The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1872-02-10

| a hoax-in vain the police ordered the gaz-
ers to "move on 1T was at least a week
| before the excitement subsidized and the
general public convinced itself that the
whole thing was a deliberate sell. -
Indeed, for many weeks. thereafter scores
of people would every day make momen-
| tary halt, and turn their wistful gaze to
the top Of old Trinity, half expecting and
fully hoping to. see the enterprising gym
mast with his head on the cross and his
heels in the air taking all the chances of a
pulverization on the pavement below, for
the sake of the empty aerial honor of kick
ing his heels higher up in the clouds than
ever mortal man did get. But they never
saw him.
The "chime" at Trinity consists of nine
bells, each of which weighs several hun
dred pounds, and the largest of them even
running up into the thousands. This mus
/ ical range is an octave and quarter, and
of course no air whose notes cannot, by
the musicians ingenuity, be brought with
in the range of those nine notes can be
properly performed. The usual semi-tones
of the regular octave are of course pre-
served, but as the compass of the bells is
so narrow only the simpler melodies, and
those which have but little variation be-
tween the highest and the lowest notes,
can be played. No two bells are ever
struck together, and such thing as a
"chord ~ is unknown in Ginning. The
notes follow one after another, somewhat
like child trying to play tune on the
piano with one finger.
| Certain of the bells are connected with
the church clock, the largest one being that
whose deep, sonorious striking the hours
we all know so well; this is the highest of
all the nine, and, besides its regular duty
of striking the hours, it forms one of the
musical chime, and is ameuable to the
players hand by means of the same machin-
cry which works its smaller companions
The rest of the bells are much smaller,
and strike the "quarters of the hour
These all are, when required for playing
] regular music, disconnected from the clock
WORK as their duties to the player and
the clock would be very likely to seriously
conflict. 1t would seem hardly correct to
have Hail Columbia " broken in upon by
Nos. and striking up "quarter-past
nine," or to have "Mear" or cold Hun
dred - interrupted by Big Ben" booming
forth the interesting but irrelevant infor-
nation that it was twelve o'clock, and time
to close the bar
Five of the bells, the large one and the
four smaller ones which strike the "quar-
ters," were brought here from England in
the year 1876. Though for some time after
the bells were the pride and glory of the
city, it was soon noticed that they only
rang the same monotonous strain every
hour and the people desired something
more and better. 1t being impossible for
musician to accomplish anything with a
series of but five notes, it was resolved to
add the necessary bells to complete the
octave, and money was speedily raised for
the purpose. Then came the natural strife
as to where the additional bells should be
procured; one party, and strong one,
thought that they could not be made in
America at all; or, even if they could, it
was argued with no small show of reason,
that the men who had made the first five
bells wonld naturally be best qualified to
complete the chime; and these persons
insisted that the order should be sent to
the English makers. On the other hand,
there was a strong " Young America - fac
ton, who had made quiet inquiry of
Meneley & Son, of West Troy, a firm of
note even then, and having found that they
would confidently undertake the work for
a reasonable price, the Young Americans
espoused the cause of their countrymen
with such vigorous effect that the order
was sent to Troy. In due time the work
was finished and the bells sent down, when,
to the utter discontinue Of the English
party, who had said many nnkind things
and prophesied all sorts of evil, the new
work proved fully equal to the old, and the
American bells were pronounced by experts
quite as clear in sound and pure in musical
tone as were then made on the other side of
the ocean.
| A skilled ringer was sought, and found
| in the person of a man named Brown, an
excellent musician and a thorough master
of his art; he was at once installed, and
for thirteen years remained on his post,
making the chimes of old Trinity one of
the "lions" of the city, and from that
day to this they have been source of
! never-ceasing delight to all citizens and
! visitors to New York. At the end of
thirteen years Mr.. Brown died, having pre-
viously instructed MIR. James Ayliffe in the
| difficult art Of handling the chimes. Mr..
| Ayliffe was, before he undertook this task,
to his now work a capability and ease
of learning which none but musician
| could have. Constant application soon
gave the requisite facility of execution, so
| that at the lamented death of his teacher
Mr.. Ayliffe was qualified to take his posi-
ton. He has filled the place from that day
| to this most acceptably, and has for years
been acknowledged as the head of the
chime bell-players in the country.
Mr.. Aylife has for four months been
suffering severely from sickness, and sorry
| as we should be to have Grim Death carry
off the genial Scotchman, it would be at
least consolation to know that such an
ungracious act would not make dumb the
iron tongues of Trinity. For several years
| Mr.. Ayliffe has been teaching his nephew,
Mr.. William Thirwall, the mysteries of
managing the chimes, and we are assured
that when the present ringer gives up his
place most capable and worthy successor
is ready at hand.
The huge bells, though set on swinging
frames, are dashed so as to be firm and fast,
and but the iron tongues are movable, these
being swung from the center to one side,
by means of cord to each. The tongue
always strikes in precisely the same spot on
the lip of the bell, thus securing uniformity