CHAPTER III

CLASSIFICATION OF SUN-DIALS
" In which very many sorts of Dialls are Conteined, by which be- sides the houres of all kinds diversely express' d. Amongst which very many Dialls, especially the Most Curious are new Inventions hitherto Divulg'd to none. All these Particulars are Shortly yett Clearly sett forth for the common good."
— Title page of The Explication of The Dial! Set up in the
King's Garden, An. ibbq. FATHER FRANCIS HALL.
F DIALS we may form two classes, portable and fixed. Portable dials have in this book a special chapter ; as do also noon-marks or meridian lines and spot-dials, ceiling- dials, and window-dials which are not in one sense separate objects. Other dials will be classed according to the divisions of Messrs. Ross and McGibbon, as formulated in their volume on Scottish sun-dials in their book of several volumes, entitled The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland. The sun-dials of Scotland are the finest in the world, and this noble book is worthy its sub- ject. About two hundred Scottish sun-dials are described in it, and thus a clear idea is given of the
61
62 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
art of dial-making of the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, as practised in Scotland. I am glad to adopt in general the simple and lucid classification of sun-dials as arranged by these two skilled and learned architects, and to use somewhat their words in describing the classes. The first division is into two great classes, the attached and the detached ; the former being, as the name would imply, displayed upon the walls of some building, and often of slight importance in the general scheme of the edifice; while the second class, dials standing on their own special pedestals, are often of much monumental importance. The attached dials are divided into six classes : —
1. Single-faced dials.
2. Dials with two faces placed generally on cor- ners of buildings.
3. Dials with two or more faces projected on corbels.
4. Terminal dials.
5. Dials on market and other crosses.
6. Horizontal attached dial.
In the first class the dials of a single face, of stone, wood, or metal, are usually affixed to the surface of a building, or they may be carved or painted on the wall itself; but sometimes, when the wall of the house does not face exactly as desired, these are canted out a bit from the house at one edge. That at Foun- tainhall, East Lothian, is thus placed at a slight angle that the dial may face due south.
Examples of these single wall dials are many throughout this book : they are a favorite dial for
Classification of Sun-dials
church decoration and use, and are found on many of the cathedrals and churches of the old and the new world, where they form the very best and most appropriate ornamentation a church can have ; even
Grace Church, and Dial, Merchantsville, N. J.
a simple modern one such as this on Grace Church, Merchants- ville, New Jersey, adds much to the beauty of a church edifice. A vertical dial is, in one respect, much better fitted for a public building than a horizontal dial, for the latter through careless or mischievous hand- ling often becomes so shaken as to be useless as a timekeeper. A fine horizontal dial, with an unusual and beautiful gnomon, shaped like an angel's wing,
64 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
was set but a few years ago as a memorial of a son to his mother, in the churchyard of All Saints' Church, Worcester, Massachusetts. Even this firmly set and carefully made bronze dial-face has been pulled and twisted by boyish visitors to the racking of the gnomon. A vertical wall-dial would have been out of mischief.
On those interesting old buildings — moot-halls — are found some of the most ancient dials. A moot-hall was a building with a room for public debate or a court, a town-hall. Jn early English history we find that a moot or meeting was con- stantly being held, and a court formed which had special powers. A town-moot was a meeting of the town ; there was also the hundred-moot, a meeting of the hundred; and a folk-moot, a muster of all the people far and wide. The form of holding the court was the same in all ; the priests proclaimed silence, appointed speakers on either side of the controversy who told their tales, while groups of freemen assented or dissented, shaking their spears and clanking their shields ; sometimes witnesses were called; and finally everything was positively settled by shouts of Aye and Nay. Moot-halls still stand in ancient and stagnant towns ; one in Alderburgh is shown on page 10 — a lonely building erected about the year 1 500. The dial is not so old, I think, for the motto, Horas non numero nisi serenas, seems hardly suited to a moot-hall of that year. It has a second motto also, Pereunt et imputantur.
A favorite position for vertical church-dials is over a door. The fine dial shown facing this page
Sun-dial over Porch of Eyam Church.
