{"collection":"folklore-oral-tradition","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_71428/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_71428","id":"gutenberg_71428","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71428","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Art","Category: History - Other","Rings","Rings -- Folklore"],"text":"RINGS\n\n\n\n\n            _By GEORGE FREDERICK KUNZ, Ph.D., Sc.D., A.M._\n\n\n                          THE CURIOUS LORE OF\n                            PRECIOUS STONES\n\nBeing a description of their sentiments and folklore, superstitions,\nsymbolism, mysticism, use in protection, prevention, religion and\ndivination, crystal gazing, birth-stones, lucky stones and talismans,\nastral, zodiacal, and planetary.\n\n\n                          THE MAGIC OF JEWELS\n                              AND CHARMS\n\nMagic jewels and electric gems; meteorites or celestial stones; stones\nof healing: fabulous stones: concretions and fossils; snake stones and\nbezoars; charms of ancient and modern times; facts and fancies about\nprecious stones.\n\n EACH: Profusely illustrated in color, doubletone and line. Octavo.\n Handsome cloth binding, gilt top, in a box. $6.00 net. Carriage\n charges extra.\n\n\n                            SHAKESPEARE AND\n                            PRECIOUS STONES\n\nTreating of the known references to precious stones in Shakespeare\u2019s\nworks, with comments as to the origin of his material, the knowledge\nof the poet concerning precious stones, and references as to where the\nprecious stones of his time came from.\n\n Four illustrations. Square Octavo. Decorated cloth. $1.25 net.\n\n\n\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  THE MAHARANI OF SIKKIM (NORTHEASTERN HINDUSTAN)\n\n  She wears two gold rings, one set with a turquoise, the other\n  with coral. The peculiar crown of gold, turquoise and coral is\n  that adopted for the queens of Sikkim. From the necklace of amber\n  beads hangs a gau, or charm box, set with rubies, lapis-lazuli,\n  and turquoise.\n\n  Oil painting by Damodar Dutt, a Bengali artist\n\n  Dr. Berthold Laufer\u2019s \u201cNotes on Turquoise in the East,\u201d Chicago,\n  1913]\n\n\n\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n                                 RINGS\n                            FOR THE FINGER\n\n    FROM THE EARLIEST KNOWN TIMES TO THE PRESENT,\n    WITH FULL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE ORIGIN, EARLY\n    MAKING, MATERIALS, THE ARCH\u00c6OLOGY, HISTORY,\n    FOR AFFECTION, FOR LOVE, FOR ENGAGEMENT,\n    FOR WEDDING, COMMEMORATIVE, MOURNING, ETC.\n\n                                  BY\n                        GEORGE FREDERICK KUNZ,\n                          Ph.D., Sc.D., A.M.\n\n         WITH 290 ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR, DOUBLETONE AND LINE\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n                         PHILADELPHIA & LONDON\n                       J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY\n                                 1917]\n\n\n\n\n             COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY\n\n\n                        PUBLISHED JANUARY, 1917\n\n\n                  PRINTED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY\n                    AT THE WASHINGTON SQUARE PRESS\n                         PHILADELPHIA, U.S.A.\n\n\n\n\n                   COOPER UNION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT\n                      OF SCIENCE AND ART EDITION\n\n                                  OF\n\n                                 RINGS\n\n                           (See Dedication)\n\n                      _Limited to fifteen copies_\n\n    [1]Miss Sarah Cooper Hewitt, Honorary Associate of the Trustees\n      [1]Mrs. James O. Green, Honorary Associate of the Trustees\n     [1]Miss Eleanor G. Hewitt, Honorary Associate of the Trustees\n  [1]Peter Cooper Hewitt, Vice-President of the U. S. Naval Advisory\n                            Board, Trustee\n                    [1]Edward R. Hewitt, Treasurer\n                   [2]Peter Cooper Bryce, Secretary\n                          [1]Erskine Hewitt,\n                     R. Fulton Cutting, President\n                       Andrew Carnegie, Trustee\n                      J. Pierpont Morgan, Trustee\n                       Charles W. Gould, Trustee\n                L. C. Levin Jordan, Assistant Secretary\n                     Charles R. Richards, Director\n\n           One Copy for the Reading Room of the Cooper Union\n                for the Advancement of Science and Art\n\n   George Frederick Kunz, Former Student and Assistant in Chemistry\n\n                      _This copy was printed for_\n                       MISS SARAH COOPER HEWITT\n                 _With the compliments of the Author_\n\n\n\n\n                                  To\n                             PETER COOPER\n                                AND TO\n                            HIS DESCENDANTS\n\n    WHO HAVE SO GENEROUSLY AND DEVOTEDLY\n    CARRIED OUT HIS TRADITIONS, AND DEVELOPED\n    THEM AS OCCASION DEMANDED,\n\n                                AND TO\n\n                 THE COOPER UNION OF ARTS AND SCIENCES\n\n    IN THE LABORATORIES, LECTURE ROOMS AND\n    LIBRARY OF WHICH THE AUTHOR SPENT\n    USEFUL, PROFITABLE EVENING HOURS FOR\n    SEVERAL YEARS, AT A TIME WHEN THERE\n    WERE NO OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OF A SIMILAR\n    NATURE IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK--THIS\n    VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED\n\n\n\n\n                               FOREWORD\n\n\nThe present volume aims to offer in attractive and convenient\nform everything that is of importance and interest in regard to\nfinger-rings, from the fabled ring of Prometheus down to the latest\nproductions of the goldsmiths and jewellers of our day.\n\nThe subject offers a striking illustration of the wonderful diversity\nof form, decoration and usage, that the skill and fancy of man have\nbeen able to realize in the case of the little circlet constituting\na ring. To make this clearer to the reader, a division in accordance\nwith the general history and the special uses of rings has seemed\nmore effective than any attempt to separate all the material along\ngeographical or chronological lines.\n\nOne of the earliest uses to which rings were put was for the impression\nof an engraved design or device upon letters or documents, as the\nsign-manual of the wearer. From the time of the ancient Egyptians,\nthis use prevailed in various parts of the world and many of the most\nstriking rings of this type are described and figured here. Allied to\nthese, and in some cases identical with them, are the rings given as\nmarks of official dignity and rank.\n\nA most important class are the rings bestowed upon and worn by the\nhigher ecclesiastics. Papal rings, among which the most noted is\nthe \u201cFisherman\u2019s Ring,\u201d rings for cardinals and for bishops, and\nalso occasionally in former times, for abbots, were and are still\nregarded with special reverence in the Roman and Greek churches. The\nusage of wearing rings of this type dates far back in the history of\nChristianity. Many examples of these rings are given, as also of\nothers bearing Christian emblems, and of those worn by nuns, and by\nwidows who had vowed never to re-wed.\n\nClosely connected with these religious rings, are the betrothal\nand wedding rings. Here it has seemed best to group together the\navailable data, since the line of demarcation between engagement and\nwedding rings, though clearly enough marked to-day, is not easy to\ndraw in regard to earlier times. A very full selection of mottoes has\nbeen added, some of which might still be used; the greater number,\nhowever, belong to a past age, upon the sentiments of which they cast\ninteresting side lights.\n\nRings as charms and talismans form a class apart. Often the peculiar\nform of the circlet was conceived to have a symbolic virtue, but more\nfrequently the talismanic quality depended upon some curious engraved\ndevice, upon the stones set in the rings, or upon a mystic or religious\ninscription. Rings of healing were talismans valued for their special\npower to cure disease; the \u201ccramp rings,\u201d dated in legend back to the\ntime of Edward the Confessor, were notable in this series.\n\nThe rings of famous men and women will always be prized as mementos,\nand in the various chapters of this book a large number of them will\nbe found, both rings of the mighty dead and those of distinguished\nliving persons; among these latter we are happy to be able to produce\nan illustration of the inscription of President Wilson\u2019s ring from an\nimpression of his seal courteously made by his own hand. It shows his\nname engraved in Pitmanic shorthand.\n\nOur American Indians have also made their contribution to the art of\nring-making, occasionally in the earlier centuries, and more especially\nin more recent times. Notably the Navajos of New Mexico have exhibited\na considerable degree of skill in this direction. Much new information\non this subject will be found in the present work.\n\nHow rings are made by our jewellers of to-day, more especially by\nthe accurate and varied mechanical methods now employed for their\nproduction, is concisely treated in a supplementary chapter. While\nmachine-made rings can scarcely be expected to equal those executed\nby the hand of the true artist-goldsmith, those now produced are\nnevertheless objects of beauty and adornment.\n\nA ring is a symbol to which great interest is attached from the cradle\nto the grave. Frequently, a natal stone, or a ring set with a natal\nstone, is given to a child at its birth. When the child is baptized it\nreceives the talismanic gem of the guardian angel. At confirmation the\ngem of the week is given. At graduation from school or college, a class\nring is bestowed. Finally, on the announcement of an engagement, a ring\nset with any one of the choicer precious stones is selected for the\nfianc\u00e9e. Thus each important epoch in early life has its appropriate\nmemento, which will recall the memory of it in after years.\n\nAs very full indications as to the literature have been given in the\nfootnotes, it has not seemed necessary to append the numerous titles in\nthe form of a bibliography.\n\nThe author\u2019s thanks are due to the following persons, who have\ncourteously imparted much valuable information:\n\nHon. Peter T. Barlow; Miss Ada M. Barr; W. Gedney Beatty; Theodoor\nde Boog, Museum of the American Indian; Dr. Stewart Culin, Brooklyn\nInstitute; Robert W. De Forrest; Mrs. Alexander W. Drake; Dr. Gustavus\nA. Eisen; Prof. Richard Gottheil, Columbia University; Dr. L. P.\nGratacap, Curator, Dept. of Mineralogy, American Museum of Natural\nHistory; Right Rev. David H. Greer, Bishop of New York; Mrs. Isabel\nHapgood; Prof. A. V. Williams Jackson, Columbia University; William\nH. Jones; Minor C. Keith; Dr. F. A. Lucas, Director, American Museum\nof Natural History; B. Mazza; Edward T. Newell, President, American\nNumismatic Society; Prof. John Dyneley Prince, Columbia University;\nMrs. Annie R. Schley; Dr. George C. Stone; J. Alden Weir, President,\nNational Academy of Design; Dr. Clark Wissler, Curator, Dept. of\nAnthropology, American Museum of Natural History; Theodore M. Woodland;\nWalter C. Wyman, and also the late William M. Chase; Dr. Charles S.\nBraddock, Jr.; Prof. Friedrich Hirth, Columbia University; Sidney P.\nNoe, Librarian, and Howland Wood, Curator, American Numismatic Society;\nRev. Dr. John P. Peters and Rev. Father William J. Stewart, all of New\nYork City.\n\nProf. Cyrus Adler, Dropsie College, Philadelphia; Dr. Hector Alliot,\nSouth Western Museum, Los Angeles, Cal.; Dr. F. H. Barrow, Director,\nGolden Gate Museum, Los Angeles, Cal.; Prof. Hiram Bingham, Yale\nUniversity; Frank S. Daggett, Director, Museum of History, Science\nand Art, Los Angeles, Cal.; Dr. Joseph K. Dixon, Secretary, National\nAmerican Indian Memorial Asso., Philadelphia; Dr. Arthur Fairbanks,\nDirector, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass.; Franciscan Fathers, St.\nMichael\u2019s Mission, Arizona; Prof. L. C. Glenn, Vanderbilt University,\nNashville, Tennessee; Dr. F. W. Hodge, Ethnologist-in-charge,\nSmithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.; Prof. W. H. Holmes,\nHead Curator, Dept. of Anthropology, United States National Museum,\nWashington, D. C.; Dr. Walter Hough, Acting Head Curator, Dept.\nof Anthropology, United States National Museum, Washington, D. C.;\nProf. Morris Jastrow, Jr., University of Pennsylvania; Dr. Berthold\nLaufer, Curator of Anthropology, Field Museum of Natural History,\nChicago; Waldo Lincoln, American Antiquarian Society, Worcester,\nMass.; Prof. George Grant McCurdy, Curator of Anthropology, Peabody\nMuseum of Natural History, Yale University; Dr. William C. Mills,\nCurator and Librarian, Chicago Arch\u00e6ological and Historical Soc.;\nEdward S. Morse, Director, Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass.; Dr. Warren\nK. Moorehead, Curator, Dept. American Arch\u00e6ology, Phillips Academy,\nAndover, Mass.; Ostby & Barton Co., Providence, R. I.; Admiral Robert\nE. Peary, Washington, D. C.; Dr. R. Rathbun, United States National\nMuseum, Washington, D. C.; William Riker, Newark, N. J.; Oliver A.\nRoberts, Librarian, Masonic Temple, Boston, Mass.; Prof. Austin T.\nRogers, Leland Stanford Jr. University, Stanford University, Cal.; Dr.\nF. J. V. Skiff, Director, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago;\nProf. Friedrich Starr, University of Chicago; Rev. John Baer Stoudt,\nNorthampton, Pa.; Ex-President William H. Taft, New Haven, Conn.; J. P.\nTumulty, Secretary to President Wilson, Washington, D. C.; the late Dr.\nWilliam Hayes Ward, Assyriologist, South Berwick, Mass.\n\nW. W. Blake, Mexico City; A. W. Feavearyear, London, England; R.\nFriedl\u00e4nder & Sohn, Berlin; Prabha Karavongu, Siamese Legation,\nWashington, D. C.; Mrs. Isabel Moore, Azores; M. Georges Pelissier,\nParis, France; Dr. William Flinders Petrie, Egyptologist, Hampstead,\nEngland; Sir Charles Hercules Read, Curator, Dept. British and Medi\u00e6val\nAntiquities and Ethnography, British Museum; Dr. Leonard Spencer,\nCurator, Mineralogical Dept., British Museum (Natural History); C.