Evening star., 1902-03-08
ANCIENT TIME-MAKERs.
Ways Of Keeping Track Of Hours Be
fore Days Of Clocks.

rrom the Boston Daily Globe.
In the United States the Oldest timepiece
is the famous Endicott sundal, made in
London in 1880, and it was brought to this
country the same year by Governor Endi-
cott at the time he brought the fleet Of
ships laden with immigrants to settle in
and around Salem. The dial stood for a
great number Of years in front Of the En-
d1cott mansion in Salem, and was In the
hands Of the family until sixty or seventy
years ago, when it was placed in the care
Of the East India Marine Society Of Salem.
The society held it in trust until 1869 when
1t came into the possession of the Ess x
Institute, where it now rests in glass case
in the museum.
Being unable to reclaim the original,
members of the family have on different
occasions had repicas made in bronze and
placed near their residences. Tn. dial
the King AhaZ who lived 142 years before
Christ, is the first dial on record In the
world. This dial was a graduated inStru-
ment having degree marks Of sore kind
which showed the daily course OF the sun.
The Old Testament tells US that it was
known in Jerusalem early as seven CEN
turies before Christ and the manner Of It's
mention indicates that it was a novelty in
that city at that time. The sun dial took
many forms. The art OF dialling involved
mathematical problems Of considerable
complexity, and it is very likely thct this
contributed to the knowledge Of mathe-
matics which the world possessed at that
early period.
Imperfect sun dials were common in Rome
about century and a half before the
Christian era, so common indeed, that, as
new inventions nowadays afford material
for the paragrapher. they were targets for
the funny men Of the period The Romans
later perfected a sundial suitable to their
latitude. which was much more accurate.
The dial was later adopted and improved
O.
curate ones were made by clockmakers
throughout Europe. A dial, or rather a
series Of dials Of every conceivable de-
scription forming a structure, was erected
In Whitehall. London, in 1869, by order OF
King Charles II. 1t was the invention Of
Francis Hall, Jesuit and professor Of
mathematics at Liege. Vertical dials, in
clining dials and dials for showing time.
as computed by various nations at differ
ent periods, were all included and ranged
on platforms.
OF these bowls or brackets appear to
have been the most attractive. One, on the
first platform to show the hour by fire,
consisted Of a little glass bowl filled with
clear water. This bowl was about three
inches in diameter. and was placed In the
middle Of another sphere, about six inches
In diameter. consisting OF several rings or
circles. representing the hour circles in the
heavens. The hour was known by apply
ing the hand to these circles when the
sun shone and that circle where the hand
felt burned by the sunheams passing
through the bowl filled with water showed
the true hour.
King Alfred measured time by burning
candles. marked with circular lines to In
dicate the hours. Ingenious devices were
adopted to prevent draughts from striking
the flame, and thus, as it were. make
time speed on It's fight by melting the
tallow Of the candle before 1t was burned.
but this was very Imperfect method or
timekeeping