The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-20
QUEER WEDDING RINGS.
Some Odd Substitutes That Have
Been Called Into Service.
From Tit Bits.

Considering the smalluess of its size and
Its comparatively Insignificant intrinsic
value, / suppose few products Of the gold
smiths art exert greater influence than
the plain gold wedding ring. recently said
an old clerical acquaintance TO The writer.
Setting aside altogether the wider ques-
tons of lifelong veal or Woe of which it
is so strikngly significant. Il is remarka-
bic how large a collection of ideas and in
cidents connected with the wedding ring
one accumulates in the course of a life
time spent in christening. marrying and
burying the inhabitants of a popuous
parish.
Incidents in which the marriage service
has to be temporarily suspended while
bridegroom and hosi man tumble over one
another and murmur strange nothings as
they vainly search for a missing ring are
by no means so uncommon as one might
imagine. This fiasco is usually brought
about through an excess OF caution.
The groom. being afraid perhaps TO trust
to his own memory upon such a momen-
tous occasion, hands over the precious cir
clet to the best man for safe custody. The
latter, who, by the way, is no more In the
habit of carrying loose weddings rings
about than is the groom himself. places
The ring for safety in as out-of- the-way
place as he can possibly think of in the
brief time at his disposal Before he has
had time to properly commit the hiding
place to memory he is seized by half a
dozen importunate small fry and hurried
off to attend to something else.
The consequence is that the admonitory
stage whisper of the officiating minister to
have the ring handy falls upon him like
a bolt from the blue. Where the dickens
did he put &c? II was somewhere close
handy. he is sure Of that. But where, oh,
where?-and a cold perspiratfon breaks out
all over him as he realizes that the service
has stopped, and the reproachful chances
of the whole company are turned upon
him. the rascally culprit who has mislaid
the ring
II Is useless to pursue the scene further
Any one possessed of the slightest fund of
imagination win readily picture TO himself
The frantic scene of furry which inevbta-
bly, follows, more especially if the con-
tracing parties are sufficiently well known
to secure a large and fashionable attend
ance at the church. Suffice It to say that
II Is position In which not few best men
find themselves in the course OF a year:
and many are the expedtents by which
they endeavor TO extricate themselves
from what is at the best of times a par
ucularly unpleasant dilemma.
One case which occurred quite recently
at fashionable West End church ended
In particularly ludicrous manner. As
usual, the best man was the culprit But
although both he and the groom turned
out their pockets several times over and
CROPPED along the foot of the altar rail-
ings on their hands and knees In a yain
attempt to discover the missing trnket.
The lady had finally to be welded with a
ring borrowed from an onlooker.
No sooner, however, had the party
reached the vestry than a sudden exclama-
ton from the best man caused all eyes
to be turned upon him. Then Il was seen
that, In order to keep the ring secure, lie
had carefully passed the folds of his white
silk scarf through it. He had In fact
ransacked his brains and pockets to dis
cover an article which had all along re-
posed literally beneath his nose in the tenn
porary capacity of a harmless, necessary
| scarf ring.
| In the above case'the ceremony was per-
formed with the conventional ring Other
brides, however, have not always been so
fortunate. The Duchess of Hamilton is said
| to have been married al Mayfair with a
curtain ring; while, some years back, a
| bridal party at Colchester, were forced
| TO fall back upon the ring of the church
key. Even this case. however, was capped
! DW one Wnlcn occurred at StratfOrd in Oc-
! tober, 1860, when the only ring obtainable
! was an extempore one of kid, cut upon
! the spot from the brdegrooms glove.
East End couples are particularly i'm
! provident in this respect One couple, who
were at their wits end what to do for a
! ring, were considerably relieved by an in
| spiration of the best man. Calamity pluck
| ing forth a huge horseshoe scarf pin from
his tie of many colors, he broke off the
/ pin, bent the soft metal shoe round his
| finger and, with the air of an Angelo ad-
miring his chew doeuvre, handed the
brazen circlet to his pal. Another couple
got over the difficulty by using a coin
from which the center had been removed,
and which curiously enough, the groom
was carrying in his pocket al the time.
The most curious ring of all, however,
was that employed by dock laborer, who,
by some means or other, had mislaid the
more conventional article on his way 10
church. Casting about In his perplexity
for a suitable object wherewith to en-
| bellish the finger of his charmer, his eyes
suddenly fell upon one of the quoits with
which he and the best man we're subse-
quently matched 10 play for the price OF
the dejeuner at neghboring tavern
Despite the protests of the lady and the
| outlaws of his companions, the groom i'm
sisted upon going through the ceremony
with the aid of this ponderous plaything
and, since the only alternative was 10 in
definitely postpone the event, the lady put
the best face on the matter by accepting
| the quoit-and the decker.
The Snfdar,s Annette