clock

关于时间clock的常用习语
1 around the clock全天候的；昼夜不断的
2 call it a day\night 到此为止
3 against the clock争分夺秒
4 call time 宣布暂停
5 days are numbered.表示时日不多
6 eleventh hour 表示最后时刻，刚好来得及。

7 crunch time 表示关键时刻，关键时间
8 carry the day 战胜，获胜
9 big time 非常，很多
Eg.You owe me big time because I helped you with your school project.你欠我很多，因为我帮你完成了学校的项目。

10 hit the big time 大获成功
Eg. John hit the big time.John大获成功。

11 five o’clock shadow 男生一两天不刮胡子之后脸上出现的毛发
12 a whale of a time 玩得很开心
13 year in,year out.年复一年。

14 a day late and a dollar short.差一点点，差一步，不足以接受。

15 once in a blue moon千载难逢；极为罕见
*two-time 背叛自己的另一半，对爱情不忠。

EgWhen she found out that he had been two-timing her,she left him instantly.当她发现他背叛她时，她立即离开了他。

clock翻译英文作文英文：Clock is an essential part of our daily life. It helps us keep track of time and manage our daily routine. In fact, it's hard to imagine our life without a clock. There are various types of clocks, such as analog clocks, digital clocks, and smartwatches. Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages.Analog clocks are the traditional clocks that have been around for centuries. They have a classic look and feel,and they are easy to read. However, they require regular maintenance, and they are not as accurate as digital clocks.Digital clocks, on the other hand, are more modern and offer more features. They are easy to read and maintain,and they are more accurate than analog clocks. However,they may not have the same aesthetic appeal as analog clocks.Smartwatches are the newest addition to the clock family. They offer a range of features, such as fitness tracking, notifications, and even phone calls. They are convenient and portable, but they may be more expensivethan other types of clocks.In conclusion, the type of clock you choose depends on your personal preference and needs. If you prefer a classic look and don't mind regular maintenance, an analog clock may be the best choice for you. If you want a modern clock with more features, a digital clock may be the way to go. And if you want a clock that can do more than just tell time, a smartwatch may be the perfect fit.中文：钟表是我们日常生活中不可或缺的一部分。

时钟(CLOCK)置换算法LRU算法的性能接近于OPT,但是实现起来比较困难，且开销大；FIFO算法实现简单，但性能差。

所以操作系统的设计者尝试了很多算法，试图用比较小的开销接近LRU的性能，这类算法都是CLOCK算法的变体。

简单的CLOCK算法是给每一帧关联一个附加位，称为使用位。

当某一页首次装入主存时，该帧的使用位设置为1;当该页随后再被访问到时，它的使用位也被置为1。

对于页替换算法，用于替换的候选帧集合看做一个循环缓冲区，并且有一个指针与之相关联。

当某一页被替换时，该指针被设置成指向缓冲区中的下一帧。

当需要替换一页时，操作系统扫描缓冲区，以查找使用位被置为0的一帧。

每当遇到一个使用位为1的帧时，操作系统就将该位重新置为0；如果在这个过程开始时，缓冲区中所有帧的使用位均为0，则选择遇到的第一个帧替换；如果所有帧的使用位均为1,则指针在缓冲区中完整地循环一周，把所有使用位都置为0，并且停留在最初的位置上，替换该帧中的页。

