THE GREAT BELL OF MOSCOW.
In our first volume, (p. 20,) we gave a history of Bells, with a table of the weights of some of the most remarkable. The following account of the Great Bell of Moscow, is furnished in compliance with the request of some of our youthful readers in the country.
In the churches of Russia in general, the bells are numerous and of large size. They are hung, particularly at Moscow, in belfries, or steeples separated from the churches; they do not swing like our bells, but are fixed to the beams, and rung by a rope tied to the clapper and pulled sideways. One of these bells in the belfry of St. Ivan's Church, at Moscow, weighs more than fifty-seven tons. It is used only on important occasions. "When it sounds," says Dr. Clarke, "a deep and hollow murmur vibrates all over Moscow, like the fullest and lowest tones of a vast organ, or the rolling of distant thunder."
"The Great Bell of Moscow, known to be the largest ever founded, (its weight being upwards of four hundred and thirty thousand pounds,) is in a deep pit in the midst of the palace of the Kremlin, (the central and highest part of the city). It is said to have fallen, in consequence of a fire, from a beam to which it was fastened. But this is not the fact. The bell remains in the same place where it was originally cast. It never was suspended; the Russians might as well attempt to suspend a first-rate line-of-battle ship with all her guns and stores. A fire took place in the Kremlin, the flames caught the building erected over the pit where the bell yet remains, in consequence of which the metal became hot; and water thrown to extinguish the fire fell upon the bell, causing the fracture which has taken place. The engraving will give an accurate view of its present appearance, and also of the descent into the cave by means of a double ladder. The entrance is by a trap-door, placed even with the surface of the earth." Dr. Clarke then describes his falling into the pit down the stairs, by which he narrowly escaped with his life. "The bell," he continues, "is truly a mountain of metal. It is said to contain a very large proportion of gold and silver. While it was in fusion, the nobles and the people cast in, as votive offerings, their plate and money. I endeavoured, in vain, to assay a small part: the natives regard it with superstitious veneration, and would not allow even a grain to be filed off. The compound has a white shining appearance, unlike bell-metal in general, and perhaps its silvery aspect has strengthened if not excited the conjecture respecting the costliness of its ingredients.
On festival days, peasants visit the bell as they would resort to a church; considering it an act of devotion, and crossing themselves as they descend and ascend the steps. The bottom of the pit is covered with water and large pieces of timber; these, added to the darkness, render it always an unpleasant and unwholesome place, in addition to the danger arising from the ladders leading to the bottom."—(Travels in Russia, by the late Dr. Clarke.)
With the assistance of six Russian officers, Dr. Clarke took the dimensions. He was unable to measure the base, that being buried in the earth, but within two feet of its lower extremity, the circumference was found to be sixty-seven feet four inches. The perpendicular height, from the top, measures twenty-one feet four inches and a half. In the stoutest part, that in which it should have received the blow of the hammer, its thickness is twenty-three inches. They were able to ascertain this, by placing their hands under water where the rent had taken place; this, is above seven feet high from the lip of the bell. This bell is supposed by Dr. Clarke to have been founded in 1653, during the reign of Alexis, although the Russians for the most part maintain, probably on account of the female figure with which it is ornamented, that it was cast during the reign of their Empress Anne. This great and powerful princess succeeded Peter the Great on the throne in 1725.
THE GREAT BELL OF MOSCOW.