Church Bells: Their Antiquities And Connection With Architecture.

very pressing considertion , we still see the use of earlier and more graceful forms . As regards weights of tenors , I think some fixed rule should be adopted ; for instance , a tenor for a peal , say of ten or twelve in D , should range from 40 cAvt . to 50 cAvt . and for a peal of eiglit , not

less than 35 cwt . A tenor in E ought not to carry a peal of more than eight , and should range from 20 CAvt . to 35 CAvt . ; but no one should attempt in E under 20 CAvt . ; UOAV Ave sometimes see one as IOAV as 15 CAvt . F is the usual tenor for peals of six , and should range from 16 cwfc . to 25 cwt . ; and

G , also available for six , but better for five , should never be under 13 cwt . No higher note should be allowed for the tenor of any peal ¦ nor should any treble be of a higher note than F natural , all the higher ones being harsh ancl unpleasing . And as we must not go higher than F , neither need Ave go

loiver than D . The tone of very heavy bells in the notes of A , B , and C , may Le very grand as a sort of bourdon , bufc fchey are destitute of a musical effect , besides being impossible to raise for the purpose of ringing . No note is so pleasing to the ear , or so desirable for a tenor as E even D is inferior to it , though the cost is greatly augmented .

With all care , hoAvever , and attention to these suggestions , and others also known only to the bell-founder , another great agency is necessary to perfect one bell . It is a fact , of AA'hich there is no gainsaying , that no bell , be it made ever so carefully and skilfully , sounds so AVOII at first as it does

after it has been hung some years . There is an atmospheric effect , a process of oxidization , very gradual , Avhich goes on improving and mellowing the quality . of tone as years advance . I have noticed this in seA'eral instances , and believe it to be an unvarying process . The colour of a bell

changes in a feAV months : a greenish tint and crust come upon it ; ancl after a long course of years the surface becomes slightly uneven , just as Ave are accustomed to note the process of de-vitrification in ancient painted glass . I believe it is to this process the peculiarly quaint tone of the most ancient

bells may be attributed . Having thus pointed out tlie limits of a peal , I must add a word br tivo on the origin of changeringirg . As before stated , it AA'as introduced early in the seventeenth century , and led to a complete revolution in the art of the bell-founder

as Avell as of the hanger . From that time all the heavy chimes of three and four ancl five were reduced in weight , and multiplied in number , forming peals of six , eight , ten , and tivelve . Whole wheels Avere necessiated in place of the old threequarter arrangementsand often the still simpler

, , one of leverage only . King's College , Cambridge , has the honour of having possessed the first ringing peal of five in tlie kingdom . ' According to one tradition they Avere a present from Pope Calixtus III . to the college ; according to another , they were taken by Henry V . from some church

in France after the battle of Agincourt , and by him , presented to the college : possible the archieves of the college may be able to clear up the matter ; at any rate , they were the first peal on Avhich the art of change-ringing was tried . They were heavy bells , the tenor being as much as 57 cwt . ;

whereas the tenor of the present famous peal of the University Church in that town is only 30 _ cwt ., or half the weig ht . These bells were hung in a Avooden tower Avestward of the present chapel , and are alluded to by Mr . Major , the historian , AVIIOwriting about 1518 states that Avhilst he was

, , of Christ's College , he frequently lay in bed to hear the melody of these bells , which Avere rung early in the morning on festivals ; ancl , being- near the river , was heightened by the reverberation of

the Avater . On takino * clown of the bell-tower the bells were suffered for many years to remain unused in the ante-chapel , but Avere sold about the year 1750 to Phelps , the bell-founder of Whitechapel , who melted them down . I suspect their sale hacl something to do with the erection or

of some new college buildings . Peals of eight were hung in a feAV churches early in the seventeenth century . In 1677 came out the first book on ringing ; and soon after the number of peals was increased to ten , and then to twelve . The first peal of twelve was hung in

York Minster in 1681 , tenor 53 cwt . ; Cirencester ,, in Gloucestershire , followed next ; then St . Bride ' s ,. London , in 1718 ; St . Martin-in-the-Fields , 1726 ; St . Michael ' s Cornhill , 1728 ; St Saviour ' s , South--wark , 1735 .

The honour of the invention of change-ringing is saicl to belong to a Mr . Benjamin Anable , Avho died at an advanced age in 1755 . His methods were much improved and enlarged by Mr . Holt . These , together with a Mr . Patrick , haA'e produced some of the most celebrated peals ,

In conclusion , this lecture has been for the most , part but in outline ; time has not allowed me to fill in many a detail AA'hich I could have wished . My object , hoAvever , has been rather to suggest than to satisfy , —to' give you the starting-points from which to prosecute your OAVII researches , as

opportunity or inclination may offer ; I trust , therefore , it may not fail of some practical effect . Taken as works of art , our bells need a re-infusion of ancient iaste ; there is no reason why they should not be made as comely in shape ancl ornamentation as they Avere in the fourteenth and

fifteenth centuries . There is no want of apreciation amongst our bell-founders of the beautiful lettering , stops , ancl crosses on many a bell ivhich . comes to them , alas ! only to be melted down . I have been favoured with the loan of a very beautiful volumebelonging to the Messrs .

Mearscon-, , taining facsimiles of many of the best ancient bells that have been sent to them for recasting * , and AA'ith only some encouragement from the patrons of art , we should see our bells once again such as we might be proud to OAVII ; ancl not only in the