Some few bells have upon them inscriptions showing they were meant to be rung as passing-bells. The third bell at Brant Broughton has on it:-- "Beg ye of God your soul to save Before we call you to the grave." It is possible that some of the customs here spoken of as now existing may recently have fallen into oblivion, but the term "existing" must only be taken to mean that it was in use at the place named when the note concerning it was made. Inscriptions on Bells. BY WILLIAM ANDREWS. High up in the dusty belfry, whose grey shadows rarely see the face of man, the bells swing to and fro with unwearying zeal. But in addition to the lessons which pour from their eloquent mouths, should we scale the tall ladders of the bell tower and invade the regions of the owl and the bat, we shall find other teaching--that graven on the sides of the bells themselves--the inscriptions. Let us therefore glance over the wide field of interesting information thus presented to us. Allusions to the pitch of the bell are often the subject. A bell of Churchill, Somerset, has the following:-- Although my waiste is small I will be heard amainst you all, Sing on my jolly sisters. While Berrow, Somerset, is more brief:-- My treble voice Makes hearts rejoice. Bruton has a recast bell saying-- Once I'd a note that none could beare, But Bilbie made me sweet and clear. And similarly Compton Martin-- My sound is good that once was bad, Lett's sing my sisters and be glad. Badgworth, Gloucester, has a similar inscription-- Badgworth ringers they were mad Because Rigbe made me bad, But Abel Rudhall you may see Hath made me better than Rigbe. At Blakesley, Northamptonshire, the tenor bears-- I ring to sermon with a lusty bome, That all may come and none may stay at home. More pronounced is the self-congratulation of a bell of East Dean-- Me melior vere, Non est Campana sub aere, and one of Hurstpierpoint, which says-- If you have a judicious ear You'll own my voice is sweet and clear. Rye Church, in Sussex, alludes in its bells to the marriage chimes induced by the liberality of the bridegroom-- In wedlock bands, all ye who join With hands your hearts unite. So shall our tuneful tongues combine To bless the nuptial rite. At other times it is the shape that is celebrated. At Combe, Somerset, a bell says-- My sound is good, my shape is neat, 'Twas Bayley made me so compleat. Or the size, as at Bexhill, Sussex-- Although I am both light and small, I will be heard above you all. S. Mary's, at Devizes, has another version-- I am the first, altho' but small, I will be heard above you all. Again, names of donors are often inscribed upon bells, and these are handed down to us from very early dates; or sometimes the fact of subscription is mentioned in general terms of gratitude. So Bagborough, Somerset, says--