Classification of Sun-dials 65
is over the south porch of the church at Eyam, Derbyshire. It has upon it the lines of the Tropic of Capricorn, the Tropic of Cancer, and the Equi- noctial plainly marked and lettered ; also the names of various cities and places, -- Mexico, Panama, Quebec, Bermuda, London, Rome, Constantinople, Mecca, Calcutta, and Surat, showing their difference of time ; also the mottoes Induce Animum Sapientem -TAKE TO THYSELF A WISE WORD; and Ut Umbra sic Vita; the date 1775, and the names, Wm. Lee, Thomas Fraggatt, Church Wardens. Surrounded by ancient elms and sycamores stands this venerable church, celebrated both for the singular Runic cross in its yard, and for the pathetic story of its heroic rector, Mompesson. In July, 1665, the plague was brought to Eyam in a box of tailor's cloths and patterns. It spread immediately and every house soon had its victims. Mompesson inspired the villagers with a wonderful spirit of self-abnegation, so that they cut themselves off from the rest of the world, in order to stop the spread of the pestilence. Not a soul left the place, and supplies were brought in from outposts. Pest-houses were established, but even winter did not subdue the disease ; and in the spring Mompesson, knowing well the danger of any assembling within the church, preached to his heroic people from a projecting rock in the cleft in the dale, — a rock still known as " The Pulpit." Out of a village of three hundred and fifty inhabitants but: ninety survived. His own wife died in August, and is buried in the churchyard. Many others were buried in the fields, and one little enclosure is shown
66
Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
which holds seven of one family, who died in seven days.
A very interesting and ancient sun-dial is on the south porch of Lewannick Church, and with the Cresset stone standing on the left of the porch, is deemed somewhat of a curiosity. This church was
Sun-dial on Chimney, Petersfield.
about five miles from Lanceston, but has just been destroyed by fire.
Sun-dials were placed on many symbolical or sig- nificant structures. Among these is the curious old triangular Lodge at Rushton, Northamptonshire, a monument of the deep Trinitarian belief of Sir Thomas Tresham, a skilled architect of Elizabeth's day. Its walls are covered with pious emblems and inscriptions. This lodge has three walls, three gables on each wall. On the central gable of each is a sun-dial; on the first is the word Respicite ; on the
Cresset Stone and Dial on Lewannick Church, Lanceston, England.
Classification of Sun-dials
second, Non Mibi ; on the third, Sole Labor avi, 1 593.
" MARK YE, NOT FOR MYSELF ALONE HAVE I TOILED."
The trefoil also is expressive.
An appropriate and well-designed modern setting for vertical dials upon dwelling-houses, and one I always like if not placed too high, is upon an external chimney. On page 66 is given a dial at Petersfield thus placed, and it may plainly be seen how well it suits its position.
On this page is ^hown the vertical sun-dial at Oak Woods in Peace Dale, Rhode Island, once the home of the old phi- losopher, Rowland G. Hazard, and now the home of his grandchil- dren. Another fine ver- tical dial, upon page 68, was set in 1891 on the old stone wall which marked the northern boundary of the grounds of the Santa Barbara Mission, California, in a place where many passers-by see and use it. The inscription reads : —
Wall-dial at Oak Woods, Peace Dale, Rhode Island; residence of Rowland G. Hazard, Esq.
" The dial was made, inscribed, and set by Rowland Hazard of Peace Dale, Rhode Island, in a part of the Sta. Barbara Mission Wall, built 1786, standing on his land."
The words Fidem docet of the noble motto are illumined with sunlight, as if prophetic.
68 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
Lux del vitte viam monstrat
Sed umbra boram atque fidem docet.
THE LIGHT OF GOD SHOWETH THE WAY OF LIFE, BUT THE SHADOW BOTH TELLETH THE HOUR AND TEACH- ETH THE FAITH.
The picture speaks to me many words besides those of its motto. It makes me think of the aged philosopher, Rowland G. Hazard, the most
Sun-dial at Santa Barbara Mission, California.
Classification of Sun-dials 69
interesting person I ever knew, the friend of other philosophers, such as John Stuart Mill, and the author of such profound books as Man a Creative First Cause ) Freedom of Mind in Willing; and I think of his sturdy race, some of whom were giants in the land ; I recall the noble life of his son, who set up the dial ; and I think of the philosopher's grand- daughter, the president of Wellesley College, and her great work. Then I look at the picture, and the tropical foliage of the Cactus plant symbolizes to me folk of vastly different type — the native Mexicans and Californians, halting in the welcome shadow of the old wall, and reading with ease the Latin verses in their softened Spanish accent. I see the many Chinese wanderers to that shore, chattering the time of the day — for the sun's shadow speaks in their tongue as well as in Latin. I see Father Junipero and his barefooted and cowled Franciscan friars patiently teaching their trying converts — the Indians. I see behind the wall the Mission garden with its wells and cisterns, its dense Pepper trees, its Daturas and Roses; and Latin and Spanish, Asiatic, Indian, and Yankee races all blend in the spirit of this useful, beautiful sun-dial.
