New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-08


Isle al all seasons. A queer quality
, has this breeze, even when 1t blows up
suddenly to the profound voice and
volume of storm. and that is It's per
fume-a mixture Of ice-never very far
off. Of course, from this one privileged
place-of resin, of the violet scented
salt sparkling on the face Of the rocks
OF living or dried up bracken. and OF
many other good things which are
quite beyond exact definition, but make
one involuntariiy lick ones lips 10 as
simulate, II possible. its full flavor.
A SKY ORCHESTRA.
Sound Is mostly absent. it Is true. but
that is only another compliment ad-
dressed 10 Solovetzk. for the sole break
ing of that beautiful silence--when the
elements keep stills caused by the
bells. the famous bells of that great
sea oasis. Bronze they are, hut gold
and silver and many jewels have been
melted into their other components
Angelic or sonorous. loud or low, but
always in perfect accord. the heart
stirring basso bells overcoming as
Bourdons do the deep alto, the barry
tone and sweet toned tenors of their
countless companions. they can be
heard far and wide across the summer
sea. In the winter, when 4 sky Of
wooly Wilderness arches close down
over the pines as though 10 protect
them by its embrace. the music OF the
bells does not rise so easily. but trails
on the faint blue surface Of the ice
quiyers and glides tremendously 70
great distance dying away as does the
silver vibration OF n FIAT pebble sent
singing over thinly frozen lake by a
skilled hand.
Now their carlton will he once more
/ complete, and the monks. whether they
be at PRAYER or tending their cattle
and their land. or else navigating the
little steamer they own. and which
twice week runs from island 10 shora
| and back again, will glory in this
miraculously recovered possession-for
It's voice IS like those OF all the othe-
ones at SClovetzk, clearly recognizable
and completely individual Sailors.
warriors. agriculturists, learned in all
the arts and sciences. including medi-
cine and surgery. these holy men are
something apart. rare and fascinating
If It were but for their fervor I'm all
they undertake. and they have me-
thinks well earned the Joy for which
they implored heaven with such per-
sstency.
THE APPEAL OF THE BELLS.
Why bells and their melody, al on"
! and the same time simple, complex and
! subtle, go so straight 10 the human
| but never TO the Slav or the Celt. With
| them bells form an integral part of
| daily life. Now faint and dclicatcly
modulated by the double swing which
! inspired bellringers alone can accom-
| plsh well now resonant and strong.
now lifting TO every vagrant breeze,
now again spreading To the horizon
mournful signs, accompanied by ~ sob
bling obbligato, reminding us OF the sor-
rows that have been, are or will come,
| they herald every phase of human feel
ing-the frivolous gayety Of wedding,
! the hope and faith OF christening. the
maddening agony Of a death. AS they
! do the return Of victorious armies. the
browning Of a king or the soft call to
! prayer and meditation. In any case.
they grip our hearts in a manner
useless 10 discuss the varied emotions
they evoke; the fact is there; let It
suffice, sans plus.
The different fashions OF ringing
bells are absolutely countless. In Rus
| sa, for example, the bell itself, even
/ the smallest, remains very nearly mo-
| tionless; it is the clapper that is swung,
! beating loudly or with a scarcely de-
/ fined murmur on the lowest inner rim.
How the different shades OF expression
are rendered the expertest campanolo-
| gist cannot demonstrate. 1T is a mat
ter Of soul and of touch, just feel
ing" he Will candidly tell you, and you
may let 1t go at that, for more ex-
| planation you will not obtain.
Numberless are the traditions asso-
ciated with bells all over the globe,
| since everywhere. more or less, they
are credited with supernatural attrib-
utes.
In Brittany once a great storm-and
| heaven knows what great storm on
that coast means-thundered its way
across village after village. 1t was
| Good Friday when the bells, accord
! ing TO the Roman Catholic religion,
must not ring, and yet so immensely
powerful was the force of the wind as
| it swept through the lacelike inter-
stices OF successive church towers that
the bells began 10 give tongue discord-
antly, madly. as though shrieking for
help. A frightful and appalling noise
indeed which threw the people in ter
ror TO their knees and frightened the
rocks which inhabit all Breton belfries
to such an extent that the air grew
black with the crazy clouds of them.
The bells were ringing themselves to