Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1857-11-28
mtsfeIldntous.
From n Lecture IN Bells, by A. W. Thsyer.
a CHAPTER ON BELLS.

OIL. AAAs ON GhAp
One OF my FIRST observations in Bonn was that
TIE bells upOi the tower OF the old cathedral, where
Tor more than "a thousand years, tue mass had been
regularly celebrated are not rang as with us-that
~, thrown into u perpendicular position ard there
balanced -bus simply swung from side to side, as,
when an alarm Is rung in our steeples. The ropes
oil, these bells hang d3Sn the ceiling into the body
OF the edi6ce, and 1t used to afford me much amuse-
menrwheu the hour Of high mass approached, 30
sec the janitor and his assistants clutch them and
In the midst Of thecongrcgation, tug away us for
dear life, TO make n noise in the world by the loom
ing and CHATTER, 1.-THE wrangling and jangling OF
the bells. | found this mode Of ringing general
wherever | have been ON the continent Of Europe.
In England il is otherwise. Bells are there hung
with yoke and wheel-a fashion we have followed
and wher several bells are placed in the same
tower, they are carefully tuned to each other
which is not often tue case in musical Germany
"A set OF bells thus tuned tn eac b other is called n
'peal Of hells". Thus we say n peal Of hve", a
peal OF six, or of whatever number. The phrase
a "chime of bells, though in very common use,
is inc, rect. The term chime seems to be proper
ly fused oily in relation to the music made upon n
poal of bells, by the striking of hammers moved
by machinery, or by striking the members OF
the peal without setting them. The term peal
has two signiications that just given. and ore
Implying all the changes which can be rnng upon
appeal of bells III regular and rapid succession a
great number Of times. but without in any case re
peating the order in which they have followed each
other. The i'm possibility of producing any true
musical effect upon so small IL number as six or
eight hells-the number of notes in such n case
not being sufficient to allow of harnonics, or any
other than the FIN plest melodies OF very limited
r%angc--is probably unc great cause that, in Eng
lind, bell-ringing is confined almost entirely to the
ringing of changes. There is hardly anything
iuore monotonous and wearying to II musical ear
than to hear an old choral, confined within the
ompass of an octave or less, ammere slowly out
every time the clock strikes, from one years end
TO another while the ringing of well-arranged
changes two or three times daily becomes connect
cd with most delightful associations, as we see in
the whole body Of English poetry.
At first though, it might seem as if these chang.
es would snou lie exhausted but apply the simple
rule OF Formulation to the matter, aud a moments
reflection will show that there is little danger Of
this. For instance, with n peal oil three bells You
can change thus q 3;l.3.2 :, 1928, l;3 1921,
giving six changes. TO four bells are tweuty-Iour
changes to five, one hundred and twenty. In
England each peal has its name. The hundred
and twenty changes which form the peal upon n
peal of five bells. is CALLED a Grandsire. The Plain
Bob, or Grandsire hob, or Single Bob minor, i'm
plies the ringing Of the seven hundred and twenty
changes on a peal Of SIX bells. The f7o thousand
and forty changes Of seven bells, is the Grandsire
Triple, In Homes Table. Book, an Inscription cop.
led in an iun ut Bromley, records the ringing of
this peal in three hours and six minutes by a com
paDy of ringers in that town, as o grea. feat--such
indeed il was. /
A full peal upon eight bells is a Bob major; on
nine, il il called Eaters on ten, Bob royal on
eleven, U~lnques on twelve, TwelSe-in, or Bob
Maximus. The number of changes in this last, the
Bob Maximus. reaches the satisfactory number of
479, 00l 600. Suppose the twelve ringers strike
ten changes to the minute, that ia, each man two
strokes per second, and that they ring without in
terruption to eat, drink, er rest, day and highland
md they will finish their peal in ninety-one years.
Add two bells to the number, and at the same rate
the fourteen ringers will close their peal ut the
end of some l6 1915 years, Make the number
twenty.four, and the peal will at the same rate las;
one hundred and seventeen thousand million years.
Nome of os will probably live to hear this peal rung.
Without attem pting, upon a peal OF an octave of
bells, to play regular melodies, it is clear that tia
charming succession of tones is, to all intents and
purposes, endless.
, But, as the tones Of bells are compound, (that is
each tone accompanied by its h2rmoaies) the sim.
s pie striking OF the successive notes of the musical
.dlatonic scale. up and down produces a very sweet
and beautiful effect and one involuntarily attaches
words to them. Eve hundred years ago Bowbells
in London were but six in number, and the run
away apprentice heard them distinctly calling, as
the scale assembled,
Turn again, Wilmington"