THE BELL: ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. The death occurred on Tuesd^^Miho i^^Vfo * Gatf y, Vicar of Eoclcifield, near SHgffield, since 1839. Dr. (ratty, who was in his niuetioth year, was the author of several publications. He was tho father of the lato Mrs. EwLnsr. writer of stories for the young. _ Remove your cap a little further if you please : it hides niy bauble. And now each man bestride his hobby, and dust away his bells to what tune he jileases. I wOl give you for niy part — The crazy old church clock, And the bewildered chimes. Charles La.mb. THE BELL: ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. BY THE REV. ALFRED GATTY, M.A., VICAR OF ECCLESFIELD. LONDON : UKORGE BELL, 186, FLEET STREET. 1848. cc TO HER WirO FOR LONG HAS HEARD THE BELL WITH ME, AND SH vKRD IX ITS GAY AND GRAVE ASSOCIATIONS; THE COMPANION OF MY LIFE AND PARTNER OF MY FORT U N E S, THIS SMALL VOLUME IS, WITH ALL AFFECTION INSCHIBi^D, A. (t. 731 S98 PREFACE The following anecdote occurs in one of Bishop Latimer's quaint and spirited sermons — " I heai-d of a bishop of England that went on " visitation, and as it was the custom, when the "bishop should come, and be rung into the " town, the great bell's clapper was fallen down, " the tyall was broken, so that the bishop could " not be rung into the town. There was a great "matter made of this, and the chief of the " parish were much blamed for it in the visitation. "The bishop was somewhat quick with them, " and signified that he was much ofiFended. They " made their answers, and excused themselves " as well as they could : 'It was a chance,' said " they, ' that the clapper brake, and we could not " get it mended by and by ; we must tarry till vi PREFACE. " WO can have it done : it shall be mended as " shortly ns may be.' Among tlie other, there " was one wiser than the rest, and he comes me " to tliobi. liop : ' Why, my lord,' saithhe, ' doth " your lordsliip make so great a matter of the " bell that lacketh his clapper ? Here is a bell,' " said he, and pointed to the pulpit, ' that hath " lacked a clapper this twenty years. We have " a parson that fetcheth out of this benefice fifty " pounds every year, but we never see him.' " The foregoing anecdote has been quoted as an excuse for intimating that the clapper of the •writer's pulpit has not been silent — or, in other words, that the following little work was under- taken as an occasional relaxation fi'om pro- fessional composition. It has proceeded from the worn pen of an habitual sermon w-riter. "The Bell" originally appeared in the columns of a provincial newspaper,* in a neighbourhood in which bell ringing being much practised as an amusement, there seemed to be an opportunity of connecting the pastime with some solid in- formatioD and useful reflections. Two hundred copies were subsequently published in a nuan • The Sheffield Times. PREFACE. \h pamphlet form : and they soon disappeai'ed. The present edition has been prepared with a hope of amusing the general reader ; and if it should turn the attention of the antiquarian into a chan- nel of interesting inquiry, the writer will be glad to have been the means of eliciting a profounder essay on the subject : as he is well aware that he himself has not " borne away the bell" by his treatment of it. He hopes, however, that he has not become entitled — like the win- ning horse of old, w'ho bore away the prize- bell from the race-ground on his forehead — to have any tintinnabulary appendage as a head- ornament, on account of his having dwelt so long on the trivial illustrations with which his work has been expanded. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. ''htic.ix AND Antiquum of the Bell ] CHAPTER II. Chi RCH Bells and their Baptism — Mode of Cast- ing Bells 17 CHAPTER III. As.^OCIATIOXS CONNECTED WITH BeLLS — STATISTICS OF cf.lebbated Bells :J7 CHAPTER IV. i'hi.mks — Cabilloxs — and Peal Ringing .').') CHAPTER V. Variois Uses of Church Bells 71 CHAPTER VI. Variois Modern Uses of S.mall Bells '.):] THE BELL: ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. CHAPTER I. ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF BELLS. " Mighty things from small begintiiugs grow." Dryden, Many articles in general use are of very ancient invention, and some of them ret.iin, to a con- siderable degree, that primitive form in which they were originally constructed. Nor is this difficult to account for, inasmuch as whatever is indispensable to general convenience would be likely to be soon discovered, and being designed for the common purposes of social life, the united ingenuity of men would quickly invest it with a B 2 THE BELL : simple slinpe adapted for permanent usefulness. Thus the bell may be reckoned amongst the oldest specimens of human contrivance ; and, though its form in the course of centuries has been modified from the broad basin-like propor- tions of barbarous discoveiy, to the gi-aceful pen- dulous shape, which nature herself may have suggested in the pretty wild flower of the same name, a bell is veiy much what a bell has ever been. At any rate, if, as Walter Scott ob seiTes, " it is one of the most valuable objects of antiquarian research to trace the progi-ess of so^ ciety by the efforts made to improve the rude- ness of first expedients," we should say, in refe- rence to the bell, that the advancement of social life is more palpably indicated by the variety of uses to which this vehicle of sound has been extensively applied, than by any radical trans- foiTOations in its shape or structure. The bell, which about eight hundi-ed years ago was the signal for extinguishing light and fire in every English homi? at eight o'clock, now summons at the same hour a multitude of persons to take tlieir seats in the railway train, for a demon-like scamper across half-a-dozen counties, through the storais and darkness of a winter's night ! Thtf word '• bell " is thoui^ht to be derived from ITS OPJGI.V, HISTORY, AND USES. 3 tlie Latin term pelck, a basin, or more properly a foot-pan — being compounded oi pes (a foot) and lavo (to wasb) ; and tliis, if correct, would at once determine the hollow shape. We sus- pect that bells were at first merely small pieces of concave metal, producing a tinkling sound when struck by the hammer within ; that they were adapted for purposes of ornament rather than general usefulness, and probably existed in this diminutive form for ages before they were brought into either civil or religious servdce, as the usual means of public assembly or announce- ment. In the Avritings of Moses — the oldest literature extant — "bells of gold" are mentioned as suspended to the robe in wliich the High Priest performed his duties in the sanctuary (Exodus xxviii. 32, 35), and their ringing inti- mated his presence to the congregation, when he was hidden fi'om their sight witliin the veil. In the prophecy of Zechariah (xiv. 20) " the bells of horses" are spoken of as an ordinary part of their caparison, although the Septuagint version does not admit any mention of them. Who, then, with this authority for their antiquity, dares affirm that even Tubal Cain, the sixth in descent from Adam, " an instructor of every arti- ficer in brass and iron," may not have scooped 4 THK JiKLL : the sounding' inctfil into f^omc rude species of bells? Schoettgciiius, in his treatise on ancient vest- ments, shows that these small hells were at- tached to the garments of Hebrew women, vir- gins, and boys, as well as to the pontifical robes — that they were appendages also to the royal costume of the ancient Persians ; and ^Eschylus and Euripides say they were concealed within the hollow of the shields of Grecian heroes and militaiy leaders. They were also Bacchic, as may still be seen in the ancient marbles ; and Mystic too; and it was from their use in the celebration of the Mysteries that Plutarch en- deavoured to show that the Jews worshipped Bacchus. They were employed to detect and prevent the escape of the unhappy Xanthians, as we also learn from Plutai'ch, who says, in his Life of Brutus, that when the city of Xanthus was besieged, and some of the inhabitants tried to escape by swimming and diving through the river, nets with small bells attached were let down to catch them, and by the ringing sound each capture was announced. "We find tliat in later times the ehief men and civil officers of the Ger- mans had them on the skirts of their garments, belts, and shoulders ; and not only have horses. ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 5 but mules too, and asses, been more or less deco- rated with these baubles, in all ages and countries of the world. The leaders of the flock or herd have, time out of mind, carried them in the soli- tudes of the mountain or the valley, and they have rung through the air in the trained flight of the falcon and the hawk. But from the dig- nity which it had obtained, and the prodi- gahty with wliich the little bell was used, this ornament, in its most diminutive form, is now degraded ; and it has become ridiculous — almost confined to being a toy for the infant or the fool. It jingles on the baby's rattle, or the jester has yet more desecrated its ancient honours, by making it the conspicuous furniture of his mot- ley garb and cap. As we proceed with the sub- B 2 6 THE HELL : ject in hand, wJiicli, in treating of the lafgef kinds of hells, is capable of considerable dilation, it will be shown that, like an empty-headed fool, the bfil has grown bigger, without growing wiser — that it has often used a long tongue, when it had better have remained silent — that it has sometimes assumed honours to which it Avas not entitled — and tliat it has been no less the unconscious promoter of error and super- stition, tlian the herald of incalculable blessings and joys. The several Classical and Latinized names of bells, enumerated by Hieronymus Magius, in his work dc TintinnahuUs, are as follows : — 1 . Tintinnahulum, a little bell. This word is probably derived from fin, tin, the tinkling sound which it makes ; or fi'om tinnitus, ringing. 2. Pefasus, a larger-sized bell, so called from its resemblance in shape to a broad-brimmed hat, which the term signifies. This seems to have been the instrument by which the ancient Greeks were invited to their fish -market, and the Romans to their public baths and general business. It was probably suspended, and struck externally with a hammer, like a gong. 3. Codon, the Greek temi for what we should commonly call a hand-bell. The word signifies ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES, 7 the wide orifice of a trumpet; heuee the open- mouthed form of the hell is expressed. These hells were carried hy the sentinels in Grecian encampments and garrisons, who used them to keep the soldiers on guard attentive at their watch. They were hung as ornaments and em- blems on triumphal cars, as on that which con- veyed the body of Alexander from Babylon to Egypt, described by Diodorus Siculus ; and were introduced for some domestic uses, and to sum- mon the guests to feasts. They were also fastened round the necks of animals, and parti- cularly of sheep, to attract the ear of the keeper when they strayed from their pastures. 4. No/a, a bell similar in size to the one just mentioned, though the term was also applied to the smallest kind of bells, such as were appended to the necks of dogs, the feet of birds, and the housings of horses. It took its name from Nola, a town of Campania, in Italy, where it has been supposed by some that bells were first invented ; but this could only apply to the larger kind. The abbot of old seems to have used the Noia in the refectory, to give a variety of signals respecting both lectures and meals. 5. Campana, properly a large bell made of brass, and suspended in a turret, for the purpose 8 THE BELL : of summoning people to church. Pliny gives an account of bells on the tower of Porscnna. but these were probably not large ones. The Avnid ('(inijKUKi is derived from Campania, in which country bells were first brought into use in the Latin church. G. Dodonai lebetes, caldrons of Dodona, be- cause at Dodona, in Epirus, was a temple dedi- cated to Jupiter, at which the most ancient of the Grecian oracles delivered predictions by means of large brazen kettles suspended in the air near a statue, which held a wand in its hand. When the wind blew strong, the statue with the wand came in contact with the nearest kettle ; and this being set in motion, communicated with the rest, when a discordant din was produced, from which the artifice of the priests drew re- sponses for the ignorant inquirers who resorted to their shrine. 7. Squilla, a word probably of Italian origin : it occurs in the writings of the Italian poets, and it means a little bell. In tracing the origin of the bell, we must cer- tainly look to a period anterior to that of either Eomans or Greeks; to the Eg}-ptians, for in- stance, by whom ancient' Greece was colonized, and to the sacred records of the people of God. ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 9 Search ought also to be made into the records of Assyria, perhaps of Etrnria too, and China; into those of China especially, as hells may have existed there at a very early time in a much larger form than in either of the other countries, or indeed in any part of ancient Greece. We have shown that veiy small bells were in use amongst the Israelites ; and this people being skilful workers in metal, having furnaces in which they smelted different ores for casting pots and various domestic utensils, we naturally inquire whether the sound produced by a stroke on these hollow vessels never gave occasion to their making bells of larger mould, for public conve- nience. Indeed, the mere reading of the "flesh- hook of three teeth" being " struck into the caldron" for the benefit of the priest, (1 Samuel ii., 13, 14,) creates the fancy that a notion must have been suggested by the ringing sound, of forming a large bell fitted for convocation. But this does not seem to have been the case. Trum- pets were anciently used both in Israel and Egypt on all occasions of assembly and alarm. The trumpet summoned the people to the solemn meetings of rehgious festival ; and the watchman blew liis trumpet on tlie citadel when danger from the enemy was apprehended. For a series of 10 THE BELL: ages, and even to the present day in some coun- tries, it is certain that such bells as are now commonly fixed in churches, were unknown. Wliat may l)e called gongs and cymbals, and other loud instruments of music, supplied their place. The caldrons of Dodona must have closely resembled the Indian gong, and, as we have seen, were of very ancient construction. A well-known line in the Georgics of Virgil shows that the tinkling of bell-metal and the clang of cymbals were familiar to the Romans : — " Tinnitiisque cieet Matris quate cymbala circum" — " Make a tinkling, and shake the cymbals of Cybele round about." Broad plates of iron, like the felloes of a cart Avheel. were sometimes struck together to produce a clashing sound ; and in Tournefort's Voyage to the Levant, m which there is an account of these miserable machines, it is said that the monks who reside there still make use of them for lack of bells. The Greeks formerly used a piece of hiivd wood that was beaten with two hammers; and the Turks have never admitted bells into theu" country. Their feast of Beiram is now an- nounced by firing of cannon at sunset ; and signals respecting their fast of Eamadan ai'e conveyed in the same manner. The c.ill to prayer ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 11 is proclaimed by the voice of the muezzin from the miuaret ; and Lord Byron says that " on a still evening, when the muezzin has a fine voice, which is fi'equently the case, the eifect is solemn and beautiful beyond all the bells in Christen- dom." The Turks, too, who are very taciturn, summon their servants by clapping of hands. In short, research into this matter leads us to the conclusion that the small sorts of bells, which were wanted for ornament or private convenience, are of great antiquity ; but that with regard to the larger kinds, many substitutes — especially the trumpet — were adopted in tlieir place for a long period of time; and the construction of them at last we are inclined to connect with the change which, soon after the establishment of Christianity, took place in the architecture of Europe. The straight lines and flat roofs of classic building had no convenient niche for the suspension of bells ; but when towers and turrets broke this chaste formality, a locust hahitandi seemed to have been created for the noisy monster, and inquiry into the subject disposes us to believe that the rise of what is called " Christian arcliitecture," and the invention of turret or church bells, were nearly coeval events. With reference to our theory, that the first !