, 1881-05-01

In the days we'll known to history as once
upon a time" certain noble Roman youth
was deeply engaged in the excitement Of a
game OF ball. The occasion was all lnlpor~
tant one to him, for it was his wedding feast,
but tile play made him careless of 4 treasure
that he ought to have guarded With the
greatest affection.
lie took off Ills wedding-rin3 and placed it
upon the finger of 4 statue OF Venus, to re-
main there until lie should want it again.
When, however, 4 few hours after he wished
to take it, he found to his dismay that the
stony hand had become cle1chett, so that 1t
was impossible to remove the ring. lie now
had to pay the penalty of his rashness, for
he was constantly haunted by the figure,
which kept whisperin. in his ear: Elm
brace me; all, Venus whom you have we'd
detl. will never restore your ring."
The wretched youth continued to be fol-
lowed BY his disagreeabfc companion, until.
after much difficulty, he was able, with the
assistance of 4 priest, 10 force the goddess to
rc!inquisll the ring, and then only was the
young man free. ,.
popular under varied forms: in some OF these
the Virgin Mary takes the place of Venus,
and the owner 0f the ring having, BY placing
it OH the finger Of = statue, BECOME the oe-
. trOtliGH QI LuG flrHlii, Is OullECu ~ 1CIaoAAlC
the world and enter 6: monastery.
In another version 4 certain priest, deslr~
ing to enter the marriage state, seeks
license from the Pope, who grants ms r.
quest on condition that lie shall first conci1-
late st. Agnes. who wis not only the patron
ess OF his own church but the special pre-
server Of yirginal chastity, by placing on
the finger of her image AL emerald ring, sent
for tue purpose by tile sovereign pOiiti1i nm.
self. The priest does rs ne Is dlrectea, ai.o ,la
of;Y
figure but his astonishnlent is great when
tile hand which had been put forward to re-
ceye the ring is returned to its Original posi-
tion Attempts to withdraw the ring are
Intellectual, and the unfortunate priest re-
aIizes tile disagreeable truth that he Is coll
tractel to st. Agnes and can marry no one
else.
These stories are particularly interesting
ally entertained iu oIlen times, that Weoullsg
and betrothal rings possessed All lnherenI
mower and value in thenSelyes,-a belief
which still fingers IN places.
TIE NEW EA1p:EsS OF RUSSIA.
The Princess Daslnav, as the Empress IS
still called III the land of her birth, grew TIP
with her sister Alexandra, now the Princess
of Wales, at the Danish Court, with very
modest surroundings. The Queen was an
excellent mother, and sought to develop in
IGT uHu1HltI9 L1lC HU1Aslt' 4h PA%AeAS SAASS ~
the Princess. 1t used to be said at the Capt.
tai that tie Princesses were made to help Ill
making their own dresses, and that the furnl-
ture in their common bedroom was covered
will, inexpensive calico. y story OF the
naive admiration expressed BY PRINCESS Dag"
mar III being shown the wedding trousseau
of one of the noble ladies at Court, and hcr
longing wonder whether she would ever her
self own "sucli things was told with
touch of sympathetic pride by the people OF
Copenhagen, with whom the two Princesses
were great fayorits. Dagmar had won her
way deepest into the peoples heart, now
ever, IIer sweet disposition, the winning
grace of her manner, and the perfect freedom
viii, which SHE, like her sisters (and. indeed,
the whole Royal family, moved among all
classes of the people, were well calculated 10
gain for her MI affection that followed her to
her new home and found expression az heE
,vnfifiinu in 4 score of ways that touched the
heart Of the Princess profoundly: -At every
subsequent appearance at her fatncrs eoult
She was received by the people with an en-
fIusias1u that even embraced her nusoaiia,
des,,tte the rlluiOrs of his sinister character
and violent temper that FROM the oeslnlhns
Ind threatened to make the match an unpop-
Mar one. The Czarowitz apparently tooA
kindly to this popularity. and when az topEI!i
hagen mingled freely with the populace. IL;
blutf. soldicrly way soon found favnf. anu
when Dagnlar's children, il, little kilteu SUES
audi with dark hair ''bnnsed" over lnelr