CHAPTER XII

THE SUN-DIAL AS A MEMORIAL
Even the dial, that stood on a hillock among the departed (There full a hundred years had it stood) was embellished with
blossoms
Like to the patriarch hoary, the sage of his kith and his hamlet, Who on his birthday is crowned by children and children's children. So stood the ancient prophet, and mute with his pencil of iron Marked on the tablet of stone, and measured the time and its
changes, While around at his feet an eternity slumbered in quiet."
— Children of the Lord' 3 Supper. Translation by LONGFELLOW.
FRIEND once said to me that she did not like a sun- dial in a garden nor any statue, or even a seat of white marble, because it seemed to suggest to her a cemetery. There is to me nothing som- bre in a sun-dial, and yet it is certainly a meet furnishing of a burying-ground. We all know that Howard the philanthropist said on his death-bed that he wished a sun-dial over his grave. Sir William Temple ordered that his heart should be placed in a silver box and buried under the sun-dial in his garden
279
280 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
at Moor Park. This was for love of his garden. 1 know I could not be buried in a garden though it would be pleasant to sleep there, but I should, I am sure, like a sun-dial over my grave. In
Ireland the old grave- yards have many an- cient sun-dials, in fact nearly all the old dials in Ireland are on tomb- stones. In many of these the gnomon is missing ; and the empty hole in which the gno- mon once was fastened is said to have been used as a betrothal hole. The visits of a priest were rare in remote communities, and when he was not at hand to solemnize any marriage, bride and groom to- gether placed a finger in the empty hole in the
Cross-dial in West Laurel Cemetery, dial-face and pledged
Philadelphia. ' . , *
marriage in the pres- ence of witnesses. Whenever the priest appeared he always remarried them in good, legal, and re- ligious form. This empty hole was also called a swearing-hole.
There is shown on this page an old sun-dial in the shape of a cross which stands in West Laurel
The Sun-dial as a Memorial
281
Cemetery, Philadelphia. It is in a neglected spot, much grown up with shrubbery, and is seldom noted by passers-by. This form of dial is particu- larly suited to a churchyard or a cemetery ; for the form of a cross should not be used lightly. I would not care to see a cross-dial in a garden, though several English clergy- men have them.
Rev. R. W. Essington has erected several cross-dials: one at Shenstone vicarage, another in the churchyard, another at Newquay, Cornwall ; and he wrote these lines as a motto : —
Cross-dial at Scotscraig, Scotland.
IF O ER THE DIAL GLIDES A SHADE, REDEEM THE TIME, FOR LO, IT PASSES LIKE A DREAM ; BUT IF 'TIS ALL A BLANK THEN MARK THE LOSS OF HOURS UNBLESSED BY SHADOWS FROM THE CROSS.
On another dial he inscribed: —
THE HOURS ARE GRAVEN ROUND THE CROSSES SIDES,
AND ON THEM ALL IN TURN THE SHADOW GLIDES;
IF THE SUN SHINES AND DRAWS A LINE, REDEEM
THE TIME, FOR LO, IT PASSES LIKE A DREAM ;
BUT IF THE LINE BE ABSENT MARK THE LOSS
OF HOURS NOT RULED BY SHADOWS FROM THE CROSS.
282 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
WEST SIDE SHOWING DIAL AND PEDESTAL AS THEY EXIST
SUGGESTED PEDESTAL AS BEING
MORE IN KEEPING WITH THE DIAL.
THAN THE PRESENT PEDESTA.L-
On a slate step at the base of the dial in the vicarage garden are two mottoes, one in Greek, one in Hebrew, meaning, "The cross gives the hour
The Sun-dial as a Memorial
283
in sunshine," and " Let there be light." On the shaft are the Latin lines : —
" Sotis adit lux Hie docet umbrte crux
Datur bora Umbram addlt nox Hinc abit utnbrce vox
Abit bora absit mora."
Another motto reads :-
O COUNT THE HOURS AS ONE BY ONE THEY FLY AND STAMP THE CROSS UPON THEM ERE THEY DIE.
Scotscraig Cross-dial.
284 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
Hoping that the thought of a cross-dial will appeal to many who have in their hearts the intent of some memorial, I give on pages 282, 283, as aid in mak- ing such a dial, drawings of the ancient cross-dial at Scotscraig, which is of exceptional proportions and beauty. It is supposed to have been made in the seventeenth century. These drawings were gener- ously made for me by Mr. T. S. Robertson, architect, of Dundee, Scotland. And I am sure my thanks to him will be echoed by my readers. Every elevation is given, and in addition a proposed pedestal, in per- fect keeping with the design of the moulding at the top. The present pedestal of this cross-dial is com- paratively modern. The lettering could be upon brass or copper plates, but the lines and figures are cut in the stone of the Scotscraig dial. Cut in some of our perfect, close- grained American granite how beau- tiful this would be ! While I have no intent to advertise any business house, I can answer the frequent query, " Where can I get a cross-dial ? " by referring the inquirer to the firm F. Barker & Son of 12 Clerkenwell Road, London. Their shop at the above address is but a three min-
Brass Cross-dial. F. Barker & Son, London.