\nJ. S. Thompson, Curator, Wellcome Historical Medical Museum, London,\nEngland; Sir Herbert Tree, London, England; Dr. T. Wada, Tokio, Japan;\nHerr Leopold Weininger, Vienna, and also Dr. Albert Figdor, Vienna, and\nU. S. Consul W. Bardel, St. Michael, Azores.\n\nThe illustrations of rings in the British Museum are mostly from one\nor the other of the two exceedingly comprehensive catalogues of rings\npublished by this museum: \u201cFinger Rings, Greek, Etruscan and Roman,\u201d\nby F. H. Marshall, and \u201cFinger Rings, Early Christian, Byzantine,\nTeutonic, Medi\u00e6val, and Later,\u201d by O. M. Dalton. In each volume the\nsection devoted to a special description of each ring is preceded by a\nmost scholarly and enlightening introductory essay.\n\n                                                           G. F. K.\n\n  [Illustration][3]\n\n    New York City,\n      November, 1916\n\n\n\n\n                               CONTENTS\n\n\n    CHAPTER                                                     PAGE\n\n    I. THE ORIGIN, PURPOSES AND METHODS OF RING WEARING            1\n\n         1. The Origin of the Ring\n         2. Purposes of Ring Wearing\n         3. Methods of Wearing\n\n    II. FORMS OF RINGS AND MATERIALS OF WHICH THEY ARE MADE       67\n\n         The Materials of Rings\n\n    III. SIGNET RINGS                                            115\n\n    IV. SOME INTERESTING RINGS OF HISTORY                        162\n\n         1. On the Continent\n         2. English Rings\n\n    V. BETROTHAL (ENGAGEMENT) RINGS, WEDDING (NUPTIAL) RINGS,\n         AND LOVE TOKENS                                         193\n\n    VI. THE RELIGIOUS USE OF RINGS                               249\n\n    VII. MAGIC AND TALISMANIC RINGS                              288\n\n    VIII. RINGS OF HEALING                                       336\n\n    IX. RING MAKING                                              355\n\n\n\n\n                             ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n                             COLOR PLATES\n\n                                                                PAGE\n\n    The Maharani of Sikkim                            _Frontispiece_\n\n    Richly Enameled Rings in the Collection of Dr.\n      Albert Figdor                                               90\n\n    Shakespeare\u2019s Signet Ring; Lord Byron\u2019s Ring                 152\n\n\n                              DOUBLETONES\n\n    Evolution of the Ring                                          2\n\n    Serpent Ring; Greek and Roman Rings; Mycen\u00e6an Rings            3\n\n    Ancient Rings of American Indians                             20\n\n    Navajo Silversmith at Work                                    21\n\n    Navajo Indian Girl Wearing Native Rings                       24\n\n    Navajo Silver Rings                                           25\n\n    Navajo Silversmiths Working                                   28\n\n    Pueblo Indian Family, Showing Ring-wearing                    29\n\n    Autograph Letter of Admiral Robert E. Peary                   30\n\n    Roman Rings; Charioteer\u2019s Ring                                32\n\n    Isis and Serapis Ring; Decade Ring; Supposed Head of\n      Plotina on Ring; Key Rings                                  33\n\n    Memorial Rings and Poison Ring                                44\n\n    Cameo of Louis XII; Nelson Ring; Napoleon Elba Ring           45\n\n    Hands on Egyptian Mummy Case; Hands from Portrait; Hand\n      Showing Hindu Jewels                                        50\n\n    Hands from Sepulchral Effigy; Illustrating Ring-wearing       51\n\n    Upper Part of Mummy Case of Artemidora, Showing Rings on\n      Hand                                                        52\n\n    Sketch by Sir Charles Hercules Read of Finger of Bronze\n      Statue with Seal Ring                                       53\n\n    Portrait of a Lady by Anton Van Dyke                          60\n\n    Portrait of Princess Hatzfeld by Antonio Pesaro               61\n\n    Anglo-Saxon Rings                                             64\n\n    Thumb Ring; Frankish and Lombardic Rings                      65\n\n    The \u201cLorscher Ring\u201d; Ring with Mouse; Venetian Ring;\n      Jeweller\u2019s Ring-rod                                         72\n\n    Spur Ring; Modern Egyptian Rings; Pipe-stopper Ring           73\n\n    Oriental Rings                                                78\n\n    Rich East Indian Ring; Rings Made by Siamese Priest           79\n\n    Indian Toe Rings                                              80\n\n    Portrait of Rich Cinghalese Merchant with Many Rings          81\n\n    Ring of President Franklin Pierce; Old Rings Combined\n      as Pendant                                                  84\n\n    Rings in Drake Collection                                     85\n\n    Rings from Collection of W. Gedney Beatty, Esq.               92\n\n    Types of Watch Rings                                          93\n\n    Portrait of a Man, Fifteenth Century, by Antonio del\n      Pollaiolo, Showing Pointed Diamond in Ring                  98\n\n    Portrait of a Venetian Senator with Thumb Ring                99\n\n    Portrait of a Man by Lucas Cranach                           118\n\n    Portrait of Katharina Aeder, by Hans Bock the Elder          119\n\n    Portrait of Cardinal of Brandenburg, by the \u201cMaster of\n      the Death of Mary\u201d                                         124\n\n    Portrait of a Mother and Her Daughter, by Bartholomew Bruyn  125\n\n    Ancient Roman Seal Rings; Key Ring                           132\n\n    Roman Rings of Bronze and of Bone; Roman Gold Ring with\n      Settings; Gold Ring from Wiston, Sussex; Roman Silver\n      Ring                                                       133\n\n    Bronze Signet Rings; Ivory Signet Ring                       136\n\n    Gold Signet, Sixteenth Century; Massive Gold Signet,\n      English, Fifteenth Century                                 137\n\n    Man\u2019s Portrait, by Conrad Faber; Portrait of Benedikt\n      von Hertenstein, by Hans Holbein                           148\n\n    Man and Woman at Casement. Florentine, Fifteenth Century     149\n\n    Rings From Collection of Imperial Kunstgewerbe Museum,\n      Vienna                                                     156\n\n    Signet Ring of Charles I                                     157\n\n    Ring with Portrait, Given to Lafayette by Washington;\n      Impression of President Wilson\u2019s Signet Ring; Seal of\n      Right Reverend David H. Greer, Bishop of New York          160\n\n    Portrait of a Lady, Cologne School, 1526, Wearing Pointed\n      Diamond                                                    168\n\n    Man\u2019s Portrait, by Hans Funk, 1523, with Seal Ring           169\n\n    \u201cCampaign Medals\u201d of Henri II and of John Casimir, Count\n      Palatine, with Pointed Diamonds                            170\n\n    Portrait of Diane de Poitiers                                171\n\n    Portrait of Henry VIII, by Hans Holbein                      182\n\n    Portrait of Jane Seymour, by Holbein                         183\n\n    Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, French School              184\n\n    Portrait of Queen Elizabeth, by Lucas de Heere               185\n\n    Gold Ring, Cameo Portrait of Queen Elizabeth; Venetian\n      Ring with Pearls; Multiple Silver Rings                    186\n\n    Puzzle Rings                                                 187\n\n    Portrait of a Lady, by Pantoja de la Cruz                    194\n\n    Portrait of Empress Mary, Daughter of Charles V, by Juan\n      Pantoja de la Cruz                                         195\n\n    Inlaid Antique Ring; Locket Ring; Antique Syrian Ring;\n      Roman Ring with Pointed Diamond; Silver Ring on Bone\n      of Finger, from Saxon Sepulchre                            196\n\n    Syrian Wedding Rings of Agate and Chalcedony                 197\n\n    Betrothal of the Virgin, by Juan Rodriguez Juarez (Xuarez)   202\n\n    Hands from the Preceding Picture                             203\n\n    Jewish Betrothal Rings, Mus\u00e8e de Cluny                       212\n\n    Jewish Rings from British Museum                             213\n\n    Portrait of Anne of Cleves, by Hans Holbein, Showing\n      Thumb Ring                                                 216\n\n    Portrait of Judith, by Lucas Cranach, Rings Worn Under\n      Gloves                                                     217\n\n    Ring with Diamond for Writing on Glass; Gallo-Roman\n      Wedding Ring; Signet and Wedding Ring of Mary, Queen\n      of Scots                                                   218\n\n    Betrothal Rings; Gimmal Wedding Ring                         219\n\n    Gimmal Ring; Betrothal Ring; Puzzle Ring                     220\n\n    Wedding Rings with Posies                                    221\n\n    Portrait of Clara Eugenia, Daughter of Philip II of\n      Spain, by Gonzales                                         222\n\n    Portrait of Catarina Michela, Another of Philip\u2019s\n      Daughters, by Coello Sanchez                               223\n\n    Engagement and Wedding Rings                                 230\n\n    Wedding Rings                                                231\n\n    Marriage Medals by Oscar Roty                                232\n\n    Puzzle Ring; Gold Betrothal Ring; Ornamental Love Ring       233\n\n    Portrait of Young Woman, Dutch School                        240\n\n    Portrait of a Man, by the \u201cMaster of the Death of Mary\u201d      241\n\n    Rings, Italian, French, Tyrolese, in the Boston Museum\n      of Fine Arts                                               246\n\n    Jacques Guay, Gem Engraver of Louis XV, at Work in the\n      Louvre                                                     247\n\n    Ring of Pius II, \u00c6neas Sylvius                               262\n\n    The \u201cFisherman\u2019s Ring\u201d; Hand of Cranach\u2019s \u201cJudith,\u201d\n      with Gloves Slit for Rings                                 263\n\n    Portrait of Clement IX, by Carlo Maratta                     268\n\n    Portrait of Julius II, by Rafael                             269\n\n    Christian Ring of Glass; Venetian Relic Ring; Poison\n      Ring; Ring of Bishop Ahlstan                               270\n\n    Memorial Rings                                               271\n\n    Bishops\u2019 Rings; Papal Ring; Rosary Rings                     272\n\n    Bishops\u2019 Rings                                               273\n\n    Abbess Praying, French School                                280\n\n    Lady\u2019s Portrait, by Coninxbo                                 281\n\n    Rings with Greek Mottoes; Ring of Bronze Gilt                300\n\n    Oriental Rings                                               301\n\n    The \u201cHermit Stone,\u201d from Lapidario of Alfonso X              304\n\n    The \u201cOffspring Stone,\u201d from Lapidario of Alfonso X           305\n\n    Chinese Jeweller\u2019s Shop in San Francisco; Modern\n      Chinese Rings                                              320\n\n    Specimens of Curious Ring Collection in American Museum\n      of Natural History, New York; Rings from Philippine\n      Islands                                                    321\n\n    Zodiacal Rings                                               328\n\n    Magic Rings                                                  329\n\n    Masonic Rings                                                332\n\n    Rings of Orders and Societies                                333\n\n    Edward the Confessor\u2019s Ring; Healing Ring                    342\n\n    Curious Woodcuts Regarding Rings, from the Ortus\n      (Hortus) Sanitatis of Johannis de Cuba                     343\n\n    Astrolabe Ring; Watch-Ring by Kossek in Prague               352\n\n    Eighteenth Century Watch Ring; Modern Watch Ring             353\n\n    Production of Rings with Precious Stones by Means of\n      Machinery                                                  356\n\n    Successive Stages in the Formation of a Machine-made Ring    357\n\n    The \u201cAllen Ring Gauge\u201d for Measuring Rings                   358\n\n    \u201cRing, Finger and Millimeter Locking Gauge\u201d; \u201cDisplay\n      Rings\u201d                                                     359\n\n\n\n\n                                 RINGS\n\n\n\n\n                                   I\n\n           THE ORIGIN, PURPOSES AND METHODS OF RING WEARING\n\n\n                        THE ORIGIN OF THE RING\n\nThe origin of the ring is somewhat obscure, although there is good\nreason to believe that it is a modification of the cylindrical seal\nwhich was first worn attached to the neck or to the arm and was\neventually reduced in size so that it could be worn on the finger.\nSignet rings were used in Egypt from a very remote period, and we read\nin Gen. xl, 42, that the Pharaoh of Joseph\u2019s time bestowed a ring upon\nthe patriarch as a mark of authority. From Egypt the custom of wearing\nrings was transmitted to the Greek world, and also to the Etruscans,\nfrom whom the usage was derived by the Romans. The Greek rings were\nmade of various materials, such as gold, silver, iron, ivory, and amber.\n\nIn his Natural History, Pliny relates the Greek fable of the origin\nof the ring. For his impious daring in stealing fire from heaven for\nmortal man, Prometheus had been doomed by Jupiter to be chained for\n30,000 years to a rock in the Caucasus, while a vulture fed upon his\nliver. Before long, however, Jupiter relented and liberated Prometheus;\nnevertheless, in order to avoid a violation of the original judgment,\nit was ordained that the Titan should wear a link of his chain on one\nof his fingers as a ring, and in this ring was set a fragment of the\nrock to which he had been chained, so that he might be still regarded\nas bound to the Caucasian rock.