Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1871-05-04
THE CURFEW BELL.

Many have heard Of the "curfcw bell "
but not all know its origin. Its history
in England runs back to the time If vii
iianI the tonqucror, who ordered bell
20 be ruDg about sundown in summer
and ut eight o'clock in the evening in win
ter. at which time fire and lights were To
be put out, and the people to remain with
IN doors. and penalties were imposed upon
those Who eglcctrd or refused to comply
with tie law. This was called the eur
few, 4 word derived from the French
c""rrtt'", cover FIRE, and 50 the appro-
r,rt1t"nt~> of the name is readily seem
The Old kim has been generally charged
with in>titgting this custom in order To
impress upon lis subjects s"use Of thor
ablcct condition: lu', a. the "curiow
h,ll' was ruar in France long before VII
liam : fine a = safeguard ayuin~t fires.
it i, not improbable thet he brought the
custom with hirl into Englanl FROM The
continent. and tha. he has been Sian Tered
as to his motives At any rate, he has
rms enough - answer for without this
In the sixteenth century, "lcll-mcr"
were added ~ he ni,h; wntcl in London
They went through the streets ringing
their bells, and CRYING. Take care Of trr
and candle be- kind to the poor. AMI pray
for the dead" |, was tn bcllman's duty.
also. TO bless the >lcepcrs as he passed
their doors. In II peascroso," Milton
refers to this custom:
ssThe hcIi-man' drowsy charm.
To bless the doors from nightly harm"
Poets have often referred to the curftw.
or c"vrr-tirc. he'll Gray begins hi, beau
titul "Elrgy" with
The curtrw tolls the hucll of parting day"
Loncitllow. too. has pretty little poem
telling the story of this bell with charmin:
simplicity:
''S"lcmn'v mournfhlN, dealing its dole
The curi+M bell is s"y inning to toll.
Cover the crnl,.rs, pvt ont th,. light:
Toll comc- tth the morning. and rr,t " it'll the
night
Dark grow Tie windows, and qucn,hcl is tie
tire:
Sound fades into silence, All footsteps retire.
>o ,oi,r in tn ,is,ra, rs no <onui in the hall:
sic-p and Oblivion reign over MI.
King William died. and the original
ohligat:"ns Of the curftw were mt last re-
moved about the time Of Henry | in loo:
but the custom of ringing an evening bell
Is still kept up in England, with varia-
tons as In the hour. The ''ninc o'clock
hclr'--fnmiliar to most New England pco-
ple-which sends 50 many yonng people
home and to bed, and which, in the early
history of our country. was almost rs rig
iilv obcyed by all. both old and young
as the old curfcw, traces its origin direct
" 10 the cover fire bell In Longscllow'
Evangeiinc,' The custom is well desert
bed
Anon the trii from the teirv
Rang out the hour ut ntne-Ihc village curfcw
and ,traigh;way
Rose the guests and departed and silence nj n
al n The household
But now the customs have changed :
AMI though the bell still rings out on the
evening air. in country village and city
street. it has lost its power. save as a tell
tale Of passing time Let the old bells
ring on: we love their sound; or, in the
words Of Moore
Those evening bells those evening bells
How m,aN tale their music tells
IL NpGta AMI home, ana ihal cot tiwc
Nh,n last hc.rl their soothing chime ~