The Sun-dial as a Memorial 285
utes' walk north of the Aldersgate Street Railway Station, and there can be seen many dial-faces which are not in their catalogue, and occasionally they can supply old dials as well. A beautiful universal por- table cross-dial made for this firm for a traveller in India is shown on page 284.
At Newhall, Penecuik, in the Midlothian, stands a sun-dial which is a memorial to Allan Ramsay. On the shaft are five panels bearing carved de- signs relating to Ramsay's Gentle Shepherd. The sixth panel is inscribed : " Here Alexander Pene- cuik of Newhall, M.D., is said to have given Allan Ramsay the Plot of His Celebrated Pastoral Comedy of the ' Gentle Shepherd.' On the eighth panel are the words : " Here Allan Ramsay recited to his Distinguished and Literary Patrons, as he Pro- ceeded with them, the Scenes of his Unequalled Pastoral Comedy, amid the Objects and the Char- acters introduced into it." The eighth panel has a motto : —
OBSERVE HOW FAST TIME HURRIES PAST THEN USE EACH HOUR WHILE IN YOUR POWER FOR COVER THE SUN, BUT TIME FLIES ON PROCEEDING EVER, RETURNING NEVER. R. B. l8lO.
Memorials need not be always of the dead, but of the living. They may indicate some hero-worship, some literature-love. I was much impressed at the home of Mrs. Mabel Osgood Wright with the indelible impress, not of his life alone, but of his character, which her father had left upon his country
286 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
home. A stranger could walk around the grounds and woods and know the man who loved them ; know, too, the great names he honored, -- for here the names are chiselled on a rough boulder in the
Pillar-dial, Appleby.
grove ; know his love of Dante, that in this se- questered spot he gathered every year on Dante's birthday even the little children, while he read to them passages from the pages he loved. We should have more Dante lovers had we such leaders and such inscriptions of verses from the poet. Here on
The Sun-dial as a Memorial
287
this vast stone pulpit are dates, for here he preached, during the stirring days of the Civil War, patriotic
The Countess's Pillar.
sermons to audiences which no church walls in the village were broad enough to hold. Here might be inscribed the victories for which he thanked God.
288 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
On page 286 is shown one of the most inter- esting historical sun-dials in England. The dial stands on a tall pillar at the top of the hill, in the village of Appleby, and is one of two erected by the famous Anne Clifford, Countess of Pembroke, Dor- set, and Montgomery, who lived from 1590 to 1675. She was heiress of several involved estates which she triumphantly bore out of their tangles into pros- perity, righting throughout the courts with a zest, and ruling these estates with equal vigor and great discretion. Among other victories she claimed and held throughout her life the office of hereditary high sheriff of Westmoreland, in spite of the opposition of King James. She had disputes with the crown under King Charles, and defended her castles against Cromwell. She repaired her crumbling castles, restored and built churches, and erected other monuments — and "never tasted wine or physic" — a fine anti-climax. Within the Appleby Church is her monument, showing her life-sized, sturdy figure.
On this dial is the motto, " Retain your loyalty, preserve your rights," which, in the light thrown by the events of her life, showed that she chose a motto which was to her of deep feeling. It is also sig- nificant when taken in connection with an anecdote of her told by Horace Walpole. Its authenticity has been questioned, but it is wonderfully character- istic. She had been communicated with by an officer of the king, and told to support a certain candidate for high office in her borough. Her answer ran thus : —
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289
" I have been bullied by an Usurper, I have been neglected by a Court, but I won't be dictated to by a Subject. Your Man sha'n't stand.
" ANN DORSET PEMBROKE AND MONTGOMERY."
On page 287 is shown "The Countess's Pillar," — a pillar set up also by her on the wayside between Brougham and Ap- pleby. The square block which sur- mounts the octagonal pillar has carvings on four sides ; two are sun-dials. It is here given in enlarged size to show the detail.
There is also an in- — ^ ^-
scription which ex- plains the name given the structure : —
"This Pillar was Erected Anno Domini 1656 by the Right Hon. Ann Countess Dowager of Pembroke and Sole Heir of the Right Hon- orable George Earl of Cumberland, etc., for a Memorial of Her Last Parting in This Place with Her Good and Pious Dia'-block of the Countess's Pillar. Mother The Right Honorable Margaret Countess Dowager of Cumberland, the Second of April, 1616. In Memory
u
290 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
Whereof She also left an Annuity of Four Pounds to be Distributed to the Poor within the Parish of Brougham Every Second Day of April For Ever upon this Stone Table. Laus Deo."
