A FRENCH MILITARY CLOCK.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VII, Issue 356, 13 February 1880, Page 17

A FRENCH MILITARY CLOCK.

There exist a great many ways of honoring the memory of the dead, but the following — due to the inventive imagination of a celebrated French clock-maker — has at least a claim to originality. This ingenious Frenchman was desirous of paying a tribute of respect to his fellow countrymen who met with their death during the FrancoPrussian war, and to this end has consecrated a clock to their memory, which he has christened the clock of the French army. The Jacade of the marvellous piece of mechanism, says a French contemporary, measures three square metres, and upon this surface the inventor of the clock has spent years of patient labor in order to bring his work to perfection. At each quarter of the twenty -four hours appear the four nations — France, Italy, Spain, and Austria. "When the first quarter strikes, four groups advance and manoeuvre ; these are : Corporal Thisbault and his men : the National Guards, who go through their exercise in a Parisian locality ; the firemen of the capital ; and lastly, the " rappel" of the 4th of September is represented. As the half-hour strikes, several French flags appear, to the sound of military music. The following quarter brings forward Commander Bonbaren and his corps, with a number of sentries engaged in watching over a battle field. With the striking of the hour twelve doors open simultaneously, showing the marines of the Vauves Port, the 119 th Regiment of the line, the National guard at Montreterie, the artillery at Chatillon, the mobiles on the plain of Avron, the Turcos of Wissembourg, the first Regiment of Zouaves, the francs- tireurs of the Press, and ambulance, the transport of the wounded, the " freres " on the battle field, and lastly, sisters of mercy engaged in tending the sick and dying. The clock is said to be a marvellous piece of workmanship and ingenuity, but what is to be done with it now that it is completed is not stated. — Evening standard