Show HISTORIC SPANISH BELL Yet It Rang For Americaii Victories Over Spain In the picturesque tower of St Johns Protestant Episcopal church in Elli cottville New York there hangs a particularly par-ticularly pleasing and sweettoned bell which every Sunday and on church days and holidays calls the congregation congrega-tion together for worship and which during our late war rang ont the announcement an-nouncement of our victories over our Spanish foes Its history dates back to about ISC7 when the church was nearinq completion comple-tion At that time one of the residents of Ellicottville visited New York and while there he was informed that a Yankee ship lately from Spain had arrived in port and that its caotain was an old acquaintance He hunled up the ship and during the course of a visit to its skipper learni1 that there was an old church bell on board The captain had got hold of it on one of his trips to Spain and had used it for ballast for his ship I had been with him for three or four voyages I I I 1 I I I I II I I AI i I i A Spanish bell that rang for American Ameri-can Victories hung i the P E Church at Ellicottville N Y across the ocean but lie was not unwilling I un-willing to part with 1 for a reasonable sum The country merchant made a conditional arrangement for Its purchase I pur-chase and returned o his home A pcpular subscription was started and when the S125 necessary for the our chase of the bell and its transmission to Ellicottville was raiser the oider was sent for its forwarding But by this time the old bell was dancing over the waves on another journey to European countries and it was not until un-til months afterwards that worl Came that it was awaiting the order of the purchasers I was raised to Its nlace In th steeple with great labor and for nearly thirty years not only summoned people to divine service but was runs regularly regu-larly every day at G a m 12 m anl u p in I was also used as a tire alarm J and on occasions of general rejoicing Fourth of and Wash such as the Jourth July I ingtons birthday I The bell was cast ilurjn the reign of PhilluV and for more than I century I hung in a monastery on the outshhU of Malaga In 1838 Maria Christina I queen to Ferdinand VII grasped the j j reins of government on the death of the king in the name of her daughter I Don Carlos protested and laid claim to j I the throne In accordance With the Kalic I > < low forbidding to females the right cf succession which Don Carlo claimed had been illegally abrogated by Fend nand Maria Christina was compelled to I espouse liberalism in order to secure support The inquisition was abolished the Jesuits expelld and many monasteries I monas-teries and churches where the priests had been especially obnoxious to the liberal party were sacked and burned in the encounters which followed I Malaga was the site of a strong liberal movement and the monastery in j which hung the old Angelus made by I Bargas over a century before rag turned into a heap of ruins bean I enterprising dealer in junk afterwarus I sold ballast the bell to the chip captain fr |