nativities, and in the various occult studies wherein the hour of the day or night, and the position of the planetary system of the heavens took a prominent part, as by its aid it was possible to see, not only the true time of day by sunlight, and at night by moonlight, but other solar phenomena, such as the true time of sunrise and sunset ; the orb's place in the twelve houses of the zodiac; its perigee and apogee; its height above the horizon; the relative length of the day and night, as well as many other astrological data.

There is, however, another peculiarity about this instrument. In the hands of the Astrologus or Magus of the sixteenth century, it was capable, at the will of the operator, of apparently reversing the laws of nature. Thus, if the basin was filled with water or any other translucent liquid, the time marked was advanced or retarded as many degrees as equal the angle of refraction; thereby repeating the miracle of Isaiah.

To thoroughly illustrate this latter fact, as well as the somewhat obscure inscription within the helix upon the plate beneath the base, and on the two engraved panels, it will be necessary for us to make a practical test of the apparatus and to take up the references to the instrument as given in Holy Writ, even though it may reflect somewhat upon the integrity of the prophet of old, who evidently had some practical inkling of the then unknown laws of refraction. By referring to the thirty-eighth chapter of the Book of Isaiah, in the eighth verse we read:

"Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun-dial of Ahaz ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down."

This is what is known as the great miracle of Isaiah, and is portrayed in one of the engraved panels upon the base plate of the instrument. It will be noticed that the invalid sovereign is in his bed, while the prophet is pointing to a sun-dial, which, however, in the representation, is a vertical one-a precaution that was resorted to for obvious reasons by the Augsburg artificer, to distract attention from the true character of this instrument, in case it should ever fall into the possession of the profane.

The other engraved panel on the base plate illustrates the twentyfirst verse of the same chapter of the Book of Isaiah, viz.: "For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover."

We have here portrayed the consummation of the miracle. The

Sachse.]

[Feb. 1,

king is seen seated upon a throne, with his right leg extended, while the prophet is applying a poultice of figs to the wicked carbuncle. An attendant, in the rear, it will be noticed, holds a basketful of the same remedy in reserve.

The above mention of the "Dial of Achaz" which had the property of going backwards ten degrees at the command of the old prophet, is the earliest reference to any instrument for the purpose of marking the true time of day of which mention is made in the world's history.

Achaz, who was the son of Jotham and the eleventh king of Judah, about the year 771 B.C. went to Damascus to greet his benefactor, Tiglath Pileser. He saw there a beautiful altar, and sent working drawings of it to Uriah, the priest in Jerusalem. An altar was completed against his return. He likewise set up the dial which is mentioned in the miraculous cure of his son Hezekiah, thirteen years after the death of Achaz. This is the first dial upon record, and is 140 years before Thales, and nearly 400 years before Aristotle and Plato, and just a little previous to the lunar eclipses observed at Babylon as recorded by Ptolemy.

That this instrument and its peculiar properties were not unknown to the scientific faculty of the Helmstadt University, is shown by the Memoirs of Uffenbach, that were published at Ulm, in the early part of the last century. The University at that time was presided over by Dr. Johann Fabricius (Altdorfinus), who was the former tutor at Altdorf of Johannes Kelpius, Magister of the Rosicrucian Community, on the Wissahickon, in Pennsylvania (1694-1708).

Zacharias von Uffenbach, the celebrated scientist and traveler, and former classmate of the younger Falkner at Halle, notes in the Index to his Memoirs, Sun-dial,-Hiskia, Where the Shadow Turns Back, Curieux, ii, 542. But on referring to the place indicated, no reference whatever to the subject is to be found. The inference is that the whole matter was, at that time, suppressed by the Censor. There is, however, a reference to the instrument by the same writer in another volume of his Memoirs (Vol. i, 252) of which no mention is to be found in the Index.

Uffenbach, who was always careful to note down the most minute particulars of any special scientific matters brought to his notice, states that, while on a visit to the University Library, Abt Schmid called his attention to a description of this peculiar instrument, and then continues that "he would attribute the especial discovery of