•> THE BELL : rastiug of lai'ge bells Avas closely connected with an alteration in the rules of arcliitecture, the following passage may be quoted from the preface to Grose's Amiquities ; since, although it can only iipply to the case of church bi^lls in England, there is no doubt we had them in this country very soon after their introduction into Europe : — " Towers at first," says Grose, " scarcely rose higher than the roof, being intended chiefly as a kind of lantern for the admittance of light. An addition to their height was, in all likelihood, suggested on the more common use of bells." In what country large bells did really originate, it must be confessed is still involved in some obscurity ; for Thompson, in his learned work " Etymons of English Words," says, under the article " Bells," — " apparently long before known in Europe, bells were used in Hindoo temples to frighten away evil spirits ;" and he would derive " laruni ' from " lay," because it was supposed to have power to lay these demons. But, notwith- standing this conjecture, we think that only the smaller bells were known to the Hindoos ; for the architecture of their temples bore so strong a resemblance to that of the ancient Egyptian edifices, that the styles seem to be identical; and Ave know that the latter had no bells suspended ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 13 in them of the larger sort. The common super- stition that bells have an exorcising virtue, may indeed have been borrowed from the Hindoos — for it is worthy of them ; but we cannot yield to them the honour of the primar)'- invention ; and this may seem important to some persons, since on this point hangs the question whether, in first undergoing baptism, bells were regarded as con- verts from heathenism, or of purely Christian derivation ! Our utmost inquiry, then, leads us to the con viction that churcli bells were invented by the Christian Churcli herself, and not at a very early period of her existence ; for it is obvious that tlic primitive Christians were not summoned to congregational worship by any public signal whatever; as, in consequence of persecution, they could only meet by stealth, and chiefly at night, at the tombs of their martyrs. And it is shown by Bingham, that after the causes of these fears had in a measure subsided, trumpets were used as of old, for convoking Cluistian congre- gations, both in Egypt and Palestine ; and the wars and distractions Avhich prevailed in Europi? for about three hundred years after the death of Constantino, may have assisted to delay the in- troduction of cliurch bolls. To Paulinus, Bishop c I 1 THE BELL : of Noln, (a.d. 400,) the invention is generally iittiibiited; but as lie described his churcli most mimitfly in an epistle to Severus, -without taking any notice of either tower or bells, and as no contemporary or immediately suhseo[uent wiiter has mentioned them, this silence has been justly considered as a strong ai-gument in favour of the Bishop's ignorance of the subject. Pope Sabi- nianus (a.d. 604,) is the next claimant to the honour of introducing hells into chui'ches ; and ■with him, or at least with his age, it must rest. At the end of the seventh century, Bede mentions their heing in England ; in the tenth century, St Dunstan hung a great many in our churches ; and from that time the hell has spoken out for itself. From its eyrie in the belfry it has gradu- ally become an inspector and registrar-general of all the piincipal occurrences of human life. At feast and at festival — at mourning and at meeting — its iron tongue has now always some- thing to say. No heir can be born, but the bell must take notice of his amval; — no marriage can be solemnized, hut the bell must pour forth its noisy congratulations ; — human breath cannot quit the body, but the bell must intrude its notes of mock condolence ; — nor is the worship of God Attended without a summons fi'om the bell. In ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 1.5 the well-known monkish couplet, no vain boast was put forth : — " Laudo Dcum veriim, plebem voco, congrego clerum, Defuiulos idoro, pvstem fugo, fcsta decoro. — " I praise the true God, call the people, convene the clergy, I mom-n the dead, dispel the pestilence, and grace festivals." And, in addition to these offices, we can presently show, on the part of this busy instrument, a monopoUzing interference with the minor affairs of the world which may surprise those who have not fully considered the subject. CHAPTER II. CHURCH BELLS AND THEIR BAPTISM. — MODE OF CASTING BELLS. The original sin of a bpll would be a flaw in the metal, or a defect in the tone, neither of which the priest undertakes to lemoYe. Southey. Redder now the pipes are glowing — Mark, this rod I forward urge ; And the metal must be flowing, Should the rod glazed o'er emerge. Comrades, quick explore ; Prove the molten ore — If the yielding and contending To a good result be blending. Transhdion from Schiileb. The first notice which wo shall give of the duties of the bell, Avill be of its sendees in " the Church of the middle ages," when it swung in the " old grey turret high" of the monastery. In the Ex- cerptions of St. Egbert, a.d. 750, it was decreed " that all priests, at appointed hours of day and 1 S THE HELL : niglit, do sound the bells (sir/na, signals) of tlicir churches, and then celebrate the sacred f)ffices to God, and instruct the people. ' If the canonical hours of prayer were in that age the same as are now authorized by the Church of Rome,* the I'inging must have occuired eight times in the tweuty-foui' hours, or every third hour throughout the day and night. We shall notice only some of these occasions. Of the Ave Maiia bell, a note in Sir T. Browne's Relif/io Medici speaks thus: — "A church bell that tolls every day at six and twelve of the clock; at the hearing whereof, every one in whatever place soever, either of house or street, betakes himself to his prayer, which is commonly directed to the Virgin ;" and tlie quaint old writer makes the following comment : — " I could never hear the Ave-Mary bell without an elevation ; nor tliiuk it a sufficient warrant, because they en'ed in one circumstance, for me to err in all, that is in silence and dumb contempt. Whilst, therefore, they direct their devotions to her, 1 offer mine to God, and rectify the eiTors of their prayers, by rightly ordering mine own." • The canonical hours ore as follows : — Laudes at 3 a.m. Prime at 6 a.m. Tierce at 9 a.m. Sext at noon. Nones at rt p.m. Vespers at (> p.m. Complin at p.m. Matins at midnight. ITS ORIGIX, HISTORY, AND USES. 19 The Vesper hell was the call to evening prayer. Byron, in paraphrasing a passage in Dante's Purgatorio, thus alludes to it : — " Soft hour, which wakes the wish and melts the heart, Or fills with love the pilgrim on his way, As the far bell of vesper makes him start, Seeming to weej) the dying day's decay." The Complin hell summoned people to the last reUgious service of the day ; and, if we remember rightly, it greeted Slawkenhergius, when that " gentle stranger" made his ludicrous entry into Strasbm'gh, as related by Steme. The Hanctus hell, though now only a hand- bell used in the Eoman Cathohc semces to call attention to the more solemn parts of the mass, was formerly hung in a small turret outside the church, as may still be seen in some of our old churches. It was always rung at the words, " Hancte, sancte, sancte Deus Sahaoth" — " Holy, holy, holy. Lord God of hosts ;" and whoever lieard it was expected to prostrate himself. The PassiHf/ hell was so named, as being tolled when any one was passing out of life ; and it was ordered that all within hearing should pray for the soul of the dying. " Prayers," says Donne, " ascend To heaven in troops at a good man's passing bell." 20 THE BELL : In course of time this bell had a deeper signifi- cation, being supposed to ward off evil spirits from the departing soul, as will be shown in oiu' account of the baptism of bells. The two bells which are still often rung in parish churches at six in the morning and at noon, are evidently continuations of the ancient Ave Marias; and they serve the good pui*poses of calling the labourer to liis daily toil, and to his dinner. The passing bell is now tolled merely to inform the neighbourhood that a death has taken place, and at the end of the tolling, it is customary in some places to repeat a certain number of strokes, to intimate whether the de- ceased was a man, woman, or child. The Curfew hell ( couvre feu ) was introduced into England by WiUiam the Conqueror from Normandy, or at least he first enforced it here. It was rung at eight o'clock in the evening, when every body was expected to extinguish fire and lights in his house ; a very arbitrary law as it appears; but intended to prevent the conflagra- tion of houses, at a time when they were merely built of wood and light materials; and it only lasted in full force during the reigns of the first two "Williams. The custom of ringing at eight o'clock still prevails in ver}- many churches ; and. ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 2i when " the curfew tolls the knell of parting day," the sound falls with a soothing influence on the ear of the meditative wanderer, and seems to shed a holy charm over the happiness of the quiet English home. Excommunication, as practised of old in the Eomish Church by " hell, book, and candle," brings the bell again prominently before us. It was rung to summon the congregation to this awful ceremony, at which the priest read the service from a balcony ; and when the anathema was pronounced, the candles were put out, as emblematical of the extinction of hope in the sinner's soul. In Marmion we read — " And call the Prioress to aid ' To curse witli candle, bell, and book." The most extraordinary feature, however, in the career of bells has undoubtedly been their undergoing the whole exterior process of Christian baptism — including naming, anointing, sprink- ling, robing, sponsorial engagements, and every initiative accompaniment which marks the ad- mission of rational beings into the Gospel cove- nant. Not that bells, say the advocates of this system, are baptized for the remission of sins ; but that they may receive power to " act as pi*e- servatives against thunder and lightning, and 22 THE BELL : hail and wind, nnd storms of every kind, and that tliey may drive away evil spirits." It is not very clear when this custom began: some say under Pope John XIII. (a.d. 970), but it must have prevailed long before his time, as in the capitulars of Charlemagne (a.d. 789) the bap- tism of bells is distinctly forbidden — "ut clocas non baptizentur." Le Sueur, an old French writer, who confirms our statement that Sabinian was the inventor of church bells, and who adds that he ordered them to be rang at the canonical hours and for the mass, declares that the imposi- tion of the name, the godfathers and godmothers, the aspersion with holy water, the unction, and the solemn consecration in the names of the Fa- ther, Son, and Holy Ghost, exceed in ceremonial splendour what is common at baptism, in order to make the blessing of bells the more highlv regarded by the people. " Eeal baptism," he remarks, " may be administered by all kinds of persons, and the rite is simple ; but in what is done to the bells there is much pomp. The ser- vice is long, the ceremonies are numerous," (the monks first blessed the fused metal in their foun- dries in the monasteries,) " the sponsors are persons of quality, and the most considerable priest in the place, or even a bishop or arch- ITS ORIGIN', HISTORY, AND USES. 23 bishop ofl&ciates." Pope John XIII. himself bap- tized at Rome for the Lateran Church the largest bell wliich at that time had ever been cast ; and he named it " John," with the ciistomaiy foims. Southey inhis "Doctor" says, that this ceremony has been revived in France, and that the Bishop of Chalons recently baptized a vrhole peal, calling it a ■' happy and holy family," and delivering on the occasion an edifjnng discourse upon the duties, virtues, &c., of each particular bell. After all this, the reader ■ftill be disposed to award due honour to the subject of our history ; and will patiently endure, we trust, the offer of a conjecture or two on the origin of this singular superstition. Bells are blessed and christened, we are told, to render them effectual m driving away evil spirits. Now this idea is very ancient, and pos- sibly of heathen extraction ; but the rational in- terpretation of it is undoubtedly to be found in the virtue and avail of prayers to the Deity, which the sound of the bell is intended to draw forth. The 07th canon of our own Church countenances this supposition, for it says, " whenever any is passing out of this life, a bell shall be tolled, and the minister shall not then slack to do his last dutv :" and " a com- 24 THE BELL : niendatory ])raycr for n sick person at the point of departure" is provided in " Tlie Visitation of tlie Sick," which we suppose it would he the minister's duty in that crisis to offer. Custom, or rather necessity, has caused our passing-hell to he tolled only after death has taken place. Up to the time of Charles II., however, the tolling of the passing bell foimed one of the inquiries in all Articles of Visitation ; and in the " Fasts and Festivals," by Nelson, who died in 1714, it is said of the pious Christian's death, that, if his senses hold out so long, he can hear even his passing-hell without disturbance. With regard to the efficacy of bells in dispel- ling storms, we presume that they may possibly afford a natural but no spiritual aid, althougii the latter has certainly been attributed to them. The vibration produced in the air by the ringing of large bells, may \ery possibly affect any clouds hovenng above them, which happen to be chai'ged with electric matter. In the Teatro Critico^ the following event is related to have occurred in France, in the year 171M : — "On Good Friday, there arose a most violent tem- pest on a part of the coast of Britanny. Twenty^- four churches were struck by lightning. And what is very remarkable is. that the hghtning ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 2o fell only on the cluirches in Avhich the bells were ringing, without touching many others in the neighbourhood in which the custom of not ring- ing on Good Friday was observed." The writer imagines that the storm-cloud was opened by the various sounds which ascended vertically; and through the apertures thus made, the destructive element descended in an equally sti'aight direc- tion. But his faith in the j^hysical virtue of bells was only confirmed by this untoward acci- dent ; for he concludes, that if rung before the clouds had united and condensed, the bells AYOuld have liad the good effect of dissipating them, and thereby preventing any discharge of electricity. Churchwardens, in their share of the custody of parish bells, ought perhaps to look to this ; and to be ]"cady, when a storm threatens, with a good lusty peal ! Before introducing any description of the homelier rite now generally administered in England, in place of the religious ceremony of baptizing bells, we would mention the following anecdote, on the credit of Cardinal Baronius : — "When Clotairc II., King of France, a. D. Clo, was at Sens, in Burgundy, he heard there a I'd) in the church of St. Stephen, the sound of which pleased him so much that he ordered it to l)e D 26 THE BELL : transported to Paris. The Bishop of Sens, how- ever, was greatly displeased at this ; and the hell so sympathized with him, that it turned dumh on the road, and lost all its sound. When the King heard of this, he commanded that the bell should he carried hack to its old quarters ; when, strange to relate ! as it approached the town, it recovered its original tone, and began to ring so as to be heard at Sens, wliilst yet about four leagues distant from it." This is said to have happened about eleven years after Pope Sabinian invented bells; which renders it doubtful whether the subject of this miracle had ever been baptized, and therefore leaves us a hope that so wonderful an event is not the less likely to occur under the profaner usage of modem times ! It is not every one who has witnessed what has superseded in England the baptismal cere- mony ah'eady described, and from wliich our mder service is obviously derived. We beheve that chiu'ch bells are seldom hung without some sort of celebration, which is generally more jovial than rehgious in its character; and what our own eyes have seen we will briefly describe. The reader is, of course, aware that, by the law of the land, the parishioners ai'e bound to ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 27 supply "bells with ropes;" the fulfilment of which duty, notwithstanding the great expense attending it, is generally popular, for the people like to have a good peal in their old parish church. Here and there, however, a churl may be found to echo the sentiment contained in the following stanza : — Persecuteurs du genre humaln, Qui sonnez saus misericorde, Que u'avez-vous au eou la corde Que vous teuez en votre main; w^iieh may be translated : — Disturbers of the human race, Your bells are always ringing — I wish the ropes were round your necks And you upon them swinging 1 — Mr. Mears, then, receives an order to replace the old