The Sunday globe., 1901-05-12

OF course, many customs attach tC
the ringing Of bells in European coun
tries which do not exist hereY"
"Oh, yes, a great many. On the
continent of Europe bells have attained
a strong prominence from the uses and
ceremonials with which they have fol
ages been associated. In many parts
when a new bell is to be hung 1t Il
christened with much ceremony, and
from the existence Of old legends and
traditions, they are supposed to be en-
dowed with the power Of driving away
evil spirits and dispensing storms, You
have, of course, seen the expression to
curse with bell, book ond candle. This
alludes 10 an old form of exorcism of
ancient times, in which the bell was
used to drive out evil spirits. A very
old custom-that Of tolling the passing
bell at a burial, so tina. those who heard
it might pray for the soul of the de-
par .ed-sti.l prevails throughout Eng
land. In no other country has carlton
machinery been SO perfected as in Eng
laud.n
What is a carlton ?"
" Carlton is the name given to a
chime of bells played by clockwork.
They are placed in the towers Of all the
public buildings of the principal Eng
lish cities and set to play different
tune each day of the M jnth. You can
imagine how enlivening the effect is. :"
" Has the custom extended to this
country?'
Well, there are few churches in
eastern cities which have chimes, but
oil fant mi "a
in England has its chime of be,ls, aud
can assure you the effect, upon quiet
Sabbath morn, is most pleasing to listen
to the church bells ring. Bell ringing
by ropes is popular art among the
Englih people, Regular associations
of bell ringers exist. 1t requires much
experience to become an expert bell
ringer, and contes Of en- take place be-
tween the companies Of bell ringers of
different towns"
" Do you know anything of the knack
of handling the ropes?"
" While | am not bell ringer myself
| have been in company with English.
men wh) were, aud learned some thing
about it, The fret half pull drops the
bell, the second sets it, the next
swings it to The bar, then swings down
and up to the other side, the tongue
striking as it ascends. The terms used
by the ringers to denote the different
changes are hunting donging,
snapping,' plain bob, triple bob, ;
bob major and numerous othsrs l
don { remember"
Z" How maay bells are there in the
carlton ~
THE old carlton used to consist Of
four, but eight are now used. That
number max the most perfect peal.
They are tuned in what is known in
music as the diatonic scale. This scale
consists Of eight sounds with seven in
terva 5, two semitones and five whole
tones. While speaking of publ C bell
ringing in England forgot to mention,
as an Instance Of ITS popularity over
there, that the people raise money by
subscription for peals to be rung rom
their church steeples on certain days in
cOmmemorato on Of some event of ma
tiOnal or local rel icing. In many
cases the peals are rung in obedience to
the will of some prominet ciized de.
ceased, who has bequ-athed a sum of
money for that purp Sc"
" Which is the largest bell in he
world yn
The one at Moscow, Russia. An
in crlption shows that it was cast in the
seventeenth century. IL weighs 4I0,
600 pounds. The people call it Tsar
KolOkOl, which, translated, means the
king of bells, and on festival days they
visit the bell, considering it an act OF
DEVOTION ~
Are there any bells Of arge size in
this cOunttyt'
Very few. The largest ever ca.
here wa: the alarm fire bell for New
York City Its weight is % 900 p Junds
There is one in the cathedral at Mon
trea, Canada weighing 20, 400 pounds
Those used in tie different large cities
as fire alarms are usually Of about 10000
pounds weight
Diving bells " exclaimed the talkei
upon tintinnabulation in reply to an in.
guiryof the writer's, "why, diving slls
come no more within the scope of bell
founding proper than taking photo
graph does.