The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1911-12-28

= the sew: :
In every country ef tie
world where civiIizatioa has
tanrht mankind the imInrtasce of eel
ebTating Ills holidays brazen ti,roated
bells will Obey this injunction ut the
midnight m0ueni which marks the
pass.ng O. 1911 into 1912.
Ever. he'll. every ehime. every peal.
rome II from brass ~ steel Or glass.
sounding In n.eliiflu0us beauty in the
si!en' . Of night. marks the Observance
OF custom that goes hack not less
than dftaen 'enturieS.
Ping oui the old year. ring In the
new. IL not IN Impulse to celebrate
with mere nOise another swing Of IA.
ther Times scythe. The custOm has
a Significance. \ beauty Of meaning
identified with some OF tho earliest OBJ.
servan' es "f the church.
From reMotest antiquity halls play.
ed rslrt IN religious worship. In EgyH
the feast Of Osiris was announced by
the ringing Of bells. Aaron and other
Jewish high priests wore bells attach.
ed 10 their vestments. In Athens the
prie~ts Of Cybeie used bells In ti,eir
rites: the Greeks employed them In
cnmps and garris0ns. and the most
solemn moment In the ritual Of the
Catholic church Is preceded by the
ringing Of silver chimed bells.
Pauiinus. bishop OF Nola. introduced
the bell into the Christian worship in
the year 400 A. ID.
The first bells were made in Cam.
pania. hence the term campanile or bell
tower.
The adoption Of the bcll into the
services of the church soon gave the
chimes the comfortcr's office in the
minds OF the devout. In their simple
faith the worshipers believed that con
secrated bells Ind the power to pre-.
vent storms. to drive nway 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 believer. In theory devils
troubled the expiring patient.
were believed to possess potency
that the most malignant OF devils
could not withstand: hence with ev-
cry death the ringing Of the holy bells
exercised the evil spirits and assured
the soul happy passing into Il future
untrOubled peace.
From this ancient custom developed
easily and naturally the habit of ring
ing out the old year and ringing in
the new.
Centuries have passed, n thousand
years. and still 800 more have been
numbered since the first New Year
was hailed 10y the music Of tuned
brass. but man stili finds the custom
beautiful and comforting. and 1912
will be salnted by more peals than any
of Its predecessors
The bell most favored is made Of tin
aud copper. In the reign Of Henry ii.
experts decreed TINT bell should have
two parts of copper and one OF tin.
When Mr.. Layarl made his famous M
vestigatiOn of the ruins of Nineveh he
found beautifully toned bells where
the proportion was ten parts Of copper
against one of tin. Later experts have
decided that four to one is about the
right proportion. Experiments have
also been made with bells OF brass.
German silver, real silver and gold.
Some made Of steel were shown toI
have II beautiful tone. but deficient
from the fact that it could not he slls-
tained. Glass bells Of great thickness
give out an exquisite melody. but the
material is too brittle to withstand the
constant impact Of the clapper.
So most OF the bells that greet 1912
will lie made according to the formula,
Of four parts copper to one part tin.
The most famous Of the bells that
have greeted New Year are now si-
lenced for, all time. One is Il priced
relic Of the worlds greatest autOcracy;
the other is Il worshipcd nelnento Of
the struggle for liberty that launched
into existence the worlds mightiest re-
public.
The great bell of Moscow, now To-
Gated in the kremlin. was cast in
1874. 1t was the design OF Its makers
that it should fill the air with a vol
ume Of melody that should make It
world famous In both height and d.
ameter this colossus Of bells Is twenty
one feet. 1t weighs 1913 tons.
But how vain is the planning of
mankind is proved by. the tragic ca
reer of this monster Of sound. Only
for three years did it toll forth the be-
ginning ut the new year. Cast In
1884. 1t remained in its place till 1887.
Then it fell during fire and from its
great weight sank deeply into the earth.
For exactly one century it\w was per-
mitted to remain buried.
Then it was raised. hut the cxca-
vators found in its side Il gaping hole.
where Il great piece had been broken
out. No more should the bell ring.