The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1881-08-05
About Bells.

which he wore upon his ephod. There
is another picture of David playing,
with hammer in each hand, upon five
bells, suspended before him but it is
hardly to be presumed that the paint.
ing was taken from life. The early
Christian missionaries in ireland were
accustomed to carry a bell with them,
in order to summon the inhabitants tC
worship that which belonged to St.
Gall being still preserved in Switzer.
land, while st. Patrick's is exhibited tc
this day in Belfast. Church-bells were
introduced into England in the Sixth
century, where they have continued tc
make much noise ever since. Nearly a
thousand years ago names were given
to bells, and the "OId Tom" of Oxford
is historical.
The Americans have their Liberty
Bell" which, after having, in 1776, pro.
claimed to the land that the United
States were free and Independent, now
rests, cracked and voiceless, in the Hal
of Independence in Philadelphia.
In one of the towers of old Moscow
there were not less than thirty-seven-
one of which was so large that it re.
quhed twenty-four men to pull the
clapper, the bell itself being immova
bic. A traveller says: "The large bell
near the cathedral is only used upon
important occasions and when il
sounds, deep hollow murmur vibrates
all over Moscow, like the fullest tones
of vast organ, or the rolling of dis
tant thunder. 1t is forty feet nine
inches i'll circumference, and weighs
more than tifty-seven TONS" What is
known as "the great bell of Moscow"
the largest ever made, still stands
where it was originally cast. 1t has
been consecrated as a chapel, and a
door opened where a piece of the bell
was broken out by throwing water upon
it when heated by fire. The size of the
room is twenty-five feet in diameter,
and more than twenty.one feet in
height.
The Chinese are also we'll off for bells.
There are seven in the city of Pekin,
each of which weighs one hundred and
twenty thousand pounds. In former
times the hand bells that stood upon
the table, often made of silver, and
beautifully chased, answered all the
of the household. The hang
ing of bells in private houses, and the
door-bell, are of comparatively modern
date. The knocker was in use as long
ago as the time of Alexander Pope, as
appears from the lines
"Shut, shut tho door, good John, fatigued. /
said
Tie up the lnockcr, say I'm sick, I'm dead. y
On the doors of some houses may
still be seen the marks of what was
called "the rasp," piece of iron placed
perpendicularly and fastened at both
ends, with the inner side roughly SER
rated or notched, and two or three
heavy rings attached, which were rat
tied up and down by one who wished
This must have been a
little worse than a knocker.
The curfew-bell was rung all over
Europe at eight o'clock in the evening
as the signal for covering up the fire,
as the word curfew-cover fire -indi-
Gates. In Roman Catholic countries
the passing bell is a summons to offer
a prayer for liberated spirit.
1t is in the depths Of the country,
when the notes of the village bell come
floating over the sweet fields and ming
ling with the soft music of the trees and
the ripple of the brook, that the sound
is most molodious. The thunder of the
great cathedral peal is grand the elab'
crate chimes Of Antwerp and Bruges are
beautiful, but the music of the solitary
village bell,
calling at intervals upon the ear in cadence
sweet
fills the soul with calmer devotion.
The toll of the fog-bell, as it comes
palpitating out of the darkness, when
nothing can be seen beyond the deck OF
the ship, may be cheering to the pilot
who relies upon its tones to guide him
through the gloom, but it is anything
but enlivening to others.
There is one bell whose sound is moi
to be resisted. 1t may come at any
hour-when we are most absorbed in
work, or partaking Of our frugal meal,
or resting from our foils, or chatting
pleasantly with our friends. Anybody
can give utterance to that sound by
our own act We have furnished facilities
for the intrusion of that sound, and put
temptation in others way. Need We
say that it is the door-bell.
Ease is the last thing in the world fol
n Christian to long for. But it is quite
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