由于该算法循环地检查各页面的情况，故称为CLOCK算法，又称为最近未用(Not Recently Used, NRU)算法。

CLOCK算法的性能比较接近LRU，而通过增加使用的位数目，可以使得CLOCK算法更加高效。

在使用位的基础上再增加一个修改位，则得到改进型的CLOCK置换算法。

这样，每一帧都处于以下四种情况之一：1.最近未被访问，也未被修改(u=0, m=0)。

2.最近被访问，但未被修改(u=1, m=0)。

3.最近未被访问，但被修改(u=0, m=1)。

4.最近被访问，被修改(u=1, m=1)。

算法执行如下操作步骤：1.从指针的当前位置开始，扫描帧缓冲区。

在这次扫描过程中，对使用位不做任何修改。

选择遇到的第一个帧(u=0, m=0)用于替换。

2.如果第1)步失败，则重新扫描，查找(u=0, m=1)的帧。

选择遇到的第一个这样的帧用于替换。

在这个扫描过程中，对每个跳过的帧，把它的使用位设置成0。

time库的clock用法-回复"clock"是Python中的一个时间库，它提供了一种测量时间的方法。

它可以用来计算程序的运行时间，了解程序的性能，并进行时间戳的转换。

在本文中，我们将详细介绍"clock"库的用法，并通过一些示例帮助您理解其功能。

首先，我们需要导入"clock"库。

在Python中，可以通过以下方式导入：pythonimport time导入后，我们可以开始使用"clock"库来测量程序的运行时间。

"clock"库中有两个主要的函数可用于此目的：1. "clock()": 用于测量程序的运行时间。

它返回从程序启动到当前时间的秒数，可以用来计算程序的执行时间。

2. "sleep()": 用于暂停程序的执行，以模拟程序中的延迟。

它接受一个浮点数参数，表示需要暂停的秒数。

让我们以一个简单的例子开始，计算一个函数的执行时间。

假设我们有一个计算斐波那契数列的函数，它接受一个整数作为参数，并返回相应位置的斐波那契数。

我们将使用"clock"函数来测量该函数的运行时间。

以下是代码示例：pythonimport timedef fibonacci(n):if n <= 0:return 0elif n == 1:return 1else:return fibonacci(n-1) + fibonacci(n-2)start_time = time.clock()result = fibonacci(10)end_time = time.clock()execution_time = end_time - start_timeprint("Execution time:", execution_time, "seconds")在上面的代码中，我们定义了一个名为"fibonacci"的递归函数，用于计算斐波那契数列。

生物钟基因简要概述昼夜节律是自然界最普遍的一种自然现象, 它的存在使生物体的生理、生化、行为等生命现象表现为以24 h 为周期的振荡。

昼夜节律发生的物质基础是分子计时器, 即昼夜节律生物钟(circadian clock) 。

它由一组特异的核心元件组成, 包括Clock、Bmal1、Pers 、Crys、Tim 等基因及其相关蛋白产物[1]。

生物节律的基本分子机制, 是这些核心元件构成的转录- 翻译负反馈环。

这个机制本质上是内源性的, 但同时会受环境信号, 尤其是光信号的导引。

哺乳动物的主生物钟被定位在下丘脑视交叉上核( suprachiasmatic nuclei, SCN) ,当它受到异常刺激后, 机体的昼夜节律可发生改变, 严重时会导致疾病。

但到目前为止, 维持生物钟运行的确切分子调控过程还不清楚。

人类下丘脑视交叉上部具有特化的神经核团，即SCN，是生命活动的时序控制器，它们通过神经递质内分泌和体液途径影响周围器官和组织，控制和调节着睡眠和觉醒、代谢、内分泌、细胞增殖分裂和凋亡, 以及免疫等各个层面, 使生命活动在时序上协调有序。

[2]而操控这些生命活动有序性进行的正是Clock基因、Bmal1基因、Crys基因等一系列生物钟基因。

其中Clock基因是惟一的, 也是最早用正向遗传法鉴定出的。

它是动物近日节律(circadianrhythm) 的必要调控者, 在节律时钟的组织中起着中心作用。

[3]Clock基因的结构1994年美国西北大学Takahashi教授领导的研究小组发现, 单个的碱基突变可导致小鼠的生物钟节律丧失, 他们将这个半显性突变定位于第5号染色体的Clock基因上[4]1997年5月Cell杂志报道了美国西北大学的Takahashi研究小组成功克隆了小鼠的生物钟基因。

