Evening journal., 1889-06-04
MY LADY'S RING.
FAcTs AND FANclEs CONCERNING
MANY HOOPS or GOLD.

the Fingers They Adom-Superstitions
and omens Connected with Thern-The
rosy Ring of the Sixteenth Century.
The origin Of the circlet that adorns my
lady's hand is obscure though very ancient
There is tradition which assigns the inyen-
ton Of the ring TO Tubal Cain, and the old
Latin author who gives circulation 10 the
story, in speaking Of tho wedding circlet,
says: "The form Of the ring being circular
that Is TO say, round and without end-im-
partcth this much, that mutual love and
hearty affection should roundly flow from
one 70 the other, as In the circle. and that
continually forever"
The hands Of female mummies found in
the tombs Of Egypt are profusely decorated
with rings, thus proving that ring wearing
was an established custom at very early
day. The wealthy ladies Of Egypt wore
rings on nearly every iinger-and costly rings
they were, too Their poorer sisters used
less costly etrclets and rings formed OF
bronze, glass and pottery with suitable mot
toes we're their finger friends
BErRoTHAL AND MARRIAGE RINGS.
Marriage by the ring is common In many
countries besides our own The Russians
times In the first place, the man places the
ring on the womans finger then the priest
changes the mans ring and puts it on her
finger, and then priest and man join and give
her the ring for life. When Henry VIII es-
poused Anne Of Cleves he sent her a ring
which bore tho inscription, God send me
we'll TO keep" 1t was a fatal motto, as we
know, for bluff King Haln ere long grew
tired Of her and began 10 look around for
another pretty victim.
Wedding rings have not always been made
OF metal Necessity has caused the invention
Of some singular ones On several occasions
a piece cut from the finger Of a kid glove has
answered for the wedding circlet When the
gallant Duke Of Hamilton married Miss Gun
ming almost on the spur Of the moment, one
might say, for the courtship was Of but two
days duration, | believe, no proper cere-
monial ring was at hand. The archbishop
refused to act without ring, and the lord
and his lady were for while distracted.
But at length tho knot was cut IN an ingen-
ious manner and the young couple were mar
ried by the ring Of the bed curtain, which no
doubt cut a curious figure on the white hand
of the fair damsel
Among the Armenians children are sub
jected 70 early betrothal by ring ceremony
This IS done by the mothers, who make the
occasion a very solemn one, and at any tilne
years afterward t9e man can claim his bride
But once year nom the date Of the be.
trothal the prospective bride is entitled 10
receive an Easter dress from the hands OF the
future husband. Customs similar 70 this one
prevail In various countries Of the east. and
the ring is made to play very important
part In tho womans life.
In Roman espousals, mentions Macrolius
the man gave the woman a ring by way Of
pledge, and the woman put it ON tho third
finger OF her left hand, because 1t was be-
ieyed that nerve ran from that finger to
tho heart The Egyptians ascribed the
possession Of this important nerve to
the Fourth finger Of the same hand Com
ing down 10 later belief and usage, we
hnd that Madame de Ia Tour, writing Of my
lady's ring, says that II the lady is willing to
marry, the circlet should be worn on the in
dex finger Of tho left hand; If engaged, on
the second finger; X married, on the third;
but II she has no desire TO wed, then on the
little finger.
The sign language OF the ring Is varied and
quaint For instance. We arc told that a
ring on the forehnger indicates naughty,
bold and overbearing spirit; on the long
finger, prudence, dignity and discretion; on
tho marriage finger, love and affection; on
the little finger, mastcrful spirit
One would not think that rings were once
worn on the thumb, but such was one Of the
customs that prevailed from the Fourteenth
to the Seventeenth century. We are quite
familiar with FalstaRs extravagant boast
that, when young, he was slim enough to
creep into any aldermans thumb ring |"
But thumb rings never came into general use
among the ladies They preferred 10 keep
the ring on tho tapering fingers, where II
could be worn with more ease and to better
advantage.
Wedding rings in all ages have been re-
gartled sacred. When Mary of Modena, one
Of the beautiful and unfortunate heroines Of
history, was forced 20 dispose Of her jewels
she kept as most precious TO her her wedding
ring Dr. Samuel johnson kept his wifes
ring as a sacred treasure, and the keepsake
most valued by Victoria is known to be the
ring placed on her finger by Albert on their
wedding day. There is q story told of q Rus
sian prince who, on being searched previous
TO a life long exile in Siberia, begged to be al
lowed to retain "A plain gold ring which kept
alive tho memory Of a happy marriage. And
the story goes, ! am glad 70 say, that he
went to tho mines with the treasure next to
his heart
rosy AND MOTTO RINGS.
Posy rings camo into vogue with tho Six
teonth century. These were motto rings, and
they form ono Of the most interesting chap
ters Of ring lore. It Is aid that tho famous
ring which Essex sent to Queen Elizabeth by
the Countess Of Notti ,.ham, but which the
willful woman did not deliver until after the
dukes DEATH was a posy. These rings were
common between lovers and friends all over
Europe. They bore rhyming notices and al
fectionate sentiment, aud the lady without a
posy ring was looked upon as forlorn and
with but few hopes OF marriage ahead.
Shakespeare knew the posy ring, for in the
Merchant Of Venice" ho makes Gratiano and
Nerissa say;
Grnttano-About a hoop Of gold, paltry ring,
That slo did give inc, whose posy YVES,
For all the world like cutters poetry
Upon a knife, Love me love me not -
kerissa-What talk you OF the posy, or the value
You sworc to mo when did give 10 you
That you would wear Il TIL your hour
Of deati
Some Of the notices on the old posy rings
are beautifully quaint The list OF them Is
entirely too long to b. embodied in this art
Gle, but / cannot refrain from giving row:
I'm thee my choioc, do rejoice
May God above increase our love"
"Not two but one TIL life is done"
"My heart and until die"
"As gold is pure, 30 love is sure"
"As long as life your loving wife"
"Iove IS sure where faith is puren
Love is heaven, aud heaven Is loves
Not for day, but love, for aye.n
When this You see, then think Of ma"
In gold I'm cast TO bind two fast"