(Vol. viii., p. 55.)
W. W., alluding to such a custom at Marshfield, Massachusets, asks "if this
custom ever did, or does now exist in the mother country?" The curiosity is
that your worthy Querist has never heard of it! Dating from _Malta_, it may
be he has never been in our _ringing island_: for it must be known to every
Englishman, that the custom, varying no doubt in different localities,
exists in every parish in England.
The _passing bell_ is of older date than the canon of our church, which
directs "that when any is passing out of this life, a bell shall be tolled,
and the minister shall not then slack to do his duty. And after the party's
death, if it so fall out, then shall be rung no more than one short peal."
It is interesting to learn that our colonists keep up this custom of their
mother country.
In this parish, the custom has been to ring as quickly after death as the
sexton can be found; and the like prevails elsewhere. I have known persons,
sensible of their approaching death, direct the bell at once to be tolled.
Durand, in his _Rituals of the Roman Church_, says: "For expiring persons
bells must be tolled, that people may put up their prayers: this must be
done twice for a woman, and thrice for a man." And such is still the
general custom: either before or after the _knell_ is rung, to toll three
times _three_, or three times _two_, at intervals, to mark the sex.[6]
"Defunctos plorare" is probably as old as any use of a bell; but there is
every reason to believe that--
"the ringing of bells at the departure of the soul (to quote from
Brewster's _Ency._) originated in the darkest ages, but with a
different view from that in which they are now employed. It was to
avert the influence of Demons. But if the superstition of our ancestors
did not originate in this imaginary virtue, while they preserved the
practice, it is certain they believed the mere noise had the same
effect; and as, according to their ideas, evil spirits were always
hovering around to make a prey of departing souls, the tolling of bells
struck them with terror. We may trace the practice of tolling bells
during funerals to the like source. This has been practised from times
of great antiquity: the bells being muffled, for the sake of greater
solemnity, in the same way as drums are muffled at military funerals."