On page 70 is given an historical example of the second class, dials with two faces, set at the corner of houses. These are on the house in Edinburgh known as John Knox's house. On the corner of the house is carved a figure of the prophet Moses, kneeling and pointing with his right hand to a figure overhead, — namely, the sun in glory, on which is carved the name of God in three tongues. Beneath
yo Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
this figure were two sun-dials supported on iron brackets, which represented flames of fire. A good
John Knox's House, Edinburgh, Scotland.
example of these corner dials is shown facing page 72, a view of Mr. Thursby's house at Lower Harle-
Classification of Sun-dials 71
stone, Northamptonshire. This is a charming Eng- lish home picture; the cheertul house, the creeping vines and flowers, the tame pea-hen, and the sun- dials,-- why, even the printed words peacocks and sun-dials give a picture of English country life! The house is about a hundred years old, and in 1891 the dials were nearly obliterated and the gnomons gone, but the dials have now been restored. The south- east dial is inscribed, THE HOUR is AT HAND; the
SOUthweSt, WrATCH AND PRAY.
I have never seen in America a vertical dial of the third class,- - namely, on a corbel, though the latter forms a most effective piece of architectural decoration as well as a useful one.
On Heriot's hospital in Edinburgh are eleven corbel dials, the finest attached dials of this type in Scotland ; they are supported on carved brackets. Some of these brackets are cupids' heads with wings, others demons' heads and wings, one an elephant's head.
Terminal dials, the fourth class, form the apex of a gable, buttress, or some other portion of an edifice. They were a favorite decoration in Scotland ; thus the church at Costorphine, Midlothian, has seven of these dials forming the finials of buttresses. On the eaves of gables, even of humble cottages, they were much used, and over the lichgates of churches formed a most appropriate finial.
The fifth-class dials on market and other crosses might well have been transferred to the class of detached dials, since the cross is often scarce more than a pillar to hold the dial. Many of the early
72 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
market crosses and churchyard crosses of the seven- teenth century bore sun-dials, and the earliest Eng- lish sun-dial is of this type. These crosses varied from the simple village cross bearing a block with dials to the superbly ornamental market crosses of many Scotch and English towns, and many good examples will be shown in the pages of this book.
Near the Scotch border, in Cumberland, stands the little town of Bewcastle. It is in what has been ever a rather wild and desolate district, though it is supposed to have been a Roman station during the building of the famous wall. A view of the church- yard is given facing page 32. I think it the loneliest scene that I ever beheld — in which there are ample signs of both life and death. In it may be seen what is one of the most interesting ancient monu- ments in Great Britain ; it affords the earliest Eng- lish sepulchral inscription, the earliest piece of English literature, and of special note to us, the earliest English sun-dial.
It is a beautiful monument, too, a monolith four- teen and a half feet high, originally the shaft of a fine cross which added two and a half feet to its height. The cross blew down about three hundred years ago, and was sent to a collector of antiquities, Lord William Howard, for preservation ; but its whereabouts is now unknown. The carvings on this shaft are very fine and pleasing, and, curkms indeed, are in close relation to Byzantine art. It bears many runes, and on the south face is the sun- dial surrounded by carved bands and leaves, in such
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Classification of Sun-dials 73
a manner that the dial is proved part of the origi- nal design, not a later addition. The date of this sun-dial is 670 A.D., for the inscriptions have been deciphered and translated thus by the Bishop of Bristol : —
"This thin sign of victory Hwaetred Wothgar Olwfwolthu set up after Alchfrith once King and son of Oswy. Pray for the high sin of his soul."
The date is given as the first year of the reign of
King Ecgfrith. Other names appear on the shaft,
-names of princes who served the cause of English
Christianity in the seventh century. Oswy and
Alchfrith were also Christians.
The sun-dial, which is within a third of the top of the shaft, is divided into four spaces — according to the octaval system of time measurement ot the Angles. These four spaces are divided each into three spaces, making thus the twelve divisions of the day of the Romans. The gnomon was doubt- less set horizontally, and could not have afforded a very acurate time-keeping, save for the noon-hour.
