The courier., 1901-12-14
Bells-Old and New

ringing, Sald tne poet oOutHty. ANU
this may be said in its praise: That
Of all devices which men have sought
out for obtaining distinction by max
ing a noise in the word, it is the most
harmless"
Bells, in their primitive form, are
referred to by the earliest writer's.
Their origin is lost in antiquity. The
ancient Persians wore bells attached
TO their royal costumes; in Egypt, in
Greece and in Rome, bells We're used
and religious ceremonies. With the
single exception of the Turks, bells
have been favorably regarded by all
nations since the time Of their intro
duction.
From their intimate association with
church rituals. bells naturally came to
be regarded as sacred. In the early
days of the Roman Catholic church
they were formally cOnsecrated and
were often named for the donor; in
the middle ages their prominence was
still more plainly marked, and their
various uses were designated by
names; the Angelus bell, the vesper
bell, the complin bell and the sanctus
bell each carrying its special message
From time immemorial the praise Of
bells has been the poets theme
Shakspere, Schiller, Tennyson and
Charles Lamb all have written of the
subject in living words; but none are
more exquisitely touching .han the
familiar lines of Moore:
Those evening bells, Those evening
How many a tale their music tells
of youth and home, and that sweet
time
When last / heard their soothing chime 90
Among the largest bells in the world
the Great Bell of Moscow is rightly
termed Car Kolokol," or Emperor
Of Bells" In simple bell material its
cost is not less than $500, 900, which was
augmented by precious jewels and
plate added by the mobiles to the value
Of sl,0O0,O00. Its weight is 440. 900
pounds; it is twenty-one feet in
height and twenty-five feet in di-
by order of the Empress Anne. Sus-
pended from beams which were de-
stroyed by fire, this monster bell fell
to the ground and was broken; it is
now placed upon a low, circular wall
and is consecrated as a chapel, the
opening in its side being large enough
to admit two men walking abreast. of
the several hundred other large bells
in Moscow, one in the Cathedral
weighs 10000 pounds. When this bell
is rung, which is only three times a
year, all the other bells are silent. In
China, where large bells had their
origin, the great bell at Peking weighs
10000 pounds. The bells of China are
inferior to those of Russia in both
shape and tone. The bells of Japan are
not unlike those of China. Holland is
remarkable both for the number and
size of its bells and for the devotion
to them of the inhabitants. In Eng
land the largest Westminster bell
weighs 10000 pounds; the largest bell
in America, which is in the Cathedral
at Montreal, weighs $4,000 pounds.
while one in Notre Dame Cathedral
at Paris is of the same weight
of special interest i'm this country is
the famous Liberty bell. Cast for the
the state house in Philadelphia in 1751
this bell bears the inscription:
Proclaim Liberty throughout all the
land to all the inhabitants thereof" :"
Representatives of the thirteen colonies
first proclaimed liberty under this bell.
which was afterwards broken in ring
ing fire alarm. 1t was replaced in
the centennial year, 1876, by a bell
bearing the same inscription.
The Columbian Liberty bell cast in
the summer of 1898 and placed directly
I'm front of the administration building