\n\nAnother origin ascribed to the ring is the knot. A knotted cord or a\npiece of wire twisted into a knot was a favorite charm in primitive\ntimes. Frequently this was used to cast a spell over a person, so as\nto deprive him of the use of one of his limbs or one of his faculties;\nat other times, the power of the charm was directed against the\nevil spirit which was supposed to cause disease or lameness, and\nin this case the charm had curative power. It has been conjectured\nthat the magic virtues attributed to rings originated in this way,\nthe ring being regarded as a simplified form of a knot; indeed, not\ninfrequently rings were and are made in the form of knots.[4] This\nsymbol undoubtedly signified the binding or attaching of the spell to\nits object, and the same idea is present in the true-lovers\u2019 knot.\n\n  [Illustration: EVOLUTION OF THE FINGER RING\n\n 1, Egyptian seal ring. 2, Greek snake ring, found at Kertch\n in the Crimea. 3, antique Roman ring (Berlin Antiquarium). 4,\n Romano-Etruscan ring. 5, Roman key ring. 6, Gothic ring with stone\n set on raised bezel. 7, Gothic ring with cabochon-cut stone. 8,\n Renaissance ring with enamel decoration. 9, Hebrew wedding ring.\n 10, Renaissance ring. 11, Renaissance ring. 12, coat of arms of\n the Medici, three interlinked stones, each set with a natural\n pointed diamond crystal.]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n Large serpentine ring with many coils. Gr\u00e6co-Roman, Fourth Century\n B.C. to Second Century A.D.\n\n    British Museum]\n\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n Gr\u00e6co-Roman silver ring, set with an oval engraved sardonyx.\n Second Century A.D.\n\n British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Greek gold ring with eye-shaped bezel. From\n  Tarsus; Third Century A.D.\n\n British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n Hellenistic bronze ring. Bezel set with a convex pale green paste.\n Remains of gilding on ring\n\n British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n Greek silver ring. Engraved design beneath a sunk border; draped\n figure of a girl holding out a dove\n\n British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Roman ring of opaque dark glass. Fourth Century\n  A.D.\n\n British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n Mycen\u00e6an gold rings. 1, from Ialysos, Rhodes; given to the British\n Museum in 1870 by John Ruskin; 2, from excavation at Enkomi, 1896\n\n British Museum]\n\nMany rings of the Bronze Age were found in the course of excavations\nconducted in 1901 by M. Henri de Morgan in the valley of Agha Evlar,\nstretching back from Kerghan on the Caspian Sea, in the region known as\nthe \u201cPersian Talyche.\u201d Here several sepulchral dolmens were discovered\nwhich yielded a considerable number of ornamental objects of metal\nand stone, as well as beads of vitreous paste. There was no trace of\ninscriptions to aid in dating these \u201cScythian\u201d finds, but they are\nconsidered to belong to the second millennium before Christ. The bronze\nrings are of several different types, some of them showing from three\nto five spirals; in other cases the ends are overlapping, or else\nbrought together as closely as possible.[5]\n\nAlthough it would scarcely be safe to assume that finger-rings were\nnever worn by the ancient Assyrians, still the almost total absence of\nrepresentations of them, even on female figures, renders it safe to\nsay that this must have been only very rarely the case. Possibly the\npersistence in Assyria and Babylonia of the cylindrical form of seal\nmay account for this, in part at least, for the signet ring in many\nplaces was evolved from the cylinder-seal. Moreover, the absence of\nsmall intaglios in the period earlier than 500 B.C. would have\ndeprived a ring of its almost essential setting. The plates in Layard\u2019s\ngreat work on Assyrian remains, as well as those published by Flandrin\nand Coste, also offer strong negative evidence, although Dr. William\nHayes Ward states that he would have expected finger-rings might have\ncome from Egypt by the way of Syria. At a later period, under Greek\ninfluence, rings were not uncommon.[6] In the immense cemeteries at\nWarka and elsewhere numerous iron rings have been found, many of them\ntoe-rings, as well as some made of shell, but the date of these burials\nis not easily determined, and they are probably, in most instances, not\nof much earlier date than the eighth or even the sixth century before\nChrist.\n\nA proof that genuine antiques can still be picked up in our day in\nthe East is given by Doctor Ward, who said that he bought in Bagdad\na lovely gold ring set with a cameo on which was inscribed in Greek\ncharacters \u201cProtarchus made it.\u201d When, on visiting London, he told\nthis to Doctor Murray, of the British Museum, the latter gave full\nexpression to his scepticism, saying, \u201cThere are plenty of those signed\nthings.\u201d But when the gem itself was shown him, he exclaimed, \u201cThis is\njolly genuine,\u201d and he had it photographed for his book.[7]\n\nA very interesting find was made in 1893, during the excavations\nconducted under the auspices of the University of Pennsylvania at\nNippur. In the northwestern part of the mound, as many as 730 inscribed\ntablets were unearthed, which had been carefully stored in a chamber\nmeasuring eighteen by nine feet. These tablets, when deciphered,\nproved that the chamber was the record room of the sons of a certain\nMurashu, B\u00ealh\u00e2tin and B\u00eal-nadin-shumu, whose activity seems to have\nbeen analogous to that of our counsellors-at-law. Many of the tablets\nbear records concerning the members of the family personally, but in\nother cases their services appear to have been claimed in various\nlegal difficulties. One of the most curious of these ancient documents\nis a contract dated the eighth of the month of Elul, in the year 429\nB.C. (thirty-fifth year of Artaxerxes I of Persia), in which\nB\u00eal-ah-iddina, B\u00ealshumu, and H\u00e2tin give the following guarantee to\nB\u00eal-nadin-shumu, son of Murashu:\n\n As concerns the gold ring set with an emerald, we guarantee that\n in twenty years the emerald will not fall out of the gold ring.\n If the emerald should fall out of the gold ring before the end of\n twenty years, B\u00eal-ah-iddina, B\u00ealshumu, and H\u00e2tin shall pay unto\n B\u00eal-nadin-shumu an indemnity of ten mana of silver.\n\nThe record bears the names of seven witnesses and that of the scribe,\nand is signed with the thumb-nail marks of those who guaranteed the\njewel, \u201cinstead of their seals.\u201d[8]\n\nIt seems that we have here the names of the members of a firm of\njewellers doing business in Nippur, in the fifth century before Christ,\nand evidently they were quite confident that the work they sold was\nwell and solidly done, for the indemnity represented a sum equivalent\nto about $400 in our money. This must have been the estimated value of\nthe emerald. As the stone was probably not very large, this particular\ngem must have been highly valued at that time, a fact due, in all\nlikelihood, to the special talismanic virtues attributed to it.\n\nSeveral gold rings of Egyptian workmanship, excavated in tombs at\nEnkomi, Cyprus, date back to the time of the Middle Empire in Egypt.\nOne in pale gold, now in the British Museum, has a flat oval bezel,\ninscribed \u201cMa\u0101t, the golden one of the two lands.\u201d This belongs to the\nperiod from the XIX to the XXI Dynasty (or approximately from 1350 to\n1000 B.C.). A ring found on the surface of the ground is of\nelectrum and very massive, and is engraved with a draped figure seated\non a throne, to whom approaches another figure clothed with a lion\u2019s\nskin and wearing on the head a disk and horns; a lion walking is in the\nexergue, and the sun\u2019s disk is above the two figures. This is believed\nto belong to the late XVIII Dynasty, toward 1400 B.C. A thin,\nrounded hoop of pale gold, the ends of which are twisted round each\nother, and a rounded hoop of yellow gold engraved with four ur\u00e6i, are\ntwo other examples in the British Museum of the rings from Enkomi. A\nmassive silver ring from the same place has a large oval bezel with\nthe following names and titles inscribed in Egyptian hieroglyphics:\nR\u0101-Heru-Khuti, R\u0101]-Kheperu Nefer, Meri-R\u0101, Ptah-neb-nut-ma\u0101t.[9] The\nCypriot gold ornaments which these rings help to date are considered\nto be essentially contemporary with those from the tombs in the lower\ntown of Mycen\u00e6, the period being approximately 1300\u20131100 B.C.,\npossibly some years earlier or later.\n\nA beautifully worked, perforated gold ring, set with a scarab of\ncarnelian, was found in Cyprus and is now in the Konstantinidis\nCollection at Nicosia. The workmanship as well as the style of\nthe setting indicates that it was produced in the sixth century\nB.C. Engraved on the carnelian is a fabulous monster, somewhat\nresembling a chim\u00e6ra, half lion, half boar.[10] Another ring of the\nsame period from Marion-Arsino\u00eb, Cyprus, has a silver hoop, and is set\nwith a flat scaraboid, engraved with a female figure kneeling.\n\nOne of the largest Mycen\u00e6an rings shows a goddess seated near a tree,\nand worshippers approaching to do her homage. Others offer various\ndevices: an altar with worshippers; a griffin and a seated divinity;\na pair of sphinxes; griffins, bulls\u2019 heads, etc., in heraldic\nordering.[11] Here we have early Greek art transforming and adapting\nOriental forms of metal engraving, to be succeeded, more than five\ncenturies later, by the great gem-engravings of the palmy days of the\nart of Ionia and Greece.\n\nAmong the Cyprian rings of the Mycen\u00e6an period, about 1000\nB.C., in the British Museum, is a double gold ring which had\nbeen evidently inlaid with some vitreous substance, all but faint\ntraces of which have now disappeared. This was found in a site near\nFamagusta, Cyprus, that has been satisfactorily identified with the\nspot where the Greeks under Teucer are said to have established a\nsettlement on their return from the siege of Troy. Other gold rings\ndiscovered here at the same time, in 1896, have plain hoops, with a\nsmall cylindrical ornament strung on the hoop, to serve in place of\na bezel with setting. Still another of these rings has, on one side,\nan extension squared off at the corners, making a long and narrow\nflat surface on the outside of the hoop; along its edge runs a beaded\nornamentation.[12]\n\nThe oldest Greek ring bearing an inscription is one believed to belong\nto the late Mycen\u00e6an period. The gold hoop has engraved upon it the\nCypriot syllables Le-na-ko, possibly meaning the name Lenagoras. It\nwas found with other ornaments in a grave near Lanarka, Cyprus.[13]\nThe similarity of the name Lanarka with the phonetic value of the\ninscribed signs might perhaps suggest that a place name rather than a\nperson\u2019s name is signified. That in ancient times several cities had\ntheir special signets is proved by a Greek inscription as to the cities\nof Smyrna, Magnesia, and Sipylum.[14]\n\nPliny already remarked the fact that nowhere in the Homeric poems is\nany mention made of rings or of seals. This is the more singular that\nwe have so much positive evidence in Cretan and Mycen\u00e6an remains that\nrings were known to a part of the Greek world for a long time prior\nto the composition of the Iliad and Odyssey. Probably due allowance\nmust be made for the individual preference of the poet, or school\nof poets, to whom we owe these masterpieces of ancient literature.\nIn our own day, the present writer in his researches has often been\ndisappointed to find nothing concerning precious stones or jewels in\na given work treating of a subject that would invite their mention,\nthe obvious reason being that the author cared little or nothing for\nsuch things, and hence passed over, unnoticed, all data regarding\nthem. Nevertheless, the metal-worker\u2019s art evidently appealed strongly\nto the author (or authors) of the Homeric epics, as is shown in many\nplaces, notably in the long description of the representations on the\nelaborately wrought shield made by Vulcan for Achilles (Il., xviii,\n478\u2013608).\n\nCertainly the traditions of Homeric times, recorded by later Greek\nwriters, tell of several rings worn by Homeric personages. A ring of\nUlysses, engraved with a dolphin by order of the wily hero, in memory\nof the rescue of his son Telemachus by one of the creatures of the\ndeep, is mentioned by Plutarch (\u201cDe solertia anim.\u201d). Moreover, Helen\nof Troy is stated to have worn on one of her fingers a ring bearing the\nfigure of an \u201cenormous fish,\u201d and, finally, the great Greek painter\nPolygnotus, a contemporary of Pericles (495\u2013429 B.C.), in a\npainting showing the descent of Ulysses into Hades, represented the\nyouthful Phocus as wearing a ring, set with an engraved gem, on one of\nthe fingers of his left hand.[15] This painting was highly reputed in\nancient times, and had been dedicated to Apollo in the shrine at Delphi\nby the Cnidians.\n\nThe significance of the ring in the fourth century before Christ, as\nan ensign of office in Athens, is brought out by a passage in the\n\u201cKnights\u201d of the comic poet Aristophanes, where the people, as an\nexpression of their discontent with the administration of Kleon, demand\nthat he surrender the ring with which he has been invested, as a proof\nthat he is no longer entrusted with the office of treasurer.[16]\n\nA clever use of a ring is reported to have been made by Ismenias of\nThebes, when he was sent by the B\u0153otians as an envoy to the Persian\nKing. Before he was brought into the royal presence he was instructed\nby the master of ceremonies that he must prostrate himself before the\nsovereign. This act was strongly repugnant to his Greek consciousness,\nboth as a debasement of his individual dignity, and as an act of\ndivine homage offered to a mortal. To escape from the dilemma, the\nenvoy, as he approached the throne, took off his ring and succeeded\nin dropping it without attracting too much attention; whereupon he\nstooped and picked it up. The Greek onlookers understood the meaning\nof his action, while the Persians believed that he had satisfactorily\nconformed to the court ceremonial. His little ruse was rewarded by a\nfavorable reception of his requests by the Persian King, who had long\nbeen offended by the obstinate refusal of the Greeks to render him the\nhomage he regarded as his due.