The loneliness of Bewcastle has aided in the pres- ervation of this beautiful monument, and many simple ancient customs also lingered long. Among them was the whittle-gate, part of the payment of both schoolmaster and parson, and by which they found a home. The master lived in turn for two or three weeks at a time at the home of each of his scholars. As the houses were often scantily fur- nished, he carried his own knife or whittle for table use. Sometimes the parish gave the parson his
74 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
whittle. We brought to America the custom of whittle-gate ; -it has lingered to the present day in remote country communities where the schoolmaster " boards around " ; and we brought the word whittle, too, and applied it in such fashion that it serves to indicate a significant characteristic of native New Englanders.
Opposite this page is shown one of the three ancient dials of this class which are standing at Elmley, Worcestershire. One is at the meeting of two roads, a cubical dial on the shaft of an old cross. The second is in the churchyard at Elmley Castle; it is a cube with many hollowed-out dials, in some of which the gnomons remain. The third, here shown, is erected on the base of an old cross; the founda- tion is of several courses of masonry rising nearly three feet, and above them a stone so much like dial number two that antiquaries believe they origi- nally formed a single dial. Besides the singular scooped-out depressions, this has also a shield bear- ing the arms of Savage, borne by the lord of the manor, which was granted by Henry VIII. This ancient block is surmounted by another, more modern, bearing four vertical dials.
The sixth class, horizontal attached dials, such as those fastened on window-sills or the parapets of bridges, are comparatively few in number and of no great distinction. I have several, captured from old window-ledges in New England.
Detached dials are divided into four classes : —
1. Obelisk-shaped dials. 3. Facet-headed dials.
2. Lectern-shaped dials. 4. Horizontal dials.
Antique Sun-dial in Churchyard. Elmley Castle, Worcestershire,
England.
Classification of Sun-dials 75
Naturally an exact line cannot be drawn between these to separate wholly each class ; for a lectern- headed dial may have a pedestal somewhat obelisk- shaped, and the horizontal dial often runs into the other shapes ; but the classification is as explicit as is possible.
The term obelisk-shaped is perhaps as good a descriptive word for the first class of dials as any single word could be ; though the word obelisk conveys in general the thought of a plain shaft like the Egyptian obelisks. Obelisk-shape in a sun-dial, however, indicates a square shaft, supporting a bulg- ing capital, and that surmounted by a tapering finial. Let me illustrate by referring to page 6 as an example; this is the sun-dial at Kelburne House, Ayrshire, and has all three characteristics. The shaft and the capital are divided into compartments which are hollowed out with " sinkings," which may be triangular, star-shaped, club-shaped, shell-shaped, shield-shaped, cross-shaped, liver-shaped, lozenge- shaped, circular, heart-shaped, and other geometrical figures. In these the sharp edge of the figure casts a shadow on the sunken cups ; or a metal gnomon might be set thereon. Sometimes the hour lines are finely delineated. The bulging capital should be octagonal and have dial-faces on each of the eight sides, which dials might be sunken ; and it could have also reclining and proclining dials (which should not be sunken), as has this one of Kelburne House. It will be noted that where the square shaft meets the octagonal pillar the triangular pieces are cut out, giving effective shadows and odd out-
y6 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
lines. The tapering finial may have dial-faces but never sunken ones. The north side of the dial was usually left free for dates, initials, and inscriptions. This Kelburne dial is surmounted by a wrought-iron vane which encloses the monogram of the Earl of Glasgow and his wife; and it is dated 1707. The entire height of this is eight feet six and one-half inches without the steps at the base. These obelisk- shaped dials are usually set upon a platform or pedestal of steps, often of a circular or octagonal form ; but a similar dial at Kelburne House is set in a basin of water, like a fountain basin — an unusual and inappropriate placing.
It will be known that when these dials were made of soft sandstone, as were so many in Scotland and England, the various shaped sinkings would quickly be worn so that they were of slight value as time- keepers, and the great number of dial-faces was confusing; so I ever regard the obelisk-shaped dial as a thing of beauty and dignity rather than as a precise timekeeper. Modern dials for fine gardens have often been made partly in the obelisk-shape ; there is a beautiful one of these at Linburn House, which is shown on a later page.
