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NOTE T.--Tolling to Service in Scotland.
In the old days of Scotland, when persons of property (unless they
happened to be non-jurors) were as regular as their inferiors in
attendance on parochial worship, there was a kind of etiquette, in
waiting till the patron or acknowledged great man of the parish should
make his appearance. This ceremonial was so sacred in the eyes of a
parish beadle in the Isle of Bute, that the kirk bell being out of order,
he is said to have mounted the steeple every Sunday, to imitate with his
voice the successive summonses which its mouth of metal used to send
forth. The first part of this imitative harmony was simply the repetition
of the words _Bell bell, bell bell,_ two or three times in a manner as
much resembling the sound as throat of flesh could imitate throat of
iron. _Bellu'm! bellu'm!_ was sounded forth in a more urgent manner; but
he never sent forth the third and conclusive peal, the varied tone of
which is called in Scotland the ringing-in, until the two principal
heritors of the parish approached, when the chime ran thus:--
Bellu'm Belle'llum,
Bernera and Knockdow's coming!
Bellu'm Belle'llum,
Bernera and Knockdow's coming!
Thereby intimating that service was instantly to proceed.
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