intervals with the greatest finish and perfection. The mechanism for
time-keeping being easily disconnected from the musical mechanism, the
latter may be stopped without any interference with the clock as a
time-keeper.
CARRIAGE CLOCKS are made so as to be unaffected by the motion of the
vehicle. They are usually of a small and squarish shape, enclosed in
leather, so as to protect the case from scratches; but they vary in
size,--measuring usually from four to seven inches high by
two-and-a-half to four inches in breadth and the same in depth. Some
are made without striking movement, some to strike hours, half-hours,
and quarters, some with repeating work, and some with an alarm added
to them.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [Illustration: Carriage Clock.] |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
LIBRARY and DINING-ROOM CLOCKS are frequently seen decorated with
highly elegant ornaments, in bronze, marble, ormolu, and with
miniature figures, as well as objects of still life, but these clocks
are usually not so conspicuously ornamental as those which are
designed for the drawing-room.
SKELETON CLOCKS are so named from their movements being all bare and
uncovered. When watches were comparative novelties it was not at all an
uncommon desire on the part of their possessors to watch the operations
of a mechanism which was regarded as wonderfully resembling life itself.
Watch cases were consequently made of crystal, and were found strong and
serviceable. In skeleton clocks the escapement is sometimes made a
peculiarly interesting feature to the non-professional eye delighting in
noting the amazing accuracy with which each piece of the mechanism works
and combines to produce the result required.
REGULATOR CLOCKS are, as we have said, the most perfect time-pieces
which can be manufactured.
TELL-TALE CLOCKS are of great service in securing the attention and
watchfulness of persons left in care of premises or property. They are
made with a number of pins projecting round the edge of the dial, and
coming into contact once every quarter of an hour with a pin fixed at
the top part of the dial, over the part which in an ordinary clock is
occupied by XII. The dial revolves completely once every twelve hours,
and presents one of the projecting pins to the index every quarter of an
hour; the watchman should then be ready at hand to pull a cord, by means
of which the projecting pin is pushed in; otherwise the dial shows the
exact time of his absence and neglect of duty.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [Illustration: English Ormolu Clocks.] |
| |
| [Illustration: English Ormolu Clock, &c.] |
| |
| [Illustration: English Ormolu Clock, &c.] |
| |
| [Illustration: Tell-Tale Clock.] |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
ELECTRICAL CLOCKS have been several times planned and made by
different ingenious inventors, and obtained considerable notice, but
they have not been hitherto as successful as was expected. Electricity
has been applied to the direct movement of the pendulum itself, and
subsequently to the raising a small weight to act upon the pendulum in
the style of a gravity escapement. In perhaps the latest of these
instruments, called a Magnetic Clock, an electromagnet was used to
relieve the pendulum from the influence of the spring by which
impulsion had been given, and to make the return or reflex vibration.
Electric clocks are now seldom made; electric dials without any
clock-movement in connection with them are made to show the standard
time by means of a galvanic current sent from the Greenwich
Observatory clock at intervals of a minute or half-minute it may
be,--even as Electric Timeballs show to distant towns and out-ports,
by means of such a current, the exact Greenwich time once a day.
The ELECTRO-CHRONOGRAPH is a new and useful invention for timing with
great precision the quickest of events. It is applied to a central
seconds clock with a dial three feet in circumference showing the
hours, minutes, seconds and fifths of seconds. This clock erected in a
prominent position, say on a raceground, and worked by electricity,
enables the starter of a race to set the works in motion; by means of
a tape held up at the winning post and connected with the batteries,
the winner upon breasting the tape stops the hand of the clock.
* * * * *
The following simple directions will be found of great use in the
management of a Clock:--
When the Clock is unpacked it should be carefully handled with a silk
handkerchief or piece of tissue paper, to prevent the moisture of the
hands soiling the case. Unscrew the bell and take it off, then put on
the pendulum by passing it through the fork, and hang it upon the two
small brass pins, _with the hook from you_. Screw on the bell with the
convex part outwards, taking care that it does not touch the pendulum.
The stand or bracket should be both steady and level before the Clock
is placed upon it; for, unless the Clock is quite in proper beat--that
is, unless the beats or ticks occur at equal intervals, it cannot go
regularly.
In order to set the Clock to the hour of the day, the minute-hand
should be turned on carefully forward with the finger and thumb, the
setter pausing as he reaches the XII. and the VI., to allow the Clock
to strike each hour and half-hour.
If the striking should at any time be wrong, and it should strike the
hour at the half-hour, or the half-hour at the hour, the error can be
rectified by moving the minute-hand on to 5 minutes before the hour,
or half-hour, and then back until it strikes.