[17]\n\nThe iron ring of the Romans, accounted for in popular fancy by the\ntale of the rock and link ring of Prometheus, probably came to the\nRomans from the Etruscans, who appear to have owed the fashion to the\nGreeks, and Pliny notes in his \u201cNaturalis Historia,\u201d written about 75\nA.D., that even then the Laced\u00e6monians, with true Spartan\nsobriety, still wore iron rings.[18] Roman tradition carried back the\nintroduction of such rings to the age of Numa Pompilius, about 700\nB.C., and there is evidence that, at a later time at least,\nthey were regarded as symbols of victory when worn on the hand of\na successful general, a late instance being the wearing of an iron\nring by Marius at his triumph for the victory over Jugurtha in 107\nB.C.[19]\n\nThe progressive changes in the Roman regulations and customs governing\nthe wearing of rings and the material of which they should be made have\nbeen stated in a concise and convenient form by M. Deloche, and his\nconclusions are of considerable value, based as they are upon a very\ncareful study of the classic sources and their best interpreters in the\npast.[20]\n\nThe iron ring, the only one originally, was at first regarded as a\nmark of individual honor, awarded by the sovereign or in his name.\nFrom the earliest times of the Roman Republic, a senator sent on an\nembassy received a gold ring, all other senators being restricted to\niron ones. Soon, however, senators of noble birth, and, later on, all\nsenators without distinction, enjoyed the right of wearing gold rings.\nIn the third century B.C. this privilege was then extended to\nthe knights, and in the last years of the Republic, as well as under\nthe emperors, many other classes of citizens were made partakers of the\nprivilege, so that before long even some freedmen and certain of those\npursuing the least reputable vocations were permitted the enjoyment of\na distinction once so jealously guarded.\n\nToward the latter part of the third century A.D. all Roman\nsoldiers could lawfully wear gold rings, although in the late\nRepublican and earlier Imperial periods this right was accorded only to\nthe military tribunes. Thus, finally, all class distinctions in this\nrespect were done away with. Every freeborn man could wear a gold ring,\nfreedmen, with a few exceptions, were confined to silver rings, and the\niron ring became the badge of slavery.\n\nAfter the battle of Cann\u00e6 (August 2, 216 B.C.), in which the\nRomans were totally defeated by Hannibal, the Carthaginian leader\nordered that the gold rings should be taken from the hands of the dead\nRomans and heaped up in the vestibule of his quarters. Enough were\ncollected to fill a bushel basket (some authorities say three bushel\nbaskets), and they were sent to Carthage, not as valuable spoils of\nwar, but as proof of the great slaughter among the Roman patricians and\nknights, for at this time none beneath the rank of knights, and only\nthose of highest standing among them, those provided with steeds by\nthe State (_equo publico_), had been given the right to wear gold\nrings.[21]\n\nOn days of national mourning the gold rings were laid aside as a mark\nof sorrow and respect, and iron rings were substituted. This was\nthe case after the defeat at Cann\u00e6 in 216 B.C. and on the\nfuneral day of Augustus C\u00e6sar in 15 A.D. This usage is noted\nin one of the poet Juvenal\u2019s satires.[22] Occasionally, as a mark of\ndisapprobation, senators would remove their gold rings at a public\nsitting, as, for instance, when, in 305 B.C., the appointment\nas edile of Cneius Flavius, son of the freedman Annius, was announced\nin the Senate.\n\nIn Rome supplicants took off their rings as a mark of humility, or\na sign of sadness. When the censors C. Claudius Pulcher and Titus\nSempronius Gracchus were cited by the tribune Rutilius as guilty of a\ncrime against the State, Claudius was condemned by eight of the twelve\ncenturies of Knights. At this, many of the principal personages of the\nSenate, taking off their gold rings in the presence of the assembled\ncitizens, put on mourning garments, and raised supplications in favor\nof the accused persons.[23]\n\nAnother instance of this usage with suppliants is shown in a recital of\nValerius Maximus, wherein he relates that when, about 55 B.C.,\nAulus Gabinius was violently accused by the tribune Memmius, and there\nseemed to be little hope that he would escape punishment, his son\nSisenna cast himself as a suppliant at the feet of Memmius, tearing off\nhis ring at the same time. This mark of humiliation finally induced\nMemmius and his fellow-tribune L\u00e6lius to withdraw the accusation, and\nset Gabinius at liberty.[24]\n\nThe wearing of a gold ring, because it was a sign of patrician and\nlater of free birth, had such a high value in the eyes of the Romans\nthat some freedmen used the subterfuge of wearing a gold ring with a\ndark coating, so that it would appear to be of iron. Thus, although\nthey neither had the gratification nor incurred the perils of wearing\na symbol confined to the freeborn, they had the intimate personal\nsatisfaction of knowing that it was really on the hand.[25]\n\nFrom the rather scant evidence that has come down to us, it appears\nthat Roman women were not subjected to as strict regulations in the\nwearing of rings of precious metal as were the men. The wives of simple\nplebeians who were in good circumstances seem as generally and freely\nto have worn them as the wives and daughters of senators or knights, or\nother patrician women. Pliny writes of the women wearing gold on every\nfinger.[26]\n\nIn Rome, as early as the first century, at a time when the right of\nwearing gold rings was, as has been shown, very strictly limited,\nit occasionally happened that a famous actor was accorded this\nprivilege by the special favor of some influential admirer of his\nart. Sulla granted this right to Roscius, and some years later, in\n43 B.C., the Roman qu\u00e6stor in Spain bestowed a gold ring\nupon Herennius Gallus in the ancient city of Gades, the modern\nCadiz. This gave him the right to occupy a seat in one of the first\nfourteen rows at the theatre, the part reserved for the knights. This\nspecial privilege was accorded to the actor by the Lex Roscia of 67\nB.C., conferring the ring upon Roscius.[27]\n\nAlthough the Christian women of the early Christian centuries were\ntaught to avoid all superfluous adornments, the wearing of a gold\nring was permitted to them. This was not, however, to be considered\nas an ornament, but was simply for use in sealing up the household\ngoods entrusted to a wife\u2019s care. Nevertheless, while noting this use,\nClemens Alexandrinus (ca. 150\u2013ca. 217 A.D.) adds that, if\nboth servants and masters were properly instructed in their respective\nduties and obligations, there would be no need for such precautions.[28]\n\nThe dignity conferred by the right to wear a gold ring is even noticed\nin the Epistle of James, where we read (ii, 2\u20134):\n\n For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in\n goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment,\n and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say\n unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor,\n Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool; are ye not then\n partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?\n\nWhile this apostle here, as elsewhere in his epistle, warmly espouses\nthe cause of the poor, the prominence he gives to the gold ring as\na mark of the rich man, and a passport to the place of honor in the\ncongregation, is a full acknowledgment of the impression it created\nupon strangers, just as the ribbon of an order is taken as a proof\nof dignity or station in monarchial countries to-day, and even to a\ncertain extent in republican France.\n\nThe custom of bestowing birthday rings (_anuli natalitii_) was\nfrequently observed in imperial Rome, and a rich and influential\npersonage, with many friends and clients, would receive a large number\nof these rings on the anniversary day of his birth. As a rule, a\nsetting of white sardonyx seems to have been most favored, to judge\nfrom a line in the first of the Satires of the Latin poet Persius\n(34\u201362 A.D.).\n\nThe famous decree of Justinian, promulgated in 539 (Novella 78 of the\nDigest), conferring upon freedmen the right of wearing gold rings, runs\nas follows:[29]\n\n If a master, on freeing his slave, has declared him to be a Roman\n citizen (and he is not allowed to do otherwise), let it be known\n that, according to the present law, he who shall have received his\n liberty shall have the right to gold rings and to regeneration,\n and shall not need to solicit the right of the prince, or to take\n any other steps to secure it. It will be his as a consequence of\n his liberation, in virtue of the present law, which goes into\n effect from this day.\n\nThis decree shows that, as is proved by other texts, freedmen were\nsometimes accorded the privilege of wearing gold rings by special\npermission of the ruler or State, but all who could not obtain such\nspecial permission were punishable if they ventured to wear a gold\nring, just as in countries where State orders are recognized and\nprotected the wearing of such an order or of its ribbon by unauthorized\npersons is punishable in some way. The \u201cright of regeneration\u201d is more\npeculiar, as this refers to a legal fiction, by which it was assumed\nthat some one of the ancestors of the freedman had been freeborn;\nhence, the quality of free-birth was only revived, not created, in the\ncase of the descendant. This is, after all, not so unreasonable as\nit may seem to be, for the slaves, being generally prisoners of war,\nor else the descendants of citizens who had in some way lost their\ncitizenship, could truly claim, in a majority of instances, that they\ncame of freeborn stock.\n\nThe image of Mars on a ring-stone was greatly favored by Roman\nsoldiers. A good example of this style of ring is to be seen at the\nNational Hungarian Museum in Budapest. The gem, a carnelian, is\nengraved with a figure of the god, with helmet and spear; his left hand\nrests on a shield bearing the Medusa\u2019s head. The hoop is of silver.\nThis ring was found in Bosnia and was donated to the museum in 1820.[30]\n\nAn old Roman inscription mentions a guild of ring-makers (_conlegium\nanularium_),[31] and the denomination anularius even appears as a\nproper name of the engraver of a signet ring.[32] Near the Forum was a\nflight of steps designated _scal\u00e6 anulari\u00e6_,[33] indicating either\nthat ring engravers or vendors were to be found there, or that they had\ntheir shops or workshops in the neighborhood.\n\nTreating of the dictatorial conduct of the Procurator Verres, Cicero,\nin his violent, we might almost say virulent arraignment of him, were\nit not so well deserved, says that when Verres wished to have a ring\nmade for himself he ordered that a goldsmith should be summoned to the\nForum, publicly weighed out the gold for him, and commanded the man to\nset his bench down in the Forum and to make the ring in the presence of\nall.[34]\n\nTacitus states in his Germania that the most valiant of the Catt\u00e6,\nwore \u201clike a fetter\u201d an iron ring, which was a mark of infamy among\nthe Germans. Only when a warrior had killed an enemy had he the right\nto divest himself of this ring. Whether this was a tribal usage, or\nonly the sign of an obligation voluntarily assumed, must be left to\nconjecture. It is supposed to evidence that the slaves of the Germans\nwore iron rings, and that thus such rings were looked upon as badges of\nslavery.[35]\n\nFinger-rings are exceedingly rare among the remains of the prehistoric\nAmerican peoples, although a few have been found in the Pueblo ruins\nof Arizona and New Mexico. These are usually cut out of shell. Some\nof them are skilfully cut from Pectunculus shells, and others from\n\u201ccone-shells\u201d (_Conus_). Of the former kind a number were\nunearthed at Chaves Pass, Arizona.[36] Many of the rings were incised\nwith an ornamental design; one of the most beautiful of these was\ndecorated with red figures representing clouds and lightning. This\nring, large enough to fit an adult\u2019s finger, was found, together with\nbones of a human hand, in one of the pre-Columbian graves, at Casa\nGrande, Arizona. The remains here also yielded a ring made out of a\ncone-shell, with incised decoration. The exceptionally fine specimen\nnoted above almost certainly had a religious or talismanic character,\nand it may have been thought to protect the wearer from storms and\nthunderbolts.\n\nThe skill with which the shells were utilized for rings as well as\nfor other objects of adornment must have been the result of many\ngenerations of experiment and training, springing from that inherent\nartistic sense so often manifest in the Indians of the pueblos in\ncontrast to the Indians of the plains. Often the circular form was\nalready present in the shell, and this was utilized by dividing a part\nof the cone into sections, thus giving rings of varying diameter.\nThe material was then smoothed and polished, and either left plain\nor decorated with an incised pattern, into the outlines of which\nappropriate coloring matter was introduced. In other cases, when the\nshell material did not offer a natural circlet, a disk was cut out, and\na large perforation produced the rough circlet, to be worked up later\ninto a finished ring.\n\nThe attainable evidence in regard to the wearing of rings by the\naborigines of North and South America is, in the main, negative.\nThis is the case with the Pacific coast Indians, as well as with the\nChiriqui graves and other ancient remains in the present United States\nof Colombia.[37] Indeed, so far as can be ascertained, the wearing of\nrings is essentially an Oriental fashion and was brought to the ancient\npeoples of Europe from the East. Still, here and there on the North\nAmerican continent, as in the instance above noted, rings have been\nfound in burials believed to be pre-Columbian.