ith the result
that he was soon making watches that as far surpassed his associates' as
did his clocks. He made a watch for the king, the fame of which traveled
to France and prompted the Dauphin to order two like it. These watches
all had two balances and balance springs fashioned after the scheme
Hooke had worked out. They also, like most of Tompion's timekeepers, had
an hour and a minute hand. One more innovation which he presented (and
it was a very practical one) was the numbering of his watch movements
for purposes of identification--a plan very generally followed since by
present-day workmen. And yet all this which I have told you does not
give you half an idea of what Tompion really was."

McPhearson paused thoughtfully.

"Thomas Tompion stood for something more than any of these things. He
was a genuine lover of his art, and when we see or read of the many
kinds of clocks and watches he produced, we cannot but feel the joy he
had in making them. He made, for example, a marvellous clock that would
run a year without winding, which William III had in his bedroom at
Kensington Palace, it having been left to him by the Earl of Leicester.
This clock, although small, struck the hours and quarter-hours, and was
of ebony with silver mountings. And to prove to you that it was no
novelty timepiece to be used merely for ornament, I will tell you that
now, after a hundred and fifty years, it is still running and faithfully
doing its duty."

"Who owns it?" queried Christopher.

"It has for a century and a half been in the possession of the family of
Lord Mostyn and so famous has been its history that this nobleman has
kept the names of those who have wound it during the last hundred
years."

"All sorts of bigwigs, I suppose," put in Christopher.

"A list of celebrated persons, you may be sure."

"Was Ebenezer on it?" Christopher chuckled mischievously.

"Most likely he would have been had he not been so busy winding Mr.
Hawley's treasures," replied the Scotchman, smiling at the jest. "Then
in 1695 Tompion made a very fine traveling striking and alarm watch with
case beautifully chased. The Pump Room at Bath boasts a tall clock of
his make--a present from him to the city in acknowledgment of the
benefits he derived from its mineral waters. There are also examples of
his craft in famous clock collections both here and in England, the
Wetherfield collection owning eighteen made by him."

"And did his tall clocks hav