The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-11-24

The passing bell owes its origin to an
Idea of sanCtity attached to bells by the
early Catholics, who believed that the
sound Of these holy Instruments Of per.
Cussion actually drove the devil away from
the soul Of tbs departing Christian. Bells
We're moreover, regarded formerly as dis.
pG!lihg storms and appeasing the imRgin
ed w,ath Of heaven.
Bells were great object Of superstition
among uur ancestors. Each Of them was
represented to have its peculiar name and
virtue, and many are suil to have retained
great affection for the churches to which
they be! nscd and where they wo . cOnse-
Grated. When Il bell WAS removed from its
original and favorite situation it was
sometimes supposed to take = nightly trip
to its old place of residence unless extr
c.sGi i'll thh evening and secured with
chain or rope.
liner" ARE several cOnirctures offered
concerning the origin Of the word cam
I'anH Il klIckr ii e7-hE.l.I ~0inn consider
the word klocke to be of northern etymOl-
ugy these words ut Ciurt. uaDratur III
ecclesia occurring in tho most ancient his
tories of the north. In the infancy OF
Christianity the word cloca was used in
the north instead tf camp! m SOm
French writers derived the word cloca
from cloche, and this again from ciocher,
|. e. to limp Tor they say, as per5On who
llmps, falls from side to side SO do clocks
tbells) when rung Some have recourse
to tho latin word clangan Others rCcur to
the Greek tkaiew) ! call, some deduce it
from the word cuChlea, IL snail, from the
resemblance of its shell to bell As to
the Latin word campana, it was first used
in Italy, ut Nola in Campuna, and
it appears that the greater bells |
only wcre called campana and the
lesser nola. The invention Of them Is |
generally attributed to Bishop Pauinus |
but this must be understood only Of the |
religious use of thom it being plain from
Roman writer's that they had the like ma
chinos called tintinnabula. The use Of
bells continued long unknown i'll the east,
the people being called to public worship
by strokes Of wooden hammers and to this
day the Turks proclaim the beginning of |
their service by voci(ertions from the
Stepple.
Ancienty priests themselves used to toll
the bell, especially In catEedrals and great
churches, and these were distinguished by [
the name of 'sampanari." The Roman
Catholics Ghristen their bells and god
fathers assist at the solemnity thus conSe-
Grating them to religious use. The time
is uncertain when the hours first began TO
he distinguished by the striking Of bell.
In the empire this custom is said to have
been introduced by u priest of Riiern,
named Elias, who lived in the twelfth cen
fury The use of them soon became cX
tended from their original design to other
solemnitles, and especially burials, which
t"Iitng may woll be complained of as
public nuis, no..
besides the common way of tolling bells
there is also ringing which is kind Of
chime used on various occasions in token
Of Joy. This ringing prevails in no
country SO much as England where it is
a kind Of diversion on this account it Is
that England is sometimes called the
ringing island" Chimes are something
very different and much more musical,
there is not a town in the Netherlands
without them, being an invention Of that
The chimes Mt Copenhagen are
one of tho finest sets in Europe.