The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 18??-1882, 1881-09-16

At the present time the countr;
most celebrated for its large and var.
led collection Of bells. in addition to
its other interesting associations. is
Be]gium--a fact realized by cOmpar-
atively few tourists when they Com.
mence to investigate its queer old
towns. But if the subject is once
studied, the pleasure to be derived
from a sojourii here is greatly enhanc-
ed. This land of bells Is famous fcr;its
oell-founders, particularly those Uf the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
when Van den Gheyns, HemOny, and
Dumery lived. OF these three He.
mony attained the greatest eniinence,
constructing, amongst numerous other
works, the Mechlin chimes and the
greater number of the Antwerp bells.
rhe cathedral at Antwerp contains
siXty-iive bells, besides the carlton
and five other bells of great antiquity !;
of these latter the two principal ones
are the curfew. and the carOlus, given
by Charles ", which Is only rung
twice In the year. and requires sixteen
men TO pull 1t. This bell was exceed
ingly costly, being composed of silver,
copper, and gold, and is valued at the
SUM OF 100000; the action of the clap
per has worn away the sides good
deal. Dumery was the founder of the
Bruges carlton, which consists of for
ty bells and one large dourdon.
Looking over the Belgian plains from
the beltry of Notre Dame at Antwerp
(tbe spire of which is 403 feet high from
the foot of the tOwer). magnificent
panoramic view is obtained; no less
than I26 steeples can be counted, inclu-
ding Mechlin Cathedral and st. Gudule
at Brussels, and from these belfries
carillons are waited on the air, play
ing Operatic and other melodies, mark
ing the hours as they pass in music
al manner. it squite mistake to
suppose that bells rung every seven
minutes is an interruption: their con-
slant recurrence is found 10 give life
and vivacity to these quaint old cities,
besides penetrating into the country
for miles around and IL is wonderful,
after residence here, how the falnil-
lar muse Ia missed when no longer
heard.
The, geographical, aspect of Belgium
is well adapted for the transmission
of carillons, as it has been found that
the penetrating sound of bells is much
increased by being rur,g in a plain or
valley, especially a water valley. The
belfry at Tournay which rocks when
the weather is stormy I'm u very Omin-
Gus manner, contains forty bells. A
light is always kept burning after dark
in the highest gallery, and if a fire
breaks out. tho tOcSin Is sounded by
the watchlnan, who is there night and
day. The construction of the 'tambOur
carlton, which produces such charm
ing music, is exactly similar in princi.
pie to n musical box. It consists Of
barrel with u number of little spikes
on 1t, each of which lifts q tongue,
which pulls wire. and raises u ham,
mer that strikes the required note on
bell. In the last century the clave-
Gin. or keyboard, was used, and the
carilloneurs used to perform on this.
One of the most celebrated of these
players was Van den Gheyns, who use
ed to perform quite elaborate pieces of
music on the bell.
The reason that 50 many belfries
have been erected in Belgium is doubt
less owing to the incessant civil wars
that used to ravage the country. 1t was
on this account that fortifying towns
like Client and Burgess, the frst thing
to be done was to build the tower, and
the second to put up the bells, In order
to have tho means of calling the peO-
pie together whenever an outbreak oc-
Cured. According to this arrange
ment. 1t frequently happened that the
bells were the property of the town,
whilst the tower belonged to the ca.
thedral chapter. These belfries are ex.
tensively decorated with the names of
the tourists visiting them, at Strasburg
the signature of Goeth and Klopstock
are shown with pride. 1t seems an ex
traordinary thing that I'm this,as well as
in other cathedrals, there is no better
mechanical appliances used for swing
bells than the wheel, with . rope over
it. which is precisely the plan employ
ed by the Chinese more than thous-
and years ago.