\n\nTo the very few pre-Columbian rings found in Indian mounds, belong\nfour from Ohio, now in the collection of the Ohio State Arch\u00e6ological\nand Historical Society, Columbus, Ohio. One of the rings was unearthed\ntwenty years ago from a mound in Hamilton County; it is of spiral form\nand was on the middle finger of the left hand of a skeleton. The three\nothers came from the Adana Mound, two of them being spiral-rings, both\nfound on the middle finger of a skeleton\u2019s left hand; the third is not\na complete circle, and was picked up at the base of the mound. The\nspiral-rings are very finely and delicately fashioned.[38]\n\nThe Aztecs of ancient Mexico executed many ornamental objects of gold,\nsilver, copper and tin, and worked in iron and lead as well. Specimens\nof this silversmiths\u2019 work were sent by Fernan Cort\u00e9s to Emperor\nCharles V, and their artistic quality elicited the admiration of the\nSpanish jewellers. These seem to have been only a small portion of\nthe rich booty gathered by the Spanish Conquistador, the metal worth\nof which he estimated at 100,000 ducats ($250,000), or even more,\naccording to the statement in a letter addressed to his sovereign. The\ngreater part of this treasure is believed to have been lost during\nthe \u201c_Noche Triste_,\u201d the \u201cNight of Sorrows,\u201d when the Spanish\nconquerors were surprised and attacked in Mexico City by the native\nwarriors, and were forced to seek safety, after suffering considerable\nlosses in a retreat from the narrow, city streets into the open\ncountry, where they could better utilize the enormous superiority\nconferred on them by their fire-arms. Even the few specimens which\nwere actually brought to Charles V seem to have disappeared, and were\nprobably melted down for use as bullion.[39]\n\nOf the silversmiths\u2019 methods a little can be learned from a study of\nAztec paintings. Thus we are able to know that they used the crucible,\nthe muffle and the blow-pipe. The statement is made by Torquemada and\nby Clavigo that they possessed the now lost art of casting objects\nhalf of gold and half of silver. Some fine examples of Aztec work in\ngold and silver are to be seen in the marvelous collections of the\nMuseo Nacional in Mexico City, and among them are several finger-rings.\nOne of these comes from Teotihuacan; its broad hoop is decorated with\nthe head of one of the Aztec gods, wearing an elaborate and curiously\ncomplicated head-dress. Other gold rings are of a peculiar type, the\ninner half of the hoop being only about two-fifths as high as the\nouter and very broad half, so that the finger could be closed without\ninconvenience.[40]\n\n  [Illustration: Ancient Indian rings. 1, copper finger ring. From\n  a grave in cemetery at mouth of the Wabash, Southern Indiana,\n  1898. 2, stone ring (?). From Red Paint Cemetery, Orland, Maine.\n  Explored by W. K. Moorehead in 1912. 3, shell ring, broken. From\n  adobe ruin. Mesa, Arizona, 1898. All full size\n\n  Courtesy of Mr. Warren K. Moorehead]\n\n  [Illustration: Ancient Indian metal finger rings. 1, spiral ring\n  from middle finger of a skeleton. Hamilton Co., Ohio. 2, broken\n  ring taken from floor of Adana Mound, Ohio. 3 and 4, rings from\n  middle finger of skeleton found in the Adana Mound, Ohio. Natural\n  size]\n\n  [Illustration: Four thin shell rings from the Indian adobe ruins\n  near Phoenix, Arizona, explored in 1898\n\n  Courtesy of Mr. Warren K. Moorehead]\n\n  [Illustration: NAVAJO SILVERSMITH OF ARIZONA,\n  KOCH-NE-BI-KI-BITSILLY, CALLED \u201cCHARLEY,\u201d MAKING RINGS AT GRAND\n  CANYON, ARIZONA]\n\nSo few finger-rings of the Indian aborigines, who once inhabited the\npresent territory of the United States, have been brought to light,\nthat some authorities have been disposed to deny the existence of any\nrelics of this kind. Among the rare discoveries may be noted a copper\nring found in one of the Indian mounds near Chillicothe, Ross County,\nOhio. This ring has been made by bending a short copper rod until the\nends overlapped and then pounding them as closely together as possible.\nIt is only large enough for a child\u2019s finger, and among the remains\nof fifteen Indians found in this particular mound were those of a\nchild.[41] A few stone rings, presumably for wear on the finger, have\nbeen met with in Indian graves in the Scioto Valley, Ohio, in Kentucky,\nin Tennessee and also in Arizona, New Mexico and California. An\nornamental stone ring from Kentucky was evidently a finger-ring, as are\nalso some others of the stone rings.[42]\n\nA shell ring from the adobe ruins near Ph\u0153nix, Arizona, in the Salado\nValley, shows the skill of the primitive Indians of this region in\nring-making. Art in shell is pronounced by Dr. Warren K. Moorehead to\nbe characteristic of the early Indian peoples of this valley, the shell\nmaterial, which is found in great profusion in the ruins and in the\ndesert, having come here either because of trade relations with the\nIndians of the sea-coast, or as a result of frequent journeys by some\nof the Salado peoples to the distant salt water. The discovery of shell\nfrogs in the so-called \u201cCity of the Dead\u201d in this valley, by Prof.\nFrank H. Cushing, some thirty years ago, was at first received with\nconsiderable incredulity, but since then several have been unearthed by\nsuccessive explorers. Shell and bone implements with turquoise inlays\noccur both in Arizona and New Mexico.[43] The shell ring we have just\nnoted, is unusually well formed, the projection at the upper part\nhaving a form suggestive of a finished bezel, thus rendering the ring\na harmonious and attractive adornment for the hand. This interesting\nspecimen was brought to light in 1898, with a few other shell rings. An\nIndian copper finger ring was unearthed, in the same year, in a grave\nforming part of a cemetery at the mouth of the Wabash River, southern\nIndiana. More recently, in 1912, what is believed to have been a stone\nring was taken by Doctor Moorehead from the Red Paint Indian cemetery\nat Orland, Maine.[44]\n\nThe proficiency of the Navajo and Pueblo Indians of New Mexico as\nsilversmiths is shown by the fact that there are from fifty to\nseventy-five Indians regularly occupied in this way at present, while\nseveral hundred others are more or less familiar with the art and work\noccasionally. The average pay is so much by the ounce, fifty cents\nfor bracelets, conchos, etc., and seventy-five cents for rings, plus\ntwenty-five cents for each and every setting. It has been estimated\nthat a Navajo silversmith, if he find steady work, may earn as much as\n$125 a month. This, however, is rarely the case, as they are not fond\nof overwork, and when they have earned a little sum in ten or fifteen\ndays, they will lay off until it is spent and they are again forced to\nresume their tasks. Of the more industrious, who might be willing to\nwork uninterruptedly, many are quite prosperous, owning flocks of sheep\nor other live stock, or else farm land, which must be attended to in\npreference to the jewellery industry.\n\nOne of the best of these Indian ring-makers is Koch-Ne-Bi-Ki Bitsilly,\ncalled Charley for short. He finds regular employment in the Grand\nCanyon shop at Albuquerque, N. M., for several months in each year,\ndevoting the remainder of his time to the care of his sheep and other\nproperty. He is pronounced to be above the average in intelligence,\nenergy and initiative. Other silversmiths are: Asidi Yashe, Charlie\nHogan, Charlie Largo, Malapai, Bigay and Hastin Nez.\n\nOf the stones used for ring-settings, garnets are never employed except\nat the special request of a trader; rarely, roughly-cut peridots\nare set in rings. Turquoise from New Mexico, is the favorite stone,\nalthough a little Persian turquoise is occasionally brought in by\nthe traders and set in Navajo rings. In early times the turquoise\nsupply came from the deposits near Cerrillos, now known as the Tiffany\nMine,[45] which furnished the material for all the turquoise ornaments\nin the ruins at Chaco Canyon and elsewhere. In the manufacture of\nrings these silversmiths frequently make a number at the same time,\nfirst fashioning all the hoops, and then adding the design to the\nhoops, after which the cups for the settings are added to the series.\nAn industrious worker will be able to finish up as many as a dozen\nrings on this plan in three days, whereas, when special care is to be\nexercised in making a single ring, a whole day\u2019s work will be required.\nFrom four to five thousand rings are made annually in New Mexico and\nArizona.\n\nAs metal working was unknown to the Navajos, as well as to the other\nIndians of the Southwest before the advent of the white man, it seems\nmost probable that silver jewellery was not made by these Indians\nuntil Spanish silver coins reached them. The Navajos are believed\nto have acquired their knowledge of jewellery-making from the Pueblo\nIndians who were the first to undertake it. Prior to this there was\nmassive work in copper probably due to influences from the North. The\nSpanish derivation of the silver-working is proven by the old Spanish\nmethods used; the bellows is Spanish-Moorish. No reference either to\nthe making or the use of jewellery before recent times by the Navajos\nis believed to exist. As an indication of the source of the silver\nused, the Hopi name of this metal is _shiba_, the literal meaning\nof the word being \u201ca little round, white cake,\u201d an apt designation of a\nsilver coin. In the total absence of arch\u00e6ological evidence as to the\nNavajos, Dr. Walter Hough is decidedly of the opinion that silver work\namong the tribe is of comparatively recent date. A few of the Navajo\nfinger-rings in the National Museum in Washington are at least old\nenough to show considerable signs of wear.[46]\n\nAmong the women of the Pueblo Indians the wearing of a great number\nof rings on the hand is an indication of aristocratic birth. This is\nillustrated in the accompanying plate, showing a ring on every finger\nof both hands; they are of silver, set with turquoise. Rings of this\ntype are also shown in the portrait of a Navajo maiden, a daughter of\nChee Dodge, dressed in the costume of the wife of a Navajo chief.[47]\n\n  [Illustration: DAUGHTER OF CHEE DODGE, NAVAJO INDIAN. SHE WEARS\n  RINGS OF SILVER SET WITH TURQUOISE]\n\n  [Illustration: SILVER RINGS SET WITH TURQUOISE MINED IN ARIZONA\n  AND NEW MEXICO, MADE BY THE NAVAJO INDIANS, GRAND CANYON,\n  ARIZONA. 1916]\n\nAs the Navajo silversmiths dwelt in small huts or temporary shelters\nwhich they might move away from at short notice, they were forced\nto build low forges directly on the ground, obliging them to crouch\ndown while working.[48] In this respect the Pueblo artisans had a\nconsiderable advantage, since their spacious dwellings made it possible\nfor them to set their forges solidly in a frame high enough to enable\nthem to do their work standing. A considerable number of tools and\nappliances are in the workshop of the Navajo silversmith; most of them,\nhowever, of rude fabrication and not well adapted for fine and accurate\nwork. He deserves the more credit for the quality of work he is able\nto produce. The following is a pretty full list of the outfit in such\na workshop: Forge, bellows, anvil, crucibles, molds, tongs, scissors,\npliers, files, awls, cold chisels, matrix and die for moulding buttons,\nwooden stake, basin, charcoal, tools and materials for soldering\n(blow-pipe, braid of cotton rags soaked in grease, wire, and borax),\nmaterials for polish (sandpaper, emery-paper, powdered sandstone, sand,\nashes, and solid stone), and materials for whitening (a native mineral\nsubstance--almogen, salt and water).[49]\n\nIt has been noted that the Navajos had not acquired the art of making\nan air chamber of the mouth in operating the blow-pipe, but blew with\nundistended cheeks, the result being an intermittent flame. The latter\nis furnished by burning a thick braid of cotton rags soaked in mutton\nsuet or some other similar kind of grease. For the polishing work,\nthe emery paper is sparingly used because of its cost. After all the\npreliminary polishing has been done with sandstone, sand or ashes, the\nfinishing is done with emery-paper. For the blanching of the silver the\nhydrous sulphate of ammonia, termed almogen, is used, the silver being\nbathed in a solution of this, with the addition of a little salt. The\nblow-pipe is usually made by beating out a piece of thick brass wire\ninto a long flat strip, which is then bent into the requisite form.\n\nTwo of the best of these silversmiths were engaged to work for a short\ntime near Fort Wingate. As has been noted, their forges are commonly\nset very low down, and the position of the workers was evidently\nan uncomfortable one. Nevertheless, they showed a great degree of\npersistence, working sometimes as many as from twelve to even fifteen\nhours in a day. When paid by the piece, artisans could earn about two\ndollars a day on an average. The method of chasing was excessively\nprimitive. While one worker held the object firmly on an anvil, the\nother applied to it part of the shank of a file that had previously\nbeen rounded, and struck this with smart taps of a hammer. Finer\nfigures were engraved with the sharpened part of a file, to which a\npeculiar zigzag, forward motion was imparted by the hand. One fault\nthat could be charged against these silversmiths was a lack of economy\nas to the precious material they used, no care being taken to gather\nup and utilize the amount lost in filing and polishing, as well as by\noxidation in the forge, so that the net loss was estimated at fourteen\nper cent.