The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-12-31
ghe aua Badly eagle: ghnrdan Informing nembr al, 1881.
BUYING The WEDDING RING.

Just think of 1T! One jeweIry store
on the Bowery claims to sell over four
hundred wedding rings year. And
yet we hear the cry that ''men are not
marrying" If one out of the many stores
that supply these golden letters of mat
rimony can dispose of such a number
within year, what must the sales
amount to when all those that are sup
| piled by other firms are added?
Surely somebody's getting married
Down on the Bowery, near Grand
street, there hangs golden hoop large
enough to marry all the brides on that
side of town. 1t is hung above a jew
elry store, and can be seen as well from
the elevated road as from the sidewalk.
1t was from the window of downtown
train that first caught sight of it A
young country-looking couple that sat
near by also noticed the giant-like en-
blem of wedlock, and heard the girl
whisper: 30, Willie, there's where we
got our ring" But Willie didn't look
until the car had passed the store; then
he raised his eyebrows little and said,
81 see" indifferently, and turned again
to the paper he had been perusing. The
girl bit her lips, and looked down at
the gold band upon her ungloved hand.
At the next station 1 left the train
and visited the store where willie"
had bought the ring One of the sales
men said, in answer to a question,
There isn't as much sentiment in the
business as one might suppose. By the
time the happy couple arrive here they
have got beyond the blushing stage of
heart disease. and they buy the ring in
the most matter of-fact way. Some
times the man and woman come to-
gether, but usually the gentleman
comes alone to get the ring.
"Do women ever select and pay for
their own wedding ringsP Not very
often, although there was a lady here
last week who did so. When a couple
come in together the man picks out
ring and asks his friend if it will do,
and she invariably answers Yes
Then he pays for it, and that's all there
is about it"
What size of ring is usually re-
quired?" l asked SIN this part of the
city," replied the practical salesman,
from six and quarter to seven are
the usual sizes; but they run smaller
uptown on Broadway"
Upon the counter he then placed two
trays containing wedding rings. Some
Of them appeared too large for any
finger but that of a giant; yet it hap
pens sometimes that these are not large
enough for would-be purchaser. 1t is
customary among the Germans for both
the man and woman to buy ring and
make a mutual gift on the wedding day.
The price of a wedding ring on the
Bowery ranges from eight dollars to
twenty-five dollars, the average price
keing ten dollars to fifteen dollars. In
style, the old-fashioned plain round cir
Gle is generally preferred. because it is
as comfortable in the dishpan as in the
drawingroom. and the sentimental lit
tie wife need never take it off for fear
of its being spoiled.
When asked how long it usually took
to purchase a wedding ring, the sales
man laughed, and answered that IN his
fourteen years experience it had never
taken couple longer than half an hour
to select one, usually ten minutes THE
woman seems to think it's best to hurry
in buying, or her escorts mind may
change on the subject.
"We have never" said he, chad a
ring that was bought returned because
the marriage didn't come off. Some
times gentleman orders a ring made
that is too heavy for the slender finger
that is to wear it, and then he brings it
back and we take off some of the gold.
frequently, too, people bring us old
rings to be melted and made over, but |
this we refuse to do.
''Why?" l asked Because we can
not promise to give them back the same
gold that they brought u.s." he an
swered. "Of course, we send the arti-
Gle to be made over to the workmen, |
but it is thrown into the same crucible |
as all the other gold, and who knows |
after that which was 'grandma's ring |
or the 'baby's SPOON not we, surely"
he then told story of two couples who |
had ordered four rings made that |
weighed three ounces altogether They |
were brothers who married sisters, and |
Notwithstanding the well-known super |
stition in regard to such marriages
that one out of the four will die before
the year is past-these people are alive
and happy, and they have been married |
six years IN. Y. Advertiser. -