"Men's death I tell, by doleful knell;
Lightnings and thunder I break asunder;
On Sabbath all to church I call;
The sleepy head, I raise from bed;
The winds so fierce I do disperse;
Men's cruel rage, I do assuage."
And in the Legend itself, an historical account of mediæval bell-ringing is given by Friar Cuthbert, as he preaches to a crowd from a pulpit in the open air, in front of the cathedral:—
"But hark! the bells are beginning to chime;...
For the bells themselves are the best of preachers;
Their brazen lips are learned teachers,