set, which has dwindled into three or four cracked tinklers, by a full peal of eight prime bells. The fine venerable tower is ex- •plored by the chiefs of the parish, — not such a tower as in modern days has been often reared, and which would stagger under the vibration of a tenor bell, weighing 'SO cwt., — but a solid piece of masonr}% already at least three hundred years old, and able to withstand the besieging tempests of five more centuries. The rooks and 28 THE BELL : tlie martins •are dibturbed in their ancient liaimt — a sober owl is with difficulty dislodged — accu- mulated rubbish, sufficient to fjuano some acres^ is cleared away, and the explorers remark what a grand bell-chamber they have got, what a glorious view there is through the loop holes — and as the wind whistles through them, and takes the breath away from the bold gazer over the champaign outside, a feeling of pride and affection for the old church is kindled. The joiner, under directions, has, in due time, com- pleted his work, the bells are "advised" as arrived at the railwav station, a few miles off — a staunch clinrchwnrden volunteers to con- iTS ORIGLV, HISTORY, AND USES. '^!j duct them to tlicir destined home, and a triumphal reception is determined on. Two waggons decorated "with houglis of evergreens, and drawn by teams of gi'ey horses bedizened with ribbons, set out for the merry peal, and return in the fine afternoon with their welcome load. The shouts of the multitude greet their arrival, and at tha ancient public-house on the village green the procession comes to a stand. Then commences the profane cliristening. In one of the bells, wliich has been inverted for the pui'pose, mine host mixes a motly compound of beer, mm, &c., wiiich is liberally dispensed to the good-humoured bystanders. The bell-founder's representative is busy on the occasion, and in the treble has a more delicate mixture, from which he offers a libation to the more distinguished persons in the company. Thus the festival proceeds, and if timely an'ested, no evil can arise fi'om it — indeed, the bells ascend in due course to their lofty set- tlement, with more hearty good wishes from the people than if it had not taken place ; and we see notliing in all this to make us sigh after the faith of our forefathers, " who," says, Aubrey, " did not entirely trust to the ringing of bells for the dispersion of tempests, for in 1313, a cross, full of reliques of divers saints, was set on St. D 2 '50 THE BELL: Paul's Steeple, to preserve from all tempests." Peace to tlicir diildisli credulity! Bell metal is compounded of copper and tin, in the proportions of three of copper to one of tin. Some persons talk as familiarly of sweet- ening the tone of bell metal, by the introduction of a little silver, as they would speak of sweet- ening a cup of tea, or a glass of negus, with a lump of sugar; but this is a dream. It is, how- ever, a very popular error, and has led to many speculations on the gi'eat value of our old church bells, which have been supposed to contain large quantities of the more precious ores. The mis- take has, no doubt, arisen from the ancient custom of castinsr a few coins into the fui'nace, which have become melted in the glowing mass ; but no bell founder can be deluded on this point, for silver, if introduced in any large quantity, would injure the sound, being in its nature more like lead, as compared with copper ; and there- fore incapable of producing the hard, brittle, dense, and vibratory amalgum, called bell metd. There are, nevertheless, viuious little ingredients, which the skilful founder employs to improve his composition ; but these are the secrets of the craft, and peculiar to every foundry. In founding a bell the fundamental principle ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES, 81 is the construction of its shape or form : as on the due proportions of its several pai'ts, the harmony of the diflerent vihrations akogether depends : and, as a hell may he considered to consist of a succession of rings of metal, pro- ducing different sounds, these must form a per- fect choixl in tone, or the good effect would he lost. Various theories have ohtained in different countries as to what are the hest proportions. We offer the following scale as heing very near the point of perfection. Taking the thickness of the " sound how or brim," that is, of the part where the clapper sti'ikes, a hell ought to measure as follows : — In diameter at the mouth, 1 brims ; in height to the shoulder, 12 brims; and in width at the shoulder, Tg- brims, or half the width of the mouth. Still, beyond this general rule, there are minor proportions which conduce to make up the niceties and mysteries of the art ; hut we will take this rule as suflicient for our purpose, and the first stcj) is to design the bell on paper, according to the scale of measurement required. When this is done, what is technically called " the crook" is made, which is a double compass of wood, the legs of which are respectively curved to the shape of the inner and outer sides of the H2 THE BELL ; intended bell — a space, of the fonn and thick- ness of this bell, being left betwixt them. The compass is made to move on a pivot in a stake, which is driven to the bottom of the casting pit, and is impelled by the hand of the moulder, defining of course in its rotation the fonn of the bell which is about to be cast. The " core," or inner mould, is then built up of brickwork round the stake, a hollow being left in the centre of it for a fire, and a small space also betwixt the sohd masonry and the circuit of the compass, in which soft clay is plastered ; and on this the lower leg of the revolving compass defines the interior shape of the bell. This inner mould is then baked by the fire, which is Ht in the centre of the brickwork, and when sufiicicntly hardened it is greased or sprinkled with tan-dust, and coated over Avith more clay ; and on this fi'esh substance the outer compass performs a circuit, giving it the exact shape of the cup of the intended bell. When this mould is sufficiently dry, the " crown" or head of the bell is fitted to the top of it, making the model complete. The whole is then baked by the fire in the " core," and, when quite cooled, inscriptions, or any intended ornaments are moulded and placed upon it, and upon this the " cope" or outer mould is formed. Having ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 38 been made of a material v.hicli is easily con- sumed, the clay fac simile is then destroyed, Ica^nng the " core" and " cope" with clear im- pressions of the bell. WTien both the " core" and " cope" have been examined and finished off, the one is fitted over the other, like an extin- guisher on a candle, ^pvith an exact vacuum reserved betwixt them for the metal to run in. The pit is then rammed up with earth, so as to bind the entire mould perfectly tight in its place; when a channel having been cut in the ground from the furnace to the orifice of the mould, the fused metals, wliich " Like a hell brotli boU and bubble," are lot loose, or "tapped," as it is called, and they glide swiftly into every chink of the aper- ture. When cool, wliich occupies a long time in a large casting, the bell is dug out, and is quickly hauled out of the pit into the finishing depart- ment, where it undergoes the process of turning by a machine, should the requisite note be im- perfect. If too sharp in tone, it is turned thinner: if too flat, its diameter is lessened in proportion to its substance, by the edge of the bell being cut. If the quantity of metal be not 34 THE BELL : ill duo proportion to the calibre of the bell, the power and quality of its tone will be lost; and only a'pa/my, harsh, ironlike sound can be pro- duced from it. For instance, if you try to get the note E out of a quantity of metal which is only adapted to sustain F well, the F in that case would be far preferable to the E intended. In casting a set of bells the object of the founder is to get the same temperament of tone in each. When all, as is sometimes the case, turn out to be in harmony, they are called " a maiden peal." This, however, is a most rare occurrence ; many sets of bells have the credit of being " maiden," without desen'ing it, and a great many, for the honour of being considered such, are left decidedly out of tune. In the far-famed foundi-y of Messrs. Mears, of London, and of Gloucester, several hundreds of bells are annually made, and it is their practice to cast many at one time, so that they have not uncommonly as much as thirty tons' weight of metal molten in one furnace.* The w^hole operation of founding and T When the great bell for Montreal Catkedral was cast, on the -JOth FeLrnary, ]t<47, about •-2.') tons of metal had been faced for the purpose. The metal was twelve minutes, after "tapping," in filling the mould ; and several days were allowed for the cooling. The weight of this bell is about 13i tons. ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AxND USES. 85 equipping bells, from an ounce up to many tons in weight, may be seen at their establishments, wliich are of titanic dimensions, and have been conducted for more than a century by the same family. That at Gloucester, was formerly in the possession of the celebrated Rudall — and the present proprietors, we have pleasiu'e in recording, are as obliging in disposition, as they are eminent for their sldll. The value of bell metal, when fonued into a new bell, is, we believe, about six guineas per cwt. ; for old metal, received in exchange, about four guineas are allowed by the founder, silver included ! CHAPTEK III. ASSOCIATIONS CONNECTED WITH THE SOUND OF BELLS — STATISTICS OF CELEBRATED BELLS. — How mauy a tale tlieir music tells Of youtli, and home, and that sweet time When first we heard their soothing chime. Moore. The bells of a chuvch are under the joint guar- dianship of incumbent and churchwardens. The hitter are not to suffer them to be rung " without good cause to be allowed by the minister and themselves ;" and the consent of the former is necessary, he having the power to limit the times of ringing, and the ringers being subject to his orders. It would, nevertheless, seem that on particular occasions at some churches, the incum- e 38 THE BELL: bent has not always the power to prevent their being rung. For instance, it w-as often matter of stipidation in covenants, &c., thatbells of churches should be rung in honour of the anival at the place of bishops, abbots, i^c, and neglect to ring them, when these visitations occurred, was an offence for which the incumbent was liable to a penalty. But his general authority over the peal appears to be implied in the custom at in- duction to the benefice ; for " the inductor having opened the door, puts the person inducted into the church, who usually tolls a bell, to make his induction public and known to the parishioners" (Bums) ; and there is an old saying, that the number of strokes given on the occasion will cor- respond with the years the incumbent is to hold the living. Our clerical friends ought to remem- ber this on being presented to a valuable piece of prefeiment I Returning to the early uses to which chiu'ch bells were applied, we must not omit to remark that they were very soon employed to measure out the hours of the day. Clock bells, we are told, were in general use in the monasteries of Europe in the eleventh centui*y. But even in the writings of Lucian. who died a.d. 180, re- ference is made to an instrument, mechanically ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 39 constructed with water, wliieli reported the hours by means of a bell. The ingenious may easily conceive how this might have been arranged : for, it being granted that the divisions of time were understood, there is no difficulty in ima- gining such an adaptation of sound to mark them. "Before the tihies of Jerome," (born A.D. 332,) says Brown, " there were horologies that measured the hours, not only by drops of water in glasses, called clepsydra, but also by sand in glasses called clcpsammia." It was the clepsj/dra to which Lucian alludes. When the water, which was constantly dripping out of the vessel, reached a certain level, it drew away, by means of a rope connected with the piston in the water vessel, the ledge on which a weight rested ; and the falling of this weight, which was attached to a bell, caused it to strike. This perhaps was the earliest kind of striking clock. In order to enjoy the grateful sensations pro- duced by the strokes of the clock bell at the present time, we would recommend a stroll in the quiet environs of a town, not too far distant, of course, for the various church clocks to be heard, as they announce with their chimes the ditierent hours and quarters of the day. To be fully sensible of tliis channing influence, a per- son ought certainly to retire from the turmoil of 40 THE BELL : the streets ; and, if lie seeks the gentle river's bank for his ruminating walk, the enjoyment will he heightened. We know no place like Oxford for an indul- gence of this kind ; especially if a portion of our earlier years were spent within its classic bowers. It matters not what road the steps may have subsequently taken. Ten or fifteen years after the dawn of manhood, must necessarily create strange alterations in the character and feelings of any man ; so strange, indeed, that whilst we remain at a distance from the scene of these eai'ly associations, neither the studies nor pas- times of the days gone by can be realized ; nor will a return to the spot itself do more at first than develope the wondrous change that has taken place within us. Indeed a sight of the old buildings, of the old shops, of the old faces grown so much older, only seems to widen the separation of what we were and are — " the myrtle and iv)' of sweet two-and-twenty" will not re-blossom at their presence. But in a stroll in Christ Church meadows, or from a skiff on the Isis, (which looks so much nan'ower than it did of yore !) what a resurrection takes place, when the soon-heard and oft-repeated and familiiu- chimes from the many church towers peal fortli I ^\'e drink again of the fountain ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 41 of our youth, and foraier feelings and associa- tions are then palpahly recovered. We listen on, and by and by the chapel bell of our own college sounds, and there springs up an old sensation that the morning toilet must be hurried, or the evening party must be left. A di'eam comes around our spirit, and gown and cap are again worn by us — the badges of alle- giance to academical authority. Anon, the sil- very changes of the Magdalene peal are audible — they seem famihar as if not a day had inter- vened since we last heard them. We involun- tarily recall the bright May morning, and the picturesque custom at that college of hailing the return of the season by a Latin hymn from the choristers, who ascend to the top of the mag- nificent tower at early dawn ; and the opening stanza of Wilson's sw-eet poem on the scholar's funeral floats, like the ripple of the gentle river, across our mind : — " Wliy bang the sweet bells mute in Magdalene tower, Still wont to usher in delightful May, The dewy silence of the morning liour Cheering with many a changeful roundelay ? And those pure youthful voices, where are they. That hymning far up in the listening sky Seem'd issuing softly tlirough the gates of day, As if a troop of sainted souls on high Were hovering o'er the earth witli angel melody ?" E2 42 THE BELL : Hark again, there is a funeral bell from one of the many churches — " Deatli's toll, whose restless iron tongue Calls daily for his millions at a meal." And whilst we linger on the bank of our favourite stream, the clock of Carfax strikes eight, and immediately commences its nightly tolhng, wliich forcibly reminds us of the lines of ]Milton ; and only the more so, because Milton's gi'andfather might have uttered them, as descriptive of his own nightly hearing of that very bell from the high ground of Shotover, when he was keeper of the forest there, and the river, often much swollen in winter, intervened : — " On a plat of rising ground, I hear the far-off curfew sound. Over some wide-watered shore, Swinging slow with sullen roar." The curfew bell at Carfax was instituted, says Peshall, by Alfred, the restorer of the university on the original foundatipn of St. Frideswide. According to tliis authority, therefore, the Nor- man Conqueror could only have enforced gene- rally in England what there is historic proof had previously existed on the Continent. But the curfew has ceased ; and another bell of the same peal tells the inhabitants of the city what ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 43 is the day of the month which is gliding by, and recalls to our memory the same custom in our own village, when not inteiTupted there by the laziness of the sexton. We think it is now time to return from our meditative ramble ; but, be- fore we are housed in the ancient " ISIitre," it is nine o'clock ; and Great Tom, in his belfry over Christ Church gateway, gives 101 strokes, to record the munificence