Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1902-02-05

mans expressed the greatest contempt |
at the men OF the Oriental nations |
with whom ,hey came into contact |
wearing earrings. Eventually the
Greeks first and then the Romans |
the custom. With the for
mer however, 1t was the result of
Misunderstanding.
The oracle Of Apollo having declared
that II they wished to have good citi.
zens they were 10 put what they held
most precious into the ears of their
Misunderstanding the Gods
meaning, they pierced the children's
ears and adorned them with gold. With
the Romans the fashion owed its orig.
in to feminine vanity; and in the lux.
urious days of the empire fabulous
prices were given for these useless or.
namonts. so that 1t was saiu Of Roman
matrons that they often had whole
patrimonies SUSPENDED to their ears.
One young aristocrat, by name Gal.
ba stole and pledged one OF his motn.
er's earrings, and with the proceeds
betrayed the expenses of tour
through Europe. OF course, the most
costly and celebrated earring on rec,
ord is that of Cleopatra, which con-
tanned a pearl valued at nearly $500
900. This was the gem which she dis.
solved in vinegar and swallowed at
the banquet given to Anthony, in or.
der to win the wager that it was pos.
sible for a meal to cost such an enor.
nous sum. Both the Greek and Ro.
man men of that period affected ear.
rings, but with the Romans the prac.
tice was confined to the mobiles.
The Danes are generally credited
with the introduction of earrings into
this country. On several occasions,
when the sinews OF war were at low
ebb, the Danish women came to the
assistance of their men folk by yield.
ing up these ornaments to the melting
pot, while King Sweno was ransomed
from this source. That the Saxons,
who. doubtless, initiated the Danes,
were extremely fond of earrings, is
proved by the fact that a Saxon law
expressly enjoined that earrings and
necklaces should, at a mothers death,
fall to the lot of the daughter.
After the tenth century, however. tho
fashion seems to have declined
throughout Europe, and earrings are
neither found in graves nor seen in
paintings or sculptures. The wearing
of them was reintroduCed into Eng.
land in the 10th century, and Stubs,
writing in the rtlne of Queen Elizabeth,
says: The women are not ashamed
to make holes in their ears, whereat
they hang rings and other jewels OF
gold, and precious stones" But what
would Stubs have said il he had lived
to see men thus adorning themselves,
which became the vogue shortly after
ward?
For example. in the famous Chan.
dos portrait, Shakespeare is depicted
with earrings while il one closely
scrutinizes the pictures OF the great
mobiles Of the day II will be found that
many Of them are wearing a left ear.
ring only, usually pearl. in the sew.
enteonth century earrings were no lon.
ger worn by Englishmcn of birth and
position, the fashion becoming trans.
ierred to sailors, who have retained
the use of them, commonly in tho
form of gold hoops, down to our own
time. 1t has long been common be.
lief among seafaring men of all nations
that the wearing of earrings strength.
ems the eyesight, and is certain cure
for sore and bleary eyes.
AS a matter of fact, the strengthen.
ing oil the eyesight theory is general.
ly accepted by the educated classes az
well. for one aften hears of ladies who
firmly believe that they have been
benefited accordingly. Let 1t be said
at once, however, that this popular
theory has never obtained medical ia.
vor. 1t is, indeed, nothing more than
a superstition; probably a corruption
of that which taught that anything
representing the solar system would.
II worn either on the finger or on the
arm or in the ear, act as talisman.
In the case of Inflammation of the
eyes, however 1t is just possible that
ear-pierCing might once have been
adopted as a modification Of the old
drastic counter-irritant that took tho
form of inserting seton.
From EliZabethan days the use OF
earrings by women has continued tu
the present time. The shape of the
ornaments, however, changes com.
! pletely with the fashions; long heavy
pendants being succeeded by similar
ones, and these by single stones in al.
most invisible Citations set close to the
lobe of the ear. In the days before
The discovery Of anaesthetics, by
which agency the nerves IN the lobe
of the ear are now numbed prepare.
tory to piercing. the latter operation
used to be quite an important event in
young girls life. There was the sen,
sation of vanity aroused by the ac
quirement Of the coveted ornaments
which carried with them the distinc,
ton 70 being considered grown up
mingled with the exaggerated dread
of the pain which the piercing involv.