Clock-time in fact remained quite inconsistent between cities in Europe until
a very late date. It was only with the introduction of the railways that any
consistency was necessary or possible. Throughout the 19th century in Britain,
the first long-distance trains to leave London each morning took the official
time as recorded on their chronometers to each of the provincial cities along
each route, and station masters reset the station clock, which permitted other
citizens to adjust their clocks and watches. The telegraph actually made that
superfluous at a certain point, but the practice continued on some routes well
into this century!
Mike
Associate-Professor Michael Hanne,
Coordinator of Programme in Comparative Literature,
University of Auckland,
Private Bag 92019,
Auckland, New Zealand
Tel: 64-9-3737-599 ext 7106
Fax: 64-9-308-2348
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