of our forefathers, who founded that number of scholarships in the college, for the benefit and example of their posterity. We had not troubled the reader with tliis persona] rhapsody, but in the hope of illustrating to him a singularly sootbing pleasure, which any one of the least sensibihty may enjoy, who Ks- tens afresh to the bells which in his youth he has been accustomed to hear. Indeed, so great is the power of bells to create emotion, that we doubt whether even the voice of a mother would so immediately subdue to tenderness the worst criminal in Norfolk Island, as the sudden sound of the peal of liis native village ! Not remon- strative in its tone, to stir the pride — not com- plaining, to wound anew the harassed spirit — but by its very unaltered sweetness and irre- pressible revocations, utterly overpowering to liis 44 THE BELL : guilt-laden heart. Cowper, in enumerating the causes of regret which embittered the solitude of Alexander Selkirk on his desert island, makes him pathetically and naturally complain that " The sound of the church-going bell These valleys and rocks never heard ;" — and the sternest bosoms have yielded to the mastering witchery of the same music, for Bou- rienne tells the following anecdote : — " The sound of bells produced upon Napoleon a singular effect. When we were at Malmaison, and while walking in the avenue leading to Kuel, how often has the booming of the village bell broken off the most interesting conversations ! He stopped, lest the moving of our feet might cause the loss of a tone in the sound which charmed him. The influence, indeed, was so powerful, that his voice trembled with emotion while he said — ' That recalls to me the first years I passed at Brienne.' " "\AQio can imagine the conti'ast of feeHngs then excited in such a nature ; and what other sound could have produced it ? Yes, there must be some magic in bell metal, thus to transform in a moment the would-be tyrant of the world, into the once more dreaming, and how much happier, Cadet. But one other brief reminiscence. Hark ! the ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 45 clock in that old tower, which shoots high over the shops and thickly surrounding buildings in the modem Babylon, is striking the mid-day lioui'. A small crowd is round the church porch, and three or foiu* carriages are waiting in the sti'cet. The church door is opened — the iron gates of the churchyard are flung wide apart with a clang- ing sound, and along the causeway, where in- scriptions memorialize the unheeded dead, pass the two happiest of human beings with their gaily dressed friends behind. That fair gui, whose cheek is now paler than the white veil which half conceals her featiu'es, is a bride ; and tremblingly she leans on her new partner. The foremost carriage in the train receives them ; and as the fat coachman, with favour on his breast, gives the rein to his horses, and " John" swings himself on the foot-board like a monkey to the branch of a tree, a jolly peal breaks forth from every loophole in the belfry, stunning to every ear, but those of that young pair, whose sum of existence is contained within the half- drawn silk curtains of their speeding barouche. The break- fast — the change of dress, and the adieux follow — rattling posters, dusty roads, uncomfortable inns, and honeymoon succeed — and then commence for them all the possible realities of mortal life. 4G THE BELL : Strangest of human dreams, from which there is no awaking hut to happiness or misery inde- scrihable. Well is it when all continues to go " Merry as a marriage bell" — Alas ! we have known sequels to such a begin- ning, with which the knell had been more in unison ! We must revert once more to bygone times in the historical part of our inquiry. It is some- what remarkable that the Greek Church has not adopted the use of bells, excepting in that branch of it which is established in Russia, where there are larger bells than in any other country of the world. The former fact seems unaccountable, unless it be that the Turks, who, as we have already noticed, entirely eschew these instru- ments, will not allow the Greeks to introduce them into their churches. At any rate, the Greeks convoke their religious assembhes by striking pieces of wood or iron together. In Russia, the bells far exceed in size and weight, anything of the kind which has ever been cast in this country. At Moscow, in particular, there are bells of enormous dimensions. For instance, we read of a bell in the tower of St. Ivan'sChurch weighing 127,836 English pounds ; ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 47 of another given by the Czar Boris Godunof to the Cathedral, weighing 288,000 ; and of another said to have been given by the Empress Anne, and which is undoubtedly the largest in the world, whose weight is recorded as 44'3,772lbs. The height of this bell is 21 feet 4j inches ; its circumference two feet above the extremity of the lip, is 67 feet 4 inches ; its diameter is 22 feet 5 inches and one-third ; and its greatest thick- ness is 23 inches. The supposed value of the metal of wliich it is composed is £60,565 16s. — all uncirculating and dead money, for the bell lias never struck a note. Think of this, yc money-mongers on "the llialto." ^M THE HELL : The monster biy for nearly two centuries an embryo in tlic pit, and partially buried in the sand in which it was moulded — an object of wonder to the traveller, and of deepest reverence to the natives, who visited it with pride at their festivals, and were extremely jealous of its being touched or measured by strangers. Many of the people fancied that it had fallen from a tower where it had hung, and they were strengthened in this opinion by a fracture which appears in one of its sides : but it has been decided by the judicious, that the bell was never in any pre- vious situation. It Avas cast in an enormous cavern underneath the Kremlin, and the frac- ture was caused by water being thrown on it, when it was heated by a fire which had taken place in the building above. Though said to have been a gift of the Empress Anne, there seems to be no better foundation for this tra- dition than that the figure of a female is given in relief outside, which is quite as likely to be a representation of the Virgin ; and Augustine maintains, on probable grounds, that it was founded in 1053. The people on the spot affirm that the metal contains a large quantity of both gold and silver, which was contributed bv the nobles and others, who thi'ew in their ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 10 plate and coins when the bell was cast. Dr. Clarke, to whose Travels we are indebted for these details, admits that the piece which is broken off seemed of light- coloured and superior metal; but the watchful jealousy of the inhabi- tants prevented his testing it. The present Emperor of Russia, at great cost and with much difficulty, has had this bell lifted from its sub- terranean position. It is said that the tackle which was first employed to raise it gave way, and that the engineers paid the penalty of their awkwardness by a visit to the mines of Siberia. The Board of Admiralty at St. Petersburgh subsequently undertook the exhumation of the bell, and it is now safely deposited on the Place. It may be mentioned that the Moscow bells generally have a fine tone : that which is sus- pended in the lofty tower of St. Ivan's Church produces, when rung, a tremulous effect over the whole city, similar to what is experienced by any one who stands near a powerful organ when it is played. The Chinese, again, have always been famous for having very large bells, which they are ac- customed to hang in towers built for the pui'pose in all their cities. There are seven at Pckin of enormous dimensions : one of these is described F 50 THE BELL : by Magaillans as weighing 120,000 pounds — the height he gives as 122- feet, the diameter 13|- feet, and the circumference 42 feet. They are used for denoting the five watches of the night. Although so very much larger than the bells in this country, and producing a prodigious sound, they are far inferior to our own in tone, and are struck outside by wooden mallets. They retain the old basin-like shape, too, being nearly as wide at top as at bottom. We will give the reported weights of some of the most celebrated lai'ge bells, in order that the reader may judge of their real magnitude, by a comparison with those of this countr}\ tons, cw-ts.qrs. lbs. The Great Bell of Moscow weighs 198 2 10 The Bell iu the tower of St. Ivan's Church, at Moscow, weighs -57 1 1 16 Another bell in the same church, we believe, weighs 17 16 Another cast in 181!) weighs 80 The Great Bell at Pekin weighs 53 11 1 20 One at Nankin 22 6 1 20 One at Olmiitz 17 18 One at Vienna, ^ inches, was originally suspended in the magnificent abbey of Oseney, in the suburbs of Oxford. What became the see of Oxford was at first that of Oseney, and Eobert King, the last abbot of Oseney, was its first and only bishop, A.D. 1645. This person gave " Great Tom" to Christ Church College, and in the year 1680 the bell was re- cast at the expense of John Fell, Bishop of Oxford. " Great Tom" of Lincoln was re-cast in 1835, with an additional ton of metal. That previous to the Reformation there were much larger bells in England than any which we now possess is most probable. Such abbeys as Glastonbury, Fountains, c^c, must have an- nounced the hours of prayer by tollings to be heard far away over their scattered and tliinly populated districts ; and, no doubt, hke that of everything else in these monasteries, the quahty ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. o6 of their bells was vei'y fine. They were, generally, gifts, or commemorations of pious rich persons ; and no expense was spared to make them ex- cellent. Of course, they were all duly baptized, and some were appropriately inscribed, hke one mentioned by Pennant, in a church in FUntshire, which was encircled with the following couplet : — " Sancta Wenefreda, Deo hoc commeudare memento, Ut, pietate su&, nos servet ab hoste crueuto." And below these lines was another : — " Protege prece pia quos convoco, Virgo Maria." The worthy monks, who composed these in- scriptions, knew as little of prosody, we fear, as of theology. In the scramble which took place at the sup- pression of monasteries, the bells fonned no mean item amongst conventual spoils. They were " gambled for," says Blunt, " or sold into Russia, or other countries, though often before they reached their destination, buried in the ocean." But it must not be supposed that any present comparative smallness of our bells is a symptom of barbarous retrogression, or a proof of our national indifference to the value of good church bells. On the contrary, we maintain, that our own church bells, both in size and F -i 54 THE BELL : general quality, are superior to those of other times and countries, for all the best purposes to which ringing can be applied. We think that there is neither music nor sentiment in the one thundering note, which a bell of leviathan pro- portions may give out, when struck by the clapper or hammer. Such is but a rude effort of uncivilized power — a piece of contemptible magnificence, and utterly unworthy of comparison with the change-ringing on peals, practised in this country — a manly art so peculiarly national, that it has obtained for England the name of the " ringing island." That bells of such enormous size as those contained in the list above are far too unwieldly to be rung by a single man and rope, must be obvious ; and, though it is desirable for cathe- drals and lai'ge churches to have a gigantic bell for striking the hours of the day, and for tolling on special occasions, it proves for general pur- poses only a heavy nuisance, wliich is shown by the fact that the great bell at York has never yet been what is technically called " raised," though we understand that the strength of thirty men has been applied to it. CHAPTER IV. CHIMES, CARILLONS, AND PEAL-RINGING. Hark! now I hear tliem, — ding-dong beU." Shakspere. Before describing our national method of ring- ing peals of bells, it will be well to show more distinctly the vaiious ways adopted in other countries. Large bells, which are suspended Hke our own, but made stationar}' in their frames, are generally rung by hitting them outside, or by means of a rope attached to the end of the clapper, which a person pulls to him and releases, so as to insure a sharp stroke on the bell ; whilst his arms and body move backwards and forwards, as if he were in the act of rowing. Sometimes, when several bells are hung together, the ringer stations himself within reach of them, and with '>b THE BELL : violence and great rapidity strikes them externally with a hammer. This is common in the towns of Russia, and may be seen by any one from the streets, as the bells are often placed in arches in the walls of the buildings; and a frightful dis- cord is produced. Chimes on the Continent are played by means of a barrel, like that in a hand organ, on which pegs are so arranged as to lift the levers in such haimonious succession that a tune is produced. Clockwork is also used, both here and abroad, for the same purpose. The carillons, which are so prevalent through- out the Netherlands, are played like a piano-forte, by keys connected with the bells by bauds or rods. A great number of bells are requii'ed for tliis strange music, having a complete series or scale of tones and semitones ; and the carillo- w^//;- employs both hands and feet in executing the sprightly airs which charm the inhabitants of the cities of the low countries. The pedals com- municate with the larger bells for the bass : and the keys on which the treble notes depend, are struck by the hand edgeways ; the little finger of the player being defended by a thick leathern stall. It requires considerable strength, as well as celerity and skill in tlu> player ; for unless a ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 57 violent blow be given to tlie key, only a weak sound would be produced ; and Dr. Burney says, that from tLe want of something to stop the vibration of each bell, the notes of one passage perpetually run into another, and become so in- articulate and confused, as to occasion a very disagreeable jargon, " Like sweet bells jangled." Nothing, in short, which can be done with bells is to be compared with our old English mode of ringing peals and musical changes. The date of the origin of this custom, it must be confessed, is involved in much obscurity. We know of no regular peal being hung in England before the year 1456, when Pope Calixtlll. sent a peal of five to King's College, Cambridge, where they hung for about three hundi'ed years, and were considered, for some time, the largest peal in the kingdom : the tenor weighed 57 cwt. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, eight bells were hung in a few of the principal churches ; and, as an interest in the subject of ringing gra- dually increased, there appeared in the year 1668 a work called " Campanalogia, or the Ai't of Ringing," which was highly esteemed by Dr. Burney, as containing every possible change in r)8 THE BELL : the arrangement of diatonic sounds from two to twelve. Einging bells, by the pulling of a rope, is, no doubt, a fashion of veiy great antiquity. It was thus that the single bells in our old churches were swung to and fro in their gable turrets : tliis part of the process, therefore, was not novel, when peal and change-ringing were successively introduced. But what is worthy of scientific ad- miration in our churcli bells is tbeir adaptation to give out, with mechanical precision, a succes- sion of musical notes : and what constitutes the art of ringing is, first, the power to ring tbe peal distinctly and firmly round, and secondly, to alter the course of the sounds, by all the endless varieties of change-ringing. In a work called " Campanalogia," and writ- ten by William Shipway, Warner of the Society of Cumberland Youths, there is tbe following account fr'om Pamell, of the probable invention of these changes : — " The earliest artist aud promoter of cbange-ringing we liayfe any account of, was ilr. Fabian Stedman, born in tbe town of Cambridge, l(i:Jl. He iuti-oduced various peals on five aud six bells, printing tbem on slips of paper (being by profession a printer). Tliese, being distributed about the country, were soon brought to London ; but what progress the art had made in the metiopolis at this time does not appear. ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 59 The Society of College Youths,* in the summer of 1057, on a visit to Cambridge, were presented by Mr. Stedman with his peculiar production ou five bells, since called Stedman's Prin- ciple, which was rung for the first time, at St. Benet's, Cam- bridge ; and afterwards at a church on College Hill, London, where the society at that time usually practised, and from meeting at which place they obtained their name. It appears from this account that change-ringing must have been much earlier than 1007 ; as, before those curious and cross change peals were discovered, single changes were universally prac- tised — i. e., only changing two bells at one time ; whereas the improved plan of double and triple changes, &c. — i. c, every bell to change at onetime, — appears to have taken place long before 10.')7, by Mi-. Stedman having produced such a complex method of ringing as his Principle. In 1008, he published a book, entitled ' Canipanalogia, or the Art of Ringing,' which before 1080 had gone through three editions." When we regard the discovery of this gentle- man, " great," may we say with Dr. Southey, "are the mysteries of bell-ringing !" The veiy terms of the art are enough to frighten an ama- teur from any attempt at explanation — Hunting, dodging, snapiring, and i^lace-maldng : plain hobs, hoh-triples, hob-majors, bob-majors re- versed, double bob-majors, and even up to grand- sire-bob-cators. Heigho ! who can hope to trans- late all this gibberish to the uninitiated ? Nothing, therefore, is to be done, but to convey * This appears to be the most ancient society of ringers. They are said to have been established in the sixteenth cen- tury ; and a book, containing memorials of that society in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, after escaping the ravages of the fire of London, has been unaccountably lost. 60 THE BELL: the reader up the dark, narrow, winding and worn stairs of the church-tower, into the bell- chamber itself, where eight stout young men, stripped of coats and waistcoats, are standing in a circle, rope in hand, ready for a meiTy peal. What a neat and nervous effort is that, by which each straight stiiphng in his place handles his rope, like a well accustomed plaything, and shows by a stroke or two that he is master of his bell ! The ropes hang through holes in the bell-chamber ceiling ; and when touched by the ringer's practised hand, the brazen monsters groan in their airy loft above, as they begin to swing on their gudgeons. It is Uke the first growl of the lion, when the keeper stirs him in his den — but there is no use in their resisting. One moment more, and the ringer has dropped his bell one-half pull, and set her the next — all eight are now fairly raised — hand, ear, eye, and heart of every ringer are intensely strained and engaged in the work : yet, cool withal, no flurry or disorder appearing^and through the whole tower there begins to ring a glorious din, which, with the creaking of the wooden beU frames, and a shaldng of the veiy buikhng itself, much re- minds one of the noise and recoil of a battle-ship, when she opens her broadside fire. ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 01 Now is the moment for the spectator to liurry up the broad ladder into the belfry, to watch the wild summersets, performed at intervals, by every bell in the peal. For a moment the bell rests against the slur-bar, turned completely upwards ; and the next it swings down, and is immediately turned up again on the other side, — the clapper striking as it ascends. Poor fellows ! see how they whirl upon their axles. The gazer almost sickens as he watches their extraordinary revo- lutions and tossings : but the ringer's heart is merciless — and when you look at the wretched beU, as at " a thing of life," and almost expect it to di'op motionless and dead on the stocks, a " cannon" is suddenly struck on all eight at once, as if to rouse them afresh for the course of seemingly interminable changes which imme- diately follow. Henceforth the bells appear to roll about in frantic disorder ; and, stunned by the noise, cliilled by the di'aughts of cold wind, and shaken in nei-vc by the reverberation, the spectator descends with carefril steps from his tyro-visit to the belfry. Eight bells, which form the octave or diatonic scale, make the most perfect peal. Ten and twelve bells are very often hung, and of course increase to an almost incalculable extent the G G2 THE BELL : variety of cJuDif/es. This term is used because every time the peal is rung round a change can be made in the stroke of some one bell, thereby causing a cliange in the succession of notes. The following numbers arc placed to show how three bells can ring six changes : — 1 2 3 1 3 2 3 1 3 2 3 1 3 1 2 3 2 1 Four bells can in the same manner be shown to ring four times as many changes as three, viz., 24. Five bells five times as many as four, viz., 120. Six bells six times as many as five, viz., 720, and so on. And in this way it has been calculated that it would take 91 yeai's to ring the changes upon twelve bells, at the rate of two strokes to a second ; and the full changes upon twenty-four bells would occupy more than 1 1 7.000 billions of years. Reader, has it ever been thy lot to be within close ear-shot of a ringing match, at which eight or ten sets of ringers contended for a silver cup, or a purse of g(~)ld ? We were awoke at day- ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 03 break one fine summer's morning, by a steady course of plain bobs, which induced for a time a delicious reverie, in the midst of which we soon relapsed into sleep — a sleep broken, never- theless, by sounds and not unpl^easing phantoms, as if the wand of Prospero had been waved over us. We rose early, determined to combine an enjoyment of what we ascertained was a ringing match with our usual study avocations ; but we found that we were not steady as usual at our work, and as time went on we became less so. Two, three, four hours elapsed, and it was noon; and still those changes, without change, rang on. Another hour passed, and we became nen'ous and irritable ; and we resolved to ride far away into the woods, and to be at peace. With some difficulty the impression of the sounds was re- moved, and we returned in the early evening in the hope that the match would have been over ; but before the church was in sight, the peal was again audible ; and when we were re-housed, even at long intervals there was only a short respite. Night came; but locks, bars, and shutters did not exclude the soinid — l)ed cur- tains could not shut it out. No hope arose from inquiry, for tlic Darfield and the Silkstone sets liad still to rintj. The din became awful, 64 THE BELL : the monotony iusuii'erable — every round in the peal was like a fresh revolution of Ixion's wheel, or the return of the stone of Sisyphus. Our slumber, induced by exhaustion, was feverish, restless, and often still conscious of the ringing ; and when we awoke in the small hours, and the bells had ceased, we could scarcely for a time realize the stillness. A little while and we had again relapsed into unconsciousness, but will it be credited that dayhght had scarcely broken in the east, before the ringers were again at their task ? From this point all dates and patience were lost, and it was only by a palatable mixture of entreaty and authority that we obtained a re- lease from our nervous suffering before the fol- lowing noon. This was indeed having " too much of a good thing," a very surfeit of dainties that would have sickened Victor Hugo's Quasi- modo himself; and we have resolved to go from home at the ringers' next jubilee. Yet far are we from disliking the sound of bells in moderation, and at proper times : nay, we love them, particularly on all old festival occasions, although they may break our sleep ; and we quite agree with our friend Chai'les Lamb that " of all sound of all b(>ll;> — (bells the music nighest bor- dering on heaven) — most solemn and touching ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 05 is the peal which rings out the old year." All ancient customs, again^ such as the noon-bell on Shrove Tuesday, are especially dear to us. "A pancake for Shrove Tuesday," says Shakspere, and the bell rung at mid- day, is the old signal for putting it on the fire. Indeed we could listen to a little ringing on Allhallows' Eve,* without fear of bringing back either Pope or Pretender. Give us, in short, any of these interesting mementos of antiquity, be they of local or of general practice ; but may the Fates preserve us evermore from tlie woiTying tedium of another ringing match ! Still we do not * The supressiou of the custom of rhigiiig bells through the iiiglit of the vigil of Allhallow took place by a particular edict of Henry VIII., addressed to Crannier, Archbishop of Canterbury. " Forasmuch," says this document, " as that vigil is abused as other vigils were, our pleasure is, as you require, that the said vigils shall be abolished, as the others be, and there shall be no watching nor ringing, but as be com- monly used upon other holidays at night." By an injunction of Edward VI., it was ordered iu respect to the conduct of the Church service, that " all ringing and knoUiug of bells shall be utterly forborne during that time, except one bell in con- venient time to be rung or knolled before the sermon." Bells, prior to the Reformation, were used on numberless religious occasions, and together with lights accompanied the carrying about of the Mass. Indeed they have in all times been very pet articles. No other baubles, perhaps, have proved such acceptable gifts to savages from their civilized discoverers or visitors as small bells; which the Indian Chiefs of North America still proudly wear faslencd to ilnir head dresses on days of special festival. G 2 GO THE BELL : qunrrel with our own parish peal, on account of a single extravaganza : for we owe it some thanks for divers gratulatory ringings, one of which, especially, is not to be forgotten. "The lords of the be/l-chamhcY," it is probably known, are accustomed to take notice of the domestic affairs of the parsonage, wliich, deeply bosomed amongst trees, and under the solemn shadow of the old church, might seem to be a quiet unevent- ful dwelling, whose inhabitants were not likely to be visited by those inspiriting occurrences which set the bells a-going. Happily, however, for our age and country, the celibat and tonsure are not essential parts of these secluded homesteads. Pitiable indeed is the system wherein such tilings continue to prevail ; let us then at least resist, with all our power, the creeping cant of false brethren amongst ourselves — unmardy critics of blessings which they ai'e not worthy to partake — who are beginning to affect a monastic hoiTor of the nursery tmd the crib. The fair sex should certainly outlaw these unprotestant clerics, and the Pope ought to imprison them in one of his convents at the very first opportunity. But to our tale. Our parsonage resounds v>idi young voices and to ihe tread of little feet. We have to sit in ITS ORIGIN", HISTORY, AND USES. 67 our Study, like Maturin with the wafer on his forehead, and strive, by portentous frown, to keep the young intruders, stealing in for book or pen(;jil, in endurable check. And these little ones have to come to us, in succession, as the dearest of God-sent blessings ; and when one was recalled, it was difficult to define how such a loss could have been so much felt. And when the time came that we looked for a successor, with appre- hension probably unknown to those who can say with Caesar — " Of all the wouders that I Lave yet heard, It seems to me most strauge that men should yi-ar," we confess that the release from mis-giving, on its being announced to us that "a man was born into the world," was an emancipation inexpres- sibly charming. To disengage our spirits fr'om the excitement of long suppressed anxiety, we were soon bound- ing along the road with lighter step than we had trodden for some weeks past ; and, just as we reached the top of a hill, about a quarter of a mile from our dwelling which, with the neigh- bouring sanctuary, then came prominently into view, fr'om the tower of the latter there seemed to burst spontaneously, and in full sympathy ■with our feelings, the most joy-laden peal that f)8 THE BELL : had ever gladdened our ears. On, on we hastened hy a winding and undulating path — the sound of the bells being occasionally hushed by the intervening ground ; and again it was borne up some valley, appearing to congratulate us from quite an opposite direction ; and, as the distance varied, from our pursuing a circuitous route, an effect as of different peals was thus repeatedly produced. When we turned homewards some masterly changes were being rung round ; and we can assure the reader, that Wliittingham's ambitious hopes, as he sat on the milestone and fancied that be heard from the far-off belfi'y a summons to be Lord Mayor of London, were less enviable than the triumphant gladness of our heart on this occasion of domestic celebration. The honorarium to the ringers of course followed — a deodand in all such cases most freely be- stowed. It is worth mentioning that the word helfredus, signifying belfry, is derived by the learned fi-om hell and frede, both Anglo-Saxon words, and respectively meaning " bell" and '"peace." This meaning is extracted fr'om the custom in olden times of ringing the large bell of a town to sum- mon the stout burghers from their peaceful avocations — men of few words and substantial ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. G9 wealth and dignity — to confer on occasions either of commercial difficulty or hostile invasion. The bancloche, or district hell of the Germans, com- pounded, of the words bannns, a district or horough, and cloche, a hell, was the same kind of signal for all the influential inhabitants of the horough to meet. Bells were also hung at an early period in castles and fortresses, to give alarm when the enemy approached. Thus we find that when Macbeth had shut himself in the fortress of Dunsinane, and it was announced to liim that Birnam Wood was moving onward to the castle — the di'eadful solution of the witches' prophecy — his desperate order was — " Ring the alarum bell." CHAPTER Y VAEIOUS USES OF CHURCH BELLS. " Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings." Shakspere. Well, reader, would it be if all we had to say of the bell's performances was, that its highest duties had been in the service of God's sanctuary ; its ordinary employment to give notices of civil con- vocation or military alarm; and tliat its worst frolic had been the occasional stunning which it inflicted on a neighbourhood in the nuisance of a ringing match. But, alas ! it has sometimes rung the summons to indiscriminate massacre; — its notes have helped to drown the dying shrieks of human beings, of all ages and both sexes, butchered unresistingly by the tools of 72 THE P.ELL : the religious bigot or the political schemer ; — it has sounded its horrid tocsin through an atmos- phere reeking with the warm fumes of the life- blood of the innocent and the helpless ; — it has lent its hypocritical voice to trap the unwary to their devotions, and then to make them the prey of the murderer. Witness, ye vespers of Sicily — ye matins of St. Bartholomew ; — blood-spots on the pages of history, which time cannot obliterate ; carnage scenes in the world's drama, unparalleled for atrocity, dissimulation, and horror ; to be recalled only as humiliating proofs that human passions when roused are more san- guinary than those of the tiger ; and that man is the only animal which, without the excuse of hunger, can revel like a fiend in the death agonies of his own species. The history of the " Sicilian Vespers" is briefly as follows : — The kingdom of Sicily, having been awarded for the state purposes of different Popes to various individuals in succession, passed fi'om the hands of the family of Manfred, who was of Swabian origin, into those of Charles of Anjou, a Frenchman, who, according to the barbarity common in that age, about equalled his prede- cessor Manfred in tyranny and cruelty. Both he and his countrjTnen soon became unpopular ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 73 in his now kingdom ; and conspiracies were formed against them, one of whicli was attended with dreadful success. John of Procida, so called from being lord of Procida, an island which lay off Sicily, having been deprived of his estate and banished by Charles on account of his attachment to interests adverse to the king's rule, at once contrived a scheme for releasing the Sicilians from French domination, which is as remarkable for the subtle adroitness with whicli it was carried on, as for the barbarity of its bloody fulfilment. John first applied to Peter, King of Arragon, who had married Constantia, the daughter of Manfred ; and was therefore regarded by many as the rightful heir to the Sicilian crown, and to obtain it for him was the ground on which the conspirator laid his plan. At the court of Arragon he was, of course, well received ; and at Constantinople and at Rome his object was as warmly seconded; for the Greek Emperor was anticipating an invasion by Charles, and Pope Nicholas III. had quarrelled ■with Charles over political differences. The cliief men among the Sicilians were also easily enlisted. During the space of two years the plot was hatching, under the indefatigable manage- ment of John of Procida ; but many events H 74 THE BELL: occun'etl to postpone the crisis — amongst which was the death of the Pope, and the invcstitiu'e of a successor favourable to the Frencl) dynasty, from whom, therefore, the conspiracy had to he concealed. But over all such difficulties the indomitable energy of John triumphed. No whisper of the coming blow escaped the lips of any one entrusted for this long period with the secret, although it was well known in An'agon, at Rome, at Constantinople, and, finally, to almost every Sicilian. The murderous purpose was cherished like a treasure in the hearts of thousands of individuals, until the day and hour appointed for its execution. On the third day of Easter, in the year 1282, at the ringing of the bells for vespers, or evening pravers, it was agreed that the massacre of the whole French nation which had settled in Sicily should take place. Softly, then, as usual, swung the bells in their many turrets. From church and convent the peaceful invitation to prayer throughout the island of Sicily was rung. Men unarmed and unsuspecting — women accompanied by their families, and canning their babes in their arms ' — composedly thronged at the agreeable hour of eveuing-prayer to their accustomed devotions. ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 75 But the wild beast was on tlieir path. From cloak and scabbard Hashed the knilb and the sword. Neither sex nor age was spared. Home was no sanctuary — the publicity of the streets no safe- guard — the altar itself no protection. Even the unborn infant tasted death before it was con- scious of life. In the short space of two hours, the French of every condition and rank in the island, with the exception of Charles and his suite, who were in Tuscany, fell, to the number of 8,000, brutally butchered by John and his conspirators. Such is the history of the Sicihan Vespers. We now turn to another page in the record of nations, which is no less imbrued with the sanguinary stains of deliberate caniage. In the year 1570, a treaty of peace was concluded be- tween Charles IX., King of France, and his Protestant subjects, the Huguenots, who, under the royal family of Navai're, and often com- manded in the field by the brave Admiral Coligni, had for several years been resisting all attempts of the governincnt to make them con- form to the Roman Catholic religion. Many battles were obstinately fought by them, with various success, in defence of their laith, when Catherine, the motlier of Cliarles L\. — and the 70 THE IJKLL ; liarpy, in fact, who instigated their sufierings — finding that persecution only strengthened their cause, and made their power more formidable, resolved to accomplish by a stratagem the de- struction of the whole party. Deputies were sent, therefore, from the French court to Ro- chelle, one of the cities wliich under the treaty had been assigned to the Protestants, and in which the chiefs of their foction resided, to make agreeable proposals of matrimonial alliances, and other offers of advantageous connection, and to invite the great body of Huguenot leaders to Paris, for the ostensible purpose of effacing all past animosities. Trapped by the seductive im- portunity of these ambassadors. King Heniy of Navarre, then eighteen years of age, with the Prince de Conde, Coligni, and others, appeared at Paris in 1572, and on the 18th August in that year. King Henry was manied to the Princess Margaret, sister of King Chaides. This marriage was the gay mask behind which the scowl of murder was concealed. Four days after it, Coligni was wounded by a shot from a win- dow, as he passed along the street, which the hypocritical court slurred over by apology and affected indignation, until the festival of St. Bartholomew, the '^ith of the same month, ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 77 which had been fixed upon for perpetrating the basest breach of hospitahty, and the most ex- tensive cokl-blooded massacre which the world had ever known. The signal for commencing this slaughter was the ringing of the bells of St. Gemiain I'AuxeiTois for matins. The hour appointed by the church for the first daily ser- vices of God, was thus chosen by its members for breaking the most stringent of the divine commands. IMidnight had scarcely turned — the poor Huguenot slept tlu'ough the accustomed sound of that early bell — silence and darkness seemed to guard his rest — but only for a few seconds ; hurried steps ascended the staircase — lights flashed through the panels of the door, and it was violently opened. The work of death proceeded at the same moment in a tbou- sand dill'erent chambers ; alarm bells iung in all parts of the city; and the tocsin of the palace sounded strong and full to animate each assassin at his work. The corpse of Coligni was cast from the window, and the bravest and best of his party were similarly slaughtered and dis- honoured. On the eve of St. Bartholomew, orders had been sent to the governors of pro- vinces to exterminate the Protestants ; and, during the two or three days to wliieh the mas- n 2 78 THE KELi, : sacre was prolonged, it is variously computed that 30,000, 70,000, and 100,000 perished. Kemember, reader, that under whatever guise or name such deeds as these are committed, Christianity never sanctions them ; and when politically viewed, as the work of priestcraft or of regal ambition, they are found universally to fail in the object for which they were intended. Cruelty never stifled opinion, and is apt to create a reaction of fearful atrocity : if, therefore, you cannot convince by reason and kindness, you had better let your neighbour remain the ignorant fool which you think him, lest you drive him by persecution to become a savage, who will turn and rend you at the first opportunity. * * * * Notwithstanding the nursery couplets — " Gay go up and gay go clown, To ring the bells of London town," &c.* • We do not see tliese couplets in the modern library of " Young England;" and therefore insert them in full, so far as we know them, lest an old favourite should be altogether lost to the rising generation : — Gay go up and gay go down. To ring the bells of Loudon towu. Halfpence and farthings, Say the bells of St. Martin's. Oranges and lemons, Say the bells of St. Clement's. ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 79 which might lead one to expect that London and its environs had peals more eloquent and musical than all the world beside, we are not suqDrised that poets have preferred to sing — " llow soft the music of those villaye hells," and that the bells of the metropolis have seldom found a champion to proclaim their euphony and excellence. That many of them are excellent, there can be no doubt; we only complain that they are rarely heard at all — and much more rarely to advantage. We have known London well in our day, and the peals of Stepney, Bow, Shoreditch, and many other old and celebrated Paucakes and fritters, Suy the bells of St. Peter's. Two sticks and au apple, Say the bells of Whitechapel. Kettles and pans, Suy the bells of St. Anne's. You owe me ten shillings. Say the bells of St. Helen's. When will you pay lue ? Say the bells of Old Bailey. When I grow rich. Say the bells of Shoreditch. Pray when will that be ? Say the bells of Stepney. I am sure I don't know. Says the great bell of Bow. 80 THE BELL : churches of that locality, have been as familiar to us as household words ; but, to speak ge- nerally, we think that their best effect is lost in the tumult and distraction of the busy streets. The two grimy figures* in the black recess of old St. Duustan's tower — the wonder of our childish senses — are, alas ! altogether gone. How often have we lingered shame-faced in their neighbourhood for five minutes and more, until, with arms and hammers mysteriously upraised, they struck their quarter or half-hoiu' chimes. * The clock and figures were purchased by the late Marquis of Hertford, aud removed to his villa iu tlie Regent's Paik, where they probably still reiuaiu. ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 81 Occasionally, also, we have heard in our boat on the broad Thames, on fine summer evenings, while sundry craft moved silently at a distance by, and nothing else was audible save that " On the ear dropp'd the light drip of the suspended oar," as we paused in our rowing, a clanging peal from the Chelsea side of the river ; and again, as we passed old Lambeth, it became evident that the ringers were practising on the Surrey shore : " A tuneful challenge rings from either side Of Thames ' fair banks,' " and the tones came to us sweetly mellowed by the element on wliich we floated in fascinated reverie. These are real and pleasing reminiscences ; and on Sunday the sweet effect of bells is naturally much heightened — " The cheerful Sabbath bells, wherever heard, Strike pleasant on the sense, most like the voice Of one who from the far oft' hills proclaims Tidings of good to Zion." But it is in the country where everything har- monizes, rather than in London, that we most de- light to hear them. All the surrounding features are there in perfect unison. The cowslip-painted fields, streaked with narrow paths converging to the churcli — those old ways by which from time H2 TJiK i'.i:i,r. : immemorial the distant iuhubitants of the parish have come to the house of God, and which no law can close, no churlish proprietor dares to stop — the solemn and umhragcous woods darkening the hill-side — the church tower rising above them, with its accustomed peal heard far off by the assembling congregation — the grassy cemetery around the holy building, whose green mounds mark the various spots in which " The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep" — the brightness of the sky above, and the stillness of the earth around — all these combine to form a scene in exquisite accordance with the feelings of a soul piously released for one day in the seven from the cares and sorrows of Kfe : and they are utterly wanting among the characteris- tics which mark a Sunday in London. The reader must have jarringly experienced the un- couth difference ; and therefore it is not on the day of holy rest that we can invite him to realize the sounds of London church bells. But on certain festival occasions we have been forcibly impressed by them. For instance : go, reader, on Lord Mayor's day, or on the birthday of our gracious Queen, along the great thorough- fare which connects Westminster with the Citv. ITS ORIGIN', HISTORY, AND USES. 83 Never mind the mob — for you have wisely emptied your pockets before you left home ; nor care for the squeeze to wliich you will be subjected — for every one of tlie crowd is in good humour to-day. The police are what is called "clearing the streets;" which means that they are vainly attempting to confine all foot pas- sengers to the pavements. Every shop window is closed, and all the house windows above are widely opened, and thronged by eager spectators. A single line of vehicles is still allowed to move cautiously along the street ; cries of fear and shouts of joy are mingled as the multitude sways to and fro, like a gi'eat billow ; and, whilst the most orderly disorder is maintained by the con- stabulary force, an irruption takes place from a side-street, which causes a momentary suspension of police vigilance, and a little extra tumult. Were we called upon to choose a man to lead a forlorn hope — to head a charge of cava]i7 against squares of bayonets — or to spring a mine — we should select a London cab-driver for the requisite nerve and recklessness. Seated inse- curely on one of those diminutive outside perches, which were placed on the ofF-shaft of the original cabriolets, a little Jewish-looking driver, having watched his time, bursts before a brewer's pon- 84 THE BELL : derous dray " into the line." The drayman heavily jumps from his barrels, and holds over the cabman his curling whip, as if he would divide his light antagonist with a stroke of it. But he has met his match. The cabman is instantly on his feet ; three times over his head he waves his short driving whip, with a lash shai^p as a penknife attached to it ; and by a vow to lay open his threatener's fleshy cheek, and with a look of assurance that he was in eai'nest, he maintains unscathed his boldly-won position in the Hne, which steadily moves for- ward, with a fresh cheer from the crowd. But see — there approaches the procession ; Life-Guards, band, and a train of carriages in succession appear; and off goes from every neighbouring church a clashing peal. Now the bells of London sound grandly indeed ! St. Mary-le-Bow — what strength of metal dost thou exhibit, with thy noble peal often ! St. Dunstan, in thy lantern tower — how sweet and fine ring the notes from thy new eight ! St. Clement and St. Martin — ye are not behind your brethren ; and though ye be all lost for a moment in the roar of the multitude, or in the stunning salutes of the Park guns, again your ^dld music breaks powerfully forth, animating with a strange spirit ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 85 of desperate joy the tens of thousands who cheer the gay spectacle below. And see — through the window of that huge gilt-panelled coach, the fair and not unthoughtful face of a young and grace- ful woman : — it is the Queen of mighty England, acknowledging the uproarious acclamations of her subjects with slight and serious greeting. Doubly the welkin rings with huzzas, poured forth with all the strength of human lungs ; and, in responsive sympathy, crash on crash follows from the united strokes of every bell in that fine old church before wliich the Royal cortege is at the instant passing. What a dream is that pageant ! from whicli the mind turns in solemn contrast to the minute death-note tolled by the muffled clapper on the great bell of St. Paul's Cathedral, to announce that a king is mortal. We were not old enough when George IV. died to feel, as a man or a subject, much serious impression from the na- tional loss ; what we felt, therefore, on that occasion, was exclusively from the effect inspired by the great bell of St. Paul's, which we liad never before nor have since heard in like employ- ment. The day that we recall was extremely sulti7 ; the atmosphere was heavy, and seemed charged with electricity ; the windows were thrown 86 THE BELL : wide open to catch any chance hreeze from the river; and to be stretched in front of one of them, on a couple of chairs, with some book of ver}^ light reading, seemed the only practicable resource on such a day for the idle and thoughtless; and even so we complacently arranged ourselves. But not thus easily was the stem reminder of mortality to be eluded. With ponderous stroke the bell once tolled; and the sound spread like the angi-y rolling of distant thunder over the whole metropoHs — a dull booming tone, which seemed to \dbrate through every building and on every neiTe. A minute passed, and the sound had died gradually away, when another tremen- dous stroke on the bell was heard, and the noise seemed to roll, as before, over the whole city, like the unfolding of a thunder cloud. At each re- petition of the tolling, the impression from it became more powerftilly awfiil. Bells generally stir, animate, and excite the feelings, and seem rather to fit them for active engagement and re- sistance than to depress and appal their energy. We have been awoke, for example, at the dead of night, by the peal in our own parish church, which was suddenly rung back^vards, to announce that there was a fire, and to summon aid — (a fire-bell, by the way, is not uncommon) ; and ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 87 though the first effect of the unusual disturhance was alarming, it seemed immediately to hrace the spirits for exertion. Not so, however, were we moved by the tolHngs of St. Paul's great hell. They seemed to he charged with a message of irresistihle evil : they carried you involuntarily to the chamber of almighty death : they might have been the herald of national pestilence : you might have yielded minute after minute to their monotonous power, until you fancied the " crack of doom" was coming. Aided as it no doubt was by the pecuUar state of the atmosphere, we own that we have never felt a more dispiriting influence from any earthly sound. We have not noticed the ringing of bells in celebration of victories either by sea or land, but our older readers must be able to recall their in- spiriting effect. This was mournfully damped in the case of Trafalgar, when the clamorous peal and single tollings of the knell were strangely mingled. A friend thus describes the occasion : — "I was in my venerable native city, Chester, ill in bed, and knew not of the victory of Tra- falgar. Suddenly there arose a joyous and deaf- ening peal from the eleven churches — then came a dead stop, and one deep toll from the Cathedral sounded solemnly over the old city. Then there 88 THE BELL : burst forth the joyous peal again — then came the pause, and the knell for England's ' darling hero.' These contrasts of sound were alternately produced with an effect that was beyond expres- sion striking and ovei-powering." In dismissing the subject of church bells and peal ringing for some Hghter notices, in con- clusion of our task, we gladly