1999年4月Genonics杂志报道了美国西北大学的Takahashi研究小组对人类Clock基因(hCk)的克隆结果。

* 一整点的表达： o’clock 前用数字或文字均可。

文字更正式，数字更鲜明，如： 6点------ 6 o’clock ------six o’clock 8点------ 8 o’clock ------eight o’clock 二非整点表达的两种方法： 1、时 + 分 6：30 six thirty 7：45 seven forty-five 8：01 eight 0 one 0 读字母o 音 注意： 用“时+ 分”的方式表示时间，后面决不可有o’clock。

2、⑴分+ past + 时：表示“几点几分”，不超过半小时（包括半小时half ） ⑵分 + to + 时：表示超过半小时的 “差几分几点”例如：八点零一：one past eight （eight 0 one ）?七点二十：twenty past seven （seven twenty）九点四十：twenty to ten （nine forty ）　六点十四：fourteen past six six fourteen 八点五十三：seven to nine eight fifty-three ⑶一刻（十五分）用quarter如：一点一刻： a quarter past one （one fifteen） 三点四十五分：a quarter to four（ three forty-five） 4半点（三十分）用half 如：两点半：half past two （twothirty）（5）a.m. in the morning p.m. in theafternoon 如：早上九点：nine o’clock 9 o’clock练习： 1、十二点 12 o’clock twelve o’clock 2、两点半half past two 3、三点十五 a quarter pastthree three fifteen 4、四点十分 ten past four fourten 5、五点四十五 a quarter to six five forty-five 6、6:09 nine past six （six 0 nine）7、7:55 fiveto eight 8、8:20 twenty past eight 9、9:35 twenty-five to ten 10、10:25 twenty-five past ten 11、11:30 half past eleven 12、早上七点半half past seven a.m. 13、下午六点四十五 a quarter toseven p.m. 14、19:00 seven o’clock p.m. 15、早上9:15a quarter past nine a.m. *给大家推荐一个英语微信群Empty Your Cup英语微信群是目前学习英语最有效的方法，群里都是说英语，没有半个中文，而且规则非常严格，是一个超级不错的英语学习环境，群里有好多英语超好的超牛逼的人，还有鬼佬和外国美眉。

clock页面置换算法例题详解Clock页面置换算法（也称为时钟置换算法或FIFO算法）是一种简单的页面置换算法，它总是选择当前最久未使用的页面进行置换。

下面是一个关于Clock页面置换算法的例题详解：假设有一个程序需要使用6个页面，分别为A、B、C、D、E和F，而且它需要使用4个内存块（也可以说是4个页面框）。

让我们跟随程序的执行，看看这个程序使用Clock页面置换算法时会发生什么。

1、初始状态：程序开始执行时，内存中没有任何页面。

2、第一次缺页中断：程序需要访问页面A，但内存中没有该页面。

于是，发生一次缺页中断。

现在内存中只有一个空闲的内存块，所以可以将页面A加载到内存中。

3、第二次缺页中断：程序需要访问页面B，但内存中没有该页面。

同样地，发生一次缺页中断。

此时内存中仍然只有一个空闲的内存块，所以可以将页面B加载到内存中。

4、第三次缺页中断：程序需要访问页面C，但内存中没有该页面。

再次发生一次缺页中断。

此时内存中仍然只有两个空闲的内存块，所以可以将页面C加载到内存中。

5、第四次缺页中断：程序需要访问页面D，但内存中没有该页面。

再次发生一次缺页中断。

此时内存中仍然只有三个空闲的内存块，所以可以将页面D加载到内存中。

6、第五次缺页中断：程序需要访问页面E，但内存中没有该页面。

再次发生一次缺页中断。

此时内存中仍然只有四个空闲的内存块，所以可以将页面E加载到内存中。

7、第六次缺页中断：程序需要访问页面F，但内存中没有该页面。

再次发生一次缺页中断。

此时内存中已经满了，不能再加载任何页面了。

此时需要使用Clock页面置换算法来决定哪个页面应该被置换出去。

在这个例子中，我们假设Clock页面置换算法的参数是k=2（即每次只淘汰两个最近最少使用的页面之一）。

首先，我们需要找到当前最久未使用的两个页面。

根据算法的规则，总是选择当前最久未使用的页面进行置换。

在这个例子中，我们可以选择A和B作为最久未使用的两个页面之一。

o'clock 音节
【原创版】
目录
1.引言
2.o"clock 的音节构成
3.o"clock 的意义
4.o"clock 的用法
5.结论
正文
一、引言
在英语中，时间的表达方式十分丰富。

