Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-24

from their order and became protestants.
Mrs. John w. Foster of Washingtonshad
chased at Madrid while Mr.. Foster wastat
the head of the United States legation
there. 1t was contributed by the chaplain
Of the German embassy to pc soid az Z
Washington upon her return to this count
try and placed it in cabinet in the drawt
ing room of her former residence on
street. From thence it was stolen several
years ago by a guest at one of her recep-
tions and never could be traced.
Ring Worn by the Pope.
The F1shermans Ring, as it is called, Is
worn by the pope and used to seal impor-
tant papers of the holy see. No apostolic
act is legal without it, and for that reason
the ring becomes an object of great I'M
portance upon the death of pope. AS
soon as such sad event is announced the
dean of the sacred college, followed by an
OF the cardinals in Rome and the other dig
nitaries of the papal court, proceeds lnIne-
diately to the room where the body lies
and, knocking on the door, calls three
times, as in the case of the late pope:
Leo come forth! Leo, come forth! Leo,
come forth!'
There being no response, he steps to the
bedside and taps the forehead of the corpse
three times with golden hammer, repeat
ing as before: Leo, awake! Leo, awake.
Leo, ava e!"
Again there being no response, the senior
cardinal takes from the finger of the dead
pope the Fishermans Ring and destroys or
defaces the engraved stone with his golden
hammer Sometimes a file must be used IL
the stone is hard. From the moment of the
destruction of the seal the supreme author
ity rests with the sacred conclave. or the
college of cardinals, until the election of a
new pope.
The Fisherman's Ring is more than 100
years old. but the setting containing the
seal has been changed with every pope:
new ring had to be procured for Plus X be-
cause the old one mysteriously disappeared
from the death chamber of Leo XIII and
has not yet been recovered. Nor is there
any clew to it. The responsibility lies be-
tween the doctor in attendance, Piocentra,
the late pope's valet, and two of the Peccf
brothers, nephews of Leo XIII; although
others may be guilty 1t appears that the
finger OF the dying pope became so ema-
cisted that the ring was taken from 1t by
the doctor and handed to the valet with in
structions to put it in a safe place. The
doctor. the valet and the nephews are said
TO be the only persons who knew where it
was hidden but they strenuously deny all
knowledge of its disappearance.
All cardinals. archbishops and bishops Of
the Roman Church wear rings which are
placed upon their fingers at conservation,
and adherents recognize this symbol of spir-
itual authority by kissing it. The settings
of an episcopal ring may be either
sapphires, rubies, emeralds or amethysts.
The present pope wears a beautiful emer-
after conservation.
Poison Rings.
Poison rings are as old as history. De-
mosthenes wore one, but did not use it.
When the police came from Athens to ar
rest him he asked permission to write
farewell note to friend. and sucked his
pen after dipping it in poisoned ink When
Crassus, who was custodian of the treas
Ures of Rome, was detected in plfering a
pile of gold that was concealed under the
statue of Jupiter, on Capitolne Hill, he
crushed the jewel of his ring in his teeth
and died Immediately.
When the Roman ambassador commanded
the King of Bithynia to surrender Hannibal
the latter committed suicide by sucking
poison which he always carried about in
ring.
Solomon is said to have worn a ring which
possessed magical power; so did Midas, the
King of Phrygia. which, when he wore 1t,
made him invisible
Originally rings were symbols of author
ity, and were used as seals.
They were indispensable to men of affairs.
Then they We're worn as ornaments, and
afterward as pledges of betrothal. alliance.
to certify agreements and contracts. Every
doge of Venice welded the Adriatic by cast
ing ring into the water, exclaiming:
I'VE espouse thee, o scar
In ancient times there were very valua BILE
rings. We read of one worn by the Empress
Faustina the wife of Caligula, which was
worth $3.50, 600; and the Empress Domitia
wore one worth $780, coo.
An iron ring worn by Charlemagne is pre-
served with other relics of the holy Roman
empire in Vienna. Its intrinsic value can
not be more than penny, but it's historical
association makes 1t one of the most valu-
able in all the world.
A Relic of Treachery.
There is a large collection of historic rings
in South Kensington Museum. The most in
teresting, perhaps, is diamond ring sent
by Queen Elizabeth to her cousin, Mary
Queen Of Scots, as a pledge of friendship
and protection and it induced the beautiful
but unfortunate Mary to intrust herself to
English hands. 1t is double ring, but can
not be separated, one part being linked to
the other, and each part has a diamond.
When pressed together 1t looks like a solid
ring with two settings.
Lying beside this relic of treachery is the
wedding ring of Mary Queen of Scots
placed upon her finger by Lord Darnley. 1t
is of gold and beautifully enameled, and
bears a monogram: IN. and A."-"Mary
and Albany'-for Darnley was Duke of AL
bany 1t also bears the arms of England,
Scotland and Ireland. After the death of
Mary the ring descended to her grandson,
Charles l, who on the scaffold took 1t from
his finger and requested Archbishop Juxon
to give it to his son, Charles II, who pawn
ed it in Holland for G300. 1t afterward
came into the possession of the Earl of
lSldy, who presented 1t to the British Mu-
scum.
Tooth Used for Setting.
In the same museum is a curious ring
which has a tooth of Sir Isaac Newton for
a setting. The tooth was sold by DIR. New
tons dentist to a nobleman in 1916 for
S., 500 and the latter had it set in gold and
wore it constantly on his finger Demon, n
French savant, had similar ring set with
a tooth of Voltaire. In the Kensington
collection is the wedding ring of Cola di
Rienzi, given by the famous tribune of
Rome to Catrina di Riselli his wife, upon
the occasion of their marriage in the earlier
part of the fourteenth century. 1t pur-
chased at of the annual clearing sales
OF the Monte Di Pieta, or government
pawnshor In Rome, by Mr.. Waterton of
England
One of the most extra ordinary relics of
the Catholic Church is a plain gold ring
with a cameo setting which Tor hundreds
of years was believed to be the wedding
ring of the Virgin Mary and st. Joseph.
and in 14S6 Pope Innocent VIII officially
recognized Its authenticity 1t is now IN
the Imperial Museum in st. Petersburg. to
which ii was presented by Gen. Hydrow.
He obtained 1t from some unknown source
after the Abey of ST. Germaine des Pres,
in which 1t was kept, was destroyed by fire.