Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/423

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
*
373
*

liOCHES. 373 LOCK. Loches is supposed to occupy the site of a Ro- man settlement. It was held by the English for about fifty years in the fourteenth centurj'. Pop- ulation, in 1801, 5132; in 1901, 5161. LOCHIEL, lOK-el'. A Highland chief of Scot- land. See Cameron, Donalii. LOCHIEL'S WARNING A poem by Thomas Campbell, the subject of which is Don- ald, son of Sir Evan Cameron of Lochiel. LOCHINVAK, loK'in-var'. A well-kno%vn ballad, and the name of its hero, in Scott's Marmion. The yoimg Highlander rescues his sweetheart, who is about to be married to an- other, by claiming a last dance, at the end of which he swings the lady to the saddle of his waiting horse and carries her off before the astonished company can interfere. LOCH KATRINE, kat'rin. See Katbi.ne, Loch. LOCHLEVEN, loK-le'vcn. An oval lake in Kinross-shire, Scotland, about three and three- quarters miles long and two miles wide (Map: Scotland, C 3). It is famous for the ruins of its ancient castle built on one of seven islands, half a mile from the shore, a place of great historical interest and the prison oi Queen Mary (1507-G8). The lake receives the waters of sev- eral streams and is much frequented for its excellent trout - fishing. Consult Burns - Begg, History of Lochleien Castle (Kinross, 1877). LOCHLEVEN CASTLE. See Lochle-ex. LOCH LOMOND, kVmond. See Lomoxd Loch. LOCHNER, lOG'ner. Stephax (?-1451). A German painter, born at ^Meersburg. in the Bish- opric of Constance. He appears in the records as having been chosen councilor of the Guild of Painters at Cologne in 1447. and again in 1450. His chief work — and that of the Cologne School — is the triptych kiioxvn as the KJJlner Dombild. Other extant paintings by him are two tablets, each representing three saints, an "Entombment." a "Last .Judgment," and the "Madonna in the Rose-Arbor," in the Wallraf-Richartz Museum of Cologne; and in the Germanic Museum of Xuremberg, "Christ and Six Saints." LOCK (AS. loc, from lucan, OHG. hlkhan, Goth. qaJukan, to close; ultimately connected with Lith. li'izti. Skt. ruj, to break). A contriv- ance for securely fastening a door or lid by means of an inclosed bolt which is shot back and forth by a key or other device. The bolt is usually guarded by an obstacle, and locks may be divided into two general classes according to the character of the obstacle which must be overcome liy the key. ( 1 ) ^Yarded locks are those in which (lie obstacle consists of fixed wards or ridges within the lock. (2) Tumhler locks are those in which the obstacles are movable pins or levers. In either class of locks the bolt can be actuated only by a properly shaped key, whose indenta- tions correspond to the ridges or will raise the pins to the proper height. Historical Developmext. In his paper on Locks and fiafes (see bibliography), Mr. Chubb traces, in the foTlowing manner, the development of locks. The bolt, or essential part of a lock, was probably developed from the bar or crossbeam with which early peoples i^ectired their doors. This bar was held in sockets or staples fixed on the door, and was secured by means of a pin dropped through a hole in the staple and bar. From this original bar-fastening four different types of locks were developed by primitive men. The Egyptian placed the bar on the outside of the door and reached the pin which held it through a hole in the bar itself. In other words. SECTIONS SHOWING THE PBINCIPLE OF THE EABLY EGYPTIAN LOCK. the bar, which was shortened into a bolt, was hollow for a part of the distance. Instead of one pin. several pins were used. The fully de- veloped Egyptian lock consists of a case, which is nailed to the door. Through the case passes a large wooden bolt, the end of which enters the staple, while the opposite end is left exposed. In the lower part of the bolt is a square groove, which has certain round or square holes. When the bolt is pushed home into the staple, these holes come exactly under corresponding little cavities in the case, in each of which is placed an upright wooden pin with a knob, which pre- vents its falling too low; these little pins conse- quently fall into the holes in the bolt when it is pushed far enough, and the door is locked. In order to unlock it. a bar of wood is passed into the groove in the bolt, and on the bar there are the same number of pins of wood placed upright as there are holes in the bolt and loose pins in the chambers of the case; and these upright pins are placed so as to corre- spond exactly in size and position to the holes; therefore, when the pins reach the holes, they slip into them and push up the loo.se pins into their respective cavities, and the bolt is then easily pulled back by means of the bar or key. This form of lock, exactly like that made 4000 years ago. is still used in Egypt. The later Roman lock was based upon it, and it contains the principle of the modem pin-tumbler lock. It is easy to see how, in the simplest form of this lock, while the bolt was still a hollow beam, the key was the human arm and the projections on it were the five fingers of the human hand used to press up the pins. In order to reach the beam from the other side of the door, to in.scrt the key, a hole was made in the door through which to pass the hand. In another class of locks the pins are lifted from the holes in the bolt — the bolt being still on the outside of the door — by means of a hole in the staple. The hole is horizontal, the pins are square in section and are notched on their sides, permitting the key to pass into position before they are lifted : the key is usually fiat with little side projections which engage the pins. The bolt is drawn by hand after the key has dis- engaged the pins. In the third type of primitive lock the bolt is on the inside of the door and the pin which holds it does not need to be concealed. The key is a siekle-shaped piece of iron, which is passed through a hole in the door and pushes up the pin on the inside. Just how these keys were manipulated and how closely they were fitted is