其中，o"clock 这一表达时间的方式十分独特，本文将对其进行详细介绍。

二、o"clock 的音节构成
o"clock 是由两个音节组成的，其中 o 代表“of”，clock 则是“钟表”的意思，因此 o"clock 的字面意思是“钟表的”。

三、o"clock 的意义
o"clock 用于表示整点时间，例如 1 o"clock 表示一点钟，2 o"clock 表示两点钟，以此类推。

需要注意的是，o"clock 只能表示整点时间，不能表示半点或分钟。

四、o"clock 的用法
o"clock 通常与介词 at 搭配使用，构成 at o"clock 的结构，例如：at 1 o"clock（一点钟）、at half past two o"clock（两点半）等。

此外，o"clock 也可以单独使用，例如：I"ll meet you at the park at 2 o"clock（我会在公园 2 点钟与你见面）。

五、结论
总的来说，o"clock 是一种独特的表示整点时间的方式，它在英语中有着广泛的应用。

简单clock算法
简单的clock算法是一种常用于操作系统中的页面置换算法。

它与FIFO、LRU和最佳置换算法等一样都是常见的置换算法。

基本思路是将物理内存中的页帧组成一个环形链表，每个页框（frame）有一个Use（是否被访问过）和修改位M（是否被修改过）。

当需要置换一个页框时，算法总是从指针指向的位置逐一扫描所有页框：
1. 如果当前页框的Use值为0，直接选择该页框；
2. 如果当前页框的Use值为1，则将其Use为0并继续扫描。

