Kotices refpcHing New Booh. 375 



ye^r 1394 Padua obtained the firft clock, fuppofed to "have 

 been condruftLd by the celcbraied philofopherj phyfician, 

 aftronomcr and uiechiini(t James Dondi. That inch clocks 

 might be intrtxiuced into England, Richard II f. gave a patent 

 to three Netlerlanders, in the year 1368. Courtrai in France 

 had a clock that (truck the hours io early as the year 1332 : it 

 was. carried away in that year by Philip the Bold of Burgundy, 

 and conveyed to Dijon, where it is Itlll to be ieen. The 

 firlt large dock at Paris wU? eretted in 1364 by a Germaa 

 artid, Hcnrv von Wick, who received daily fix French fous, 

 together with free lodging in the tower cf the Palais, to which, 

 the clock was renioN^ed in 1370. Bologna obtained the firft 

 public clock in 1356 ; Pavia, in 1402 ; Brellaw, by Schwel- 

 bclin, ini368; Straiburg, in 1370; Augiburg, in 1398; 

 Nuremberg, in 1402; and Venice, in 1497- The firft clocks 

 v/ere expcnfive, and many cities, denrous of having fuch 

 machines, were not able to raile nionev to purchafe them. 

 In the year '533, the fines levied from the itudents at Oxford 

 were employed to defray the expenle of liie clock erected on 

 the church of St. Mary. Private individujls, however, about 

 this time bei^an to obtain clocks. The hrit indance uf a clock 

 with weights being employed for alironomical purpofes oc- 

 curs in 14S4, when Walther, as he fays, with a well regu- 

 lated clock, made an obfervation of Mercury. Tycho had 

 three of thele clocks, which fliowctl minutes and feconds : he 

 found, however, that they were expofcd to variatio'^s from 

 the influence of the atmofphere and wind ; on which account 

 he caufed to be conftructed a quickfilver clock, in which 

 diltillcd quickfiber, inllead of land and water, fliowed mi- 

 nutes and feconds. To produce an uniform fall, fo much 

 quickfilver dropped from another veiTel inlo the hovir-veflel 

 as was fuftkient to keep it always at the fame height. As 

 the fi.udy of ailronomy required more accurate mcafurcrs of 

 time, \\c are indebted to that fciencc for the iirprovement of 

 thefc inlhumcnts, the conftruction of which does fo much 

 honour to the human genius. 



VI. Invention of'ivatches and tahle-chcls. — Heleof Nurn- 

 bcrg is generally confidered as the inventor ol watches or 

 fpring-clocks, as they ought properly to be called ; the 

 firft of wiiich he is faid to have conlliiK^ted in ihc year i500. 

 According to others, Halbrccht of Straiburg was the in- 

 ventor: bnt his iirft clock was conliru6lcd in 1520, and con- 

 fcquentlv twenty years later than Hele; who, it is certain, 

 made fmall fpring-clocks or watches \o early as 1500. 

 Kurnbcrg and Auglburg were the firft c-ilics of Germany in 

 which watches were made. th-I-'-- v. Mr!),-; not only indi- 

 S 2 caled 