pay a tribute of notice to the extraordinaiy enthusiasm which seems universally to animate all who are ever induced to take an interest in bells. There have been at various times, amateur ringers in the higher ranks of society who have attained consi- derable skill in ringing. One gentleman, at least, we have heard of, who built a tower in his grounds for the mere purpose of suspending a peal in it ; and societies of ringers, including members who only admire, without practising the manly art, are still by no means uncommon. A well known society, said to have been esta- blished by charter, early in the seventeenth centirry, (in the year 1620,) still exists at Bristol in palmy condition ; and a report of its proceed- ings at the annual festival displays a Pickwickian freshness that is perfectly channing. The mem- bers of this guild naturally chng to ancient associations, and their poet-laureate certainly ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 89 pictures in comic, yet graphic, verse, a fonaer state of things, which, in some respects, puts present times to the hlush. As to reverence for the Sabbath, we read — " Then the folks every Sunday went twice at least to church, sir, And never left the parson, nor his sermon, in the lurch, sir" — And in regard to the security of property in those days, we have the following pleasing account : — " Then our streets were unpaved, and our houses were all thatched, sir, Our windows were all latticed, and our doors were only latched, sir ; Yet so few were the folks that would plunder or would rob, sir. That the hangman was starving for want of a job, sir." And yet though the Sabbath peal may now draw but few, comparatively, to the old church, tmd even the lead which covers its sacred roof may not be safe from the spoiler's fingers, the ringers themselves retain, nevertheless, all the pride and fondness for their art which have ever belonged to it. They may prove, indeed, an awkward set for the authorities to manage. Though living so much in the church, thev may be the rarest i2 90 THE BELL : attendants at its services : and possibly they may sometimes revive their exhausted strength in the belfry by potations of ale immoderately deep. But for their devotion to their vocation they are most remarkable ; and, in a world too generally cold and heartless, highly to be commended. The subject of ringing is always one of intense in- terest to them. Whilst young and able, they will labour hard to attain skill ; they will go any distance to hear or partake in a ringing match; and the superannuated linger — his Hmbs cramped by rheumatism — the strained muscles of his arms exhibiting the powerless witness of his past exploits in the bell-chamber — will talk for hours over his cottage fire of the old peal, the old set of ringers, and what in old times they did, with as keen a reHsh as the veteran displays in recounting his " hair-breadth 'scapes in th' imminent deadly breach," or the sports- man in detailing his achievements in the chace or on the moor. And when his turn comes for the kneU to sound his death note, his former companions commemorate his departure with professional honours. For an hour or two before the inteiment takes place, the dreary toUing of the muffled bell is heard, and whilst the corpse ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 91 is borne towards the cemetery, a dumb peal rings its sad unearthly rounds. A compliment, alas ! unheeded by the dead, and like all funeral ceremo- nies, only serving to make death seem less awful to the survivors. CHAPTEK VI. VARIOUS MODERN USES OF SMALL BELLS. " For, though they do agree in kind, Specific diflereuce we find." — Butleb. In making our remarks on the various uses of bells in general, as distinguished from church bells, their almost univers>il introduction at every turn and scene of Hfe renders it difficult to de- scribe the amount of convenience which they afford, or to specify even a portion of tlieir dif- ferent services. Certain, however, it is, that ■whether we sit at home cogitating our wants and making arrangements for their gratification — awaiting the visits of friends, or the calls of creditors; or whether we start on our travels, either by sea or land, the bell holds an all-im- portant and most prominent place in our ud- 94 THE BELL : ventures, and its voice is only not remarked by us on such occasions, because it is so constantly heard. Now, in visiting an ancient residence, like Haddon Hall, for instance, which still vividly illustrates in its substantial remains the manners and customs of the " olden time," it is surely an interesting speculation to conceive how its once lordly tenants, with their rich and noble guests, inhabited the many chambers of that vast pile, and enjoyed all the sumptuous comforts of ba- ronial hospitality, without the means of giving a single tintinnabulary summons to servant or retainer. And then to contrast the condition of our modern citizen, who rears his rural "box" witliin omnibus reach of the Exchange — a tene- ment occupying only a few square yards out of his estate of one quarter of an acre of land — and who would be the most wretched of mortals, without his front door bell, his back door bell, and liis bell for every room in his diminutive mansion : besides his hand-bell on the table, to reUeve him from the insupportable fiitigue of stretching from his chair to the bell-rope which hangs down the wall by the fire-place. Let us examine, then, what changes in social con- venience the bell has effected. ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 95 The Lord of Haddon, or bis visitor, formerly amved at the castle, and his advent was an- nounced by a blast from a hunting horn. The citizen or his guest now conveys similar intelli- gence by a sharp tug at the more civilized bell. The park keeper with a fat buck on his shoulders, or the humble pilgrim at nightfall with his wallet and staff, respectively proclaimed their presence at the wicket of the castle by a stout blow on its oaken panel, or by rattling the large latch, for there were no lion-faced knockers, though a simpler piece of wrought iron sometimes an- swered the purpose ; and now the butcher's boy rings the bell at the citizen's back-door until the cook appears. Notwithstanding, however, this balance in favour of modern convenience, the interior arrangements of the ancient "Hall" were such as precluded the possibility of a liveried Sambo's panti7 soUloquy, " the more you ring, massa, the more I won't come ;" for a household fomaerly lived as a family, and whether at meals, or in the intei-vening hours of indoor social life, some dependant was always ready to obey the orders of his lady or his lord. When the dinner was seri'cd, the owners of the mansion, with their family circle, sat in honoured, but only partial, seclusion on the raised dais^ 90 THE BELL : whilst the body of the great hall was occupied with tables spread for the domestics and humbler guests, and the adjoining kitchen equally dis- pensed through tlie visible buttery hatch, its dishes of rude plenty to all. The family was first served, but the servants ate then and there also. Even when the mistress of such an esta- blishment seemed to be alone over her spinning wheel or embroidery frame, in the large gallery, made comfortably habitable by a log fire and a small carpet spread over that portion only of the polished floor which she occupied, she was not without the means of immediate communication with her household. For at a respectful distance in the deep recess of one of the windows would be her favourite page, playing with a dog or falcon, or perhaps mending his fishing lines or net, and at her slightest summons he was ready to obey her behests. Constant usage relieved both parties from restraint and formality without confounding all degrees in the social scale ; and we believe that the bell more than anything has helped to define the up- stairs and down-stairs modes and habits of life, which at present exist among the great masses of our population ; and that if there be now comparatively little intercourse betwixt servants and those whom they serve, it is because ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 97 the latter have in this important little instrument the ready means of prcsci'ving their exclusiveness, without loss of accommodation. Indeed, it may be said that every worldly want which riches — the great boast of our age — can supply, is now connected with the ringing of a bell. In answer to the parlour bell the sers-ant receives the ex- pression of your wishes, and in consequence of the ringing of the out-door bell, you are made aware that they have been supplied. Nor less do the sounds of bell metal now attract the attentive ear in out-door life. If you are going a journey, of course you must travel by railway, and a bell starts you on your rapid flight, and at every station accompanies your stopping. The very whistle, again, which shrieks in every tunnel, and whose scream is said to be odious to the Eoyal hearing, as it certainly is to your own tympanum, if you be not duller in sense than " the weed that rots on Lethe's wharf," is merely a small bell rung by a shai-p volley of escaping steam. If you are going by sea to some distant point, still there is the dock bell audible, as the paddles begin to turn, or the anchor is being weighed ; and the transit of time is agreeably marked on your monotonous passage by the half-hour watches, which lU'e K 98 THE BELL ; struck on a bell. " It's twelve o'clock, Captain," is the seaman's report to his commander. " Make it so," is the authoritative reply; and over the broad wilderness, and perhaps silent expanse of waters, through which, "lonely but not lost," the vessel holds her coui'se, the bell sounds cheeringly to all on board. And if you would make a submarine exciu'sion to the realms of Neptune, to behold " Wedges of gold, great anchors, heaps of pearl, Inestimable stones, unvalued jewels. All scatter'd hi the bottom of the sea," you must entrust your precious person to the interior accommodation of the diving bell. To digress for one moment : we have heard how aflectingly the pilgrim of the deep has some- times been struck by the sound of church bells from some shore which he happened to be passing, and which was even too distant to be within sight. And we can imagine this. The emigrant, whose feet for the last time have pressed their native soil — the outward-bound passenger to cHmes remote and unhealthy, in which the flower of his life is doomed at least to expand, and probably to fade, would be likely to feel such tones as echo " Of a land he shall visit no more ;" ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 99 and we have noticed this impression for the sake of ohserving how very far such sounds sometimes travel over the sea ; for we have been infonned of a ship's company who were seventy miles oif the coast of Eio Janeiro, distinctly hearing the bells of the town. The state of the atmosphere, and the dii'ection of the wind, would mainly cause this effect ; but it was supposed that the bellying of the sails assisted to hold the sound. The reader will probably remember the case of the sentry at Windsor Castle, whose life was in jeopardy for his having slept at his watch during the night. The soldier denied that he had been asleep, and maintained, in proof of the tnith of his assertion, that he had heard St. Paul's great bell strike thirteen at midnight. Subsequent inquiry proved that it had been so ; and the story concludes happily, after the approved fashion, with the acquittal of the sentinel. Wherever there happens to be a collection of buildings, signals by bells are constantly to be heai'd. The gaol bell — the factory bell — the school bell — the yard bell of the inn — the dinner bell at the mansion ; each too having their peculiar and easily recognised tone. We know not what innovations Police Acts may have created in the streets of London ; but of yore they used 1 00 THE BELL ; to resound at particulars times in the day with different intimations, all distinctly expressed by ringing of hand bells. There was the bellman crier, to be heard in the morning giving his three or four strokes on his highly-pohshed bell, pre- liminary to his announcement — " oh, yes ! oh, yes ! oh, yes ! (oyez) this is to give notice," &c. This gentleman appeared at Christmas, m new cocked hat and laced coat, and made his round for Christmas-boxes, distributing at the same time " the Bellman's Verses," in the form of a sheet of seasonable carols. His office was probably the remaining vestige of the night- guardian's in Milton's day, thus spoken of by the poet : — " Or the Bellinan's drowsy cliarm, To bless the doors from nightly harm."' He seemed to have " split the difference" with the old " Charley" with his rattle, whose voice we have so often heard, about midnight, huskily chaunting " past twelve o'clock, and a starlight night;" and he was possibly, too, the repre- sentative of that bellman in the time of the Plague, who preceded the " dead-cart, and called on the living to bring out their* dead. Then there used to be the Dustman's bell, also a matutinal sound, and sternly expressive ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 101 in its quickly repeated strokes of the necessnry but annoying business on which it perfoiined its perambulations. Who can have forgotten the dust-cart, with its high shelvings, and its two phantom-like horses with their nosebags of oat- less chaff? The two liuman attendants of the same, also, quite characters in their way ; their leathern hats formed after the fasliion of a fisher- man's " sou'-wester," their dirty flannel jackets, black stockings, and short wliite gaiters. The one man — tall, long armed, and knock-kneed — who flung the dust by the bushel from the sliort ladder which rested against the cart-wheel ; and his short stilf coin[)anion who bc)re the in- k2 102 THE BELL : exorable bell. In vain the cook strove by delays to escape her fate ; — the dust-hole was choked, and the cart must be stopped. The bell there- fore ceased ; the horse-hair nosebags again tan- talized each wretched Eosinante; the dustmen with shovels and baskets descended the area steps ; and soon the whole scene became en- veloped in a cloud of dust, thick as the vapour which burst fi'om the bottle out of which Don Cleofas released Asmodeus. Again, there was the Postman's bell about five o'clock in the afternoon, which stopped at inter- vals whilst its bearer scanned the street, and gave time to writers to subscribe and seal their letters. And, lastly, the invitatorv^ tinkling of the muffin-bell, a httle later, by periodical sus- pensions, intimated a frequent sale of tea-table luxuries drawn fr-om the clean wrapper in the basket where they had been packed. In these reminiscences there is one bell, a notice of which must not be omitted. Keader, thou art in old Drury. Pit and galleiy are filled, and boxes are filling. Doors are being unlocked; seats are slammed down ; well-dressed persons are arranging themselves for an evening's entertainment. The two front rows of a box, four from the stage, ai'e occupied by a party ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 103 amongst which we recognise an intelligent school- boy, whose father has brought him for the first time to see a play. From head to foot the lad is all excitement, and he is successively attracted by the various scenes and sounds which encom- pass him. As the orchestra begins to be occupied, he is amused by the tuning of the instruments, preparatory^ to the overture ; and when — " The leader of the clan Reproves with frowns the dilatorj' man, Then on his candlestick thrice taps his bow, Nods a fresh signal, and away they go" — his spirits seem to float in a new sea of dehght. But the prompter's bell sounds ; the music stops, and up go the foot-lights. It rings again ; and the mysterious dark cui'tain, which hid enchant- ment from the youngster's eyes, slowly rises. The scene represented is a street — but to him a street in Utopia ; a single figure is on the stage — but to him that figure seems more than human. It is old Kean, as Richard III. ; and when every comer of the theatre rings vntli applause at the sight of its old favomite, and the practised actor gi'adually upturns his eye of fire, and those emaciated and rouged features on which, never- theless, genius has stamped its indelible mark, and he dehberately pays shght but powerful ac- 104 THE BELL: knowledgments to his audience, our young friend is perfectly fascinated. His chin rests on his hands, which are pressed upon the cusliion in front of the box ; and throughout the performance of that wonderful tragedian, he is conscious of a spell which he never felt be- fore, and happily perhaps for him will never feel in like intensity again. Sir David Brewster observes, that " a friend who has been long absent will often stand before us as a stranger, till his voice supplies us with the full power of recognition." Yet true as this is, the human voice is not to be compared to the bell for preserving its identity of sound. For years, nay for centuries, a