Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1890-10-16
Constancy and Heaven arc round.
And in this the Emblem's found"

Again:
"Constancy and Heaven arc round,
And in this the Emblem's found"
Perhaps the most important ring
certainly in the opinion of the fair sex
= is the wedding ring. Ordinarily,
plain gold ring is used; but any ring
will do-even the ring of q key has
done service before now. 1t is well
known that tho second of the three
beautiful Cummings was married with q
curtain ring, the impatience of the
bridegroom-th Duke of Hamilton
not permitting him to wait till the
usual ring could be procured.
The delivery of a ring has always been
considered sign of confidence, of del
egation, of power; and honce, in mar
riage, shows the trust of the husband
in his wife, and his investing her with
authority in his household. 1t is also
looked upon as symbol of eternity and
constancy.
Some consider that the left hand was
chosen to signify tho wife's subsection
to the husband, and the third finger be-
cause it thereby pressed a vein supposed
to communicate directly with the heart
The third finger, on account of certain
fancied virtue with which it is credited,
has always been selected as the one on
which to wear official rings. To the
Greek and Roman physicians it was
known as the medical or healing finger,
and was used to stir their mixtures,
,,o+l,inr
could communicate with it without Civ
ing immediate warning by palpitation
of the heart In some parts of England
the ring-finger is supposed to have the
power of curing any sore or wound
which it stroked by it. Also, it is be-
lieved that any growth like wart on
the skin may be removed by rubbing a
wedding ring upon it.
Among the Puritans there were many
who desired to forbid tho use of the
wedding ring as Popish and super
stitious practice. Butler, in his ''lIudi-
bras" refers to this:
"Others were for abolishing
That tool of matrimony, a ring,
With which tn unsanctifed bridegroom
Is married only to a thumb"
When the Venetian Republic was at
tho height of its power, there was an
annual ceremony of marriage between
the Doge and tho Adriatic. On Assem-
sion day, with much ceremony and re-
| joicings, a ring was thrown by the
| Doge into the sea, to denote that as tho
wife is subject to the husband, so was
tho Adriatic sea to the Republic of
| Venice
So universal has been the belief in
charms, and so various the articles that
have been used as such, that it is not to
be wondered at that rings should be in
cluded among them. In tho Middle
Ages, rings inscribed with the supposed
names of the Wise Men of the East who
visited our Saviour--namely, Melchoir,
Balthasar and Jasper-woro believed to
act as charms against accidents to the
wearer while travelling, as we'll as to
counteract secrecy and to guard against
sudden death. They were made of sill
yer, and sometimes oven of lead cast in
mold, to be sold cheap to the lower
orders.
Silver rings are by no means uncom-
mon at the present day, worn as charms
against cramp and rheumatism. The
use of rings in England, as charms
against cramp, dates from tho eleventh
century.
In Catholic times cramp rings were
blessed by the King on Good Friday.
Coming in state into his chapel he
found crucifix laid upon cushion
and carpet spread on tho ground be-
fore it. He crept along the carpet tC
the cushion, as a sign of his humility
and there blessed the rings (Which were
in silver basin), kneeling all the time
with his almoner kneeling by his side
After this was done, the Queen and al
her ladies came in and crept up to the
cross.
OF the romance connected with rings
pages might be written, Both Nathanie
Hawthorne and Oliver Wendell Holme,
refer to the incident of Dr. Harris, o
Dorchester, Mass, who, when poo
youth, trudging along ono day, staff il
hand, being then in stress of sore need
| lOulld al uN OhNO Oht0 SpAht"hUO "o'
adhering to the end of his stick, which
somewhat proved to- be q gold ring o
price, bearing the words: God speed
thee, friend,
A curious anecdote concerning a rinl
and a walking-stick is given in Mote
and Queries" A servant boy was sen
into the town with valuable ring. III
took it out of it's box to admire it, and
passing over plank bridge, let it fal
on o muddy bank, Not being able t
find it., he ran away to sea, finally set
tied in a colony, made largo fortune
, came back after many years, and bough
the estate on which he had been servant
One day, while walking over his lam
with friend, he came to the plan
bridge, and there told his story. ''
, could swear" said he, pushing his site
into the mud, ''to the very spot o
which the ring dropped" When h
withdrew the stick, the ring was on tn
end of it-0nce Week.