The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-01-22

hearty anectiOn ehOuiQ rOunUy HOW
from one to 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
rina-wearing was an established custom
at a very early day. The wealthy ladies
of Egypt wore rings on nearly every finger
and costly rings they were. too. Their
poorer sisters used less costly circlets.
and rings formed Of bronze. glass and
pottery with suitable notices were their
finger friends.
Marriage by the ring Is common In
many countries besides our own. The
Russians have two rings. which are
changed three times. In the first place,
the man places the ring on the woman's
finger, then the priest changes the mans
ring and puts 1t on her finger. and then
priest and man join and give her the ring
for life. When Henry VIII espoused Anne
of Cieves he sent her a ring which bore
the inscription. God send me well TO
keep" 1t was fatal motto. as we know.
for bluff King Hai' ere long grew tired
of her. and began to look around for an
other pretty victim.
Wedding rings have not always been
made Of metal. Necessity has caused
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 Cunning
almost on the spur OF the moment. one
might say. for the courtship was OF but
two days duration, I believe, no proper
ceremonial ring was at hand. The arch
bishop refused to act without ring, ana
the lord and his lady were for while
distracted. But at length the knot was
cut in an ingenious manner and the young
couple were married by the ring OF The
bed curtain, which no doubt cut curious
figure on the white hand OF the fair dam
sci.
Among the Armenians children are sub
jected to early betrothai by ring cere-
mony. This is done by the mothers. ~ho
make the occasion a very solemn one,
and at any time years afterward the man
can claim his bride. But once a year
from the date Of the betrothal the pros
pective bride Is entitled to receive mn
Easter dress from the hands OF the fu'uce
husband Customs similar to this one
prevail in various countries Of the East,
and the ring is made TO play very i'm
portant part in the woman's life.
In Roman espousals. mentions Mac
by way Of pledge, and the woman put 1t
on the third finger OF her left hand,
because 1t was belived that q nerve ran
from that finger TO the heart. The
Egyptians ascribed the possession Of
this important nerve to the fourth finger
of the same hand Coming down to
later belief and usage, we find that
Madame de la Tour. writing of my lady's
ring. says that II the lady Is willing to
marry, the circlet should be worn on the
index finger Of the left hand; IL engaged
on the second finger; IL 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 are told
that a ring on the forehnger indicates q
naughty, bold and overbearing spirit; on
the long finger, prudence, dignity and dis
cretion; on the marriage finger, love and
affection; on the little finger. masterful
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 CEN
fury. We are quite familiar with Falstaff' 8
extravagant boast that, when young, he
was slim enough to "creep into any al
derman's thumb ring" But thumb rings
never came into general use among the
ladies. They preferred to keep the ring
OH the tapering fingers, where 1t could be
worn with more ease and to better ad-
vantage.
Wedding rings In all ages have been re-
garded sacred. When Mary of Mondena,
one OF the beautiful and unfortunate he
roines Of history. was forced to dispose
of her jewels she kept as most precious
TO her her wedding ring. DR.. Samuel
Johnson kept his wife's ring as d 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 a story told OF a Russian
prince who on being searched previous to
a lifelong exile In Siberia, begged 20 be al
lowed to retain a plain gold ring which
kept alive the memory Of a happy mar
riage. And the story goes, I am glad to
say, that he went TO the mines with the
treasure next TO his heart.
Posy rings came into vogue with the
sixteenth century. These were motto
rings, and they form one Of the most in
teresting chapters OF Iing-lore. Ii is said
that the famous ring which Essex sent
to Queen Elizabeth by the Countess Of
Nottingham, 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 mot
toes and affectionate sentiment, and the
lady without posy ring was looked upon
as forlorn and with but few hopes of mar
.iage ahead.
Shakespeare knew the posy ring, for In
the Merchant of Venice" he makes Ora
tiano and Nerissa say:
Gratiano-About hoop Of gold. a paltry
ring,
That she did give me. whose
posy was,
For all the world like cutler s
Upor knife, Love me. love
me not
Nerissa-What talk you Of the posy, or
the value?
You swore to me when / did
give II you,
That you would wear II till
your hour OF death.
Some Of the notices on the old posy
rings are beautifully quaint. The list OF
them Is entirely too lorg TO be embodied
in this article, but l cannot refrain from
giving few;
I'm thee my choice, do rejoice"
MAY God above Increase our love-"
Not two but one till life is DONE"
"My heart and until die"
'As gold is pure. so love Is sure"
"As long as life your loving wife"
Lows is sure where faith is pure.
"Love Is heaven, and heaven is love-"
mot for day, but, love, for aye"
when this you sec. then think OF me-
'In gold I'm cast to bind two fast"
"My heart is thine. true love OF NINE"
II. c. Harhaugh in Pittsburg Bulletin.