PRIMITIVE CLOCKS. 



191 



round, it would strike/ to the left. The effect would be this : g would 

 move to the right and i to the left, thus pushing the weight at i from 

 the little shelf on which it was balanced, and causing it to tumble 

 toward the floor. 



Fig. 6. 



You can imagine that the force set in motion by the hour-hand of 

 the watch, even of a " bull's-eye," was not enough to start a very 

 heavy weight. Therefore, the dropping of the weight at i was not 

 enough of a noise to awaken the boys, but the force that was exerted 

 was enough, applied at the end of a long lever, to transfer itself to a 

 point where it would do more good. The weight i, in dropping, 

 pulled a string that was fastened on the long arm of the lever k m. 

 This lever was fastened to the edge of the same table that held the 

 square board by a gimlet, or nail, as a fulcrum, at I. When i dropped, 

 it pulled h down and pushed m up. The sudden jerk at m pushed 

 over a nicely balanced table, upon which had been placed nearly all 

 the chairs and other furniture in the room. This certainly made 

 enough noise to awaken the occupants of the room, and it is not likely 

 there was much sleep after that. It was a great deal of trouble to 

 adjust so nicely all the different parts of this primitive alarm-clock ; 

 but it never failed to work when care was taken with all the details. 

 Let us praise the boys for studying out a scheme which others have 

 adopted and called their own. They preferred to lie in bed as long 

 as possible, and did not propose to keep awake all night, if any ma- 

 chinery could be devised to do the awaking for them. 



A few words in regard to the dial on the face of the clock. The 

 dial of a clock, if it is a cheap one, is made of wood and painted white. 

 If the dial is small and expensive, it is made of copper on which is 

 baked a white enamel surface. The figures are marked in black paint, 

 which is sometimes burned or " baked in." The usual size of the fig- 



