New Haven Daily Herald

An Incident.—A friend, speaking the other day of religious societies, mentioned a little incident that occurred not long ago, in a village in the interior of Massachusetts, which amused us so much that we took it down. The Universalists had just had a new meeting house erected, and were talking of purchasing a bell. Said a resident of the town one day, rather jocosely, to a member of a church of a very different religious faith; 'Come, friend A., their new meeting house is now done, suppose we show a little liberality and give them a new bell?' 'Agreed. I'll give as much towards it as B., (an ardent and influential Universalist,) be it more or less.' B., hearing of this, called upon A., and telling him, in presence of several witnesses, that he would take him at his word, had the promise reduced to writing, and finally signed. He then started off, bought a bell worth three hundred dollars, and called upon A. for a hundred and fifty dollars. Not for a moment imagining that B. would pay any thing towards purchasing the bell, he was thunderstruck, and taken all aback, most peremptorily refusing to pay the amount. But B. was determined to hold him to his word, and that the society should have the money. He therefore entered an action against A. in the County Court, and recovered the hundred and fifty dollars, which was accordingly paid over. This of course nettled the loser not a little, and the idea that he should be obliged to pay for a bell to swing from the belfry of a church, where religious doctrines, the opposite of those he himself professed, were preached, was any thing but pleasant to him. In the midst of his passion, he declared that if his half of the bell was rung he would prosecute the society, and it was thought that he would attempt to carry his purpose into effect! "They may ring their own hundred and fifty dollars worth to all eternity if they choose, but if they sound my half, I'll sue the society, so let them touch it if they dare. Let them cut it into two parts if they please, and ring their own half."—The bell, however, was put up, and A., finding he could do nothing to prevent the ringing of the whole bell, finally desisted, and as a last resort, and to get the matter off his hands, made a formal bequest of his half to a relative, who attended the church, whose members assembled at its Sabbath peals. And there it rings to this day, and, says our informant, "I never heard a Universalist bell ring, without thinking of the man who was obliged to pay for one half of the instrument which summoned together to worship those of whose religious principles he was so open and violent an opponent!" The incident is not without its moral.