Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-29
RING OUT THE OLD
Another Swing of Old Father
Times Scythe.
BRAzEN-THROATED BELLS
Custom Goes Back Not Less Than
Fifteen Centuries.
COMFORTING CHURCH CHIMES
Paulinus Famous as the First Chris
tian Bishop to Make Use of the
Resembling Bell.
COMFORTING CHURCH CHIMES
Written FOR The Star.

Written Tor The Star.
an ING out the old year. ring in
TX In every country of the
world where civilization has
taught mankind the i'm
portance of celebrating his holidays
brazen-throated bells will obey this in
junction at the midnight moment which
marks the passing of 1907 into 1908.
Every bell, every chime, every peal,
come it from brass. or steel. or glass,
sounding in mellihuous beauty in the
silence of night. marks the observance of
a custom that goes back not less than
fifteen centuries.
Ring out the old year. ring in the
new is not an impulse to celebrate with
mere noise another swing of Father
Times scythe. The custom has sig
nifcance, a beauty of meaning identified
with some of the earliest observances of
the church.
From remotest antiquity bells played
a part in religious worship. In Egypt
the feast of Osiris was announced by the
ringing of bells, Aaron and other Jewish
high priests wore bells attached to their
vestments in Athens the priests of Cy-
belle used bells In their rites, the Greeks
employed them in camps and garrisons
and the most solemn moment in the ritual
of the Catholic Church is preceded by the
ringing of silver chimed bells.
Paulinus. bishop of Nola. introduced
the bell into the Christian worship In the
year 400 A. D.
The first bells were made in Campania,
hence the term Campanile or Bell tower.
The adoption of the bell into the ser
vices of the church soon gave the chimes
ha tor'S N q minds
devout. In their simple faith the wor-
shippers believed that consecrated bells
had the power to prevent storms, to drive
away evil spirits and to bring repose to
the sufferer.
The direct forerunner of the New Year
bell is what was known as the passing
bell" This was rung at the death of a
believer. In theory devils troubled the
expiring patient. Moreover, they lay in
wait to trouble the soul the instant it
passed from the body.
But the peals of consecrated bell were
believed to possess a potency that the
most malignant of devils could not with
stand Hence with every death the ring
ing of the holy bells exercised the evil
spirits and assured the soul happy
passing into "a future uutroubled peace.
T From this ancient custom developed
seasily and naturally the habit of ringing
Ib1o the old year and ringing in the new.
{CbJ parallel between the death of a
SVman being and the death of the spent
ola year is clear enough. All that was
evil In the old year. all that ii had brought
ofSmisfortune and worry, was supposed
10 De resolved into nothing by the music
>of bells ascending to the starlit skies at
the mysterious midnight moment of tran
sition.
Centufies have passed, thousand
yeav/ and still five hundred more have
-ecsh numbered since the first New Year
was hailed by the. music of tuned brass.
but man still finds the custom beautiful
and comforting, and 1905 will be saluted
by more peals than any of its predeces-
sors.
The bell most favored Is made of tin
AMI copper. In the reign OF Henry IL
experts decreed that a bell should have
two parts of copper and one of tin. When
Mr.. Layard made his famous investiga-