Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1888-09-06

about to be given TO open the gates, ia
beil-maker felt q press re OF his daughter
hand, her kiss upon his cheek, and turn
ing had barely time to catch glance oil
her ove-lit eyes as she sprang from the
balcony and vaniJhed among the golden
bubbles of the bell to o. Taking up
eweled slipper she had dropped from her
foot as she sprang to her death the old
man left the scene, caring but little now
whether the cas- ing succeeded or not; nay,
rather hoping that 1t would fail, and his
head, in cOnSe uence, fall In the sand IN
the morrow. epairing to his desolate
home, he wandered aimlessly TO the apart
ment lately oecup ed by his darling, and
To- on the desk lay letter solving the
mystery Of the devoted girls strange at.
1t to d in loving language Of her prayers
an vigils and now they had been finally
rewarded by the ap earance of nigh
spirit of the air, who sad 'IlnleSs there
is blood of one dear to your father wrought
with the metal he will fail and his life
will pay the forfeit" And so she gave
her life, as the Chinese chron cles have 1t,
that her father fame might be greater
than that Of all the bell-makers who ever
made bells In all he world. The sacrifice
succeeded, the great bell came out of the
mould perfect in form and tone, and in
deed, unto this day, it may be heard toll
ing in PeSin and as its sweet tones go
out over the city, the mothers tell their
Little ones at Is the voice OF the bell-mak-
er s daughter calling for her slipper.
Tee largest in the wo Id is said to he
the great bell at Moscow, while the sweet
est chimes are 10 be heard at Bruges, In
Belgium. Endless stor es might be tod
of buried bells, which toll at the dead
hour of n ght; of bells sunk at sea, VIII Sc
| tolling the perstltious sailor hears amid
the roaring of the storm; of bells that have
played important Uarts In the drama OF
history; of bells with strange histories,
well authenticated, and of others with
histories not so well proven. The vari-
Gus uses to which bells have been devoted
in all ages and countries, is curious to
note. They were the tocsins OF the festo
m )ngers of Athens, and they tinkled in
! the baths at Rome TO notify the bather
that his room was ready. The bell ofici-
ates at weddings, funerals, auctions, mar
kets, on railroad trains, ships and in fact
everywl ere where a noise of gladne or
woe Is TO be made or signal of warning
given. The devotee awaits the signal OF
the bell b. call him to prayer, and the
| hungry man, with more earnestness, gen.
era ly for the 81 nd of that tocsin of the
sOul-the dinner bell" The poets have
immortalized some bells. Father Prout
d d that for
| The bells of Shandon,
| That sound so grand on
| The pleasant waters OF the River Lee
And Longfellow for the BELLS of Lynn, y
whose sweet tones according TO the poet,
4 floating seward, caused tie very waves
to clap their hands with Joy AMI tumble
| unanimously towards the shore. one
| can almost hear the music and the clan9or
of the "bells, bells beHs' in Poe poem
so nearly do the words express the tones
| OF bells from the merry chimes of Christ
mas times to the solemn sound of The
mu ed funeral b,ll. The chimes Of
Christmas:
What aworld of merriment their melody for
| How they tiukle, tinkle, tilkle, tells
| In the icy air of night
| While the stars that overs sprinkle
| All the heavens seem TO twicale
| With a crystalline delight.
Though lei S are quite plentiful in this
country, chimes are comparatively scarce,
and New York city has but tire ull sets,
{ ose of Grace Trinity and St Thomas.
The only chimes to which any histori al
inte est attaches in the United States is
the set in he steeple of old Christ church,
rhil delphia, These bells were brought
from England, present from ueen Anne,
and have seen any ups and do n. The
first down they rad was during the revo-
luton, when the city was in danger of C.
ing ca tured by the enc y. They were
taken down by sore patriotic members,
who. fearing that they light all into tho
hands of the irish a be cast into can
non ball sank them in the Delaware.
| A terward they were fished out and taker
to Allentown and tored In the loft of an
| ld lutheran church, where they re ain.
ed until after the war. when they journey.
ed back to Phila clip ia and sought their
old belfry, fIom which they since have
ent forth their notes of gladness or OF
woe.