The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-04-13
THE WORLDS BELLS.
CAPABLE OF MAKING A CHAIN OF
SOUND AROUND THE GLOBE.

gcius, thc Big tnrung BELL of Russia,
our own Liberty I'cll ard kS'inity Chimes.
There is u chime Of bells which, if rung
one after another in longitudinal scale,
would reach around the world The bells
hang in different countries and have each
l. separate history. This, told chronologic.
ally, would give record Of the world, for
the bells reach hack to the early Egyptians
and the days of bondage Taken separate
y they mark historic Cpochs.
Our own Liberty bell is one of the
chime. 1t cracked ringing for indepcnd-
cncc-that blessed crack that is it's proudest
marking-but it's sound is still sweetest
music. Before the moment it cracked for
joy that bell could be heard far and WIDE
and its peal easily reached the outskirts of
the young republic of which it was the
proud spokesman.
Spain has Il bell that Is it's prophet. 1t
is its soothsaycr, oracle and guide. This
bell the famous Villola, has hung for cen
turtles in the historic castle, keeping watch
over the nation.
/ 1t is the most celebrated bell in Europe,
though not proud or handsome Its fame
rests not so much upon its notes, though
/ these are high pitched, soft and clear, nor
upon its size, for there are other bells in
Spain much larger, but upon it's person
ality.
"The Bells of the Tower" have been
noted for centuries as having II power of
their own. Ring ont, wild bells" means
that the bells have it within them TO tell
terror. And "Chime We bells" means
they can speak for joy. The bell ringer
does the best he can for them, but it is
! trI1n I,n hpI pf
| The Nillcla is a Spanish bell that for
years has forctold any impending trouble
to the nation. When the father of little
Alphonso died, the Villcla began tollng
in the night and tollcd until morning
| light. In the ten years Cuban war the
! bell struck awful tones on the nights of
| defeats And when great fires have touch
/ ed the castle and sickness or inSurrection
! threatened the throne the Nillcla has lift
cd up its voice in sudden, loud warning.
Russia has u coronation bell. 1t is the
largest in the world and weighs 800 600
pounds. Its sound has never been bound
ed and it is said like the emperor's voice,
30 reach to heaven. 1t hangs in the Krem-
lin. 1t is the cmperor's bell and is rung
only in honor of him. At the coronation it
pealcd forth as the emperor entered the
church, and its voice announced the con-
clusion of the ceremony to the whole of
Russia. The coronation bell is rung by u
bell ringer blessed by the emperor, the head
of the church. Tho bell ringer does no 9th
err work and is always on duty to tell the
important events in tho family of the en-
peror.
He is pensioned. He rings when his
majesty goes to church, and in case of the
death of IL Russian monarch the Kremlin
. bnll tpl1S CONSTANTLY bptNyppn tbp don't and
the time of the funeral.
Since Russia is the home of bells, it is
not wonderful that it should hold the
largest unrung bell in the world This;
bell now makes u building in the Krcm-
liz. 1t was cast two centuries ago, but
was found too heavy to remove from the
pit.
The Russian monarchs, one after anoth-
er, tried to have it lifted, and hundreds of
lives were sacrificed in the shifting pit of
sand. Finally fate interviewed. A raging
fire broke out and heated the bell in the
pit. 4 quantity of cold water flowed in
around it, and great piece, the size of Il
door, was broken out. The Russian king
Immediately ordered it lifted to n pedestal
and set within the Krcmlin, where it is
sometimes used as temple. Its walls are
2 feet thick, and it is 25 feet high.
. Inc uCiiftSJ III ure lllC
Angelus made famous by Millet and the
bells of Notre Dame. Millet's son still lives
in the little home overlooking the stone
church where the Angelus bell hangs, and
every night he goes out to hear it toll
while the peasants bow their heads and
say prayers. The bells of Notre Dame are
the largest bells of sweetness in the world
. One of them weighs 80, 900 pounds. The
maker who cast it would never disclose
the secret of its loud, sweet tone
The Japanese have the largest bells, but
! the crudest. So unskilled are they thai
many of them will not ring, and so they
are obliterated from the list of bells. The
best bells are II mixture of copper and tin
with u hammer one-twentieth the weight
of the bell. The japanese bells, even i
cast correctly, have too small hammers
or they are cast to sound like tin, and thu
hammer does not strike roundly One o
these, the Little Giant, has never beer
weighed. 1t is said to weigh comparative
t ly little, being of some light Japanese met
al but it is 80 feet across 1t is used to an
nouncc births and deaths in the royal fam
lily It's clapper is II small, elongated affai
that strikes with II double sound, and thu
Little Giant is easily recognized whel
heard.
the largest bell in America, but not thu
sweetest. This attribute is claimed by tn,
biggest bell of Trinity's chime in New
York. which is so surprising in its delica
cy and 50 penetrating in its purcncss tina
rich and poor alike stand all night in al
, weather To- hear it ring in the new year
The most inclement weather never keep
them away, and so demonstrative do the,
sometimes become at its sound that Trim
ity's rector has once or twice forbidden
the chime to ring at midnight. 1t Is cas-
in f. fiat.
The countries of Turkey, Greece, Ital.
= and Egypt have not many famous bells
1 Bells are not in good rcpute there from
, the fact that criminals wear them aroun'
the neck and lepers are strung with them
In the temples the high priests decorat
their robes with small, jangling bells ant
y this is another reason why bells canno
}. become common. In Turkey they are con
spicuously unpopular, and that country /
, the only one that positively forhids tn