\n\nWhile the art of the work produced can scarcely be termed finished,\nwhen judged by very high standards, still the silver ornaments executed\nby the Navajos possess at least the charm inherent in individual work,\nas contrasted with the more harmonious and finished productions of\nmerely mechanical art, where thousands of objects of a given type of\ndesign are turned out annually in a highly-organized silversmithing\nestablishment. With these Indians we have the \u201cpersonal note\u201d that is\ntoo often missed in the ornaments of our day. This Navajo industry has\nreceived much encouragement from the managers of the Santa F\u00e9 Railroad,\nand from its agencies. Although the art among the Navajos is generally\nbelieved to have been introduced by Spanish influence, the fact that\nbefore the Spanish Conquest the native Mexicans were able to work\nmetals with considerable skill would make it not improbable that it\nspread to the New Mexico tribes, and perhaps from them to the ancestors\nof the Navajos of to-day. The Navajo Indians belong to the Athapascan\nrace and emigrated from the northwestern coast. Copper had been worked\ninto ornaments from of old by Indians of the same stock in Alaska, and\nsome remains indicate that this was the case, in rare instances, with\nthe Navajos.\n\nThe superiority of the Navajos of a later time to the Pueblos as\nsilversmiths, may, perhaps, result from their already acquired\nknowledge of copper-working. As the Navajo men had not the occupation\nof farming, as had the Pueblos, silversmithing gained favor among them\nas a fad, as a means of relieving the tedium of idleness. There is\nrarely any tendency to transmit this art directly from father to son,\nindividual preferences being the chief factors. Indeed there is so\nlittle of the caste spirit among the Navajos that the occupation of\nthe father counts for but little in determining that of the son. This\nis largely dependent upon the fact that descent is principally traced\nthrough the mother. Exogamy, marrying outside the clan, is the orthodox\ncode of the Navajos, a man being expected to avoid taking a wife from\nthe clan to which his mother belonged,--a wise precaution for them.\n\nAs an early description of the lack of silversmiths\u2019 instruments of\nprecision among the Navajos in planning and executing their work, Mr.\nMatthews says of conditions as he observed them thirty-five years ago:\n\n\u201cThe smiths whom I have seen working had no dividers, square, measure,\nor any instrument of precision. As before stated, I have seen scissors\nused as compasses, but as a rule they find approximate centres with the\neye and cut all shapes and engrave all figures by the unaided guidance\nof this unreliable organ. Often they cut out their designs in paper\nfirst and from them mark off patterns on the metal. Even in the matter\nof cutting patterns they do not seem to know the simple device of\ndoubling the paper in order to secure lateral conformity.\u201d\n\n  [Illustration: NAVAJO SILVERSMITHS OF NEW MEXICO, ENGAGED IN\n  MAKING SILVER RINGS\n\n  1, Tsozi Bigay; 2, Atziddy Yaski]\n\n  [Illustration: PABLO ABEITA, PUEBLO INDIAN, WITH HIS SON AND WIFE\n\n  The latter wears turquoise and silver rings on every finger of\n  each hand\n\n  Courtesy of Dr. Joseph Kossuth Dixon]\n\nAs the Navajos have no silver mines in their country, they depend\nlargely for their material upon Mexican silver dollars worth about 48\ncents in United States money. These are melted and then molded, or\nelse cut and hammered into the desired forms. Sometimes, United States\nhalf or quarter dollars are used in this way, although such silver\ncosts more than twice as much, because of its worth as currency. Before\nsilver was freely used, copper and brass were bought at the trading\nposts and favored as materials; a supply of these metals being often\nsecured by melting down parts of the kettles or pans furnished to the\nIndians by the United States Government, or else bought from white\nsettlers. Some old Navajo silversmiths assert that the art of working\nsilver was introduced from Mexico about sixty years ago, toward the\nmiddle of the last century. About this time a Mexican silversmith named\nCassilio came to the Navajo country and taught his art to a Navajo\nblacksmith called by his people Atsidi Sani, or the \u201cOld Smith.\u201d\nCassilio is said to have been still living about 1872. An artisan\nconsidered to be one of the best, if not the very best of the Navajo\nsilversmiths of our day, who is called Beshlagai Ilini Altsosigi or the\n\u201cSlender Silversmith,\u201d originally learned his art from Mexicans. The\nfact that Lieut. James H. Simpson, who explored the heart of the Navajo\ncountry in 1849, has nothing to say about silversmithing, although he\ndetails very fully the various arts and industries of the Navajos, goes\nfar to prove the truth of the statement that Navajo silversmithing\ndates from a later time.[50]\n\nBorax is now generally used for soldering, but before it was brought\nto their country, the Navajo silversmiths are said to have mined a\ncertain substance for this use, probably a kind of native alum. Rock\nsalt, an easily attainable material, called in the Navajo tongue _tse\ndokozh_ (saline rock), was used for whitening tarnished or oxidized\nsilver. For this purpose the salt was dissolved in boiling water, into\nwhich the silver articles were thrown and left for a time. In place\nof the sandstone, sand and ashes originally used, the silversmiths\nare now able to employ sandpaper or emery paper bought at the stores.\nOf the tools employed we have already treated at some length. The\ndetails in this and the preceding paragraph have been derived from\nthe very interesting and valuable \u201cEthnologic Dictionary of the\nNavaho Language,\u201d published in 1910 by the Franciscan Fathers, at St.\nMichaels, Arizona.[51] Here the nouns and verbs denoting action are\ngrouped in the only really logical way, under the respective industries\nand trades, or other forms of human activity. As some of the foremost\nwriters on the origin of language have urged that its beginnings are to\nbe sought in the various rhythmic exclamations of a body of workers,\nat first uttered automatically and later used consciously as calls to\nwork, or to favor a co\u00f6rdination of efforts, no better classification\nof the vocabulary of a primitive race can be employed.\n\nThe various forms and qualities of silver rings found full expression\nin the Navajo language, a proof of the importance accorded to\nthis branch of silversmithing among them. The word for ring being\n_yosts\u00e1_, we have the following designations:[52]\n\n    yosts\u00e1 deshzh\u00e1zh, a worn down ring\n    yosts\u00e1 ge\u00e9ldo, a broken ring\n    yosts\u00e1 \u00e9nidi, a new ring\n    yosts\u00e1 quastq\u00ed, an old ring\n    yosts\u00e1 ntq\u00e9l, a broad ring\n    yosts\u00e1 alts\u00f3si, a slender ring\n    yosts\u00e1 ntsa, a large ring\n    yosts\u00e1 altsisi, a small ring\n    yosts\u00e1 n\u00e1ilgai, a polished ring\n    yosts\u00e1 yij\u00ed, a blackened, oxidized ring\n    yosts\u00e1 do-bikeeshch\u00edni, a plain ring\n    yosts\u00e1 bikeeshch\u00edni, a ring with a design\n    yosts\u00e1 alk\u00e9sgiz, a twisted ring\n    yosts\u00e1 bits\u00e1, a ribbed ring\n    yosts\u00e1 bin\u00e1, the setting of a ring\n    yosts\u00e1 ts\u00e9so bin\u00e1, a ring with a glass setting\n    yosts\u00e1 dotl\u00edzhi bin\u00e1, a ring with a turquoise setting\n    yosts\u00e1 tlish be\u00e9lya, a snake-shaped ring\n\n  [Illustration: THE ARMY AND NAVY CLUB\n\n  WASHINGTON.]\n\n  [handwritten text]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [handwritten page]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  [handwritten page]\n\nRings are not in favor with the Eskimos, who do not appear to make or\nwear any. Indeed, Admiral Peary found it impossible to dispose of a\nlot of rings he had taken with him on one of his Arctic trips in the\nbelief that they would be attractive to the Eskimos, and good objects\nof barter.[53] Perhaps in the intense Arctic cold even the slightest\npressure on the finger may have been avoided, lest it should impede\ncirculation and increase the danger of having the fingers frost-bitten.\n\nThe Mend\u00e6ans of Mesopotamia are the silversmiths of this region, and\nthey exhibit much skill in their work. The greatest demand is for\ncigarette cases and for signet rings and seals, although they make a\nvariety of other small ornamental objects. Their methods of work are\nquite characteristic. In the case of the smaller objects, such as\nrings, etc., they hammer them out from a heated silver bar. When the\ngeneral form has been attained, they work up the surface with a steel\nfile or pencil, which has a triangular point; with it the desired\ndesign is laboriously engraved. This process being completed, a black\nmetallic powder, made into a paste, is rubbed over the entire surface,\nnaturally accumulating more or less, according to the greater or lesser\ndepths of the cuttings; the object is then placed in a charcoal forge\nand fired. After it has remained therein long enough, it is removed\nand the superfluous powder is rubbed or worked off. The completed ring\nor other ornament then offers most beautiful contrasts between the\nbright silver and the lustrous black inlay. The Mend\u00e6ans are sometimes\ncalled \u201cChristians of St. John,\u201d because of their great veneration\nfor John the Baptist. However, they in no sense deserve the name\nof Christians, their peculiar, eclectic doctrine being a mixture of\nancient and Christian Gnosticism, with certain elements of the old\nPersian religion. They have quite a literature, dating back to the\nearly centuries of our era, and written in an Aramaic dialect similar\nto that of the Talmud.\n\n\n                     THE PURPOSES OF RING WEARING\n\nThe wearing of rings as ornaments for the hand requires no explanation\nin view of the innate love of adornment shown from the very earliest\nperiods of human history. However, apart from this merely ornamental\nuse, rings were applied to many special uses and were worn for many\ndefinite purposes, some of which are so important as to merit extended\nnotice in separate chapters; others again are less far-reaching\nand less significant, and certain of these will be explained and\nillustrated here.\n\n  [Illustration: 1, Late Roman ring; 2, gold ring set with an\n  engraved red carnelian. Found in 1846 near Amiens, France]\n\n  [Illustration: 1, ring of gilt copper set with a ruby; 2, ring\n  set with irregularly-shaped sapphire\n\n  Londesborough Collection]\n\n  [Illustration: 1, Roman ring, perhaps a signet; elliptical hoop\n  with projecting shoulders; 2, hexagonal ring set with engraved\n  stone bearing figure of Hygeia, the Goddess of Health]\n\n  [Illustration: Ring that was perhaps given by a Roman lady to a\n  successful charioteer. Bust of donor on summit of ring\n\n  All from Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: 1, spiral ring with heads of Isis and Serapis 2,\n  Etruscan gold ring\n\n  British Museum\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Silver ring with ten projections (decade ring);\n  that for the Creed (the bezel) has the design of the Cross.\n  Impression\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Immense ring with female head incorrectly said to\n  be that of Plotina, wife of Trajan\n\n  Montfaucon, \u201cL\u2019Antiquit\u00e9 expliqu\u00e9e,\u201d Paris, 1719]\n\n  [Illustration: Ancient Roman Key Rings\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\nWe are not apt to think the wearing of many rings especially in accord\nwith the profession of philosophy, and yet \u00c6lian tells us that a chief\ncause of the dissension between Plato (427\u2013347 B.C.) and his\npupil, Aristotle (384\u2013322 B.C.), arose from the blame bestowed\nby Plato upon the greatest of ancient philosophers--\u201cthe master of\nthose who know,\u201d as Dante calls him--because Aristotle adorned his\nhand with many rings.[54] Could this have been done with a view to\nimpressing his students and philosophers with greater respect than they\nmight always have been disposed to accord to his intellectual greatness\nalone? The externals of luxurious adornment made, perhaps, a more\ndirect appeal than the mere power of logical exposition could do,\nand such an eminently practical thinker as Aristotle was may not have\nbeen blind to these considerations.\n\nA gold ring figured by Gorius is thought by him to have been a gift\nfrom an ardent Roman sportswoman to a victorious charioteer, to whose\nskill she may perhaps have been indebted for some material gain, since\nwagering in chariot races was as common in Roman times as betting on\nhorse races in our own day. This ring is engraved with a woman\u2019s head\nand two heads of reined horses; the name of the donor, Pomphonica,[55]\nand the words _amor_ and _hospes_, are engraved on the circlet. \u201cLove\nthe Host,\u201d as these words may be read, makes a slightly enigmatic\ninscription. Indeed, it may well be that some fair Roman had the ring\nmade as a memento for her own use and wear. Another conjecture is that\nit was a man\u2019s ring executed as a memento of what was dearest to him,\nhis ladylove and his chariot horses. It was in the Cabinet of the\nTuscan grand duke Francis of Lorraine, later Emperor of Germany and\nhusband of Maria Theresa.[56]\n\nA Latin inscription, from Granada, Spain, mentions a ring, set with a\njasper, that was placed by a son upon the statue of his mother. The\nvalue of the ring is given as 7000 sestertii, indicating that the stone\nwas engraved; the design probably had a symbolic significance, as in\nthe case of most of the votive rings.[57]\n\nMartial, in one of his epigrams (V.12) says that there was nothing\nsurprising in the feats performed by certain athletes, when Stella\ncould carry ten maidens upon one of his fingers. In a very interesting\nstudy on this subject, C. W. King endeavors to prove that the lines\nrefer to a remarkable ring whereon ten precious stones must have been\nassociated in some way with dedicated to Minerva and the Nine Muses.\nIn another epigram (V.11) Martial writes of Stella turning sardonyxes,\nemeralds, diamonds, and jaspers around one of his finger-joints, and\nKing conjectures that the Ten Maidens were represented by the opal,\nsapphire (hyacinth), spinel, Oriental topaz, almandine garnet, and\npearl, in addition to the four stones enumerated above. Should this\nconjecture be well-founded these different stones were set at regular\nintervals, these stones being Minerva and the Muses, although we have\nno direct proof of this.