Then Arnald caused it to be cried, that all those who loved the good
House of the Lilies should go to mass that morning in Saint Mary's
Church, hard by our house. Now this church belonged to us, and the
abbey that served it, and always we appointed the abbot of it on
condition that our trumpets should sound all together when on high
masses they sing the "Gloria in Excelsis." It was the largest and most
beautiful of all the churches in the town, and had two exceeding high
towers, which you could see from far off, even when you saw not the
town or any of its other towers: and in one of these towers were
twelve great bells, named after the twelve Apostles, one name being
written on each one of them; as Peter, Matthew, and so on; and in the
other tower was one great bell only, much larger than any of the
others, and which was called Mary. Now this bell was never rung but
when our house was in great danger, and it had this legend on it,
"When Mary rings the earth shakes;" and indeed from this we took our
war cry, which was, "Mary rings;" somewhat justifiable indeed, for the
last time that Mary rang, on that day before nightfall there were four
thousand bodies to be buried, which bodies wore neither cross nor
lily.

So Arnald gave me in charge to tell the abbot to cause Mary to be
tolled for an hour before mass that day.

The abbot leaned on my shoulder as I stood within the tower and looked
at the twelve monks laying their hands to the ropes. Far up in the
dimness I saw the wheel before it began to swing round about; then it
moved a little; the twelve men bent down to the earth and a roar rose
that shook the tower from base to spirevane: backwards and forwards
swept the wheel, as Mary now looked downwards towards earth, now