An older version of Webster's gives the fourth definition of "fountain" as "In heraldry, a circle called a roundel, divided into six spaces by waved lines across the shield, and tinctured argent and azure." Then under "argent" we find "silvery; of a pale white, or bright like silver." (The Oxford online edition gives similar definitions, only it substitutes "white and blue" for "argent and azure.")
In a separate issue, I've been wondering about Kinbote's use of the non-Metric measuring system. (eg, "...'one inch per hour...'" on page 129; "The pedometer had tocked off 1,888 yards..." page 127, etc.) Is there an explanation of this somewhere in the book, or elsewhere?
-Will
Dear Will,
Your heraldic find is interesting though I'm not sure what its import may be.
I don't know about the inch per hour, but 1888 is the date of Iris Acht's death & her name means "eight." There are probably other meanings, not sure. In relation to Jekyll and Hyde (1886) it could refer to Stevenson's "A Chapter on Dreams" (1888) in which the author describes the genesis of the story.
Carolyn