\n\nThis ring of the Ten Maidens suggests the decade or rosary rings, of\nwhich so many specimens exist. Usually there were ten bosses or knobs,\nas the name indicates, but occasionally there were eleven, for counting\nten Aves and a Pater. The earliest date Mr. Waterton is inclined to\nassign to rings of this type is the fourteenth century.[58] A so-called\ndecade ring with twelve bosses is described in the catalogue of the\nLondesborough Collection.[59] Here the central knob is a tooth,\nopposite this is a piece of labradorite, while on either side are\nset two amethysts, a chrysoprase and an emerald, two jacinths, two\nturquoises, and two pearls. The twelfth knob stood for the creed.\nSometimes, where there are eleven projections, ten paternosters and the\ncreed were to be recited. A good example of a decade ring is one of\nsilver in the British Museum. The ten projections for the paternosters\nare very marked and the eleventh, for the creed, which forms the bezel,\nhas the form of a crucifix, the cross resting on three steps. This\nrises to a considerable relative height above the hoop. Such a ring\ncould scarcely be worn with comfort, its liturgical use evidently being\nthe paramount idea of the maker.[60]\n\nThe gold and silver chaplet rings, with a cross and ten beads or\nbosses in relief upon the hoop, were frequently used by the Knights\nof Malta, in the eighteenth century; indeed this type of ring is said\nto have been invented by them. Their use as substitutes for the less\nconvenient chaplet was spreading, until in 1836 the matter was referred\nby Pope Gregory XVI to the tribunal of penitentiaries. Its decision,\ntransmitted by the Cardinal Penitentiary Castracane, as to the question\n\u201cwhether the gold or silver rings, surrounded by ten bosses, which are\nused by some pious persons for the recitation of the Rosary of the\nBlessed Virgin, can be blessed with the appropriate indulgences,\u201d was\nin the negative.[61]\n\nThe ring-money used by the ancient Gauls and Britons illustrates\nthe employment of what might be ornamental objects as currency. An\nexceptionally fine specimen made of nearly pure gold was recently\nfound by a farmer while he was ploughing a field near Woodstock,\nOxfordshire, England. Of course many or most of these rings were not\nworn but merely used as money.\n\nA legal use of a sapphire ring to bind a bargain is recorded in a\ndeed of gift, from about 1200 A.D., by a certain John Long\nto William Prohume, clerk, of land and houses in St. Martin\u2019s Street,\nExeter, at a rent of 6_s_ 8_d_, which sum was to be donated\nto St. John\u2019s Hospital in Exeter. The grantor acknowledges the receipt\nof 45 marks and of a gold ring set with a sapphire as the price of this\nlease on very favorable terms.[62]\n\nPrecious stones set in rings sometimes served to hide a \u201ctalisman\u201d of a\npeculiar kind, namely, a dose of death-dealing poison, kept as a last\nresort to free the wearer of the ring from disgrace or from a worse\ndeath. So we are told that when Marcus Crassus stripped the Capitoline\nTemple of its treasures of gold, the faithful guardian broke between\nhis teeth the stone set in his ring, swallowed the poison hidden\nbeneath it, and immediately expired.[63] The great Hannibal, also,\nhad recourse to the poison contained in his ring, when he was on the\npoint of being given up to his bitter enemies, the Romans. Of this ring\nthe satirist Juvenal wrote as follows: \u201c_Cannarum vindex et tanti\nsanguinis ultor Anulus_,\u201d or \u201cThat ring, the avenger of those who\nfell at Cann\u00e6, and of so much blood that had been shed.\u201d Another great\nman, the peerless orator Demosthenes, is said to have carried with him\na similar ring. In a Rabbinical commentary on Deuteronomy occurs the\nfollowing curious passage:\n\n Hast thou then no ring? Suck it out and thou wilt die.\n\nThis has been explained as referring to a hollow ring filled with\nliquid poison.[64]\n\nSome ancient gold rings were made hollow, so that they could be\nfilled with mastic or brimstone, or an aromatic material. In the old\n\u201cOneirocriticon,\u201d or \u201cDream Book\u201d of Artemidorus, to see a ring of\nthis kind in a dream portended treachery or deceit, as they enclosed\nsomething hidden from view, while a ring solidly wrought by the hammer\nwas exactly what it purported to be.[65]\n\nThe poison-rings of the Borgias are not fabulous, for some of them\nstill exist, one bearing the date 1503 and the motto of C\u00e6sar Borgia in\nOld French, \u201c_Fays ce que doys avien que pourra_\u201d (Do your duty,\nhappen what may). Beneath the bezel of this ring there is a sliding\npanel and when this is displaced there appears a small space where the\npoison was kept. Such rings simply afforded a ready supply of poison\nat need, but another type constituted a death-dealing weapon. It is\ncurious to note how in a ring of this latter type the Renaissance\ngoldsmith has combined an artistic idea with the nefarious quality\nof the jewel. The bezel is wrought into the shape of a lion, and\nthe hollow claws of the animal admit the passage of a subtle poison\nconcealed in a small reservoir back of the bezel. By a mechanical\ndevice the poison was pressed out of the cavity through the lion\u2019s\nclaws, and it is conjectured that the death-wound could have been\ninflicted by turning the bezel of the ring inward, so that a hearty\ngrasp would produce a few slight punctures in the enemy\u2019s hand.[66]\n\nWhile these Borgia rings represent an extreme of diabolical ingenuity,\nthe perfumed rings, the use of which has been revived to a certain\nextent of late, constitute a refinement of civilization. This ring is\ngenerally made of plain gold with a small elastic ball and valve at\nthe back. This is squeezed flat and the ring is immersed in a perfumed\nliquid; when the pressure is removed the scent is drawn into the\nring by suction. An ingenious adjustment renders it possible for the\nwearer to discharge a jet or spray of perfume by the exercise of a\nvery trifling pressure. Not only perfumes but disinfectants also are\nsometimes used, and rings charged in this way may be said to represent\nantidotes of the dreaded poison rings, not perhaps in a literal sense,\nbut at least in the sense of being curative rings.\n\nA poison ring of Venetian workmanship has a richly engraved hoop, the\nsetting consisting of a pointed diamond on either side of which are\ntwo cabochon-cut rubies. On touching a spring at the side of the bezel\nholding the diamond, the upper half, in which the stone is set, springs\nopen, revealing a space beneath in which a small quantity of poison\ncould be concealed, enough in the case of the more active poisons to\nfurnish a lethal dose, either for an enemy or for the wearer of the\nring himself in case of need.[67]\n\nThe son of the great Egmont was involved more or less directly in\nan unsuccessful plot to poison the Prince of Orange in 1582. It was\nasserted that the crime was committed at the would-be assassin\u2019s own\ntable, by means of a drug concealed in a ring. This story appeared to\nbe confirmed by the alleged finding in Egmont\u2019s lodgings of a hollow\nring filled with poison.[68]\n\nA writer on poison mysteries describes a possible poison ring in the\ngreat British Museum collection. The bezel has a repository covered by\na thin-cut onyx on which is engraved the head of a horned faun.[69]\nHowever, in the British Museum Catalogue of Rings by O. M. Dalton,\nthe statement is made that there are no authentic poison rings in\nthe Museum, and that \u201cthe mere possession of a locket-bezel does\nnot suffice to lend romance to a ring perhaps intended to contain a\nharmless perfume.\u201d[70]\n\nA golden ring-dial in the British Museum collection is a flat band\naround the middle of which runs a channel in which another, movable\nring, fits closely. The month-names are engraved on the band, six above\nthe channel and six below it. The movable ring has a small hole with\na star on one side, and a hand with index and second fingers extended\non the other. Inside, the numbers of the hours from 4 A.M.\nto 8 P.M. are engraved in two lines, the hour of noon being\nbeyond them at the point opposite to the ring which suspends the dial.\nIn using a dial-ring the aperture in the movable ring was brought in\na line with the month in which the observation was taken; this being\ndone the figure on the inside upon which the sun\u2019s ray would fall would\ngive the approximate time of day.[71]\n\nShakespeare provides Touchstone with a dial ring in \u201cAs You Like It\u201d\n(Act II, sc. 7) where Jaques says:\n\n    \u201cGood morrow fool,\u201d quoth I. \u201cNo, Sir, quoth he,\n    Call me not fool, till heaven hath sent me fortune.\u201d\n    And then he drew a dial from his poke,\n    And looking on it with lack-lustre eye,\n    Says, very wisely, \u201cIt is ten o\u2019clock.\u201d\n\nA watch-ring of the eighteenth century is in the Franks Bequest\nCollection of the British Museum. The oval watch in the bezel is framed\nwith pearls, on the back of the ring are the initials A.R. As the\nbezel measures but nine-tenths of an inch in length, this tiny watch\nexemplifies the skill of the watch-makers of the time. The entire ring\nweighs but 175 grains.[72]\n\nThe custom of leaving memorial rings for the friends of the departed\nhad its origin in the bestowal of more substantial bequests. In fact,\nthese rings stand in somewhat the same relation to such bequests as\ndoes the wedding ring to the gifts the husband was expected to make to\nhis wife when he wedded her. In both cases this has been lost sight\nof, and the intrinsic value of the objects being slight, only the\nsentimental value is considered.\n\nAn early instance of the bequest of rings is offered in the case of\nRichard II (1366\u20131400), who, by his testament, left a gold ring to\neach of the nine executors, five of whom were bishops and four great\nnobles.[73] In the seventeenth century one who held, and still holds\nsway in another realm, that of literature, conformed to this usage,\nfor in Shakespeare\u2019s will, dated March 25, 1616, rings were bequeathed\nto Hamlett Sadler, William Reynoldes, Anthony Nash and John Nash,\nhis fellow townsmen, as well as to three actors, Burbage, Heming and\nCondell, who had the privilege of \u201ccreating\u201d parts in the greatest\ndramas ever written. The sum of 26s 8d is appropriated for each of\nthese rings, about $6.50 of our money.\n\nAs the fashion became more prevalent, the number of rings provided\nfor in the wills of well-known persons must have constituted quite\na charge upon their estates. The quaint and delightful Pepys, that\nclose observer and great gossip who knew all the prominent people of\nthe London of his day, left directions on his death, in 1703, for the\ndistribution of 123 memorial rings among his friends. One of the most\nimportant events in English history is believed to have given such a\ngreat vogue to this usage.\n\nThe death of Charles I on the scaffold, January 30, 1649--his martyrdom\nas the royalists called it--created an ineffaceable impression upon\nthe minds and hearts of those who had taken the king\u2019s side in the\nstruggle with the parliamentary party. To commemorate this sad event\nand to obey the last injunction of the unfortunate monarch, \u201cremember,\u201d\na great number of memorial rings were made, bearing the name and often\nthe portrait of Charles, and these were worn by the royalists. It\nappears that this seemed to make the bestowal of memorial rings a more\ngeneral custom than before, as from this time an increased number of\nsuch rings appear.\n\nThe types of these rings varied considerably in the course of\ncenturies. Those of the sixteenth century were made of plain gold,\nor of gold enamelled with representations of a skeleton, spade and\npick, hour-glass, or similar emblems of death; the inscription was\nengraved, usually on the inside of the ring; occasionally the bezel\nwas rounded into the form of a skull. In the period succeeding the\ndeath of Queen Anne (1714), and extending to about 1774, the fashion\ngradually changed, and the inscriptions, instead of being engraved,\nwere in raised letters, thrown into greater relief by the application\nof white and black enamel. This style is said to have been brought\nfrom France, and the earliest specimens are presumed to have been\nexecuted by French workmen; an example of this type of ring, dating\nfrom 1717, is in the Crisp Collection. In one such ring the inscription\nis enamelled _within_ the hoop. An exceptionally fine specimen of\nthe rings of this period is that in memory of Richard Pett, who died\nFebruary 23, 1765, aged 76 years.[74] This bears an amethyst and four\nrose diamonds in an openwork setting. Another innovation during this\nperiod is the employment of white enamel in the case of rings in memory\nof young maidens; the earliest example dates from 1726 and was given as\na memento of the death, at fifteen years, of Dorothy Tenison, daughter\nof the Bishop of Ossory. In their search for novelty the goldsmiths\nsometimes had resort to rather grewsome decorations, and the bezel\nof some rings has the form of a coffin, within which lies a skeleton,\ncarefully done in enamel.\n\nThe last quarter of the eighteenth century supplies us with some of\nthe most elaborately designed memorial rings. In many of these the\nbezel shows various emblematic figures formed of gold wire, seed\npearls, ivory and enamel; one ring of this type has the inscription:\n\u201cHeaven has in store what thou hast lost.\u201d However, hair soon became\nthe favorite material. At first, a lock of hair from the head of the\ndeceased person was enclosed in the bezel, no attempt being made to\nform any pattern; but soon the hair was spread out over the surface and\narranged in the form of a tree; later on, these rings show us an urn\nplaced beneath the tree, and still later we have in addition a male or\nfemale figure in an attitude of grief, all these being formed entirely\nof hair.\n\nA unique ring in the Crisp Collection[75] is a memento of the death of\nseven children, the eldest not over nine years, who perished in a fire\nin Leadenhall Street, London. This gold and ivory ring bears a design\nshowing seven cherubs\u2019 heads surrounding the words: \u201cTo eternal bliss.