The the Tennis-Court
When as the Hand at Tennis Playes,
And Men to Gaming fall,
Love is the Court, Hope is the House,
And Favour serves the Ball.
This Ball it self is due Desert,
The Line that measure showes
Is Reason, whereon Judgment looks
Where Players win and lose.
The Tutties are Deceitful Shifts,
The Stoppers, Jealousy,
Which hath Sir Argus hundred Eyes,
Wherewith to watch and pry.
The Fault whereon Fifteen is lost,
Is Want of Wit and Sense,
And he that brings the Racket in
Is Double Diligence.
But now the Racket is Free-Will,
Which makes the Ball rebound,
And noble Beauty is the Choice,
And of each Game the Ground.
Then Racket strikes the Ball away,
And there is Over-sight,
A Bandy ho! the People cry,
And so the Ball takes flight.
Now at the length Good-liking proves
Content to be their Gain:
Thus in the Tennis-Court, Love is
A Pleasure mixt with Pain.
Since this Recreation of Ringing is become so highly esteemed, for its excellent Harmony of Musick it affords the Ear, for its Mathematical Invention delighting the Mind, and for the Violence of its Exercise bringing Health to the Body, causing it to transpire plentifully, and by Sweats dissipate and expel those Fuliginous thick Vapours, which Idleness, Effeminacy and Delicacy subject men to; I say for these and sundry other Reasons, I was induced to bring this of Ringing into the Company of Exercises in this Treatise, that I might as well recreate you with some health-conducing Pleasure at home, as I have carryed you abroad, and there endeavoured to please you in what Pastime your Inclinations may most peculiarly select.
Whosoever would then become an accurate Master of this excellent Art and Pleasure, and is very desirous to be esteemed an Elaborate and Ingenious Ringer, and be enrolled amongst that Honoured Society of Colledge Youths; I must beg Leave to instruct him before he enters the Bell-free, in these ensuing short Rules, which he must strictly observe. viz.
1. That as all Musick consists in these six plain Notes, La Sol Fa Mi Re Ut; so in Ringing, a Peal of Bells is Tuned according to these Principles of Musick: For as each Bell takes its Denomination from the Note it Sounds, by its being flatter or deeper, as, First, or Treble, Second, Third, Fourth, &c. as they are in number to Ten or Twelve Bells, the Last being called the Tennor; So must they successively strike one after another both Fore-stroke and Back-stroke, in a due Musical Time or Equidistance, to render their Harmony the more pleasant, and to make the Young Practitioner the better informed to observe the Life of Musick, and indeed of true Ringing, Time; and therefore is called, Round-Ringing.
2. As in Musick, so in Ringing there are three Concords, so called from their Melodious Harmony and Agreement, which Principally are these; Thirds, viz. 1 3, 2 4. &c. Fifths 1 5, 2 6 &c. Eights 1 8, 2 9, 3 10 &c. and these are the more pleasant according to the Number of Bells they are struck on, and as they are struck, whether seperately or mutually. From hence Changes are made, which is only a Changing place of one Note with another, so variously, as Musick may be heard a thousand wayes of Harmony; which being so obvious to common Observation, I shall not go about to demonstrate; for that if two may be varied two wayes, surely by the Rule of Multiplication, a Man may easily learn how many times 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 12 Bells Notes may be varied, which will run almost ad infinitum.
3. For the better observing the Ringing of Changes or Rounds, these three things are to be noted.
1. The Raising true in Peal.
2. Ringing at a low Compass; And
3. Ceasing in true Peal; All which three are the most essential Parts to render a Practitioner Excellent.
1. For Raising a Peal of Bells true, the modern & best Practice recommends the swiftest and quickest possible, every one taking Assistance to raise his Bell, as its going requires: The lesser Bells as Treble, &c. being by main strength held down in their first Sway (or pull) to get time for the striking of the rest of Larger Compass; and so continued to be strong pulled till Frame-high, and then may be slackned: The Bigger, as Tenor, &c. must be pincht or checkt over head, that the Notes may be heard to strike roundly and hansomely. Observe that all the Notes strike round at one Pull: I do not mean the First; but ’tis according to the Bigness and Weightiness of your Bells: However in raising a Peal, do not let one Bell strike before the rest, or miss when the rest do; this is contrary to the Strict Rules of true Ringing: And this is called Round-Ringing. Now if you design to raise a Peal of Bells for Changes, you ought to raise them to a Set-Pull, as the most proper for commanding the Notes, and he who is not well skilled to manage his Bell at a Set-Pull, will be apt to drop or overturn it, be in a Wood, and fruitlessly toil and moil himself. Therefore in practising the Setting of a Bell, cast your Eye about the other Bell-Ropes, during your managing your own, that you may accustome your selfe to manage it according to the Change.
