Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-10-08

A@Cs III very singular passage Wh1ch
 throws some interesting light on tho
 subject of the wedding ceremony in gen.
 eral. From this we learn that the bride
 groom was to receive the ring from the priest, who had blessed it land this
 blessing, it may be remarked, is still hinted at in the marriage service of the
 English Episcopal ohurch); and then
 holding the right hand of the bride in his own left hand, he was
 to recite the words, "With this ring thee we'd" Then he was to place
 the ring on the right-hand thumb, say ing: "In the name of the Father;"
 then on the first finger with the words:
 ''snd of the Son." then on the second
 finger, adding: land Holy Ghost" and
 finally, with the words closing: "Amen,"
 on the third finger, where it was to re- main. But in course of time uniformity
 was established in favor of the left hand,
 and there is no longer room for question concerning this important point. Of course, no one acquainted with the mar
 riage service of the English Episcopal church needs to be told that it is abso-
 lutely necessary, according to the rites of
 that church, that ring should be em- ployed. But beyond the simple ordi-
 nance that a ring there must be, the church makes no specific conditions, so
 that Curious as it may appear) a ring of any size or weight, material or pattern, will serve the purpose perfectly well. It is naturally enough not often that one has to chronicle any departure from recognized custom in this regard; but such departures do from time to time occur. A story is told of two paupers
 'who came to church and requested to be married with the church key, as the parochial authorities had not furnished them with a ring" The clerk, 1t is said, not unnaturally, felt "some delicacy' about this, and finally found another way out of the difficulty. He fetched an old curtain ring from his own house and with this extraordinary article the loving couple were duly united in the bonds of holy matrimony. But, though this particular clerk saw fit to hesitate, the church key has been employed, and that more than once, in place of the ring during the last hundred years. Even the Duke of Hamilton twas mar rted at May Fair with a bed-curtain ring" Nor does this by any means ex- haust the list of eccentric makeshifts. To give my one other instance, it is a matter of history that lady was once married with a ring of leather cut trans Iversely from the finger of the bride groom's glove.
 Thus the plain gold hoop now sane tioned by long usage and surrounded as it is by untold associations, is by no means so essential to the marriage ordi- nance as most people suppose. Indeed, 1t is only during more recent years that 1t has been accepted as the only proper form of weddipg-ring; for in former days rings used for marriage were fre- quently chased, or set with stones, or inscribed on the inside or outside with names, initials, or notices. One might give long list of these notices, or posies as they were called, but 1t would hardly be found interesting or instruct i've; for they were not as rule distiu- guished by great poetic ability or marked originality of thought.
 So 1t appears that the wedding-ring, like all things human, has it's history and its romance. Nowadays it may in- deed be said that its adventures are well-ntgh over. Perhaps SO. But, be that as it may, the writer feels safe in prophesying that so long as hearts beat in unison to the same hopes, the same aspirations, the same desires, so long will the wedding-ring keep it's hold upon us all, as the enduring symbol of faith and sacrifice and love.-Detroit Free Press.