bell will ring in a note in which time and age produce not the slightest perceptible variation. A person may quit his native spot in childhood, and not return again until he is an old man, and every bell noted by him in early years will be found to have preserved its original tone. But in the conversation of any old playmate, he ■will at once discover that " His big luanly voice, Turniug again towards cbililish treble, pipes And whistles iu his souutl." A something indeed which is recognisable in ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AXD USES. 105 the sound of the voice may have heen left, but it will be little more than what may be observed in the expression of the features, which survives, after the features themselves have undergone a shade of alteration at every stage of life. It is no doubt this invariable sameness in the sound of bells, which gives them their chief value for general usefulness. There is, however, a mystery connected with this fact, which we have never been able to clear up. We cannot imagine how it happens, that bells made for particular purposes, but, as must be the case> at a thousand different places, are always so like each other in tone. The Railway bells on the Great Western are just like those on the North Midland — every dustman's bell used to ring in the same key, whether it was purchased in Ox- ford-street or the ISIinories — the muffin bell of Queen-square was the same as that of Pimlico — each class of bells has always maintained its own characteristic peculiarity, which the mode of ringing alone will not account for or explain. Tliis marked distinction is very important in large establishments, such as inns, where waiter, boots, chambermjiid, &;c., have certain bells to answer, in their respective departments. " Com- ing, Sir," says the busy waiter, who never does 100 THE bell: come so soon as he ought, in I'eply to his bell ; and when the chambermaid's summons is rung, she is sure in course of time to appear with a piece of soap, which will no more lather than a pebble, and a towel too small and thin to diy more than half a face. Boots, again, knoweth his bell afar oflF. A ridiculous instance of the familiarity with which these various summonses impress them- selves on the mind, in connexion with the duties generally attached to them, occurred to ourselves not many years ago. We were in London for a night, and determined to sleep at the inn where the coach deposited us. It was the Golden Cross, Charing Cross. We did not return from the place at which we had spent our evening until after midnight. The inmates of the hotel had gone to bed. A small jet of gas burnt bluely in the deserted coffee-room — the chamber- maid brought us a candle, and we desired the presence of boots. His bell was accordingly rung, and a sleepy sable-looking individual ap- peared. Without closely scanning the man, we asked for boot-jack and slippers: when, to our great amusement, he "clutched" — not the "air- drawn dagger," but first from under one arm, and then from under the other, what he con- ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 107 ceived were the articles we wanted. Our loud laugh aicohe him — for in the interim we per- ceived that he had heen fast asleep all the wliile he had been going through his imaginary duties. We might prolong, ad injinituin, our notices of different bells, with their respective gay or grave associations ; and well we might enlarge, for instance, on the race bell* which sets ten thousand hearts leaping, or on the bell of New- gate, answered by the dreadful tollings ft'om St. Sepulchre's steeple at eight o'clock, to announce the brutalizing exhibition of legahzed man- slaughter, in days when the sliecp-stealer and forger were hanged. But we forbear, and shall only dwell, in concluding our subject, on one whose tones have often rung with grating harsh- ness on our ear, and which is never heard by us without a sigh and a blush for the means by which energetic England struggles to become the " workshop of the world." Before the lines of railway were completed, the traveller often suffered more inconvenience, anxiety, and fatigue, than when having hardened his heart to the endurance of a long journey by • We believe that formerly a silver bell was the prize run for at races — Leiu-e the expression, " bearing awiiy the bell.'' The prize is now a gold or silver cup. In fact, the bell turned upwards, aud appealing to the mouth instead of the ear. 108 THE BELL: coach, he resigned himself to the snailsfoot con- duct of that now obsolete vehicle. Some of our readers must be old enough to remember when the Birmingham " rails" broke off atDenby Hall, and some dangerous-looldng, over-loaded coaches carried them forward to Weedon. They can recall, too, what troubles, detentions, and fears for person and luggage, pursued them until they reached Birmingham. And there how they were greeted by a cold, half-fnrnished refreshment- room : and what a tedious waiting there was for influxes of passengers from all quarters, until the Manchester train started — and how at last they were landed a grumbling company at the em- porium of British commerce, each exclaiming to his neighbour, that " as little time and less trouble would have brought them thither by coach." About nine winters ago it was our luckless fate to be called from London to the North of Yorkshire, through all the wearisome steps of progress just narrated. Cold, wet in the feet, and cheerless from solitude, we found ourselves at Manchester in one of those monstrous inns, now common in the country, which seem capable of accommodating for a night any number of tlie houseless, which confluent hues of railway hap- ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 109 pen to bring within their walls. A short toilet — a shorter dinner, with still shorter pint of bad wine — and a long pore over the newspaper^ whiled away the evening ; and after tea with its muffin we ascended a little before twelve o'clock the interminable flight of stairs which led to our dormitory. " Be sure to call me at half-past four," was our melancholy order to the chamber- maid ; for alas ! for one who is habitually awake to hear " The midnigbt bell, Sound out unto the drowsy race of night," five was the hour at which the Leeds coach "put to." Header, thy experience, for thou art not the Duke of Wellington, must have taught thee what it is to have only a short time for rest allowed, and to feel at the same time that thou canst not " lock up thy senses" at will. The room is strange, and curiosity awakens : the sheets are not white and pure as those of Dandie Dinmont, nor so lately pressed by the mangle, as by the corporal warmth of whom thou wottcst not. Thy dressing gown is therefore drawn forth and en- velopes thee, when, with a sort of shudder, thou creepest betwixt the blankets. Thine eyes are closed, but thy thoughts are broad awake : doors L 110 THE BELL : are violently shut ; creaking shoes trample the passage at intervals outside: coaches and wagons now and then arrive : voices in the house and street are audible : a furious rattling of wheels passes along the causeway, as of an engine on its rapid journey. Thou thinkest of the possi- bility of a fire in the enormous labyrinthine building in which thou art " cribbed" — but there is silence abroad again — the engine at least was not for the house in which thou art lying: and, whilst thou art speculating on the unlikelihood of two fires in one night, and enduring a mental contest betwixt coming slumber and a dread of not awaking in time, a numbness gradually over- powers every sense, and the chains of Morpheus bind thee. A more bitterly cold morning than that on which we left Manchester, the climate of England has seldom produced. Defended by eveiy pos- sible wrapper we took our seat on the box of the Leeds coach soon after five o'clock. The horses looked starved and spiritless as they stood in their rugs — the ostler for once in his life appeared in an old white great coat — the coachman grum- bled at the scarcity of passengers and intensity of the frost — and we finally started at a very limping pace, our own face being buried nose- ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. Ill deep in a well- aired comforter. Manchester did not strike us as being a very well lighted town, at least it did not appear to be so on the present grim morning ; and when we reached its environs on our way to Oldham, a straight paved street of some miles in length, and most feebly illuminated, lay before us. If before we started the sky seemed doubtful whether it would rain or snow, it had now decided in favour of a sort of compromise : for a north-easterly wind began to dash against our face a sharp sleet, and the whole aspect of the weather displayed the most rigorous severity. It was only half- past five o'clock when the clanking factory bells became more or less audible on every side of us ; and on the pavements of the long street in which the coach slowly travelled, be- gan to appear the youthful victims of the jenny and the loom. Was the slumber of the opulent mill -owner refreshing, were his dreams placid on his couch of down, whilst under the walls even of his own mansion and of the many houses of which he was the envied proprietor, these infant builders of his fortunes crept shiver- ing to their daily over-measured tank ? Chil- dren in years, but with premature and already half-faded womanhood, we saw them in sad 112 THE BELL : procession pass along. No parent accompanied them on their dark, cold walk — no clotliirig had they, to shelter them from the inclement season, but the accustomed shawl pulled over the head — but there were earrings and necklaces to indi- cate that folly and vice had gone hand in hand with their misery and pains. There were small, comfortable, brick houses in gai'dens by which these girls passed, some of the upper windows of which reflected the warm fire which had been kept blazing through that piercing night, or the more subdued light of the cheering taper. What a contrast, if, with us, they noticed these signs of comfort and rest ! We heard the deep cough of consumption from some, proclaiming disease of the body ; we observed the low jest- ing of others, showing impurity of the soul : and all we witnessed in that spectacle assured us that trade, despite its copiousness of inven- tion, skill in execution, enterprising energy, and magnificent results, does not in all respects ad- vance the ameUoration of our species. Tempted by its facilities for the accumulation of "filthy lucre," we here belield man forgetting his hu- manity, and drawing from woman's exhaustion the means of his strength. We saw the being who is given by God to be man's solace and ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. IL'i comfort, pass nndcr the Juggernaut car of Mammon — in fact, the idol of life unnaturally converted into the victim and sacrifice, at an age when very pity should have averted such a ffUe. Thrice honoured amongst his fellows he the millowner, who in employing children, re- members that they have " organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions," like his own ofl- spring. It is the common cant of the day to hold up a soldier as the incarnation of evil — his profession as the most brutalizing of all employments, liisten, reader, in charity, to the sequel of our journey. Daylight broke, and a fine morning spread over the heavens — the earth heneatli re- maining hard and slippery as fi'ost could make it. When the horses were changed at the different stages, those which were taken out had coats as rough and innocent of all sweat as the harnessed tremblers which waited to succeed tliem ; and for the passengers no wrapper seemed to be any pro- tection from the piercing cold which continued to prevail. In climbing a hill in some high moorland country called Standedge, the coach overtook a large broad- wheel covered wagon, in the back of which, half-buried in straw, sat a voung woman with her infant, and after them L 2 114 THE BELL : walked a soldier in undi'ess unifoiin. "Can you take the young woman to Leeds, coachman ?" asked the soldier. The coachman assented, a small fare was paid, and with her bahy and bundle, the motliertook her seat behind the box. " Take care of the bairn, lassie, and I'll soon be with ye," were her husband's parting words, and w-e were soon out of sight of the wagon. Of the remainder of the journey, we have only to add, that the new passenger being yerj imperfectly clad, though she modestly denied feeUng cold, we did all we could to protect her and the infant by drawing the tarpauling of the coach over them ; and at Huddersfield we procured for her some waim refreshment, when she paid the fondest attentions to her fine, healthy-looking child. At Leeds, the coach entered the accustomed inn yard, when the soldier's wife gave her child to some one on the ground, while she prepared to alight ; but with a shriek, she almost/^// from the coach after her treasure, which she caught and hid in her bosom — for the child was f/cad fi'om cold I We perceived, indeed, in the moment that it was absent from her arms, that its eyes were closed, that a blue pallor was round the mouth, and that a light vapour came from its body and hung for a moment in the frosty air. ITS ORIGIN. HISTORY. AND USES. 110 but we knew not this was the last exhaling waimth of life. " Ring the bell," said the coach- man with a voice somewhat choked by emotion at the painful scene. The yard bell sounded, and a cab drove up, in which the mother bore oflF her child's corpse to wait her husband's arrival. We know that qu^urels and fightings are one day altogether to cease, but in our judgment the factory bell will never silence the war trumpet ; and conti'asting the amiable chivalry of the rough soldier with the iniliflerence of the millionaire, who sleeps in his bed whilst a thousand fa- mished children huriy to his factory, we say with Shakspere. " look here upon this picture, and on tliis ! " and who shall say wliich bosom holds the harder heart ? To us all the busthng indications of manu- facturing energy are habitually familiar ; and alas I how wearisome have they often seemed to us. The tall chimney vomidng fonh its clouds of dingiest smoke — the incessant strokes of (he unrelenting steam-engine — the densely popu- lated houses, which are themselves so closely packed — the streets crowded by noisy carts bearing goods to the cimal wharf or railway station, to be dispersed over all quarters of the slobe ; — and at the nulwav statioji it^, If tli. IIG THE BELL: concourse of persons assembled on the plat- form prepared to enter the many carriages which are being Hnked into a train ; whilst the little clattering bell of the electric telegraph in- timates the impatient conveyance of intelligence to distant localities, with almost the speed of thought, and with all the accuracy of verbal diction. Right well do we know all these things — these symptoms of the restless strife of men for "the gold that perishetli ;" — and we have often turned from them for mental re- freshment to that oasis of the wilderness, that spot of sylvan seclusion, the most remarkable perhaps that is to be found in the vicinity of any large manufacturing town, — where of old the Dragon of Wantley performed liis gambols, and Sir Thomas Wortley, more than three centuries ago, built a Lodge and retired to it fi'om courts and crowds, " for his pleasure to hear the hart's bell." And, musing there on themes of endless speculation, w^e have felt how desirable for the worn body and weary spirit of the artizan is the opportunity of raral recreation, if health is to be preserved and a kindly spirit fostered in one whose life is con- stantly becoming more and more artificial, and who is being more and more abstracted from ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND USES. 117 the purpose of his Maker, even tliat he should " till the ground from whence he was taken." Reader, farewell ! our task is ended ; and we have some compunction at having employed so much time over so airy a subject as the Bell. If thou art disposed to reproach us for having robbed better things of thy attention, perhaps thou wilt retort on us the tliief s address to the bell in the anecdote which we will now tell thee. A man broke into a small church in Scotland, with the sacrilegious intention of stealing the communion plate. Hearing steps outside the building, and expecting that he should be discovered, he hur- ried to the end of the church, where seeing a long rope depending to the gi'ound, he laid hold of it for the purpose of climbing out of sight. But it proved to be the bell rope, and liis weight rang the bell which attracted his pursuers imme- diately to the spot. The man, of course, was caught, and thus wittily addressed the unconscious cause of his detection — " If it had not been for thy long tongue and empty head, T should not have been in my present predicament." Rlader, Farewell ! Printed by J. C. PlaTT, Sheffield. > ^ li i Ill III I II II III III 3 1158 01210 0706 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 001 211 361 9 ■iltHHife