The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1913-06-14

study of the curious dials Of Venice
Would you show us yours?"
st. Hilary's question was not so idle
as might appear. He was ignoring the
existence Of the fifth landmark and
was asking for the sixth landmark.
which we had identified in this way.
The Venetian scene of the sixth hour,
1t will be remembered. was that of the
doge and the poet Petrarch seated in
the balcony of San Marco. overlooking
the piazza, and watching the festivi-
ties below, symbolized by the dancing
automaton figure. that advanced ten
steps to the front and ten to the rear.
The parallel story in the Bible we had
found by a rather roundabout process.
Some days before had accidentally
made the discovery that the face of
the doge bore a remarkable resem-
blance to the prophet Isaiah as depict
ed in one of the mosaics Of San Mar
co. Naturally, then, when we hunted
up the Biblical stories of the hour
after my return from church we look
ed for a story in which the prophet
Isaiah figured as one of the charac-
tiers. The concordance at the back of
my oxford Bible referred us to the
story of the Jewish king Hezekiah.
who sick unto death went to the
prophet Isaiah for a sign that he
should recove his strength. And this
was the verse:
And Hezekiah said to Isaiah. What
shall be the sign? And Isaiah said.
Shall the shadow of the dial 60 back
ten degrees or shall the shadow go
forward?'
The little automaton figure advancing
and retreating ten steps symbolized
plainly the going forward and back
ward of the shadow. This was signif-
cant in itself and might have made us
tolerably sure that a dial was to be
the landmark. But when, in the light
of this story. we looked carefully at
the railing Of the balcony as photo
graphed in our snapshot. we noticed at
once that the ironwork of the railing
was of intertwined circles. intersected
by diameters drawn through each of
their centers. The circles. then. stood
for the dial: the diameter for the
needle of the dial. We might be rea-
sonably certain that our search would
be narrowed to more and more defined
limits. Even without the landmark Of
the fifth hour. by which we should be
able to discover the locality Of the dial
for ourselves provided always that we
could interpret the numbers aright,. 1t
was not an e~xtravagant hope of st.
us to the landmark of the sixth hour.
I waited b~reathlessly for his answer.
Let the gods be propitious; let fortune
smile.
The gaunt but handsome face Of the
young priest was lighted up with a
charming smile.
"But It will be an honor" he said,
ito show our curious dial to the Amer
lean gentlemen"
English. pardon me-" corrected st.
Hilary readily. and he pinched my
arm. I'VE leave Venice for London
in an hour or SO. This is the last and
most curious dial we expect to see."
What a polished and delightful liar
the dealer in antiquities was. But a
cautious one withal. For aught we
knew We might he proving about
these premises with a Jimmy and dark
lantern before many more moons. and
1t might be convenient to prove ar
alibi.
I had expected the priest to lead us
to an obscure corner of the garden.
To my surprise and disappointment he
took us directly to the house. OF what
use could a dial be under a roof? The
good fathers of the seminary had taken
1t from the garden, in all likelihood,
and placed ii within doors as a curios-
ity for their pupils to cape at.
Perhaps you know. gentlemen"
said the priest as he led the way up
a broad and dreary stairway devoid
of ornament, but scrupulously clean,
that this was once the house of the
Venetian astrologer Jacopo Bembo.
Here some 200 years & came the
flower of the Venetian a~ristocracy.
They came to consult him-one for a
love philter, another for Y talisman
against the plague, another perhaps
for a deadly potion to still the beating
of a rivals heart. Some strange and
dark scenes. l suspect. have taken
place in the laboratory of Messer Benz
DO. And this is it."
We had assembled to the third story.
He threw open the door of a large
room. There were some maps on the
wall. desks and chairs. 1t was evil
IDENTIFY used now as a schoolroom.
but the dial?" I cried impatiently.
"Oh, the dial is on the roof! Have
you ever heard of a dial being in so
strange a place before?'
ut is precisely that" I cried JOY
ously. that makes it so unique in in
terest for u.s."
"And this dial on the roof will make
our collection of curious dials quite
complete" added st. Hilary gravely.
We walked a few steps down the