Or, if it should strike a wrong hour--_e.g._, supposing the Clock
should strike 3, and the hour-hand point at 7, then the hour-hand may
be moved back to 3, and the Clock afterwards set to the hour of the
day in the usual manner.
If, at any future time, the Clock should require regulating, the small
steel square above the XII. is the regulator, and turning it a
_little_ to the right (half-turn of key) will make the Clock go
faster, and to the left, slower. This should be repeated until the
desired effect is obtained.
The bell-stud, or arm to which the bell is screwed, is purposely made
of soft metal, so that it can be bent up or down so as to obtain a
heavy or light blow of the hammer as may be desired.
Both squares in the dial should be wound once a week.
TURRET CLOCKS.
A Church tower without a clock and bells seems an unfurnished edifice,
which must be fitted and filled before it can serve the purpose for
which it was built;--like a form without life, a body without a soul.
A good Church clock is useful to everybody; it is the friendly monitor
alike of rich and poor,--the regulator of every private
time-piece,--the standard of time for a whole parish or township. By
it the artisan or mechanic trudges off to his daily labour; by it the
tradesman opens and closes his shop; by it the schoolboy is admonished
as 'with shining morning face he creeps like snail unwillingly to
school;' by it the law itself regulates its penalties,--(enacting, as
it does, house-breaking between nine at night and six in the morning
to be the heavier crime of burglary;)--by it, in a word, are all the
multifarious transactions of everyday life more or less regulated and
measured, and when the church clock stops, it produces a social
discomfort and anarchy throughout a whole neighbourhood, to an extent
scarcely credible. A good public clock is a benefit to all,--a faulty
one is a general nuisance and a continual source of irritation. A
public clock is in its way as necessary as the public highway, the
public market, the public law itself. It is the product and the symbol
of advanced civilization, the one everwakeful watchman and trusty
friend of all, by whose chimes the sleepless merchant has often
planned his ventures or sighed o'er apprehended losses and dangers;
the student busied with researches has consumed the midnight oil; the
sick have counted their hours of pain, longing in the night for the
dawn, in the daytime for the night. On the other hand, when one like
Mr Justice Shallow is reminded of the mad days of his London youth, he
very aptly associates them with the Bacchanalian memories which
Falstaff appeals to,--'We have heard the chimes at midnight.'
To have lived 'where bells have knoll'd to church' was according to
Shakspeare to have been blessed by humanizing influences comparable with
those produced by having--
'Sat at good men's feasts, and wiped our eyes
Of drops that sacred pity has engendered.'
Cowper can find no better words to describe the utter desolation of
the island where the shipwrecked Selkirk bemoaned his absolute
solitude 'out of humanity's reach,' than by putting into his mouth the
language--
'But the sound of a church-going bell
These valleys and rocks never heard,
Never sigh'd at the sound of a knell,
Nor smiled when a Sabbath appear'd.'
In our everyday experience we can each testify to the truthfulness of
the poet who points to the close association which exists in most
minds between the church clock and the varying times and seasons, with
their different joys and sorrows, and we can most of us say, with
Southey,--
'I love the bell that calls the poor to pray,
Chiming from village church its cheerful sound,
When the sun smiles on labour's holy-day
And all the rustic train are gather'd round,
Each deftly dizen'd in his Sunday's best,
And pleased to hail the day of piety and rest.
And when, dim shadowing o'er the face of day,
The mantling mists of eventide rise slow,
As through the forest gloom I wend my way,
The minster curfew's sullen voice I know,
And pause, and love its solemn toll to hear,
As made by distance soft it dies upon the ear.'
It is but a short step from the sentimental consideration of such
reminiscences to the practical inquiry how is the public time kept,
and yet it is one which probably is seldom taken with a view to more
or less thorough investigation. Without traversing the distance which
divides us from that antique time when Archimedes measured the shadows
of the Pyramids by his walking-stick, or when the 'dial of Ahaz' was
constructed as one of the first of historical time-measurers, we can
discover the principles upon which an instrument such as a thoroughly
serviceable public clock of the present time, with all the newest
improvements both in time-keeping and in wearing qualities, should be
produced.
It is of some consequence, in the first place, to know that the
introduction of steam-machinery has added to the accuracy of clockwork
and at the same time considerably diminished its cost; fifty or sixty
years ago there would have been charged as much as £800 for a turret
clock inferior to that which may now be procured for £150; and the
result is to be seen in the largely increased numbers of public
time-pieces. It is obvious, however, that there is none the less need
of care in the choice of a Clockmaker, for upon his skill and
trustworthiness will depend whether the money be well spent or not,
and whether the instrument furnished by him prove to be valuable and
serviceable. It is not a purchase wherein the buyer can usually of
himself judge of the merits of his bargain, he must rely upon the
reputation established by previous works of the same kind. If the
Clockmaker be not merely a clock-seller (as is too often the case, for
Turret Clockmakers are but few), he will be able to point to similar
instruments made and set up by himself in different towns and cities,
in proof of his ability, but there will still be a necessity for
explaining to the purchaser the chief points upon which the accuracy
of such a time-keeper must depend.
