Silas Higgon asked Is anyone aquainted with the following quotation seen on a dial of 1703 made by Henry Thomas?
"Amyddst ye flowres I tell ye houres Tyme wanes awaye as flowres decaye Beyond ye tombe fresh flowers bloome Soe man shall ryse aboe ye skyes" Hi Silas: I am afraid that I do not know the origin of it but it may be of interest to know that we seem to have on the BSS Register fifteen recorded dials which have this - or a similar - motto. At least two seem to have as their base, a different version of the full rhyme. The earliest dial of the fifteen is dated 1640. The fifteen mottoes I have been able to find are as follows. All but three are on undated or twentieth century dials. This search rather confirms that this basic motto is frequently used on modern, garden centre dials and some experts now regard the use of it as a first potential pointer to a dial being modern or a fake.. "I stand among ye summer flowers and tell ye passing of ye hours when winter steals ye flowers away, I tell ye passing of their day". "Amidst ye flowers I tell ye hours". "Amyddst ye fflowers Tell ye houres". "Amyddst ye flowres I tell ye houres" "Amyddst ye fflowres I tell ye houres "Tyme wanes alwaye as flowres decaye, soe man shall ryse above ye skyes, beyond ye tombe ffresh flowres bloome, amyddst ye flowres I tell ye houres". "I stand amid ye summer flowers to tell ye passinge of ye houres. [Dial dated 1640] "Stand amid ye summere floweres to tell ye passinge of ye houres". [Dial dated 1659] "I stand amid ye summere flowers to tell ye passinge of ye houres. [Dial dated 1703 (Not the Henry Thomas one!)] "Amyddst ye fflowres I tell ye houres". "Amyddst ye fflowres I tell ye houres "Amiddst ye ffloweres I tell ye houres " Amyddst ye fflowers I tell ye houres". "Amyddst ye Flowers I tell ye Houres". "I tell ye houres amydst ye flowers. For those who may be interested in such things this was the result of a database query on the text string 'ye hour' since that seemed to be the less variable part of the motto. However it is possible that there may be other versions in a similar vein that I haven't yet picked up. Silas: Can you let me have (off list for security) a report on this Henry Thomas dial? We don't seem to have it recorded.... Patrick ------------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Patrick_Powers/ Lat: N 51d. 49m. 09s: Long: W 00d. 21m. 53s -
