Much is said about church-bells which formerly sometimes used to toll
entirely by themselves on occasions of extraordinary importance. In some
countries places are pointed out where church-bells which have fallen
into a lake or river, or have sunk deep into the ground, will toll on
certain days of the year, or on certain solemn occasions. The believers
in these wonders go to the place where a bell is said to be hidden, and
listen attentively. Generally they soon hear the distant sounds which
they anxiously wish to hear.
A wonderful bell is mentioned by Abraham ‡ Sancta Clara, who so forcibly
preached during the latter half of the seventeenth century; and some
account of the same bell is given by Montano in his 'Historische
Nachricht von denen Glocken,' published in the year 1726. Montano says
that "it may be seen at Vililla, a small town in the kingdom of
Arragon." When this bell was being cast, one of the thirty pieces of
silver for which the arch-traitor Judas Iscariot delivered up Jesus
Christ to the chief priests, was melted down with the metal, which had
the effect of causing the bell to sound occasionally by itself without
being touched, especially before the occurrence of some great national
calamity, such as a disastrous issue of a warlike expedition, or the
death of a king. In the year 1601, Montano records, it continued to ring
by itself for three days unintermittingly,--viz., from Thursday the 13th
of June until Saturday the 15th; but whether it had some particular
reason for this extraordinary procedure, or whether it was merely
actuated by some capricious impulse, we are not informed by the learned
writer.
Spain appears to have been pre-eminently favoured with such miraculous
bells. This is perhaps not to be wondered at considering that miracles
occur most frequently in countries where the people are best prepared to
accept them.
A lamentable misunderstanding occasioned by a little house-bell is
recorded by Grimm as having occurred in a German town; but we are not
informed of the name of the town, nor of that of the citizen in whose
house it occurred. The inmates of the house, with the exception of the
mistress, heard distinctly the sound of the bell, and were quite certain
that no one had touched it. Moreover, a few days afterwards, they heard
it a second time. The master of the house, a strong and healthy man,
made up his mind at once that this omen portended the decease of his
wife, who was keeping her bed, very much reduced indeed. He forbade the
servants to tell their mistress what had occurred, lest it might
frighten her and hasten her dissolution. The state of suspense, after
the bell had given warning the second time, lasted for about six weeks,
when suddenly--the husband died, and the wife became better! Even after
the widow had married again, the bell rang by itself on several
occasions; and whenever this happened, there was sure to be a death in
the house--sooner or later.[29]