The descriptive name of lectern-dial has been given to a sun-dial set upon a shaft which was never cut into dial-faces, but had a dial-head cut in a peculiar shape, so it resembled a music-stand or lectern. They were comparatively common in England and Scotland, though they were in gen- eral very complicated in their cutting, having sev- eral dial-faces, and being hollowed out, bevelled, and
Classification of Sun-dials
77
shaped in ways exceedingly difficult to describe and often most varied in each sun-dial. As an attempt at description, it may be said that a block of stone rests on the top of the standard somewhat as a book rests on a lectern ; this block (the dial-stone) is cut into a shape somewhat resem- bling a Greek cross with semi- circular depressions carved out of the four arms of the cross in such a way as to leave eight points or horns. Let this queerly cut cross be set well up on the face of the lectern ; and have the circular de- pression at the top edge of the cross continued down the sloping back of the dial in a semicylin- drical, trough- %,' shaped opening. The shape is so sin- gular, so compli- cated, and, to a
Careless observer SO Lectern-headed Dial at Gray House, near ., Dundee, Scotland.
unnecessarily com- plex and unnatural, that many speculations have arisen as to the reason for these forms. They were called Masonic dials and may have had some Ma- sonic significance. An ingenious suggestion of ex-
7 8 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
planation is given through an article in the Magazine of Art, November, 1891, entitled " The Mystery of Holbein's Ambassadors." In this picture, part of which is reproduced opposite this page, is a table upon which are displayed several sun-dials and curious astronomical instruments. One of the last-named was " The Torquetum of Apian," by means of which the position of the sun, moon, or stars could be indicated at any hour. It is shaped like these lec- tern-dials and may have afforded the model for them. Though this form seems so forced and so contorted for its purpose as a dial, it was nevertheless used for many costly dials, which well illustrate the mag- nificent ideas of the seventeenth century in regard to the architectural accessories and furnishings of gar- dens, pleasure grounds, and parks of that date. The superb dials of Dundas Castle, of Neidpath Castle, of Mid Calder House, of Ladyland's House, show types of these costly dials ; and the most elaborate of all is at Woodhouselee, Midlothian, carved ex- quisitely in the hollows of the shaft with the Thistle and the Rose. On page 77 is given a drawing of the sun-dial at Gray House, near Dundee. In this the ancient lectern-head has been set on modern steps.
In a general way the cross-dials seen in church- yards and graveyards may be deemed of the class of lectern-dials ; though they bear slight resem- blance to the elaborate Scotch dials.
The third class, that of facet-headed dials, may be described as consisting of a pedestal, baluster-shaped, bearing a spherical-shaped stone cut in a variety of
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Classification of Sun-dials
79
facets on which sun-dials are formed, cup-shaped, heart-shaped, or flat. This sphere or head is usually attached to the pedestal by a small pivot or bar.
Queen Mary's Dial, Holyrood Castle.
This shape perhaps affords to us the most beau- tiful of ancient and modern dials. One of the most interesting of all facet-headed dials, and one from which many others have been shaped, is called
80 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
Queen Mary's Dial at Holyrood Castle, Scot- land, see page 79. It is said to have been the gift of Charles I to his Queen Henrietta Maria, and was a costly token ; for in the accounts of the Master of Works it is shown that the sum of ^408, 15.5-. 6d. was paid to the mason and his servants for " hewing of the diyell," and £66 13^. $d. to a limner for gilding and engraving the dial. The dial stands with its base ten feet three inches high, and after lying for a long time in an apparently ruined condition, was repaired and reset by order of Queen Victoria. The facets of the dial-head have sinkings of many shapes,- - heart-shaped, cup-shaped, triangular, square, — and the gnomons have many forms, one a grotesque face profile, another a Thistle. The dial also bears the Royal Arms and the initials of Charles and his queen. It has been copied, with some alterations and adaptations, in many garden dials, several of which are shown in these pages.
A superb dial of the facet-headed type is at Mount Melville, Fifeshire. It rivals the wonderful dial at Glamis Castle. A beautiful photograph of it has been given me by Miss Balfour-Melville, and is shown in this book. There are in all seventy dials on this grand structure, twenty-five of which are on the facet-head. This head is about eighteen inches in diameter, set without a pivot on a block beneath which is eleven inches square ; this has three cup- shaped dials. On the shaft are rows of dials : plain dials, oblong-shaped sunken dials, heart-shaped dials, cup-hollows, and cylinder-shaped hollows.
A block of stone in the form known as an icosa-
Sun-dial at Mount Melville, Scotland.
Classification of Sun-dials 81
hedron, having twenty faces, each being an equilateral triangle, is sometimes seen with a dial on each face. This facet-headed block is set on a pillar and forms a wonderful ornament for the garden.
Horizontal dials are subdivided into two classes, but I deem such division superfluous. It is said by Messrs. McGibbon and Ross that horizontal dials on pedestals are so numerous in Scotland that a list of them would include the name of every parish in Scotland ; they must number hundreds. As no two are precisely alike, they would form a fine series of examples. I have studied the pedestals with great interest, since nearly all the garden-dials set up in America are of this class.
