Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 141, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 June 1910 — NOVEL FRENCH CLOCKS. [ARTICLE]

NOVEL FRENCH CLOCKS.

Of Wondrrfnl Mechanism, They Tell Many Thlhs« Besides the Time. The clock of Lyons cathedral is a wonderful piece of mechanism and t.be legend describing it is as follows, an exchange says: The clock crows, the bell sounds the hours, the little bells, the “Sancte Spirttus,” the angel opens the gate to salute the Virgin Mary.

The two heads of'the lions move the eyes and tongue. The astrolabe shows the hours in its degree and the movement of the moon. Moreover, the perpetual shows all the days of the year, the feast days and the bissextile. The hour at which the chimes are complete are 5 and 6 o’clock in the morning, midday and 1 and 2 o’clock in the afternoon. The chimes at the other hours are restricted so as not to interfere with the cathedral services. Complicated' indeed is the clock of Beauvais cathedral. It is said to be composed of 92,000 separate pieces on the fifty-two dial plates, the hour, the day, the week and the month; the rising and setting of the sun, phases of the moon, the tides, the time in the principal capitals of the world, together with a series of terrestrial and astronomical evolutions. .The framework is of carved oak, eight meters by five meters, or 26 by 16% feet. When the clock strikes all the “edifice” seems in movement. The designer wished to depict the “Last Judgment.” This wonderful work recalls the work of Strasburg and is of modern construction. It is the work of a Beauvasian, M. Verite, who was in the engineering department of th Nord Railway. He died in 1887.