The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1934-05-03


It's go-getters and the direction In
which they applied an ambitious eff
Tort was the reconditioning of the
eight bells Of their fine old Abbey
church, which had long been out OF
tune. That was certainly noble
and public-spirited endeavor, II the
bells had been sounded often. and
fully justified the gala day In the
town when the bells were returned
the other day. Boys from the ancient
Sherborne school helped to haul them
from the railroad station and thou
sands turned out rejoiclngly to well
come the bells back.
The largest of the eight Is not. of
course, the heaviest In that country.
but 1t is said to be the heaviest rung
in peal, weighing 5000 pounds, and
everybody who cared to had chance
to read Its ancient inscription. which
naturally had carefully been pre-
served In the returning:
BY Wolseys bell I measure time for
all,
To mirth, to greIffe, to church I serve
TO call.
None other than Cardinal Wolsey
presented this bell to the church and
as he died In 1880 the BELLS date
must not be so long after the time
when the casting Of bells, formerly
done In the monasteries. became
separate industry In England, as it
had previously become In some other
countries. Bells were often christ
ened with ceremony and bore their
names and also the names of their
donors, and occasionally. as this one
does. a reference, to their uses. A
similar inscription quoted in lore on
bells Is Il mourn for death, | break
the lightning, fix the Sabbath,
house the lazy, | scatter the winds.
appease the cruel.''
Had there been no bells 1t Is said
that steeples would not have come
into church architecture and the an
Client secular as we'll as religious
uses to which bells were put In sig-
mailing and conveying warnings, as in
the case Of bells playing 1.-THE Brides
Of Enderbyn In the ballad on the high
tide, were countless. Tt Is calculated
that on peal of eight bells like
those at Sherborne 5000 changes
were possible, messages being varied
accordingly.
In at least large part of the ex-
fensive literature on bells. no men,
tion seems to be made of the most
famous inscription Of all--famous be-
cause OF the fame of the bell on
which 1t Is found. This Is the one
on the so-called Liberty bell at Phila-
delphia supposed to have been rung
In signaling the signing of the Dec
laratfon of Independence. Because
of 1t our interest In bell inscriptions,
Is greater than 1t might be otherwise.
Proclaim liberty throughout the
land unto all the inhabitants there
off, 1t reads, as everybody knows,
and was quoted from the twenty
fifth chapter Of Leviticus, and tenth
verse. As has been interestingly ex-
planned in recent days. the words
were a part of the Biblical directions
for ushering In and observing every
fiftieth year, appointed as the year of
jubilee and new deal, when no
crops were to be planted or harvest |
ed and alienated lands were to be re- |
deemed and contract servants re- |
stored to their families. Cast In Eng
and for the Pennsylvania state
house In 1852, the Liberty bell was SO
injured while being unloaded that re-
turning became necessary and 1t la
said by some TINT 1t did not bear the
familiar inscription until 1t was nut
IN when being recast in philadelphia.