In the first place, it is necessary to say that Turret Clocks are not
merely house clocks upon an enlarged scale, differing from the latter
merely in size and weight, but that the extra strength of the
machinery requires greater weight of materials 'in a ratio as much
higher as the cube is higher than the square of any of its
dimensions,' and that increased weight means increase of friction.
Besides this point which is peculiarly the province of the Turret
Clockmaker, there are important questions to be considered by
architects and their employers as to the proper method of constructing
a Turret Clock chamber, so as to prevent too much atmospheric
variation,--heat and cold, wind and damp, being each likely in some
degree, as the seasons change, to affect the public time-keeper,--as
witness the clock of St Paul's Cathedral, popularly believed to be an
exemplary piece of mechanism, and yet often forced by the wind to vary
its time so as to damage its own reputation among those who narrowly
watch its behaviour under what may be called trying circumstances. It
is not wise to build a tower without careful consideration for the
tenant which is to occupy it, or having regard merely to architectural
notions of external proportion, for usually it happens that when clock
and bells occur as an afterthought, there is often some difficulty
and extra expense in planning the room for them. Plenty of length and
breadth to allow of the proper fall of the clock-weights and the swing
of the pendulum save much in the cost of fixing, and are necessary to
secure good time-keeping with the least trouble, for it is obvious
that where numerous bevelled wheels with rod-work are employed for the
purpose of moving the hands over the dial, if the probabilities of
unvarying accuracy are not lessened, the cost must be much increased.
Works which have to be placed at some distance from the dials must be
more powerful than if they could be put in their proper place, and a
little forethought in the architect will save much money both in the
original price of the machinery of a clock and in its subsequent
repair. Then again, there is always the question for and against the
illumination of dials to be considered, and of course with this is
unavoidably mixed up not only the arrangements as regards space for
the proper working of the time-keeping, striking, and lighting
machinery, but the vexed question of ventilation above referred
to,--some horologers asserting that chambers as nearly air tight as
may be should be devised, and others that there ought to be a draught
through the clock-room. There are in fact so many opinions more or
less excellent, according to the circumstances of each case, that
there is no laying down any arbitrary and unvarying rule, much must be
left to the discretion of the Turret Clock manufacturer,--upon whom as
has been already stated it is necessary also to rely for the
essentials of a good clock, viz., the soundness of the materials, the
quality of the workmanship, and the scientific accuracy with which the
instrument has been planned and put together. Now before considering
the present advanced state of the art of Turret Clockmaking and the
various improvements which have to be carefully studied and applied by
the makers who would bear the highest reputations as manufacturers, it
will be necessary to bear in mind what has been said of the
step-by-step progress in horological science of which we have already
endeavoured to give the chief particulars. From 1288 A.D., the date of
the oldest historical clock--that mentioned as having been set up near
Westminster Hall by means of funds derived from a fine levied by the
Lord Chief Justice of the period--till now when Big Ben reigns in its
stead, is a long interval, with many wonderful incidents, and some
great historical names. Henry de Wyck's Paris invention, Galileo's
discovery of the pendulum, Huygens's practical application of that
discovery, Dr Hooke's 'anchor' escapement, and Graham's dead-beat
escapement, Harrison's 'gridiron' pendulum, and the latest
applications of electricity and eccentricity, have each and all their
peculiar attraction for horological students, but we need not recur
to these branches of this highly interesting subject elsewhere treated
of. We will proceed to mention a few memoranda about several old
public clocks whose ingenious mechanism gained for them a
well-deserved fame,--not, perhaps, so much for accuracy in
time-keeping as for the grotesque devices with which old clockmakers
amused their contemporaries? To them time, as such, was perhaps of not
so much consequence as it is to us in these days of telegraph and
steam communication. We moderns seem to think it a task sufficiently
difficult to set up a sound public time-piece without connecting
therewith the wonder-working machinery of a wax-work exhibition.
The CLOCK AT WELLS CATHEDRAL, made originally A.D. 1340, by a monk
named Peter Lightfoot, is one of the best known of its class still in
some sort of working order. The dial of this horologe is divided into
24 hours; it shows the motion of the sun and moon, and bears upon its
summit eight armed knights on horseback, tilting with lance in rest at
one another, by a double rotatory motion. This clock was removed from
Glastonbury to Wells after the dissolution of the Glastonbury
Monastery. In 1835 the works were so worn away that they were replaced
by a new train, the curious old dial and equestrian knights being
still retained.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [Illustration: Wells Cathedral Clock.] |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
ST DUNSTAN'S CLOCK [see p. 137]. This Clock, when old St Dunstan's
Church in Fleet Street was pulled down, was sold by public auction,
and bought by the late Marquis of Hertford, for whom Decimus Burton the
architect erected St Dunstan's Villa in the Regent's Park. In the
grounds of that villa this old clock with its automaton giants striking
the hours and quarters was put up, and it is there still, to be seen in
full working order, performing the same duties as of yore in Fleet
Street.