3. 如果所有页框的Use值都为1，则将指针继续转动，重复步骤2和步骤3直到找到一个Use为0的页框。

4. 如果找到一个Use为0的页框，则选择该页框。

5. 如果一轮扫描完毕后，所有页框的Use都为1，则将所有页框的Use都设为0，并从指针的下一个页框重新开始扫描。

这样，可以确保在多次访问中最近没有使用的页框会被优先替换，从而提高内存效率。

而采用此算法还可以通过两次扫描，对所有物理页框分类为2类，每
次回收一类，称之为‘改进型clock算法’。

需要注意的是，clock算法只是一种常用的页面置换算法，实际应用时相应的算法选择还需根据具体情况进行评估和优化。

There are two kinds of clocks.There is the clock that is always wrong,and that know s it is wrong,and glories in it；and there is the clock that is always right—except whe n you rely upon it,and then it is more wrong than you would think a clock could be i n a civilized country.I remember a clock of this latter type,that we had in the house when I was a boy,rou ting us all up at three o'clock one winter's morning.We had finished breakfast at te n minutes to four,and I got to school a little after five,and sat down on the step outsi de and cried,because I thought the world had come to an end；everything was so de ath-like！The man who can live in the same house with one of these clocks,and not endange r his chance of heaven about once a month by standing up and telling it what he thin ks of it,is either a dangerous rival to that old established firm,Job,or else he does no t know enough bad language to make it worth his while to start saying anything at all. The great dream of its life is to lure you on into trying to catch a train by it.For week s and weeks it will keep the most perfect time.If there were any difference in time be tween that clock and the sun,you would be convinced it was the sun,not the clock,t hat wanted seeing to.You feel that if that clock happened to get a quarter of a secon d fast,or the eighth of an instant slow,it would break its heart and die.It is in this spirit of child-like faith in its integrity that,one morning,you gather your f amily around you in the passage,kiss your children,and afterward wipe your jamm y mouth,poke your finger in the baby's eye,promise not to forget to order the coal s,wave at last fond adieu with the umbrella,and depart for the railway-station.I never have been quite able to decide,myself,which is the more irritating to run tw o miles at the top of your speed,and then to find,when you reach the station,that y ou are three-quarters of an hour too early；or to stroll along leisurely the whole wa y,and dawdle about outside the booking-office,talking to some local idiot,and the n to swagger carelessly on to the platform,just in time to see the train go out！As for the other class of clocks—the common or always-wrong clocks—they are harm less enough.You wind them up at the proper intervals,and once or twice a week yo u put them right and“regulate”them,as you call it（and you might just as well try to“r egulate”a London tom-cat）.But you do all this,not from any selfish motives,but fro m a sense of duty to the clock itself.You want to feel that,whatever may happen,yo u have done the right thing by it,and that no blame can attach to you.So far as looking to it for any return is concerned,that you never dream of doing,an d consequently you are not disappointed.You ask what the time is,and the girl replie s：“Well,the clock in the dining-room says a quarter past two.”But you are not deceive d by this.You know that,as a matter of fact,it must be somewhere between nine an d ten in the evening；and,remembering that you noticed,as a curious circumstanc e,that the clock was only forty minutes past four,hours ago,you mildly admire its en ergies and resources,and wonder how it does it.I myself possess a clock that for complicated unconventionality and light-hearted ind ependence,could,I should think,give points to anything yet discovered in the chron ometrical line.As a mere time-piece,it leaves much to be desired；but,considered as a self-acting conundrum,it is full of interest and variety.I heard of a man once who had a clock that he used to say was of no good to any on e except himself,because he was the only man who understood it.He said it was a n excellent clock,and one that you could thoroughly depend upon；but you wanted t o know it—to have studied its system.An outsider might be easily misled by it.“For instance，”he would say，“when it strikes fifteen,and the hands point to twent y minutes past eleven,I know it is a quarter to eight.”His acquaintanceship with that clock must certainly have given him an advantage ove r the cursory observer！