Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1890-12-25
LEGENDS OF THE BELLS
The Warnings and Messages The,
10 Ring Out

The Warnings and Messages They ar. SAT,
10 Ring Out
One OF the most interesting leoand,;
that relating TO the Silent Tower If D.. -
treaux. In days long ago the inhab:t ~
OF the parish of Forrabury determines -
have peal Of bells which should rivoi
those OF the neighboring church -
lintogel which are said to have runo MAJ
rily II the marriage and tolled solemnIva =,
| the deash of Arthur. The bells were cas-
they were blest and shipped for Forrabnrv'
All went well. The voyage was favorahIa
| the ship glided with a fair wind slon" ne
northern shores of Cornwall. and wss;t tng
| for the tide to carry her safely into -,
harbor of Bottreaux The vesper hsis
rang out at Tintoge. and when the n;lot
heard them ne lent his knee. and tbankaJ
| God for the safe and quick VOYAGE tbat
that they had made. The captain laughed
MIN TO scorn, saying that they had onlv
| themselves to thank for their speedy WOW.
age, and with his arm in the helm. and
his judgment to guide them, they would
soon have a happy landing. The pilot
checked his profane speich, but the
lmpIous captain Swore more profanely
still that all was due to himself MAY
God forgive you, was the pilots reply.
While yet the captain oath was heard
while yet the inhabitants on the cliffs ex-
pecting to see the vessel charged with
their bells safe in their harbor. onward
came in all the terror of It's pos and
mightiness, one of those huge waves
which are not unknown on the northern
shores of Cornwall The ship rose not
upon the waters as it camp onward She
was overwhelmed, and sank in an instant
close to the land. LAS the vessel sank the
bells were heard tolling with muffled
sound. as if ringing the death knen of the
ship and sailors, of whom the good pilot
alone escaped with life. When storms
are coming-and only .hen-the bells of
Forrabury, with the dull-mufHed sound
are heard from beneath the sea. a warning
to the wicked; but the tower has remained
to this day silent.
Many superstitions were attached to
bell belonging to the chapel of ST. Fillan;
they were made known by the minister Of
KILN parish, Perthshire. in 177S, at
which time it appears the ideas mention
ed had not wholly died away The bell
was usually laid on grave stone in the
church yard. Insane people were brought
to it to be cured. They were first dipped
with certain ceremonies into the Saint
Pool. The bell was placed in the chapel
where it remained, bound with ropes, all
night. Next day it was placed upon the
heads of the lunatIcs with great solemnity
but with what results is not made known
1t was the popular opinion that if stolen,
this bell would extricate itself from the
hands of the thief and return home, ring
ing all the way.
Most learned writers on bell lore tell
the story of the Raleigh bells, or rather of
those in a village near Raleigh, which
many years ago was swallowed up by an
earthquake. As lately as tine year 1872
it was the custom of the people to assem-
bic Christmas day in the Valley caused by
the earthquake, where they declared that
by placing the ear to the ground and
listening attentively they could hear the
ringing of the buried bells The villagers
really heard the ringing of the bells of a
neighboring church.
With the sound of bells and peals of
bells a Likeness, to certain words and
phrases has fallen on the ear. The fol-
lowing are examples of the fancy; There
is saying that the Burton bells used to
call across the Trent to Lincolnshire,
-.lA --A-t 2 ~ -
which Luddington replied, 1--WE two, we
two!" The bells of North Thoresby and
Of another adjacent village with three
bells each are supposed to ask each other,
who rings best? Who rings best?' to
which the bells of another place reply,
1--WE do. we dol And we are all more or
less familiar with the old rhymes begin
ming:
Pancakes and fritters
Say the bells of st. Peters.
In Chambers Book of Days we find the
well known story of the sentinel whose
life was saved by the incorrect striking OF
st. Paul's clock, J. H., who died June
Is, 1910, at the age of l02, was, when d
soldier, in the time of William and Mary.
tried by a court-martial for having fallen
asleep when on duty upon the terrace at
Windsor. He denied the charge, declar-
ing as proof that he heard ST. Paul s.
clock strike thirteen Fortunately several
persons had heard it also, and the man s
life was saved The bell that struck on
this important occasion was Tom, OF
Westminster, and it is suggested that
such thing might have happened
through stiffness or some mechanical OBJ
stacleS. The truth of the story has been
doubted, many persons belleVlnS tnat o.
Paul's clock could not be heard at Wind
sor, but Sir Edward Beckert thinks 1t
might have been heard and gives instances
in confirmation of his opinion, adding
that nobody has yet solved the problem
why wind which you can hardly feel
will make the difference of your hearing
bells half mile or ten miles, according Us
the wind is with you or against.
Something for the New Year.
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