived Of
the great Lisbon earthquake that the
alarm was allayed. II was then discoy-
cred. by comparing times and dates
that the first shock must have travelled
from Fcz I'm Morocco 10 Cape Wrath
I'm Jess than eight seconds.
4 curious colncldcnt was then recall
ed On the evening Of April :. exactly
five years previously. several thou
sands OF persons. particularly those OF
rank and fortune, had camped out In
Hyde park and had thus passed the
hours from dusk tin daylight.
This was 10 avoid an earthquake
shock which had been predicted FOR
The early morning Of the sth 10y an al
legged mailman" The threatened
quake however. failed To materiallze,
and the scared ones got heartily laugh
cd no for their pains Nevertheless, It
was noted no thc time that several OF
the public ana private clocks OF the
stopped az precisely the
SAME moment on the morning In Ques-
ton. and this fact M once took on a
new and sinister significance.
WAS IL possible people began TO
lsk. that the so called mailman was
not so very mad after all and that
london had proyldentially escaped
what might possibly have been a hid
.ous and unparalleled christopher
The so called madness Of Mech
ln's clock constitutes one Of the most /
mysterious incidents Of the Napoleonlc /
wars. IL happened in 1906. Two F.
years previously The C0rslcan usurper /.
lad RACED q portion OF the city 10 the /
ground and the place had also suffered /
severely I'm other ways. But the mag /
lllcent cathedral had been spared, and /
hen. as now. It's massive tower rising /
our square to a height Of more than /
,O1 feel and bearing four dials, each |
oriy-cight feet In diameter. was one |
4 the most striking landmarks for
niles and miles around
Inside the tower was the gigantic
lock, the biggest I'm the world. 1t had 1
Doomcd the hours for longer than the
'ldcst burehcr could remember and
.ad never gone wrong. When. there
ore. in tie early dawn u one summer
lay the great bell began changing furi-
usly small wonder that not only the
iiy. but the whole countryside, was
ouscd. Mcchlin itself was like a dis
urbed hive. men rushing from their
ouses half dressed, but all armed.
While from every town and village
-ithln a radius Of twenty miles angry
easants poured cityward.
Ii was false alarm, however. after
Il. No assault followed. No column
Z dust on the horizon heralded the ad-
ance Of the enemy. although anxious
yes watched all day. But when to-
'ard evening one more curious than
Is fellows bethought him to examine
ne interior of the clock tower in order
} discover If possible the reason for
be clocks strange behavior grew
)me sight met his view.
Entanglcd in the massive works OF
le huge timepiece. torn, gashcd. every
one broken. WAS the body Of French
ncer. lie had evidently climbed into
le tower unobseryed and had been
iught by the machinery while en-
aged in tampcring with It. What his
liect was in so doing none ever knew.
hat II was something sinister there
,uld be no doubt. Probably he had
Itended to so arrange the interior
echanism Of the clock as TO cause II
sound a signal later In the day. At
/ events. whatever his plan. It mis-
- ..f D.. If,,coIf foIf a viafftn