But the great charm about my clock is its reliable uncertainty.It works on no metho d whatever；it is a pure emotionalist.One day it will be quite frolicsome,and gain thr ee hours in the course of the morning,and think nothing of it；and the next day it wi ll wish it were dead,and be hardly able to drag itself along,and lose two hours out o f every four,and stop altogether in the afternoon,too miserable to do anything；an d then,getting cheerful once more toward evening,will start off again of its own acc ord.I do not care to talk much about this clock；because when I tell the simple truth conc erning it,people think I am exaggerating.It is very discouraging to find,when you are straining every nerve to tell the truth,th at people do not believe you,and fancy that you are exaggerating.It makes you feel i nclined to go and exaggerate on purpose,just to show them the difference.I know I o ften feel tempted to do so myself—it is my early training that saves me.We should always be very careful never to give way to exaggeration；it is a habit tha t grows upon one.And it is such a vulgar habit,too.In the old times,when poets and dry-goods salesme n were the only people who exaggerated,there was something clever and distingue a bout a reputation for“a tendency to over,rather than to under-estimate the mere bal d facts.”But everybody exaggerates nowadays.The art of exaggeration is no longer reg arded as an“extra”in the modern bill of education；it is an essential requirement,hel d to be most needful for the battle of life.The whole world exaggerates.It exaggerates everything,from the yearly number of b icycles sold to the yearly number of heathens converted—into the hope of salvatio n and more whiskey.Exaggeration is the basis of our trade,the fallow-field of our ar t and literature,the groundwork of our social life,the foundation of our political exist ence.As schoolboys,we exaggerate our fights and our marks and our fathers'debts. As men,we exaggerate our wares,we exaggerate our feelings,we exaggerate our inc omes—except to the tax-collector,and to him we exaggerate our“outgoings”；we ex aggerate our virtues；we even exaggerate our vices,and,being in reality the mildes t of men,pretend we are dare-devil scamps.We have sunk so low now that we try to act our exaggerations,and to live up to our li es.We call it“keeping up appearances；”and no more bitter phrase could,perhaps,h ave been invented to describe our childish folly.If we possess a hundred pounds a year,do we not call it two?Our larder may be low a nd our grates be chill,but we are happy if the“world”（six acquaintances and a prying neighbor）gives us credit for one hundred and fifty.And,when we have five hundre d,we talk of a thousand,and the all-important and beloved“world”（sixteen friends n ow,and two of them carriage-folks！）agree that we really must be spending seven h undred,or at all events,running into debt up to that figure；but the butcher and bak er,who have gone into the matter with the housemaid,know better.After awhile,having learned the trick,we launch out boldly and spend like Indian Pri nces—or rather seem to spend；for we know,by this time,how to purchase the see ming with the seeming,how to buy the appearance of wealth with the appearance o f cash.And the dear old world—Beelzebub bless it！for it is his own child,sure enoug h；there is no mistaking the likeness,it has all his funny little ways—gathers round,a pplauding and laughing at the lie,and sharing in the cheat,and gloating over the tho ught of the blow that it knows must sooner or later fall on us from the Thor-like ham mer of Truth.And all goes merry as a witches'frolic—until the gray morning dawns.Truth and fact are old-fashioned and out-of-date,my friends,fit only for the dull an d vulgar to live by.Appearance,not reality,is what the clever dog grasps at in these cl ever days.We spurn the dull-brown solid earth；we build our lives and homes in the f air-seeming rainbow-land of shadow and chimera.To ourselves,sleeping and waking there,behind the rainbow,there is no beauty in th e house；only a chill damp mist in every room,and,over all,a haunting fear of the ho ur when the gilded clouds will melt away,and let us fall—somewhat heavily,no doub t—upon the hard world underneath.But,there！of what matter is our misery,our terror?To the stranger,our home appea rs fair and bright.The workers in the fields below look up and envy us our abode of gl ory and delight！If they think it pleasant,surely we should be content.Have we not b een taught to live for others and not for ourselves,and are we not acting up bravely t o the teaching—in this most curious method?Ah！yes,we are self-sacrificing enough,and loyal enough in our devotion to this new-crowned king,the child of Prince Imposture and Princess Pretense.Never before wa s despot so blindly worshiped！Never had earthly sovereign yet such world-wide swa y！Man,if he would live,must worship.He looks around,and what to him,within the vis ion of his life,is the greatest and the best,that he falls down to and does reverence t o.To him whose eyes have opened on the nineteenth century,what nobler image ca n the universe produce than the figure of Falsehood in stolen robes?It is cunning an d brazen and hollow-hearted,and it realizes his souls ideal,and he falls and kisses it s feet,and clings to its skinny knees,swearing fealty to it for evermore！Ah！he is a mighty monarch,bladder-bodied King Humbug！Come,let us build up te mples of hewn shadows wherein we may adore him,safe from the light.Let us rais e him aloft upon our Brummagem shields.Long live our coward,falsehearted chief！—ft leader for such soldiers as we！