St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-03-22
CAPTURED BY BONAPARTE.
A Bell Taken in the Alps Cam

A Bell Taken in the Alps Cam
paign Now in Paterson, n. j.
When Napoleon l.. in behalf OF
France, carried war TO Switzerland he
found i'll one of the caHtons there an
ancient convent, says the Paterson On.
j. Call. During the course of the wal
this convent was destroyed, and the bell
that hung in its tower was carried off as
a trophy by the conqueror. The
bell was at that time reputed to be
several hundred years old. 1t was
cast of copper and silver. The silver,
according to the custom of the times.
was contributed by the peasants of the
canton. who believed that their PRAYERS
and prospects concerning worldly and
heavenly affairs would be improved in
accordance with their. sacrifices Ma
poleOn carried the bell with him to
France, and retained it as At priced
curiosity until his downfall and Danish
ment to st. Helena, when he gave it &c
his brother. Joseph Bonaparte, who,
likewise being baniShed, brought the
old relic to America and hung it in a
belfry at his home in BOrdentown. :
There it remained, SerYinga as dinner
bell on the farm. it's history remaining
unknown until Joseph's recall from
exile. Then it was lost sight of and for
years forgotten until one day some GU
rlosity-seekers r1mmaging about in one
OF the SnbterIanean passages that hon
eycombed the place came across 1t in
some rubbish. People came from all
sections to visit the SO-called catacombS
ahd see the historic bell. At that time
the Camden Il Amboy railroad had lust
been built and the old bell was sold to
the company, who placed it in their
depot at BordentOwn to tell the arrival
and departure of trains. 1t hung there
for years. but finally. through some
channel or other, Ii fell into the hands
OF the Paterson 4 Hudson River Rail
road company and WAS destined to an
other period of obscurIty. At that time
the company operated its. road by
horses, and the old bell was hung in the
Jersey City station at the foot of Bergen
hill, to answer the same purpose that il
did at BordentowD.
" ben the great railroad revolution
took place. and steam ears were substi-
tuted for the old horse cars, the bell was
brought to this city. In those DAYS the
terminus of the road was where ST.
John S'church now stands. Two trains
were run each way daily. A small
branch, manipulated by horse power,
however, ran from the main depot on
Market street, at its conjunction with
Nam street. Here the old bell was hung
on post, and its duty was to ring for
half ali hour before the departure OF
each train. Passengers could board the
horSecars without extra expense and
ride to the main depot, whence they
could take the train for New York. AS
time went on, however, improvements
developed in the railway service. The
Market street Git was then Congress
street, branch was abandoned and the
old post on which the bell hung rotted
and fell down.
But Paterson was beginning to make
great strides forward. Then the ONLY
educational facilities were private in-
situations ami subscription schools. The
public spirited townsmen finally con-
ciuded to erect a public school. and
S'ierted the site. Here building was
constructed, and the old bell was placed
In Its tower. In years gone by some of
our older citizens remember the pealS of
that bell. Then the pupils grew sin
numbers, and the o school grew too
small. Another and more improved
building now, known as school No. Il
was erected, and the ancient bell whose
mellow peals echoing from the dizzy
Alps seven centuries ago called the
humble peasant to worship, now startles
the youths of Paterson from their morn
ing beds. NapoleOns voice NAV have
made the world tremble, but the voice
OF the little Swiss bell rings further now
than his.