XIV
THE
MARKING
OF
TIME
CHAPTER XIV
THE MARKING OF TIME
Clocks—Watches—Watch keys—Watch stands.
The early marking of time was simple enough, for we are told that the Arabs, by driving a spear or a staff into the sand of the desert, told the time of day. The shadow of the sun roughly gave those who were familiar with astronomy the lay of the land and the time, approximately. When the dial and the gnomon were understood, dialling became a popular science, and ere long the sundial on the church tower, in a public place, or in a private garden, told the time. Then came the marking of time by pocket dials—an advance which foreshadowed the watch which was to come.
The pocket dial was soon followed by mechanical clocks, the clock watch, and the more delicate work of the watchmaker. The watch has become more accurate in its marking of time by the introduction of machinery in its manufacture; and it is cheapened by competition, so that now every one for a mere trifle can carry in his pocket a watch by means of which he can tell accurately the hour of day, as Shakespeare has it in "As You Like It":—
"And then he drew a dial from his poke;
And looking on it with lack-lustre eye,
Says, very wisely, 'It is ten o'clock;
Thus we may see,' quoth he, 'how the world wags.'"
Some further references to the sundial will be found in Chapter [XVII], the sundial being one of the accompaniments of the old-world garden.