The herald., 1897-09-19

rlOep udnQb anu Oedtu- -ueduSs tuo
garland Of flowers and knot of ribbon,
seem to have been the chief decorative
stock of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. when sentimentality domi-
mated art in all it's branches. Fl Dye
to Lyve," is a favorite motto.
The great Merovingian and Saxon
rings are among the rarest in the
world. Seven hundred dollars was paid
by the museum for the bent and bro
ken one Of Alhstan, Bishop Of Sher-
burne.
"Iconographic" rings hold figures or
portraits Of saints in the Russian style.
Others are reliquaries for bits Of the
true cross or fragments of sanity toe
bones. while one represents Mary Mag
dalene being carried to heaven by four
angels. One, formed of fifteen small
crosses, was found on the fingers Of a
skeleton; it had no power to stay the
hand of death.
OF great antiquity are the Roman
key-rings, used to keep the key Of pre-
cious chests or caskets ever at hand,
and which in middle ages secured the
cumbrous iron virtue lock- that hus-
bands fastened on their wives before
going to battle.
A ring in favor with old veterans was
Of iron or brass prolonged into a to-
bacco-stopper. These may still be oc-
casionally picked up in the bargain
novels of Wardour street.
Twin cannon look like little opera
glasses on the back of Dutch ring
commemorating some victory; while
from Bavaria comes a great steel ring
set with projecting spikes, with which
the Bavarian peasant lads fight for
their loves. Another form, still in use
with German students, slips over two
fingers at once.
OF mystic rings there are many-the
medicinal circlet of "incantation," the
charmed "toadstone," and the South
German silver set with VOLTS teeth.
A long coffin-shaped ring with three
canoes, the center one representing
Cleopatra holding the asp to her heart.
worn by Cheiro Of palmist fame.
An ancient Venetian, Of three chains
holding revolving turquoise. brown
with age, is engraved on one side with
Venus Anadyomene and on the other
with a Gnostic cypher. Amid more
costly gems the turquoise holds its own
with strange persistence. One great
turquoise cameo Of the Rape of Pros
perine in this collection Is almost large
enough to cover the back of the hand,
and there are some very beautiful ex-
amples of those inlaid with Persian in
scriptions.
In thumb-rings the most splendid are
those given by the popes to cardinals
though they did not always accompany
the scarlet hat, and Wolsey's great
anxiety lest a ring should not be sent
with his precious head covering stands
recorded. OF heroic size, they stand UP
several inches from the hand, and OF
course would be good in effect only
when worn with massive vesture
Usually they are set in brass or bronze
with great cabochens or uncut stones
One with the lion Of st. Marks in alto
is crested with greenish chalcedony
those most priced hold rough emerald
or cabochen ruby. Thumb-rings of 6
more painful sort are the "thumbkins,
or thumbcuffs, used to hold the thumbs
Of prisoners while their clothes were
being cut from them. The example a.
South Kensingtop was found behint
the paneling Of an old sixteenth centu
ry house.
The "puzzle" rings Lord Lytton uset
| to characterize as Ingenious stupid
ity." The baroQue pearls of the Virgil
del Pillar. and the grotesques of littl
jeweled men and animals are uningen
| ious stupidity.
The collection Is rich in super
cameo heads of those whom art ha
immortalized-in Greek and Roman in
taglii, that in finest lines picture tn
loves and the woes of the gods; but be
fore the wealth of precious stones tn
per falls helpless, as we have no ade
Quate words for these dazzling harmo
MES.
Here are gems so rare that they ar
unknown to trade and their names IA
meaningless upon our ears-Dichroit,
Apophyllite. Euclase, Plasma; and eve
Sumachella tells nothing Of it's glor
Gus light.
Most splendid specimens are here-a
mounted in rings and many set roun
with diamonds-of the Chasmdar 9th
Cingalese cats-eye); the magic Alexar
drite, green by day and red by night
the star-rayed sapphire, and the rub
astoria.
OF well-known gems there are man
rare variations-the engraved emel
aids, the great cabochon pigeon bloc
rubies, and the yet more becoming sp
mel; rose-pink, wine-yellow, light
brown claret, and sea-blue; the opa
Hungarian, harlequin, black, green. {
peacock-blue. Here is an apricot-co
ored apphire-sapphires, indeed,
every shade, amethystine, lavende
straw color, deep blue, pale blue, whit
and honey-yellow. There are diamond
in black, blue, green, cinnamon, an
pink.
We turn from these concentrated pt
ems in stone to jewels that owe a