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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



bows to the Madonna, and passes out at another door. The three 

 wise men of the Fast theu come in at one door, bow to the Madonna, 

 and pass out. Two giants strike the hour on a bell, while the winged 

 lion of St. Mark overlooks the whole scene. 



We are told of a strange clock that is said to have belonged to a 

 Hindoo prince. A large gong was hung on poles near the dial, and 

 all about, upon the ground, lay a pile of artificial human heads, ribs, 

 legs, and arms. The whole number of bones in the pile was equal to 

 the number of bones in twelve perfect bodies, but the pile appeared 

 to have been thrown together in the greatest confusion. " When the 

 hands of the clock indicated the hour of one, out from the pile crawled 

 first the number of parts needed to form the frame of one man, part 

 coming to part with quick click ; and, when completed, the figure 

 sprang up, seized a mallet, and, walking up to the gong, struck one 

 blow. This done, he returned to the pile, and fell to pieces again. 

 When two o'clock came, two men arose, and did likewise ; and at the 

 hours of noon and midnight the entire heap sprang 

 up and, marching to the gong, struck one after 

 another his blow, making twelve in all ; then re- 

 turning, fell to pieces as before." 



An old traveler writes this description of a 

 clock that he saw in Japan : " This clock, in a 

 frame three feet high and five long, represented 

 a moon landscape of great loveliness. In the fore- 

 ground were plum and cherry trees and rich plants 

 in full bloom ; in the rear a hill gradual in ascent, 

 from which flowed a cascade, admirably imitated 

 in crystal. From this point a thread-like stream 

 glided along, encircling rocks and tiny islands in 

 its winding, but presently losing itself in a far-off 

 stretch of woodland. In the sky turned a golden 

 sun, indicating as it passed the striking hours, 

 which were all marked upon the frame below, 

 where a slowly creeping tortoise served as a hand. 

 A bird of exquisite plumage, resting on a plum- 

 tree branch, by its wings proclaimed the expira- 

 tion of each hour. When the song ceased, a 

 mouse sprang from a grotto near by, and, running over the hill, 

 hastily disappeared." 



By far the most famous clock in the world is the one that is hid- 

 den inside the cathedral in Strasburg (Fig. 2). The first clock — with 

 automatic figures — was begun by Bishop Van Bucheck in 1352, and 

 finished by Bishop von Litchenberg in 1354. The present clock was 

 begun in 1547 by Christian Ilerlin, Nicholas Bruckner, and Michael 

 llcrr. The death of the two latter delayed the work, and it was not 

 resinned until Professor Conrad Dasypodius, of the university, fur- 



Fig. 1. — My Grandfa- 

 thers Clock. 



