In 1813, Gottfried Weber advocated the use of a Pendulum, formed of a small bullet attached to the end of a string, upon which the necessary divisions were marked by knots; the whole being so contrived that it could be carried in the pocket—a far more simple and convenient arrangement than that of Loulié.[1] New plans were proposed by G. E. Stöckel, Zmeskall, and other Musicians of reputation; and Beethoven is known to have discussed them with interest. The subject excited an equal amount of attention in England, where many attempts were made to produce a perfect instrument. Dr. Crotch, discarding Louliés cord, used, in place of it, a stiff Pendulum, formed of a long thin strip of box-wood, graduated in inches, and hung upon a suitable frame. Another Musical Time-keeper, invented by Mr. Henry Smart (brother to the late Sir George), is described in the Quarterly Musical Review (vol. iii., London, 1821). Both are now obsolete: but the writer remembers seeing instruments of the kind recommended by Dr. Crotch, exposed for sale, not very many years ago, at Messrs. Erat's Harp Manufactory, in Berners St.
All these inventions failed, however, more or less completely, through the inconvenience caused by the length of the Pendulum necessary to produce beats of even moderate slowness. In order to perform sixty oscillations in a minute, a Pendulummust, in our latitude, be 39.2 inches long. One long enough to execute forty would be difficult to manage. This difficulty, which had long been recognised as a bar to farther improvement, was eventually removed, through the ingenuity of a celebrated Mechanist, named Winkel, an inhabitant of Amsterdam, who first entertained the idea of constructing a Metronome upon a system before untried, involving the use of a certain kind of Double-Pendulum, the motions of which are governed by mathematical laws of extreme complexity, though, practically considered, the principle is so simple that we trust a very few words may suffice to explain it.
If a rod be suspended from its centre, and equally weighted at both ends, its centres of motion and gravity will coincide, and its position, when at rest, will be perfectly horizontal. But, if the weight at one end be diminished, or moved a little nearer to the central pivot than the other, the centre of gravity will be displaced, and the unaltered end will gradually descend, until the rod hangs perpendicularly; the rapidity with which the change of position takes place depending upon the amount of diminution to which the upper weight is subjected, or its nearness to the pivot. In either case, the upper weight will exercise so strong a retarding influence on the lower one, that by carefully adjusting the proportion between weights and distances, it will be found possible to make a Double Pendulum, of the kind we have described, oscillate as slowly as an ordinary one five or six times its length.
The possibility of constructing a Metronome upon this principle is said to have first suggested itself to Winkel about the year 1812; but it is difficult, in the face of conflicting statements, to arrive at a just conclusion as to the circumstances under which his invention was first given to the world. It is, indeed, known to have been warmly commended by the Dutch Academy of Sciences, in a report dated Aug. 14, 1815; and, judging from this, we may surmise that it had, by that time, assumed a complete, if not a perfect form. We have, however, no definite proof of its then condition. It may have been finished, or it may not: but, finished or unfinished, it is certain that Winkel derived very little benefit from his discovery. Johann Nepomuk Maelzel, an accomplished Musician, and a Mechanist of European reputation, had long meditated an improvement upon Stöckel's machine for beating time; and succeeded, about this time, in producing a species of so-called 'Chronometer,' which fairly satisfied Salieri, Weigl, and even Beethoven himself. Fortified by the approval of these high authorities, he determined to bring out his invention in London. Meanwhile, he exhibited it, in company with other mechanical curiosities, in a travelling museum, which he carried about with him, from city to city, through some of the principal countries of Europe. Among other places, he visited Amsterdam, where he saw Winkel's instrument. Struck with the superiority of the Double-Pendulum to the principle adopted in his own time-keeper, he at once offered to purchase the invention. Winkel declined to cede his rights; but Maelzel, having now learned all he wanted to know, proceeded to Paris, patented the Double-Pendulum in his own name, and in 1816 set up the first Metronome Manufactory on record. Winkel afterwards obtained possession of one of the Paris instruments; established its identity with his own; and (as Wurzbach states) took advantage of Maelzel's return to Holland to submit his case to the 'Niederländische Akademie' for decision. A Commission was appointed, to investigate its merits: and, as it was proved that the graduated scale was the only part of the instrument really originated by Maelzel, a formal judgment was recorded in Winkel's favour—too late, however, to do him full justice, for, to this day, his share in the work is, by common consent, suppressed, and Maelzel is universally regarded as the inventor of the instrument which bears his name.[2]
The first Metronomes made at the new Manufactory differed so little, in any point of vital consequence, from those now in daily use, that a description of the one will include all that need be said concerning the other. The most important part of the business is a flat steel rod,
- ↑ A pocket Metronome was registered by Greaves in 1850, and another, 'scala Mälzl, system Decher,' has just been patented by Aibl, of Munich.
- ↑ We are indebted, for most of these particulars, to Mr. A. W. Thayer, whose careful researches have placed him in possession of much valuable information on this subject. Bernsdorf tells a different story, to the effect, that Maelzel, unable to overcome some difficulty connected with his improvement of Stöckel's Time-keeper, took Winkel into consultation: that Winkel solved the problem for him; and that he then proceeded to Paris, and there patented Winkel's invention in his own name.
