A WEDDING PRESENT FOR A CLUBMAN.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1261, 30 April 1896, Page 15

A WEDDING PRESENT FOR A CLUBMAN.

“A wedding present, eh l“ asked the dealer. “1 1 your friend a clubman t “ “ Yes, lie’s a member of two clubs." “ Are you a married man, sir ?" “ Yes." “ Well, I’d like to show you a clock invented by a friend of mine. It is peculiarly suitable for a married man who belongs to a club. But, liist, you must give me your word of honour that you will never reveal the secret to any one except a manied man who you know has reached home not earlier than 2 a.m. twice a week for three consecutive weeks. If any woman discovers the secret of the invention its prospects are ruined." “L am afraid it is doomed. However, I promise." “Well, this i 3 the idea. When a man intends to stay out late, he presses this little spring—so innocent looking, you see, that it will escape the sharpest feminine observation. The clock at once begins to lose time. Thu hands move with just half their U3Ual rapidity until three o’clock in the morning Thus if the spring is pressed at nine p.m., the hands will show twelve o’clock, when the correct time is three a.m. After three o’clock the hands will move with twice their usual rapidity until the lima lost is regained, and no longer. At six a.m., therefore the clock will lie right, and thereafter it will jog along sedately, sixty minutes to tho hour, just as if it never engaged in a conspiracy to deceive a trusting wife." “Suppose a man gets home at four or live ! “ “ It will lie of less service to him, of coune*. However, we have four a.m. and live a.m. clocks constructed on similar principle, though J think the three a.m. clock is best suited for average requirements. My friend is striving to invent a clock which will stop running slo.vly and begin to regain time l , automatically, tile moment a man begins to look for the keyhole, but at present the project ii little more than an iridescent dreim."