Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1897-04-11

 tinker which Gid duty in tho monastery But this was caailv accomf lished Tho next problem that vc1ed the worthy Ffel- ate'4 mind vas Whcre to place his new eontriyanee so that is Vaicc could be hoard from afar
 There was, however, on the roof of the basilica of St. Felix d sar5of curola known as & lantern. Fl WAS oten on Gll sides, it's principal purpose Icing, as itG namc im- plies, ro givo iiEnf To tho Interior of the structure on which 1t rested l. was in this lantern that che bishop of Nula yol;ed the first church bell
 Most probably il was of the mitcr class and loakedfor all the world like good sized uetal bowl with a clapEer inside Nor WAS it a laPee al4air The fifteenth century was well advanced Eclore bells of any considerable dimensions were fash ioned
 At any rate the worthy bishops hel1 was set up in its pl&ce, and right royalty did it serve it's pdrpose. Che can easily imagine the llutter of excitement it caused among the good people of Nola in those placid times and fancy the congregation of St. Felix, in picturesque garh and sun daled feet, vending their way to their church. guided by the changing reverha= tions of that wondrous bell, which rang out its Easter roundelay on the plains of l Campania nearly ,60Q ycars ago In those days it must have seemed IS marvellous 10 them as Che telephone did to us.
 Truly that was u momentous Easter and the excellent prelatc's new departure was destined t0 have farreaehing eonse-
 
 minded soul could never hayo had the re- motest conception. Without specially in tending it he had developed the best meth od yet discovered for signaling by sound for long distances discovery that could be applied to ali manner of uses in the practical affairs of life From Nola the use of church bells soon spread over Chris tendon. and at the beginning of the sev- cnth century Pope Sabinius, by some CT roneously supposed to haYe been the in- vcntor thereof did all he could to eneour- age thcir adoption.
 It was probably not d great while there after that the custom of bapti2ing church belIs originated This process. according to 8 high authority, includes naming, amounting, sprinklina, rabing, sponsorial engagements and every initiative accom- laniment which marks the admission of rational beings into the gospel Not that bells, saY the advocates of this system, are baptized for thc remissen of sins, but that they receive power to act as conservatives against thunder and lightning, and hail and wind, and storms of every kind and thai they may driyc away evil spirits
 Other important innovations in church alftHirs were also effected by Paulinus first church bell. It changed the entire char aeter of church architecture That the Gells might be heard for long distance, it WIS necessary that they Ec hung at a high elevation Hence bell towers were constructed, and every high tower in the Christian world owes it's erection to tho bishop of Neia and his bell.
 i first tho towers were merely an GIL largement of the lantern already described. This was subsequently heightened and ire Qt1ently finished with a eoHical roof. To extend this roof to a tapcring spire was an casy transition, and thus Inc church stee- rle originated, it's bclfrY being known among architects as the lantern to this day.
 So runs tho story of PauliHus and his gedIy work and the first Easter bell. Though it rests largely on oral tradition, there is much strong Bresumptiyo evidence to support it. The name of his city, No1a, for example, is the name given to small bell attached 10 the neck of dog the foot of bird OF the housings of a horse. The word campaha is the Italian and spanish name for a bell, the Italian, as we have seen, designating a bell tower as a cam ranlc, both words being clearly derived from the same locality.
 Many episodes, commonly accepted as historical facts, rest upon no betterauthor- ity than that which proclaims Bishop Paulinus tho discoyerer of tho church bell. In these days of research and close inycsti- gation it is more than likely that evi- l dencc such as will place his famc upon an l unassaiablc foundation will be uncarthed ] in Che near future l.. W POTTER.
 An reaatar co.,trovcrsx.