The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-07


and Polytechnic Hospital The doctor de-
clared that the old adage, "A man is as
old as he feels and a woman as old as
she looks" is one of the safest guides in
| surgery He found that sprighuy ener-
| getic ambitious old men stand surgical
| operations well, while wrinked, dun com
| plexioned, weazen-faced, dried up women
| of lesser years succumb easily. On the
| other hand. well preserved. healthy old
women, with bright minds and clear COM
| plexion, are capital subjects for opera
| ton.
| DR.. futile urged the necessity for estab-
| fishing strong constitutions in children, in
| providing for such constitutions by health
! full, happy marriages, in the protection of
| such constitutions by proper training ana
! self-control, and in encouraging those who
! have reached the age of 60 or 70 years and
/ find themselves afflicted with durable dis
| eases to have those conditions treated at
| once, and thus avoid any exhaustion or
| trying disease which will shorten their
| lives.
II Is doubtful says the New York TIL
| bune, whether the origin of the custom
of wearing a ring as a symbol of an en-
| gagement or marriage has ever been es>
tablshed beyond dispute. IL is certain
| however, that the custom is an ancient
one for in the Bible may be found several
references 10 rings, and the Chris tians
used the ring as a symbol of marriage in
/ 800.
Regarding the custom of wearing the
wedding ring on the most useless finger
| of the left hand-the third fnger-the ex-
PLANTATION has been made that the help
Flessness of that finger Is a protection to
The ring, as on the weakest finger it is
! preserved from rough usage. Another
| reason given is that on the third finger
7 there is a vein leading from the heart,
hence the same excuse as that given for
shaking hands with the left hand, nearer
the heart
| In olden times Kings and others in au-
| thority wore on the ring a seal or image
| that indicated power. and in the time of
| Moses the priests wore rings as symbols
OF office. In the British Museum quaint
rings, made of porcelain, which once
adorned the fingers of the poorer classes
! in Egypt may be seen.
Among the Jews the ring is an import
ant factor in the marriage ceremony and
| in Germany the husband and wife ex-
change wedding rings. The husband Is
I expected to wear his marriage ring con-
! tnuousy. In fact, 1t would be a difficult
matter for a man 10 re-establish harmony
! In his home were he discovered to have
removed the symbol of marriage from his
| finger, the inference being that he mad
been trying TO conceal the fact of his
marriage.
Queen Victoria possesses many rings,
but three of these have a special value
/ in view of the history connected with
/ them. One is her wedding ring-a narrow
gold band The second Is her betrothal
/ ring, a snake made of eneralds and the
I third Is a diamond ring given to her by
/ Prince Albert when she was a young girl
Queen Elizabeth, who was noted for her
! love of jewelry, wore many rings. The
] Emperor of Germany is another royal per-
sonage who has displayed a lining for
/ rings 1t is said that on all important
I occasions the Kaiser will be seen to wear
/ on his left hand a massive gold ring set
l with a large dark stone The ring Is
credited with being an heirloom of the
/ Hohenzollern family and came into the
! possession of Margraf Of Ulrich way back
! in the thirteenth century. After a series
/ Of adventures and mishaps the ring be-
! came the property Of the Kaiser, who
although not a superstitious man, Is never
seen on occasions of state and import
ance without the ring.
Rings have been fashioned from every
material of sufficient strength to be put
TO such use including gold, silver. steel.
brass, iron. bronze, ivory, Jet, earthen-
| ware and wire.
Curious instances have been cited where
makeshift substitutes for the conventional
wedding ring have been utilized during
! the marriage ceremony One sucn in
stance occurred some time ago In near
! by town. when the ring was missing.
! Nothing better being avlable as a substi-
| tute, a curtain ring was used, and on still
| ano Their occasion the ring handle of the
| church key was utilized. A couple in this
state used i'm such an emergency a ring
! formed from the outer edge Of a coin,
| and which had been carried by some one
| present as a curiosity.
A gallant best man" came 10 the res
cue at recent wedding when the ring
! was not forthcoming at the right time. He
/ drew from his tie the slender stickpin
| that had been adjoining It, and bending
the wire into ring shape handed the inn
provlsed wedding ring to the distracted
groom
! A horseshoe nail bent to the shape of a
! ring Is said to bring a great deal Of luck
| 10 the owner and the lead cramp ring
worn six centuries ago has given place
! to various rings now worn to prevent and
cure rheumatism.
Teeth were at one time fashionable for
adjoining rings. but such grewsome orna.
| ments are no longer sought after. THO
! fashionable woman of to-day prefer the
more costly Jewels.
A friend Of the French professor of the
! royal Spanish children tells an amusing
( Iittle anecdote, which shows how witty
| and observant the young King Alfonso Is,
! in spite OF his pumpkin head. The profess
1 cor was giving his august pupils an exer-
! else In French dctatiou. in which occurr-
| cd the following sentence" Beside her nat
| ural distinction, she possessed the majes-
| " OF manners and graciousness OF speech
which are the appanages of a royal prin-
| cess"
! on which the King put down his pen
| and quietly said: Monsieur, the gentle