THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
269 
ihe clepsydra were two-fold : first, the 
sand would Deither freeze nor evaporate ; 
.second, when the glass was full it would 
run little faster than when it was empty. 
The term "clock" originally signified 
^'bell," and as the French use it to-day 
C cloche'), still retains that meaning. 
For several hundred years after their 
invention they were exceedingly rough 
and very irregular in their movements. 
To Galileo is due the discovery of the 
pendulum, which added greatly to the 
accuracy of time-keepers 
One of the most celebrated clock-makers 
of the world was one Breguet, a native of 
i^euchatel, Switzerland. While yet very 
young, this remarkable individual was 
sent to Versailles for the purpose of 
learning his trade as a horologist. He 
there served a regular apprenticeship, 
find his advancement is said to have been 
most remarkable. 
His parents being poor, it was necessary 
for him to rely upon his own energy for 
his advancement. This he did, and 
worked with a vim and enthusiasm be- 
yond his years. He at last finished his 
iipprenticeship, but not content with 
that, he worked three months over his 
time, without salary, to perfect himself 
in some of the branches in which he 
thought himself to be lacking. About 
the time he finished these three months, 
he lost his mother and father, and his 
eldest sister was left for him to support. 
He felt that the knowledge of mathe- 
matics was absolutely indispensable to 
attaining perfection in the art, and ac- 
<3ordingly he found means to attend a 
<30urse of public lectures which were given 
at the College Mazarin. The professor 
was struck with the unwearied assiduity 
of his young pupil, and they became fast 
friends, and this friendship contributed 
not a little to the progress of the stu- 
dent. Time and perseverance conquers 
everything, and the young clock-maker 
soon became a skilful workman, and 
in a short time an accomplished ar- 
tist. A few years only, and the name 
of Breguet was celebrated throughout 
the globe. 
The revolution of 1789 destroyed the 
first establishment of Breguet, and the 
great artist was obliged to seek an asylum 
on a foreign shore. 
After an absence of- two years, however, 
he returned to Paris and opened a new 
establishment, which flourished until his 
death, which occurred in 1823. 
The following little anecdote will serve 
to prove the high esteem in which this 
artist was held even out of France. One 
day a watch, to whose construction Bre- 
guet had given his entire attention, hap- 
pened to fall into the hands of one 
Arnold. Now Arnold was a celebrated 
English watciimaker, and he surveyed 
with admiration the simplicity of its 
mechanism and the perfection of the 
workmanship. He could scarcely be per- 
suaded that a specimen thus executed 
could be the work of French industry. 
Yielding to the love of his art, he im- 
mediately set out for Paris without any 
other object than simply to become ac- 
quainted with the French artist. On ar- 
riving in Paris he went immediately to 
see Breguet, and soon these two men 
were acquainted with each other. They 
seem indeed to have formed a mutual 
friendship. In order that Breguet might 
give Arnold the highest token of his affec- 
tion and esteem, he requested him to take 
his son with him to be taught his pro- 
fession, and this Was acceded to. 
Breguet was member of the Institute, 
was clock-maker to the navy, and mem- 
ber of the bureau of Longitude. He was 
indeed the most celebrated clock-maker 
of the age. He had brought to perfection 
every branch of his art. Nothing could 
surpass the delicacy and ingenuity of his 
free escapement with a maintaining 
power. To him we owe another escape- 
ment known as the " natural," in which 
there is no spring, and oil is not needed ; 
but another and still more perfect one, is 
the double escapement, where the pre- 
cision of the contacts renders the use of 
oil equally unnecessary, and in which 
the waste of power in the pendulum is re- 
paired at each vibration. 
The sea-watches or chronometers of 
Breguet are famous throughout the 
world. It is well known that these 
watches are every moment subject to 
change of position from the rolling and 
