ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 225 



1760, "the new bell to be of less weight than the old," and 

 such a bell as the steeple will bear."" With rude 

 logic, on the same principle of being " more frugal," 

 the heritors decreed also the destruction of the ancient 

 church of St Lawrence, seat for centuries of the Archdeacons 

 of TeviotdalC; and erected a barn -like structure in its 

 room. Many a fine bell has also been lost through 

 Ignorance. How often, for example, has this elementary 

 fact been overlooked, that every bell is liable to crack 

 whenever the hollow worn by the clapper on the sound- 

 bow becomes too deep. The remedy is 

 Plea for quarter -turning. Once the clapper comes 



Quarter= in contact with a fresh portion of the 

 turning. sound -bow, the old bell enters on a new 



lease of life, and may ring on for centuries. 

 Dealing now with the Modern period, until quite recently 

 English bells were scarcely known North 

 Modern of the Tweed, our Scottish church bells 



Bells, being almost invariably Flemish imports. 



chiefly As regards Inscriptions, it may be noted 



Flemish. that all the loth, 16th, and 17th century 



bells breathe religion, in particular the 

 Dutch bells, as a rule, utter pious sentiments, but, at the 

 approach of the 18th Century, that " dull metallic age," 

 piety shrinks into her shell. The very bell mottoes reflect 

 the temper of the times, and " the Glory of God," gives 

 way to the glory of the donor and founder. 



The chief Flemish bell-founders, whose handiwork may 



still be found in many belfries on the 



t5urger= Eastern Borders, were the Burgerhuyses, 



nuyses oi ^^^ ^^^ Michael, members of a famous 



.. f Middleburg firm. Their mark is a phoenix. 



p. . . They it was who, in 1634, recast the great 



Foundry ^^^^ ^^ ^*' ^i^^^^^'^' Aberdeen, destroyed 



by fire in 1874. This bell, familiarly known 

 to the townsfolk as " Old Loivrie," was dedicated to 

 Saint Lawrence. 

 * Heritors Minutes, 



