Evening star., 1937-12-26
Singing Towers Have Called People to
Solemn Duties and Have Given Express.
sion to Sentiment of Nations.

as he proudly swung into the strains
Of The Star Spangled Banner!
For . time. bell-ringing was the
privilege Of the aristocracy. He who
held the bells practically held the
town in that day, for by their ringing
he could summon the people either
for defense, or for insurrection.
So the job of bell-playing became a
tradition in families, which was
handed down from generation to gen.
Grafton.
Fearing this power of bells an edict
was passed in Constantinople forbid
ding their use, and to this dav the
Moors are one of the few people of
the earth who have not come under
the spell of the bells.
When We think of bells, most Of
us naturally think in terms Of metal,
but the genealogy of bell goes back
to the time when primitive man made
noises and sounds on rattles made
Of shells Of various kinds, such as
the nut shell and gourd. After the
rattle came the clay and wooden
model. and finally the bell Of metal.
The bell as we know it today had
its beginning when the bronze makers
Of long ago were first thrilled at the
ringing sound OF hammer against
metal. The earliest known bells of
metal were the small variety crudely
made Of thin plates Of beaten metal,
riveted together at the seams.
RELLS of this type were introduced
into Ireland by none other than
good st. Patrick. Around 40 A. D.,
when he went from Gaul to Ireland,
he took his smiths with him and set
them to making bells in wholesale
lots.
The most famous Of st. Patrick's
bells Is one made of rude, hammered
iron. which is enshrined in a case OF
bronze, gold and jewels, and rests in
the National Museum at Dublin.
American bells antedate the arrival
Of Columbus, but they are rarely
found north Of the Rio Grande. Bells
of metal, however, were known to the
Pueblos Others were found in Florida
and along the Pacific coast of South
America. Significant in the early
life of our country were the Mission
bells. In ancient Mexico and Central
America bells of copper appeared be-
fore the Spanish conquest.
The stories about bells are legion
There is the story to the effect that
Napoleon so loved and reverenced bells
that he forbade their destruction. II
| Is said that on one occasion he stopped
a march to listen to the ringing Of the
Angelus, the bell he loved best Of all
| Henry VIII, on the other hand, was
as tickle about bells Is wives, and
took great delight In destroying them
Alfred the Great originated the cur
few, but it was William the Conqueror
who enforced its observance. The
bell most frequently heard In Catholic
countries Is the Angelus.
The largest bell in the world Is the
Car Kolokol, in Moscow, weighing
around 200 tons. Some authorities
say it was never hung. being broken
while still in the casting pit. Others
say it was hung and was cracked when
1t fell to the ground. This bell is SO
huge that it has been used for
chapel, the congregation entering
through the opening made by the
fracture. The worlds largest ringing
bell was gift also. It hangs In the
Kremlin in Russia, in the Ivan Tower,
which was built to house all the great
bells given to the cathedral. It weighs
about 100 tons.
The second largest bell in the world
hangs in an ancient Buddhist temple
IN Japan, and Is literally covered with
inscriptions and names Of those who
contributed 70 IT. cost. The great bell
IN et Peters Church at Rome has