Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1875-02-10
The CurCeW IscII.

Many have heard of the ''curfev
hell" but not all its origin. Its history
iii England runs back to the time of
William the Conqueror, who ordered
a bell to be rung about shutdown in
summer, and eight o'clock in the eve
ming IN winter, at which time fire
lights were to be put out and the PEG.
pie to remain within doors, and penal
ties were imposed upon those who ne
elected or refused to comply with the
law. This was called the "curfew" a
word derived from the French couvre.
ttu, cover fire, and so the appropriate
ness Of the name is readily seen. The
old king has been generally charged
with instituting this custom in order
to impress upon his subjects q sense
Of abjcct condition but as the Sour
few bell was rung in France long be.
fore Williams time, as safeguard a
gainst fires, it is not improbable that
he brought the custom with him into
England from the continent, and that
he has been slandered as to his mo-
tives. At any rate, he has sins enough
sins to an swer for without this.
In the sixteenth century "bellmen"
were added to the night watch in Lon
don. They went drought the st's ringing
their bells, and crying, "Take care of
fire and candle be kind to the poor,
and pray for the dead" 1t was the
bellmans duty, also, to bless the sleep
crs as he passed their doors. In al |
Pcnseroso" Milton refers to this Gus
tom:
1.-The bellman's drowsy charms,
TO bless the doors from nightly HARM"
Poets have often referred to the cur
few, Or cover fire bell Gray begins his
beautiful "Elegy" with
"The curfew toll the knell of parting day."
Longtellow, too has pretty little
poem telling the story Of this bell
with charming simplicity:
"Solemnly, mournfully dealing its dole,
The curfew bell is beginning to toll.
Cover the ember, put out the light,
Toll comes with the morning, and rest with
the night.
Dark grow the windows, and quenched is the
fire,
Sound fades into silence all footsteps retire.
No voice in the chamber, no sound in the hall,
Sleep and oblivion reign over all"
King William died, and the origi-
nal obligations af the curtew were at
last removed about the time of Henry !
l., in 100 bnt the custom of ringing
an evening bell is still kept up in Eng {
land, with variations as to the hour. {
The ''ninc o'clock bell"-familiar to {
most New England people-which !
sends 50 many young people home and t
to bed, and which, in the early history {
Of our country, was almost as rigidly t
obeyed by all, both old and young, as :
the old curtew, traces its origin almost 1
directly to the cover-fre bell. In 8
Longfellows "Eyangelne" the Gus ,
tom is we'll defined: ,
canon the bell from the bslfry '
Rang out the hour of nne-the vi llage curfew i
and straightway
Rose the guests and departed and silence
reigned in the household"
But now the customs have changed;
and though the bell still rings out on !
the evening air, in country village and
city street, it has lost its powers, save
as as tell tale Of passing time. Let
the old bells ring on we love the sound
or, in the words of Moore:
Those evening bells! those evening bells
How many tale their music tells,
OF youth, and home, and that sweet time
When last heard their soothing chime !"
----------------------------
Colonel Ethan Allen of Reyolu-