A custom existed in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and indeed the eighteenth centuries, of accompany- ing a departing guest some distance on his way — going " agatewards," it was called. And it was deemed a great indignity if no one rode out with the traveller. Sometimes a great party would go on horseback several miles on the way. Doubtless the countess parted with her mother by the way- side, after some visit which one had made to the other.
The stone table for the alms still stands, but is concealed in the picture by the ugly protecting fence. The present rector of Appleby Church was asked whether the alms was still given, and answered, " I'd hear from it if it wasn't."
Another tender memorial to a loved mother is the sun-dial on page 291. It is at Neaum Crag, Am- bleside, and was erected by Albert Fleming, Esq. The motto is the Latin rendering of the text, Psalm cxxxix. 12, "The darkness and light to thee are both alike." On the base of the pedestal are the noble lines of Matthew Arnold; —
" O strong soul, by what shore
Tarriest thou now ? For that force, Surely, has not been left vain ! Somewhere, surely, afar, In the sounding labour-house vast Of being, is practised that strength, Zealous, beneficent, firm."
Sun-dial on Library Tower, Princeton University, Princeton,
New Jersey.
The Sun-dial as a Memorial
291
I often wonder when I see the very trying results of affectionate desire to erect a memorial to our beloved dead that one dignified form is wholly neglected, especially when such unhappy examples
,*;%, , : *,
7, ; * ,
Dial with Dipleidoscope, Neaum Grag, Ambleside, England.
of stained glass are set in our churches — I mean a memorial window-dial of stained glass. Window- dials are described in Chapter II. A suggestive and beautiful design would be of some figure, an angel or some Biblical character, holding a pointer
Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
to the hours. Dante 's Amor, page 16, the angel on the Chartres Cathedral, page 18, and the angel with dial upon the Genoa Cathedral, facing page 14, would all be exquisite designs for window-dials. Of course
Sun-dial at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
such a dial would be read from the inside of the building, and thus the hours would be numbered, as on a clock, from right to left. This idea need not be confined to memorial church windows ; but might with a more secular design be a great
The Sun-dial as a Memorial
293
beauty in the hall of a country house or in some public building. This dial, to be seen in perfection, should be set in a wall facing due south, though other positions will answer.
A curious and inter- esting memorial may be seen erected on a but- tress of Ascot Church, to two members of the Guinness family. It consists of a sun-dial and a lamp, and is in- tended to indicate the three kinds of light, namely : first, the natu- ral light on the dial ; second, the artificial light of the lamp ; third, the supernatural light indicated in the inscription, which is —
THOU ART MY LAMP, O LORD.
THE LORD SHALL LIGHTEN MY DARKNESS.
The dial bears the motto : —
I ALSO AM UNDER AUTHORITY.
It shows the frequent irony of good intent that a dial with the same motto and an inscription from Shakespeare, which was erected in Pelton, Somerset, to the memory of a brave soldier, should be torn
Sun-dial in Grounds of Packer
Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn,
New York.
294 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
down and lost, and even the name of the hero for- gotten.
A sun-dial has ever been an appropriate memorial gift to a college as well as a useful fitting for a college wall. Many remember a sun-dial on one of the build- ings at Harvard University; but it has vanished under
"improving'' hands. And there was a splen- did sun-dial of unusual size and beauty at Wil- liams. Hawthorne writes of the interest he had in it when he saw
_____ f it at the stone cutter's
3 — its great size and fine
finish. That, too, has disappeared within the memory of man. A fine modern dial is upon the Library Tower at Princeton University. Tower and dial are shown facing page 290. Another dial upon a dormitory at Princeton affords a curious min-
Sun-dial in Grove Street Burying- a\\ncr of antiquity and ground. New Haven, Connecticut. L i/ •
modernity; half-tim- bered walls and a sun-dial are beside electric poles and wires and an American clock. A modern dial on the campus of Yale University is given on page 292. It is of excellent design. Another, on the grounds of
The Sun-dial as a Memorial 295
the Packer Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn, is pictured on page 293. It is a fit and beautiful class memorial. Sun-dials are appropriate teachers in a cemetery. One in a New Haven cemetery is on page 294.
Over the entrance to Mount Auburn Cemetery is a vertical sun-dial, with appropriate and beautiful lines written by the poet John G. Whittier for his friend Dr. Henry J. Bowditch, and inscribed first on a silver dial. Their beauty has made them popular, and they have been frequently copied. They may well close this chapter on the sun-dial as a memorial : -
WITH WARNING HAND I MARK TIME'S RAPID FLIGHT, FROM LIFE'S GLAD MORNING TO ITS SOLEMN NIGHT. YET, THROUGH THE DEAR GOD'S LOVE, I ALSO SHOW THERE'S LIGHT ABOVE ME BY THE SHADE BELOW.