ST JAMES'S PALACE CLOCK [see p. 138] is one of the most ancient public
time-pieces now in use, but is intended soon to be removed it is said
to South Kensington Museum. It has a locking-plate with ting-tang
quarter, the quarter hammers being raised from the pin wheel while the
striking hammer is lifted from the pins in the main wheel. It has a
crown-wheel escapement with teeth on its edge, and the pallets working
upright instead of over the top like a verge escapement. The hands are
connected by the bevel wheels below the clock. The whole of the going
train with the intermediate and bevel wheels are attached to the one
bar so that the whole of the works have to be removed if one piece
requires alteration or renewal. The pendulum rod is of iron.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [Illustration: St Dunstan's Clock.] |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL CLOCK [see p. 140] is one of the best examples of
old-fashioned clocks in London; it occupies the clock-room in the
south-western tower. It may be described as a ting-tang quarter on the
rack principle, having hammers raised from pins in the main wheel as in
St James's Palace Clock. The train is run in a bar, so that to get away
one piece the rest must be disturbed. The escapement is a recoil,
beating two seconds with a wood rod pendulum. The length of the minute
hand is eight feet, and its weight 75lb; the length of the hour hand is
five feet five inches, and its weight 44lb. The diameter of the bell,
made from old 'Great Tom of Westminster,' is about 10 feet, its weight
11,474lb; the hammer weighs 145lb, and the clapper 180lb.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [Illustration: St James's Palace Clock.] |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
The OLD CLOCK AT THE ROYAL FREE HOSPITAL, GRAY'S INN LANE, is a fair
specimen of the work of 120 years ago. It has a recoil escapement,
most of the wheels are of wrought-iron, cut by hand, as is also the
pinion. The pendulum rod is of iron with leaden bob.
THE WHEELS.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [Illustration: St Paul's Cathedral Clock.] |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
And now, in order to form a judgment of what is necessary to be done to
make a really sound and valuable Turret Clock of the present day, let me
describe the materials of which it should be formed. One of the most
important parts of a clock is the wheel-work. Iron wheels are of course
very much cheaper than those which are made of gun metal or hard brass,
but iron wheels, however well they may sometimes wear, are more liable
to oxidize and to decay, and although it is certain that a large number
of clocks are constructed with iron wheels by London houses of some
reputation, a few years are generally sufficient to prove such
time-pieces to be very faulty, and to necessitate the substitution of
wheels of the superior metal.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [Illustration: Old Clock at the Royal Free Hospital.] |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
The best clocks are usually made with wheels of the best gun metal.
The teeth are cut by steam power, with an improved cutting engine; and
at the same moment that the teeth are cut, they are finished by the
engine without the aid of the file, sand-paper, or other polishing
materials, so that the most minute difference cannot possibly occur,
their accuracy being secured even to the thousandth part of an inch.
In the old times this work was done by a man turning a fly-wheel, but
that method necessarily occasioned an unevenness of cut which had
afterwards to be removed by filing and hand polishing. Wheels thus
made could not of course have that precision of movement which is
essential in a public clock, and which can only be obtained by a
perfect mechanical fit of the teeth of the wheels, such true
mechanical fitting being only secured by truly accurate cutting
machines. Hand cutting varies with each artisan, and therefore cannot
be equally trustworthy. In cheap clocks, constructed to suit public
companies who give their contract to the lowest tender, iron is
frequently used instead of steel, both in the pinions and arbors, and
cast-iron takes the place of gun metal or hard brass in the wheels and
bosses,--the result usually being that the Public Clock gets into
disrepute through its requiring to be repaired so frequently, and more
money is expended upon such repairs than would have sufficed for the
purchase of a thoroughly perfect time-keeper. It is urged by the
advocates of iron wheels that a clock can be manufactured at a
considerably less cost by their employment, but in estimating expense
there seems to have been overlooked the important question, as to what
will be the probable durability of the machine.
I should be sorry to condemn wholesale all clocks, the main wheels of
which are made of iron, but very certain it is that a large proportion
of clocks constructed of this material and by London houses of great
reputation (despite of their possessing an escapement invented by
amateurs who consider themselves the depositories of all horological
knowledge), have been found most faulty time-keepers, and after a few
years have become entirely worn out and useless.