2. For Ringing at a Low Compass, is thus observed: By keeping a due punctum or beat of Time, in the successive striking one after another of every Bell; the best Ringer being set to the Treble, that may guide and direct the rest of the Notes in their due Measure.
3. For Ceasing a Peal of Bells; Let them fall gradually from a set Peal, checking them only at Sally, till the low Compass renders it useless; and when so low, that for want of Compass, they can scarce strike at Back-stroak; then let the Treble-Ringer stamp, as a Signal, to notify, that the next time they come to strike at the Fore-stroke, to check them down, to hinder their striking the Back-stroke; yet Fore-stroke continued, till brought to a neat and gracefull Chime, which may be the Finis to that Peal.
Thus much in short, for Raising, Round-Ringing, and Ceasing a Peal of Bells; I come next to lead you forth into that spacious Field of Variety of Changes, and present you with Instructions that may be meerly necessary, for the right Understanding the several kinds of them.
Now in Ringing Changes, two of our best Senses, are to be employed, viz. The Ear, and the Eye: The Ear, Hearing when to make a Change; and the Eye directing the Bell in making it: The Bells being the Object of the Former, and the Bell-Ropes the Object of the Latter. And to render both the Eye and Ear Usefull in Ringing Changes, these Five things are throughly to be Understood
First. Endeavour to distinguish the Notes of a Peal of Bells, one from another while Ringing.
Secondly, Learn to apprehend the Places of the Notes.
Thirdly, Understand the Precendency of Notes.
Fourthly, How to make a Change in Ringing.
Fifthly, and Lastly. How to Practise the four fore-going Notions in General.
1. To know the Notes of a Peal of Bells asunder (which is easy in Round-Ringing) in Changes is thus: Get the skill of Tuning them with your Voice, by imitating their Notes while Ringing. Or if you are acquainted, either by your self or Friend, with some Singing-master, or one who has skill in Singing, get him to instruct you in the true Pitch of any Note, and aid your distinguishing them; otherwise you may be puzzled in this, to know which is Treble, which Second, &c. as in 532641, &c.
2. To know the Places of the Notes, is no way better to be apprehended than thus: The Practitioner ought to form an Idea in his Head of the Place of each Note, whether in a direct Line, or Obliquely; and representing them by a Figure in his mind, see (as it were) by the Eye of his Understanding each stroke of the Bell, as the Treble, 1. Second 2. Third 3. &c. so that as the Ear is to direct him, when to make the Change, so a right Apprehension of the Motion and Places of the Notes, ought to be a means to guide his Ear.
3. The Precedency of Notes, is of a very Obvious Demonstration; thus: In Ringing Changes, the Fore and Back-stroke, successively following one another, are properly said to Lye behind one another, according to their places of striking. Or in short, in 12345. the Note that leads either at Fore or Back-stroak, is said to Lye before the rest, and the last to be behind. As the 2 is said to lye behind the 1, so it lyeth before the 3, as the 3 lyeth behind the 2, so it lyeth before the 4. And so of as many as are Rung.
4. The manner of making a Change, is very common, and needs no particular, but general Rule; That it is made by moving one Note into anothers place, Up and Down, as Occasion requires; but all usually made by two Notes standing one next the other, as hereafter may be Observed.
Lastly, In your Ringing Changes, these two things (in which consists the practick part of this Art) are to be rightly considered. First, Readily to know which two Bells are to make the succeeding Change. And Secondly, to consider (if you are concern’d in it) what Bell you are to follow in making it. To understand which the more perfectly, you must imprint in your memory, the Method of the Changes prick’d in Figures, and to be expert likewise in setting them down divers wayes, and making any Figure a Hunt at Pleasure; and thus without pausing or hesitating to consider the Course, you may throughly understand the Methods; the Four preceding Observations being first perfectly understood.
There are two wayes of Ringing Changes, viz. By Walking them, as the Artists stile it; or by Whole-pulls, or Half-pulls: Walking is, when in one Change the Bells go round, Four, Six, or Eight times; which is a most incomparable way to improve a young Practitioner, by giving him time to consider, which two Bells do make the next succeeding Change, and in making it, what Bell each is to follow; so that by this means (by his industry) he may be capable of Ringing at Whole-Pulls; Which is, when the Bells go round in a Change at fore and back-stroke; and a new Change is made every time they are pulled down at Sally: This an Ancient Practice, but is now laid aside, since we have learnt a more advantageous way of hanging our Bells, that we can manage a Bell with more ease at a Set-Pull than formerly: So that Ringing at Half-Pulls is now the modern general Practice; that is, When one Change is made at Fore-Stroke, another at Back-Stroke, &c.
I have one Thing more to add in these introductory Rules, and that in short is this: He that Rings the slowest Hunt, ought to notify the extreme Changes; which is, when the Leading Bell is pulling down, that he might make the Change next before the Extreme, he ought to say, Extreme. By this means, betwixt the Warning and the Extreme there will be one compleat Change.