The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-07-18
European Correspondence of the Butietin.I
BERLIN June % 1S75

little episode here in which great bell playe
the leading role, and which, from the circun
stances of the case, is of particular interest," a
the bell in question, cast of cannon taken il
battle and presented to a cathedral by tn
Emperor, is of itself an object of no little in
terest, and its presentation to religious in
stitution by the victorious monarch can no
fail to find conspicuous mention in the history
of these eventful times. This bell, known as
the KaisergLoche, emperor bel), Is made Of
the brass of some twenty cannon captured
from the French during the last great war,
and is destined to swing from one OF the
towers of the Cologne Cathedral
1t was completed some weeks ago, and after
the Emperor had made trip across the coun-
try to see it, was launched upon the Rhine
in a special vessel, which was to carry it in
solemn state down to the ancient city in
which its future resting place is to be. We
read in the papers how this barge with its
precious freight foated slowly down the clas-
sic river, like the one of which Tennyson tells
us, upon which rested the iower-strewn bier
that bore the form of the "Lily, Maid of
Astolat," or to use figure more familiar to
the American mind, like one Of our corn
laden Mississippi hatboats, halting at all the
principal towns along the route. in order to
give the populace an opportunity to feast their
ewes upon the wonderful instrument, but.
shame to say, at the rate of five groschen a
head. Could anything be more contemplate?
A gigantic bell, cast of cannon taken in a
victorious war; present from the Emperor
of Germany to a grand cathedral, whose first
stone was laid five hundred years ago, and
which is not yet complete, so vast is its de-
sign, and the idea of making q sixpenny
show of it, like Cardiff giant or some living
deformity Icannot imagine how these people
could commit such breach of good taste, for
they are usually very intelligent and liberal
in their ideas.
So much for the first chapter in the history
of the bell-the chapter marked by its birth
from the fiery furnace of the bell foundar, its
christening in the presence OF the imperial
donor, its voyage do gn the historical, roman
tic and picturesque Rhine, its exhibition at
all the cities and To wns along the river banks,
and its final arrival in Cologne, where 1t will
finish out the first chapter, waiting for the
completion of the stately to wer destined for
its abode The second and subsequent
chapters of its history, lying as they do in the
dim mists of the future, can only be conjec
tured; but let US attempt to conjecture some
thing OF them, arriving at our conclusions by
such differences as We can draw from the ex-
periences of the past and the foreshadowing
Of the present
We need not prophesy, nor need our con-
illusions be regarded in the light of actual
forebodings, but, on the contrary, only fan
cies of the mind, something like the waking
dreams one may indulge in on twilight
evening, or may picture in the clouds OF cigar
smoke that ascend during an hour of reverie. |
Chapter second of this history will soon
be ushered in, perhaps, for when the great |
towers rise story higher, there will come a |
grand ceremony of conservation, and the |
huge sonorous monster of bronze will be |
hoisted alot to the airy height from which its
voice will Il oat out over the city and the valley |
of the winding Rhine, pealing opt the joyous
tidings of its elevation to all the people. To |
this will succeed a long how long, who can
say?-but a long period of peaceful monotony.
1t will hang dusty aud dark in its Gothic
spire, and day after day, or hour after hour,
the deep toned brass, whose first utterances,
instead of pealing forth the call to prayer the
flight of time, or the funeral knell, were toned |
to roar of battle and the thunder of death
dealing artillery, will speak in solemn, boom
ing tones to the people of the ancient city of
the eternity to come, and their duty to heaven.
This will continue year after year, through
winter SHOWS and summer suns, while spiders
will weave their webs about the mighty bell,
and in the recesses of its lonely chamber
swallows will build their nests upon the beams
overhead, and the generation who saw it land
from that barge on the Rhine may have
passed away and their children after them
before the beginning OF the third chapter we
are about to imagine and the story of how it
was cast and how donated will have ceased to
be talked about, save by wonder, seeking
travellers and the guides.
Then will come the dawning of a new day
perhaps. France, the brave, the proud and
unforgettipg, will have mustered again her
enthusiastic armies; will have recovered from
the cruel wounds she suffered, and have re-
gained the strength she lost in the hapless
cam paigu of 20 and II, and with the memo
ries of Jena and Austerlitz to nerve her for
the contest will rush again into the field,
burning to encounter the late victorious foe,
and to avenge the injuries she has received at
his hands. This is an almost inevitable result,
and one that can be easily foreseen. How
long it is off We cannot conjecture, but when
it does come the sturdy Teutons will need all
y
the shock, and unless they can make good |
their position the cities of Rhineland will read, l
in confagration and ruin, the lesson of terror
which beautiful Paris experienced during !
that period of distress when the shells of the !
Prussians descended in a continuous, blight
ing shower within her beleagured walls g
Then, perhaps, the towers of the great Ca
thedral in Cologne will tremble with the
booming of other thunder than that which Il
peals from the clouds, and the great bell in
its silent chamber will vibrate in response to /
those dread sounds of war, in which its mate :
rails as cannon had first taken part. The e
French, remembering the story of how the
trophies of war were melted down to cast this
mighty bell, will strain every nerve to get it
into their possession, and such people as
hey are, would think nothing Of concen- ,
rating an army around a city for the purpose :
Of capturing bell with such history.
Such is a waking dream of what the third
,hapter in the history of the bell may be, and p
,ne that is not without its chances of being
-ealized and IL may prove that this was aftar |