The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1886-04-16
BETROTHAL RINGS.
The Superstitions in Circulation
Regarding Them.

RS8dTO1uB 1A0u1'
The jewelers. patience was ebbing
rapidly. He did his very best to appear
urbane and suave, but his customers
seemed determined to tax his powers OF
endurance to their utmost limit. The
lady had no idea what she wanted.
The gentleman was merely there in
the role of aymaster-whatever she
bought he would indorse with dollars
and cents. He had no ideas of his
own on the subject, and offered no adj
vice.
''Whatever shall 1 get?' said the fair
customer presently, in accents of des-
pair. ''I declare if 1 had thought that
it would be so hard to choose an en-
gagement ring 1 would never have
been engaged. No, John, you needn' t
look at me in that manner. l repeat
that / would never have been en-
gagged"
The gentleman appeared vexed at
this display of feminine vexation; the
ieweler smiled and rose to the occa-
sion. Rays of amusement struggled
through the misty annoyances which
had been clOuding his genial cOunte-
nance. Il don't mind devoting half
an hour to an explanation of the signif-
cance of rings" he said, presently.
"Of course, / don't want to lose my
time, you know"
''It shall not be lost" interposed
John, hastily. 81 promise that / will
buy ring from you in any case. So
kindly advise my wife that is to be
upon the selection of fitting one"
''With pleasure, said the ieweler,
as he motioned his customers to seats,
| took one himself, opened case which
scintillated with variety of richly
studded rings, and cleared his throat
with the caution of the wOuld-be ora
tor. ''Of course you know" he began, 4,
''that most of the superstitions at
tached to rings and the wearing of
rings date from the fifteenth and six
teenth centuries, and are popularity
supposed to be completely extinct at
the present enlightened time. There
never was such a mistake. Ring su-
perstitions are as rife to-day as they
ever have been, though no one would
dare to confess that he believed in
! them. / have scores of people come to
my shop armed with an array of facts
alleged facts, I should say-concern-
ing precious stones which would fill an
octave book without difficulty. The
other day lady and gentleman came
in. They were in the same pleasant
relations which-ahemLI am pleased
to observe in my present customers. :"
(The lady blushed and the gentleman
looked blandly unconcerned.)
''She was about to present him with
q ring, which she insisted that he
should accept. He had declined sew
eral times upon the ground that it was
not customary for lady to present a
gentleman with a ring. But she was
adamant, and he was forced to comply
with her request. 1t appears that he
lived very dissipated life, and that
she was quite aware of the fact. She
selected sapphire ring from the case 1
showed to her. It was the only one
there, and she put it on his finger with
out any hesitation.
g Wear that, she said, 'fOr my sake. ,
i know what you mean he said,
coloring vividly and growing extremely
indignant. 4 know something about
the meaning of rings. and let me tell
you, Estella, that l do not appreciate
the generosity which prompts you to
offer me this
" Wear it, she said hotly, cor will
break the engagement. If you know
what it means, so much the better. If
you do not l shall never tell you-be
quite sure of that. Accept that. / ask
it as the very greatest favor you can do
me- They wrangled over the purchase
a great deal more, and both grew very
angry. But a woman generally gets
her own way, and when they left my
shop he wore the ring on his fourth
finger;
lady customer, much interested.
Remember, / am only telling you
this for-for recreation stammered
the ieweler, Don't imagine that /
mean to insinuate anything. A sap
phire ring is supposed to possess very
great moral power. No man would
dare to wear one in any haunt of dissi-
patton if he had any knowledge of the
subject Should he be indiscreet
enough TO do so. his action will at once
become known to the one whom he
holds dearest. Now, you may suppose
that sensible people wouldn't believe
such a story. But they dO-hundreds
of them, l can assure you. The sap
phire is also supposed to signify piety
and godliness. In the Olden times
clergymen were very partial to the
stone, and it was considered quite ap-
propriate for them to wear it in ring.
Every one knows that opals are con-
sidered exceedingly unlucky," con-
tinued the ieweler. Il don't
believe that superstition viii ever
be overcome" he said, emphatic
ally. ASK any jeweler in New York
City, and he will tell you that he sells
so few opals that his stock rarely con-
tains but half dozen. / never sell
any, ] tell you frankly; and it is a
great pity, for in my opinion there is
no more beautiful stone. People say
that in time the taint will be forgotten,
and that opals will be as popular as
diamonds and pearls. I don't believe
it. Strange to say, the belief in the
unluckiness Of OpaIs does not date
from ancient times The Greeks wore
them in preference to any other stone.
They used to imagine them to be frag-
ments broken from the car Of Phpbus
Thus an opal was supposed to possess
the power of bestoYing the gift Of
foresight upon the owner; Of acting as