There are, of course, many forms of dials of which I have not spoken, among them the earliest dials in England ; on old churches mysterious little rayed circles like the face of a sun-dial appear, which are often found in most out-of-the-way places, high up on the wall or underneath shelves. These are commonly called Saxon dials, and they strongly resem- ble " sun-circles " found on pre-historic remains, and are held by many scientists to be either sun-circles or luck-circles. There is usually a little hole in the centre of the rays, but of too shallow incision to hold a gnomon. The rays vary in number ; some dials had sixteen. At Aldborough is a beautiful dial carved with the swastika or fylfot, resembling the sun-wheels of Danish relics of the Bronze Age.
It is said that there is hardly an unrestored church in Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, or Leicester- shire but has these circles or imitation dials on its
82 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
walls. On this page is given one of these rayed circles, which is on the porch of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Northampton. Its lines are most distinct. In an interesting paper called Squints and Dials, Sir Henry Dryden says that those
Saxon Dial on Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Northampton.
" Saxon dials " which were cut only breast high or where the central hole could not have held a gnomon, or where the rays are irregular, must be regarded with suspicion. I may define a squint for two rea- sons : first, for the information of American readers to whom the term is generally unfamiliar ; and sec- ond, because they have so often been carefully
Classification of Sun-dials 83
pointed out to travellers in England as sun-dials. A squint is an oblique opening through the wall of an old church, cut in such a manner and for the express purpose of permitting a person in a transept
Model of Proclining Dial. Jeypore.
or side aisle to see the high altar at the time of the elevation of the host. The ordinary position of a squint is on either side of the chancel arch ; but wherever they are, they always open to give a view of the altar. They are in general about three feet high and two feet wide, but at Minster Lovell,
84 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
Oxfordshire, they form narrow arches twelve feet in height. The word hagioscope has also been given them, also squincb — which is incorrect.
Vitruvius Pollio Marcus, a famous Roman archi- tect and engineer under Caesar and Augustus, wrote a treatise on architecture, — the only surviving Roman treatise on the subject. In it he names with very meagre and sapless description thirteen different kinds of sun-dials and gives the names of their inventors. During the careful archaeological excava- tions of the past century many of these types have been found. I shall not attempt to explain or describe the thirteen types nor give illustrations of the hemispherum and hemicycle which were the earliest forms. These are never made to-day save in what our grandfathers would term " a rare conceit." In the Leyden Museum, the British Museum, the Louvre, examples may be studied. They are in general imperfect and very simple in original shape and decoration, except in one or two cases.
Those who wish to learn of the antique dials of Greece and Rome and of other rare forms of English and Continental dials should read Mrs. Gatty's Book of Sun-dials, or its enlargment by Mrs. Eden. " How I love those large still books," said Tenny- son of one of Richardson's novels. Such a book is Mrs. Gatty's Book of Sun-dials. Like the sun-dial itself it seems associated with refined and serene things : the ivy-grown wall of the village church, the solemn graveyard, the ancient market square, the Rose walk, and Yew hedge, all of a day removed from present bustle and rush.
Classification of Sun-dials
The most celebrated antique dials are those on the Tower of the Winds, referred to in the preced- ing chapter. It is impossible to give a date to these dials, but archaeologists suggest that they are what are called quiver-dials by Vitruvius, wherein the lines, diverging from a common centre, resemble some- what a sheaf of arrows tossed from a quiver. A
Quiver-dial of Phaidros.
dial of similar type is depicted here, the fine marble dial of Phaidros, which was brought from Athens by Lord Elgin, and is now in the Inscription Room in the British Museum. It bears a Greek inscription meaning, " Phaidros, son of Zoilos, a Paenian, made this." Phaidros was an architect who lived in the second or third century A.D.
Varied and curious in shape are the dials of Ori- ental lands. Sun-dials are placed on all the princi- pal mosques in Constantinople. On many of them,
86
Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
Model of Reclining Dial, Jeypore.
in addition to the lines necessary to indicate the course of the sun, there is a line drawn pointing to Mecca, whither the faces of the faithful must be turned while praying.
The superb dials of Delhi and Jeypore, con- structed in 1724 by Rajah Jey Singh, are beyond description. They were built of vast size, of solid masonry and marble. The length of the hypothe- nuse of the gnomon was one hundred and eighteen
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feet. Photographs of the models of the sun-dials in the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensing- ton, have been taken specially for this book.
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