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Show SOME CUBIC-US "WATCHES. Queen Elizabeth and Mary of Scotland Scot-land Had Remarkable Timepieces. Two of the most elaborate and curious cu-rious watcnes which the world has ever seen belonged to Queen Elizabeth and her unfortunate contemporary, Mary, Queen of Scots. Good Queen Eess had a watch made for her in the form of a duck, with beautifully chased feathers, the lower part of which opened. The face was of silver, with an elaborate gilt design, and the whole was kept in a case of brass, cov- ered with black leather thickly stud- ded with big silver knobs. The ill-fated Mary was the possessor of a watch in the form of a skull. The dial was introduced where the palate should have been and the works occupied occu-pied the place of brain3 in the cranium. cra-nium. In the hollow of the skull, moreover, was a hell, which had works of its own and by means of which a hammer struck out the hours upon it. One of the choicest rarities of the Bernal collection was a book-shaped watch. This curious time indicator was made by order of Boglslaus XIV, Duke of Pomerania, in the time of Gustavus Adolphus. On the face of the book where the dial of the watch is set there is an engraved inscription of the duke and his titles and armorial bearings, together with the date, 1627. On the back the engravings are also very finely and skillfully executed, among them being the portraits of two gentlemen of the seventeenth century. The dial pTate is of silver, chased in relief.-while the insides are beautifully chased with figures of birds and foliage. foli-age. The watch has two separate movements and a large, sweet-toned bell. At the back, over this bell, the i metal is ornamentally pierced in a cir- cle, with a dragon and other devices, j while the sides are pierced and en- I graved with a complicated design of ! beautiful scroll work. j "Watches often suffer from change of temperature. Alter a watch has been j worn next to a warm body all day it should not be left over niglit on cold I marble or near an open window. The 1 cold is likely to contract the metal pivots, and. however slightly, tighten up the works. The next morning, for no apparent reason, one's watch will be found to be "losing time. It frequently happens that watches are slightly magnetized by static elec- . Linjliy givcril U1A. llltf uuiiiaii UOU. It has been found that dark people are more likely to exert this influence over their watches. This influence is. besides, more common among women than with men. Persons of this sort can never hope to carry the correct time unless they carry their watches in rubber or steel cases. Never lay a watch down for the night in a horizontal position, says the Boston Herald. It should always be hung vertically, as it is carried during the day. If the pivot of the balance -wheel is in the least worn this change of position tends to loosen the "cap I jewel." Everyone has had a watch stop for ' no apparent reason, and go on again ! when slightly shaken. This may not happen onoe a year, but all witcheh are liable to such an accident. This is done usually by the catching of the delicate hair spring. It is caused by some sudden movement, such as jump- ; ing on or off a car." The jolt must come at the exact fraction to catch so j that the chances of such' an accident are very rare. j A watch should be oiled every eig'h- ! teen months; the oil dries up in this time as a rule, and if the mechanism be run with the oil dry it will quickly , wear out. In examining a watch all iew-fWs : follow the same plan. They first look . to see if the hands are caught; if the-fault the-fault lies deeper they next take out i the balance wheel and examine the pin and pivot. Next they let down 1 the mainspring and examine the wheels. It sometimes happens that a jeweler will not find the cause of the trouble for days. The most difficult disaster to locate is a slight burr on , i one of the wheels. . j A watch should be wound early in i the day, and not, as is the common practice, at bedtime. The reason for this is that the spring is then tightest during the day, while the watch is being be-ing carried, and is less sensitive to ! jolting. At night, when a watch is ! at rest, a weak spring has no effect. All watches are compasses. Point I the hour hand to the sun and the south is exactly half way between the hour and the figure XII on the watch. ine |