The Wilmington morning star., 1946-05-06
MORE ABOUT
BELL
FROM PACE ONE

gave a clear ringing warning tt
Q Southern Bellies and their gentle
e men, as they sat on their veran
dahs, slipping juleps prior to theil
departure On a long voyage by
2 rail.
7 Hearing the bell, children ano
A grown ups alike, would rush dowr
to the station to see the great
Iron horses making their chug-
chugging departure" from Will
mington; to kiss their visitors
adieu, and some more or less fol
curiosity, to wonder at the strength
of the big black engines belching
smoke skyward.
Departs Guests
The bell which has gained the
distinction for Wilmington of be.
ing the only city known to world
travellers, where such, a sentinel
is afforded by a railroad, has also
tolled the departure Of many no.
tables who have visited the city
Probably the notable for whom,
the bell has tolled, Of which Viii.
mington is most proud was a 10.
year-old student named Tommy"
who made his departure on the
Coast Lines train in 1875, to con.
tinue his studies at Princeton
Tommy" who most readers will
recognize as Woodrow Wilson.
later became president Of the uni.
versity and President of the United
States during World War I.
Taft, Too
The bell also tolled the departure
time of President william Howard
Taft, on November 8, 1909, and foJ
other great men, including scien-
lists, religious dignitaries, literary
greats" masters Of drama, mill
tary leaders and statesmen Of
world renown.
The ancient sentinel also tolled
farewell for such great religious
leaders as James Cardinal Gibbons
and Archbishop James Spaulding,
shortly after the latter had com.
pleted his tour of military duty as
chaplain in the Federal Army,
during the Civil war.
Famed Evangelist
Sam Jones, the great evangelist
heard the old bell ringing to mark
his departure, and later the
widely-known Billy Sunday.
Mrs. Anna McNeill Whistler,
mother of James Abbott Mcneil
Whistler, heard the far-reaching
tones of the old bell, as she made
her departure from the city.
The science and art OF bell
ringing has nothing to do with the
Ginning Of the old ACL bell.
Pulls Cord
The station master merely pulls
a cord, and the clapper simply
hits the sides of the bell, making
a loud bong which car be heard
for many blocks. 1t is strictly
foreign to mechanical process.
There is no scope for tunes and
harmonies, and the sounds produce
music in one key only. There is nc
accompaniment save occasionally
the distant toot of the locomotives
whistle.
True enough it has tolled the
departing time of perhaps millions
who have trod the streets of Will
;mington, sailed from shore to shore
on the fair lakes and rivers; but
the old bell asks no quarter.
Early bells summoned soldiers
to arms, as we'll as christians tc
church, the alarm of fire and
tumult, and the rights of burghers,
in their bells, were carefully guard
ed.
Bellringer Tops
The chief bell in the cathedral,
usually belonged to the aown, not
to the cathedral chapter. The cur
few, the Carolus, and Saint Mary's
bell in the Antwerp tower all be-
long to the town; thus, he who
commanded the bell, commanded
the town, for by that sound and
at a moments notice, he could
summon his adherents. Many a
bloody and tragic era in history
has been rung in and out by
bell.
Old customs galore are associat-
ed with the ecclesiastical uses Of
bells. The Passing Belr' rung to1
the dying, as in the great plague
of London, and the great fire, but
now is rung after death.
Burial Peals
Burial Peals, once common at OF
after funerals, to scare away evil
spirits from the soul Of the depart
ed, though discouraged by bishops
as early as the 18th century, nave
been kept alive, as for example.
the spread Of change-rinsing II
the 'muffled peals," now ire
quently rung as a mark OF respect
to persons Of public Or local I'M
portance.
The ACL bell, is n OF few
of nationwide, or perhaps even
world wide renown. But unlike the
oreat hell at Moscow, "Tsar Kolo-
Iol" which was cast in 1913, over
100 years before the celebrated
ACL bell. the local is perfect il
structure, and today has the same
clear tones as when it was first
cast, history tells.
The 'Tsar Kolotol' was buried for