Christopher and the Clockmakers

ation had become a thing of the past and Christopher felt as much at h

ing. As for poor Hollings, he was another man altogether and it seemed as if he would never be able to hold his head up again. A part of the value of the gems was, to be sure, covered by burglar insurance, and therefore the loss to the firm would not be great; rather it was the disgrace of the episode that bowed the salesman

the lad for the twentieth time, in a hope of consoling the unfortuna

it's kind of them not to blame me. They'd be well within their rights were th

uldn't

ould," the man answered, shaking his head

llings' con

tly trying to brighten and encourage, and the clerk as invariably br

as gleaning a surprising amount of information as he flitted about the store. He learned not only of clocks but interesting bi

the men who had made something of their calling and attached himself to them because they invariably proved to be the most

an expert opinion they with one accord turned to a stumpy little fellow with a bald head who appeared to know every stone in the showcase by heart and knew just what country it came from; whether it was well cut; if it was perfect or marred by flaws;

e stories regarding various gems as thrilling and delightful as any Arabian Night's tales. He it was who also had not only read about but had actually seen many of the crown jewels of the world and knew where celebrated collections of cameos, jade,

ghtful companion. Oh, he did not consider his job a humdrum one, it was easy to see that. He had lifted the tr

mented Christopher, when on a day trade was light, he stood li

it? Why

n. "They come in yawning in the morning, and seem

nehart

beyond its narrow limitations or it can sink into becoming a daily grin

e Mr. McPhearson, who repairs clocks upstairs, gets a h

ve picked him out already! Well, you have chosen well, for there is almost not

er thought about a clock was to look and see whether it was right or not, and bla

xperiment. Clocks, for example, were very long in becoming the fine, reliable products they now are, as no doubt you have already learned. When their first makers got them to go at all the feat seemed so remarkable that the fact they did not keep good time was entirely lost sight of. But just you let our

is to be scolded at when they fail to any small degree." Mr. Rhinehart paused, then added drily, "Did any of us human machines do our work as well, we should

xing now a bracket cl

ock that survives for such a stretch of years is lucky, for it must have changed hands many times and traveled far from its birthplace. Moreover, fashion is fickle and owners are seldom loyal enough to respect what is shabby and old. In consequence many a clock has been sentenced to the attic or cellar, there t

d at Mr. Rhinehart's indignat

uct than most of those turned out by poor machinery. For you know-or will learn-that there are clocks and clocks. Many firms make them but all do not excel. Therefore I would counsel those who own the old aristocrats produced by skilled makers to hold on to them, e

ks," said Christopher, rising. "

u going

bother Mr. McPhearson for a while. Dad sai

cended to the fourth floor where he found his

y. "I couldn't in conscience keep her here

et clock,

ouncing the life out of her; and he ought to be able to put her in place and make sure she

ten leave the

ave to go round and start them again. What a barbarous custom it is to let clocks run down and stand idle for months! Why, if asked to do so, we can always send reliable men into houses to wind the clocks and keep them regulated. It costs only a trifle a

tive laughter came

small traveling clock and

l the same. If its owner had half that amount of dust in his eye he would be off to an oculist as fast as ever his

ou mean?" queried Christopher, not

course of the sun and moon but the ebb and flow of the tide. In the meantime more big clocks began to be put up on the church towers. But remember, none of these could boast any nice degree of accuracy; it was many, many years later before the secrets of corr

ver the latter facts,

monk!"

tchman

their time the fullest and paid the gr

ediately and when he did i

table motion wa

at him over the

laddie, what it wa

t," came frankly

oth la

king about is our de

t might

n became

the pendulum starts to swing back again. This can be achieved by beveling both tooth and pallet until the teeth, instead of recoiling by the downward motion of the pallet, shall sl

ed into the mysteriou

more even, wouldn't it, and insure better time? And now what ab

rseman which probably delighted the people of that time who were always pleased by automatic figures and scenes in pantomime. Many ancient clocks reflected this childish taste by having attached to them all sorts of figures representing the hours, days of the week, or feasts of the Church. Probably one reason for this was that as the education of the populace was too meager to give them much knowledge of numerals, and as they had but little business of i

did no end of ingenious things. Figures passed in procession at the arrival of the hour; tiny bell ringers rang miniature chimes. In fact, so

wonderful clock at Venice?"

me, the people were reminded of this holy feast by seeing the Magi issue forth from a little door and how before the Virgin, who held in her arms the Christ Child. Every noontime for two weeks this scene was en

locks without minute hands, d

ng of hours or quarter hours. But when the chimes in the village church played a different tune each day of the week-a tune they knew-th

hing especial to do," asserted Christopher quickly. "I remember once when I was in t

en who owned outlying castles would send their servants to the village square, not only to find out the hour but to learn of the sun, moon, stars, and the religious feasts and fasts. For, you see,

was when this change became effective that the character of clocks shifted very materially. The religious figures disappeared together with the elaborate pantomimes that accompanied them, and the clockmakers directed their energies to making the clock primarily a time-telling a

o Europe there won't be any such clo

now well on to a hundred years old, is wonderful enough to excite your admiration. It was inaugurated October 2, 1842, and is one of the marvels of the Old World. Certainly it incidentally provides the people with all they could ask in the way of information and entertainment. On a level with the ground is a globe tellin

ay we have Diana with her stag. Tuesday comes Mars, Wednesday Mercury,

!" gasped C

ets; and a globe indicating the phases of the moon. Nor have we reached the end of the marvels yet. Still higher up are figures to symbolize childhood, youth, manhood, and old age, each of which strikes one of the quarter hours. B

ee

r with a bone. It is at the very top that we get the touch of more modern Christianity in a procession of the twelve apostles, who at noon pass before a figure of Christ, bowing at his feet, while he mak

a trip to Europe to see such a

you have faithfully studied your geography, took its name from the word b?ren, meaning bears; and you know, too, how it came about that the Swiss sele

ock-has it

h solemnly round a bearded Father Time, whereupon the cock crows again, and a jester, hammer in hand, strikes a bell. At the sound the bearded old man raises his sceptre,

clocks showing the sun, moon, stars, or tides, or those that would play tunes on miniature chimes of six or eight bells. It was all a relic of the past. Possibly, too, clockmakers were curious to see what they could do in more limited space. Be this as it may, musical clocks died hard. The old bracket clock we have just sent home, you will recall, played

jolly though," observed Chri

pearance here in the shop, everybody within hearing distance dropped his work and came running to listen to its music. The men were eager as children. Fo

ired of listening,"

ppeals to us more than does the tone of the bells themselves, for their

t I like m

. Who knows but you may be owning one of these bracket clocks o

ke too many,

it would tak