Sundials might be divided into two kinds, the perpendicular and the horizontal.
It is the revival of this old-time custom that has given a delightful touch of sentiment to the gardens of to-day, where sundials have become, more especially of late years, a permanent fixture.
The chief fault that we find in contrasting the sundialsof a century ago with those of the twentieth century is that there is now too much sameness.
Two curious old sundials are built into the walls of the house.
Sundials have become well nigh useless owing to improved methods of keeping time, but one loves to see these relics which link us to a past which, with all its disadvantages, has many pleasant bye-paths for the men of to-day.
Sundials were most commonly placed on the south wall of the church, but many a churchyard is graced by these obsolete time-keepers.
Yet Mr. Sothern strangely neglects the subject of sundials in his book, although they were his prop in how many a play back in the golden Nineties!
In one world were sundials and moonlight and the thrill of a woman's eyes; there was slow music and the ache of unfilled desire ever about to be gratified by some hoped-for miracle.
A generation has passed since the Nineties, and there are no stage sundials any more.
But the Temple sundials are sternly marking the time, and we must tear ourselves away from the historic precincts.
Here in Lincoln's Inn are again quiet, picturesque courts; sundialswith Latin mottoes; calm enclosures of quiet amidst the surrounding racket.
It had a bronze weather vane and in later times sundials on its eight sides, but all these are gone and the tower itself is only a dilapidated ruin.
Modern sundials differ only in being more accurately made and a few "curiosity" dials added.
They showed us work on watches, compasses, sundialsfiner than I have ever beheld.
You may remember that when we were talking of sundials I told you they were not exact timekeepers.
People therefore consulted their clocks (if they were lucky enough to have them); hied them to the village square if not; or depended upon their sundials of which there were still many in use.
You don't for a moment imagine men leaped from sundials to clocks, do you?
The villages of Martock above and Hinton St George below are also full of interest; and both possess their ancient market-crosses, but now curtailed and converted into sundials with stone-step massive bases.
Upon the gable end, over it, is one of those queer little box sundials one occasionally sees in Wiltshire.
Here again we have the great wide street with a profusion of grey stone gables on either side, and projecting inn signs, and sundials in profusion.
Daily differences in time as recorded by sundialsand clocks became more noticeable.
Equation sundials were also developed which were elaborately ingenious, but they were not completely practical.
Finally, in the second half of the 17th century, some attempt was made to construct mechanical clocks combined with sundialsas well as astronomical clocks.
The above list will hopefully give you a few useful examples demonstrating the appropriate usage of "sundials" in a variety of sentences. We hope that you will now be able to make sentences using this word.