Long live the Lord-of-Lies,anointed！Long live po or King Appearances,to whom all mankind bows the knee！But we must hold him aloft very carefully,oh,my brother warriors！He needs much“k eeping up.”He has no bones and sinews of his own,the poor old fimsy fellow！If we take our hands from him,he will fall a heap of worn-out rags,and the angry wind wil l whirl him away,and leave us forlorn.Oh,let us spend our lives keeping him up,an d serving him,and making him great—that is,evermore puffed out with air and nothi ngness—until he burst,and we along with him！Burst one day he must,as it is in the nature of bubbles to burst,especially when the y grow big.Meanwhile,he still reigns over us,and the world grows more and more a world of pretense and exaggeration and lies；and he who pretends and exaggerat es and lies the most successfully,is the greatest of us all.The world is a gingerbread fair,and we all stand outside our booths and point to th e gorgeous-colored pictures,and beat the big drum and brag.Brag！brag！Life is one g reat game of brag！“Buy my soap,oh ye people,and ye will never look old,and the h air will grow again on your bald places,and ye will never be poor or unhappy again；a nd mine is the only true soap.Oh,beware of spurious imitations！”“Buy my lotion,all ye that suffer from pains in the head,or the stomach,or the fee t,or that have broken arms,or broken hearts,or objectionable mothers-in-law；and d rink one bottle a day,and all your troubles will be ended.”“Come to my church,all ye that want to go to Heaven,and buy my penny weekly gui de,and pay my pew-rates；and,pray ye,have nothing to do with my misguided brot her over the road.This is the only safe way！”“Oh,vote for me,my noble and intelligent electors,and send our party into power,a nd the world shall be a new place,and there shall be no sin or sorrow any more！An d each free and independent voter shall have a bran new Utopia made on purpose fo r him,according to his own ideas,with a good-sized,extra-un-pleasant purgatory atta ched,to which he can send everybody he does not like.Oh！do not miss this chanc e！”Oh！listen to my philosophy,it is the best and deepest.Oh！hear my songs,they are t he sweetest.Oh！buy my pictures,they alone are true art.Oh！read my books,they a re the finest.Oh！I am the greatest cheesemonger,I am the greatest soldier,I am the greatest stat esman,I am the greatest poet,I am the greatest showman,I am the greatest mounte bank,I am the greatest editor,and I am the greatest patriot.We are the greatest nati on.We are the only good people.Ours is the only true religion.Bah！how we all yell！How we all brag and bounce,and beat the drum and shout；and nobody believes a w ord we utter；and the people ask one another,saying：“How can we tell who is the greatest and the cleverest among all these shrieking bra ggarts?”And they answer：“There is none great or clever.The great and clever men are not h ere；there is no place for them in this pandemonium of charlatans and quacks.The m en you see here are crowing cocks.We suppose the greatest and the best of them ar e they who crow the loudest and the longest；that is the only test of their merits.”Therefore,what is left for us to do,but to crow?And the best and greatest of us all,i s he who crows the loudest and the longest on this little dunghill that we call our wor ld！Well,I was going to tell you about our clock.It was my wife's idea,getting it,in the first instance.We had been to dinner at the Bu ggles,and Buggles had just bought a clock—“picked it up in Essex，”was the way he d escribed the transaction.Buggles is always going about“picking up”things.He will stan d before an old carved bedstead,weighing about three tons,and say：“Yes—pretty little thing！I picked it up in Holland；”as though he had found it by the r oadside,and slipped it into his umbrella when nobody was looking！Buggles was rather full of this clock.It was of the good old-fashioned“grandfather”ty pe.It stood eight feet high,in a carved-oak case,and had a deep,sonorous,solemn ti ck,that made a pleasant accompaniment to the after-dinner chat,and seemed to fll t he room with an air of homely dignity.We discussed the clock,and Buggles said how he loved the sound of its slow,grave ti ck；and how,when all the house was still,and he and it were sitting up alone togethe r,it seemed like some wise old friend talking to him,and telling him about the old da ys and the old ways of thought,and the old life and the old people.The clock impressed my wife very much.She was very thoughtful all the way home,a nd,as we went upstairs to our fat,she said，“Why could not we have a clock like tha t?”She said it would seem like having some one in the house to take care of us all—s he should fancy it was looking after baby！I have a man in Northamptonshire from w hom I buy old furniture now and then,and to him I applied.He answered by return t o say that he had got exactly the very thing I wanted.