MDMD[5] Ch. 14's Chapter Ring

[barleydog at earthlink.net]

>From the Unabridged Random House Dictionary of the English Language:

chapter ring, a ringlike band on the dial of a clock which bears the
numerals or other sympbols of the hours.

At first my mind started playing with the words, and thinking there might be
some reference to the cyclicl, or at least repetitive, nature of the
chapters (as has been made clear to me thanks to  these postings.  Might
bear looking into, but probably it's just a part of a clock.  Interesting
though isn't it, that he makes so much of the unreadable ring around the
barometer only a few pages later.