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Page 5
"My servant Massinger hathe besought me to ayde him in obteyning a
reversion from her Majestie of the Examiner's office in this courte;
whereunto, as I willingly have yielded, soe I resolved to leave the
craving of your Lordship's furtheraunce to his owne humble sute; but
because I heare a sonn of Mr. Fox (her Majestie's Secretary here) doth
make sute for the same, and for the Mr. Sherar, who now enjoyethe it,
is sicklie, I am boulde to desier your Lordship's honorable favour to
my servaunte, which I shall most kindlie accepte, and he for the same
ever rest bounde to praye for your Lordship. And thus, leaving further
to trouble you, &c. 28. March, 1587. H. PEMBROKE."
The whole body of this communication, it is worth remark, is in the
handwriting of Arthur Massinger (whose penmanship was not unlike that of
his son), and the signature only that of the Earl, in whose family he was
entertained. I have not been able to ascertain whether the application was
successful; and it is possible that some of the records of the court may
exist, showing either the death of Sherar, and by whom he was succeeded
about that date, or that Sherar recovered from his illness. As I have
before said, it is quite clear that Arthur Massinger was high in the
confidence and service of Lord Pembroke ten years after the date of the
preceding note.
I have a good deal more to say about Arthur Massinger, but I must take
another time for the purpose.
THE HERMIT OF HOLYPORT.
* * * * *
TOUCHSTONE'S DIAL.
(Vol. ii., p. 405.)
The conjecture of Mr. Knight, in his note to _As You Like It_, and to which
your correspondent J.M.B. has so instructively drawn our attention, is
undoubtedly correct. The "sun-ring" or ring-dial, was probably the watch of
our forefathers some thousand years previous to the invention of the modern
chronometer, and its history is deserving of more attention than has
hitherto been paid to it. Its immense antiquity in Europe is proved by its
still existing in the _remotest_ and _least civilised_ districts of North
England, Scotland, and the Western Isles, Ireland, and in Scandinavia. I
have in my possession _two_ such rings, both of brass. The one, nearly half
an inch broad, and two inches in diameter, is from the Swedish island of
Gothland, and is of more modern make. It is held by the finger and thumb
clasping a small brass ear or handle, to the right of which a slit in the
ring extends nearly one-third of the whole length. A small narrow band of
brass (about one-fifth of the width) runs along the centre of the ring, and
of course covers the slit. This narrow band is movable, and has a hole in
one part through which the rays of the sun can fall. On each side of the
band (to the right of the handle) letters, which stand for the names of the
months, are inscribed on the ring as follows:--
J A S O N D
J M A M F J
[the letters in the lower row inverted]
_Inside_ the ring, opposite to these letters, are the following figures for
the hours:--
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
12
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
[the figures in the upper row inverted, the 12 sideways]
The small brass band was made movable that the ring-click might be properly
_set by the sun_ at stated periods, perhaps once a month.
The second sun-ring, which I bought in Stockholm in 1847, also "out of a
deal of old iron," is {53} smaller and much broader than the first, and is
perhaps a hundred years older; it is also more ornamented. Otherwise its
fashion is the same, the only difference being in the arrangement of the
inside figures, which are as follows:--
6 7 8 9 10 11
12
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
[the figures in the lower row inverted]
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