（He always has.I am very lucky i n this respect.）It was the quaintest and most old-fashioned clock he had come acros s for a long while,and he enclosed photograph and full particulars；should he send i t up?From the photograph and the particulars,it seemed,as he said,the very thing,and I told him，“Yes；send it up at once.”Three days afterward,there came a knock at the door—there had been other knock s at the door before this,of course；but Iam dealing merely with the history of the cl ock.The girl said a couple of men were outside,and wanted to see me,and I went t o them.I found they were Pickford's carriers,and glancing at the way-bill,I saw that it was m y clock that they had brought,and I said,airily，“Oh,yes,it's quite right；bring it up！”They said they were very sorry,but that was just the difficulty.They could not get it u p.I went down with them,and wedged securely across the second landing of the stairc ase,I found a box which I should have judged to be the original case in which Cleopat ra's Needle came over.They said that was my clock.I brought down a chopper and a crowbar,and we sent out and collected in two extra hired ruffians and the five of us worked away for half an hour and got the clock ou t；after which the traffic up and down the staircase was resumed,much to the satisf action of the other tenants.We then got the clock upstairs and put it together,and I fixed it in the corner of the d ining-room.At first it exhibited a strong desire to topple over and fall on people,but by the liberal use of nails and screws and bits of firewood,I made life in the same room with it po ssible,and then,being exhausted,I had my wounds dressed,and went to bed.In th e middle of the night my wife woke me up in a state of great alarm,to say that the cl ock had just struck thirteen,and who did I think was going to die?I said I did not know,but hoped it might be the next-door dog.My wife said she had a presentiment it meant baby.There was no comforting her；sh e cried herself to sleep again.During the course of the morning,I succeeded in persuading her that she must hav e made a mistake,and she consented to smile once more.In the afternoon the cloc k struck thirteen again.This renewed all her fears.She was convinced now that both baby and I were doome d,and that she would be left a childless widow.I tried to treat the matter as a joke,an d this only made her more wretched.She said that she could see I really felt asshe di d,and was only pretending to be light-hearted for her sake,and she said she would tr y and bear it bravely.The person she chiefy blamed was Buggles.In the night the clock gave us another war ning,and my wife accepted it for her Aunt Maria,and seemed resigned.She wishe d,however,that I had never had the clock,and wondered when,if ever,I should ge t cured of my absurd craze for filling the house with tomfoolery.The next day the clock struck thirteen four times and this cheered her up.She said th at if we were all going to die,it did not so much matter.Most likely there was a feve r or a plague coming,and we should all be taken together.She was quite light-hearted over it！After that the clock went on and killed every friend and relation we had,and then it s tarted on the neighbors.It struck thirteen all day long for months,until we were sick of slaughter,and there co uld not have been a human being left alive for miles around.Then it turned over a new leaf,and gave up murdering folks,and took to striking mer e harmless thirty-nines and forty-ones.Its favorite number now is thirty never strike s more than forty-nine.I don't know why—I have never been able to understand why —but it doesn't.It does not strike at regular intervals,but when it feels it wants to and would be bette r for it.Sometimes it strikes three or four times within the same hour,and at other ti mes it will go for half-a-day without striking at all.He is an odd fellow！I have thought now and then of having him“seen to，”and made to keep regular hour s and be respectable；but,somehow,I seem to have grown to love him as he is with h is daring mockery of Time.He certainly has not much respect for it.He seems to go out of his way almost to ope nly insult it.He calls half-past two thirty-eight o'clock,and in twenty minutes from the n he says it is one！Is it that he really has grown to feel contempt for his master,and wishes to show it?T hey say no man is a hero to his valet；may it be that even stony-face Time himself is b ut a short-lived,puny mortal—a little greater than some others,that is all—to the dim eyes of this old servant of his?Has he,ticking,ticking,all these years,come at last t o see into the littleness of that Time that looms so great to our awed human eyes? Is he saying,as he grimly laughs,and strikes his thirty-fives and forties：“Bah！I kno w you,Time,godlike and dread though you seem.What are you but a phantom—a dr eam—like the rest of us here?Ay,less,for you will pass away and be no more.Fear hi m not,immortal men.Time is but the shadow of the world upon the background of Et ernity！”。