The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1912-01-16

whom there was no male heir to the
title. Caspar was forty years old and
his wife thirty eight, and they had no
children. This was a source of dis
tress to the old baron, realizing, as he
did, that with his son the title would
become extinct. Since it was one of
the oldest and most respected In the
the same regret.
One night when a bleak November
wind was blowing those asleep in the
castle and those at the base of the hill
were awakened by a strange sound, a
sound that thrilled them and filed
them with wonder. They heard the
stroke Of a tower clock. To those on
the hill it sounded close by. To those
at the bottom it seemed to come from
distance. The only clock capable of
creating such strong vibrations within
a hundred miles was the one in the
tower of Wertheim castle.
And what a sound 1t was! Some
said that it seemed to them like the
distant boom of gun on sinking
ship, some that it was a knell, some
like the angelus that summons NOR
tails to prayer. All agreed that 1t was
dirge and to all there were that
hoarse wheeling and creaking that
might be expected from long disused
and rusty mechanism.
One, two, three! Then there was a
silence, while the listeners counted the
beating Of their hearts. at the end Of
which the strokes were resumed.
But what a difference between the
first and last series of beats! Instead
of being funeral the second were joy
GUS Could those silvery tones come
from the old clock in the tower2 And
yet what clock was there near by that
could be heard so distinct, so vivid5
None. One, two. three. four, Eve, six,
seven, eight. nine, ten! The strokes
were counted by every person in the
castle. beneath the castle and within
hearing distance of the castle They
were heard by persons living ten miles
away These joyous strokes sounded
differently to different persons. To
oOAhC lACy NC4C INT tue 6OuuQ VI WEQ-
ding bells. to some the chimes of East
er, to others those which ring out AT
a christening.
OF all who heard them the old baron
was the only one to interpret them
He counted the first strokes and when
he heard the third knew that his broth
er. as he sometimes called the clock,
mad sent him a message. Then when
the ten strokes that followed ended he
sank into restful slumber such as he
had not known for years
The next morning the castle yard
was filed with people looking up at
the tower and the clock above. There
was babel Of voices, some averring
that trick had been played upon
them by some mischievous person who
had climbed up to the clock and struck
the bell. that it was superstition or
Imagination alone that led those who
heard the sounds to attribute to them
different intonations. One Of these skep-
tics entered the tower at the bottom
and looked up to determine If he could
see any evidence left above as to how
it could have been scaled. There was
nothing but the four interior sides,
showing marks here and there of
where the staircase had been built
against them. But even this man beat
hasty retreat. for while he stood
gaping upward a piece of stone or
mortar fell from above, landing with
in a few feet of him. He was too
frightened to notice what it was, and
no one else dared enter the tower.
Only the baron failed to discuss the
cause of the old clock suddenly re-
Stunning the strokes that it had given
for 200 years and had ceased to give
for nearly sixty. But it was noticed
that from that memorable night he
who had appeared youthful and Wig
orous for his years, began to show
signs of decay. A cold storm in De
cember brought on chill. from which
he emerged much weakened In Feb
ruary he received a shock from which
It was evident he would not recover.
| One day his son entered the room
where he lay with news that he hoped
might rouse his father to rally. He
announced that child would be born
to the house of Wertheim.
"That Is not news to me-" said the
old man, and, turning over, fell into a
sleep. Hours after this his daughter
in-Iaw approached the old mans bed
to receive his congratulations He was
-