\u201d\nAt the back of the bezel is inscribed: \u201cTranslated 18 January 1782.\u201d\n\nAs a rule there is little variety in the inscriptions upon memorial\nrings. \u201c_Memento mori_,\u201d and \u201cNot lost but gone before\u201d are most\nfrequent. On the ring of Princess Amelia, the favorite daughter of\nGeorge III, who died November 2, 1810, are the words \u201cRemember me.\u201d[76]\nThere is a touching story regarding this ring. On her death-bed the\nprincess ordered that it should be made and had a lock of her hair\nenclosed in it. As she lay dying she put the ring on her father\u2019s\nfinger with the words of the inscription. The loss of this dearly\nbeloved daughter appears to have finally determined the madness of the\nunhappy king, for he never recovered his reason after the event.\n\nAnother interesting ring is that dedicated to the memory of the rather\nnotorious Lord Lovat, who was beheaded in London, April 9, 1747, for\nalleged complicity in the Jacobite rising of 1745. This is set with\na crystal, beneath which is some hair between two rose diamonds, and\nbears Lovat\u2019s last words, the famous line of Horace, \u201c_Dulce et\ndecorum est pro patria mori_.\u201d[77]\n\nThe extravagance and tastelessness shown in many of the more elaborate\nforms of the memorial ring, have had the natural result of causing a\nreversion to the severe simplicity of the earlier types, and a plain,\nbut massive gold ring, with the words, \u201cTo the memory of ----\u201d became\nthe usual type.\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n 1, memorial ring of Charles I, concealed portrait beneath a\n table-cut diamond. 2, memorial ring with two skeletons supporting\n a sarcophagus. When the lid is raised a minute skeleton is seen\n within\n\n Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n 1, design for a memorial ring from the \u201cRecueil des Ouvrages\n d\u2019Orfevrerie\u201d by Gilles l\u2019Egar\u00e9; early part of reign of Louis XIV.\n 2, English memorial ring converted into a memorial of Charles I by\n the following inscription inside the hoop: \u201cC. R., Jan. 30, 1649,\n Martyr.\u201d 3, memorial ring, early part of Eighteenth Century\n\n Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Gold memorial ring of Capt. Robert Jackson, died\n  October 29, 1726, aged fifty-six years\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n Cameo portrait of Louis XII of France, cut in a pale ruby. On\n the gold plate at the back of the bezel is the inscription: Loys\n XII^{me} Roy de France deceda 1 Janvier, 1515. Latter part of\n Fifteenth or beginning of Sixteenth Century. Double linear size\n\n C. D. Fortnum\u2019s \u201cAntique Gems and Jewels in Her Majesty\u2019s\n Collection at Windsor Castle\u201d]\n\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n Nelson memorial ring. Gold ring with two initial letters: N,\n beneath a viscount\u2019s coronet, referring to the title Viscount\n Nelson of the Nile; and B, beneath a ducal coronet, for the title\n Duke of Bront\u00e9\n\n British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n Napoleon memorial ring of gold, said to be one of six given those\n concerned in his escape from Elba in 1815. Portrait concealed\n beneath hinged lid\n\n British Museum]\n\nSeven Nelson memorial rings were shown at the Royal Naval Exhibition at\nChelsea in 1891; two of these contained some of the hero\u2019s hair, and\none belonged to those distributed among Nelson\u2019s captains and other\nofficers after his death. Of the two rings enclosing hair, one set with\na diamond was loaned by Messrs. Lambert & Co. and the other by Admiral\nSir Arthur Farquhar, K.C.B.[78] A fine specimen of a Nelson ring is\nin the British Museum. The broad, flat hoop expands at the shoulders,\nand in a raised oblong bezel are figured a viscount\u2019s coronet and a\nducal coronet with N beneath the former and B beneath the latter,\nindicating his titles Viscount Nelson of the Nile and Duke of Bront\u00e9.\nBelow the letters is the name Trafalgar and on the exterior of the hoop\nappears Nelson\u2019s motto \u201c_Palmam qui meruit ferat_\u201d (Let him bear\nthe palm who merits it).\n\nThere is historic record of two memorial rings, one set with an\nemerald and the other with a sapphire, the gifts of two unhappy royal\npersonages made shortly before death. The first of these rings was\nbestowed upon the great French preacher Bossuet by the Stuart princess\nHenrietta Anne, who, on her death-bed, directed that after she had\ngone to rest there should be given to Bossuet \u201cthe emerald ring she\nhad ordered to be made for him.\u201d Of the second ring, that set with\na sapphire, we learn that shortly before her execution in 1587, the\nunfortunate Mary of Scotland took it from her finger and sent it to her\nfaithful follower, Lord John Hamilton, in whose family it has since\nthen been passed down from generation to generation as a priceless\nheirloom.[79]\n\nSeveral memorial or mourning rings are among the treasures of the\nFigdor Collection in Vienna. One of these is of massive silver and\nhas the Old French inscription: \u201c_dort couat_,\u201d (rest in peace);\nit was found at Huy, near Statte, Belgium, and represents work of the\nfifteenth century. Another is of enamelled gold, and is evidently for a\nwoman\u2019s wear. The inscription is: \u201cR. C. Not lost but gone before,\u201d in\ngilt letters on a white enamel ground. This is an English ring of about\n1800. A German ring of the eighteenth century has its head formed in\nthe shape of a coffin, on which are skull and cross-bones; on its sides\nis the inscription: \u201cHir ist Ruhe,\u201d (Here is rest). When the lid is\nlifted, a heart is disclosed in the coffin.[80]\n\n_Memento mori_ rings, bearing a death\u2019s head, were sometimes left\nas legacies. Such was the \u201cgolde ringe with a deathe\u2019s head\u201d bequeathed\nby Thomasin Heath to her sister in 1596, \u201cfor a remembrance of my\ngood will.\u201d Shakespeare wrote in his Love\u2019s Labour\u2019s Lost (Act V, sc.\n2) of \u201ca Death\u2019s face in a ring,\u201d where poor, pedantic Holofernes\u2019\ncountenance is made the subject of mockery. A rather unaccountable\ncircumstance is that such rings are asserted to have been worn, toward\nthe end of the sixteenth century, by professional \u201cladies light o\u2019\nlove,\u201d if we can safely generalize from a passage in Marston\u2019s \u201cDutch\nCourtezan.\u201d[81]\n\nThe ruthless executions carried out after the suppression of the last\nJacobite revolt in 1745, are memorialized in a ring of the period.\nThis is of gold, the inscriptions being defined by a white enamel\nbackground. On the panel-shaped bezel are the letters B. D. L. K., the\ninitials of the Jacobite lords, Balmerino, Kilmarnock (exec. Aug. 18,\n1746), Deruentwater (exec. Dec. 8, 1746), and Lovat (exec. April 9,\n1747), and the dates 8, DEC. 9, AP. 18, AU; in the middle is an axe and\nthe date 1746. The initials of seventeen of these lords\u2019 followers,\nexecuted on Kensington Common in the same year, are marked on the hoop\nof the ring.[82]\n\nIn the possession of Waldo Lincoln, of Worcester, Mass., is a memorial\nring consisting of a narrow plain gold band. There is faintly\ndiscernible on this a winged head, apparently a skull, similar to the\nheads of this type sometimes to be seen sculptured on old gravestones.\nAround the inner side of the band runs the following inscription:\n\u201cHo^{ble} I. Winslow Esq^r., ob. 14 Dec^r. 1738 \u00c6 68.\u201d[83] This refers\nto Isaac Winslow, a son of the noted Josiah Winslow (1629\u20131680),\ngovernor of Plymouth Colony from 1673 until his death, and who was the\nfirst native-born governor in New England. It was during his term of\noffice that the severe contest with the Indians, known as King Philip\u2019s\nWar, was fought out successfully.\n\nA mourning ring with a strangely materialistic motto is that executed\nby order of the Beefsteak Club to commemorate the demise of John\nThornhill, Esq., on September 23, 1757, according to the inscription in\nwhite enamel on the hoop. The bezel is flat and of oval form, enamelled\nin pale blue and white; in the centre is shown a gridiron and around\nthis is the legend: \u201cBeef and Liberty.\u201d[84] The Beefsteak Club, formed\nearly in the eighteenth century, was Tory in politics, an opponent of\nthe Kit-Cat Club, whose members were devoted to the success of the\nWhigs.\n\nRings as memorials of the dead suggest the mention of a memorial\nring of another kind, one destined to favor the revival of a defunct\ngovernment. When Napoleon I was exiled to Elba after the overthrow of\nhis empire and the restoration of the Bourbons, many of his faithful\nfollowers clung to the hope that he would return and re-establish his\nrule in France. In order to aid in keeping this hope alive, a number\nof rings were made which could be worn with impunity, but which could\nalso serve when desired as proofs of the wearers\u2019 attachment to the\nNapoleonic cause. One of these is described as a gold ring on which\na minute gold and enamel coffin was set; on pressing a spring at the\nside of the ring a section of the circlet sprang up and revealed a tiny\nfigure of Napoleon executed in enamel.[85]\n\nAt the English Bar, the usage long existed that certain chosen\nbarristers should be given the title and superior rank of serjeants. In\nimportant cases, a serjeant was usually retained as principal manager\nand chief representative at the trial, and generally made the statement\nof the case in court, while one or more ordinary barristers got up the\nevidence and aided in the examination of witnesses; no serjeants have\nbeen appointed since 1868. As with almost all the stages of an English\nlaw-student\u2019s and barrister\u2019s progress, heavy expenses had to be born\nby the new serjeant, as he was expected not only to give a splendid\ndinner, or rather a series of dinners lasting for a week, to all who\nwere closely or distantly related to his preferment, but to bestow a\ngold ring upon each one of the numerous guests, these \u201cserjeant rings\u201d\nvarying in elegance and value according to the rank of the recipient.\n\nSo strictly was this purely traditional custom construed that a close\nwatch was kept to prevent any cheapening of the quality or intrinsic\nvalue of these obligatory rings. As it had been laid down by a leading\nauthority that the ring to be given to a chief justice, or \u201cchief\nbaron,\u201d must have the weight of twenty shillings\u2019 worth of gold, a\nformal protest was made on one occasion, when rings weighing a tenth\nless than this had been bestowed, not, as Lord Chief Justice Kelynge\ntold the newly appointed serjeants, because of the money value, but\n\u201cthat it might not be drawn into a precedent.\u201d[86] The average cost of\none of these bestowals of rings has been estimated at about \u00a340 ($200).\n\nThe first definite notice of the bestowal of serjeants\u2019 rings comes\nfrom the later years of Elizabeth\u2019s reign, although the usage is\nbelieved to date back at least as far as the time of Henry VI\n(1422\u20131461). The Latin motto on a ring of Sir John Fineux, called in\n1485, is \u201c_Su\u00e6 quisque fortun\u00e6 faber_,\u201d or \u201cEvery man is the\nartizan of his own fortune.\u201d The mottoes engraved on these rings have\nvaried from reign to reign. One of Elizabeth\u2019s time bears \u201c_Lex\nregis pr\u00e6sidium_\u201d (The Law is the stronghold of the King); under\nCharles II the motto was \u201c_Adest Carolus magnus_\u201d (Charles the\nGreat is with us). Much more dignified and telling is the motto in\nJames II\u2019s reign, \u201c_Deus, lex, rex_\u201d (God, the Law, the King),\nimplying that God is the source of the law, and that the law is above\nkings. As to the heavy tax sometimes imposed upon a new barrister\u2019s\npecuniary resources, it is stated that on one occasion 1409 rings were\ngiven at an expense of \u00a3773 ($3865). The usage, though maintained to a\nconsiderable extent, became somewhat less oppressive toward the end of\nthe eighteenth century, but even in 1856 rings were given, some of them\nbearing the motto \u201c_Cedant arma tog\u00e6_\u201d (Arms will give place to\nthe Gown) in allusion to the approaching peace with Russia after the\nCrimean War.[87]\n\nAbout 1830, when popular feeling was roused to the highest pitch by the\nagitation for the repeal of the Corn Laws, many rings were set with the\nfollowing stones, the initial letters forming the word \u201crepeal\u201d:\n\n    Ruby\n    Emerald\n    Pearl\n    Emerald\n    Amethyst\n    Lapis lazuli\n\nAn Irishman, who owned such a ring, noted one day that the lapis lazuli\nhad fallen out, and took the ring to a jeweller in Cork, to have the\nmissing stone replaced. When the work was completed, the owner, seeing\nthat the jeweller had set a topaz in place of a lapis lazuli, protested\nagainst the substitution; but the jeweller induced him to accept the\nring as it was, by the witty explanation that it now read \u201crepeat,\u201d and\nthat if the agitation were often enough repeated, the repeal would come\nof itself.[88]\n\n  [Illustration: Crossed hands of the figure of a woman upon a\n  mummy case in the British Museum\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Hands from portrait of a woman. School of Cranach\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  Hindu ring jewel combining a ring for each finger and for the\n  thumb, a large ornament for the back of the hand, and a bracelet\n\n  Barth, \u201cDas Geschmeide\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  Hands from effigy of Sir Humphrey Stafford\u2019s wife in Bromsgrove\n  Church, Staffordshire, England. Rings on every finger except on\n  little finger of right hand. Four of these rings are figured, the\n  full size of the originals\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Three rings strung on a necklace. Detail of\n  portrait of John Constans of Saxony\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Right hand from portrait of Benedict von\n  Hertenstein by Holbein; seal on index finger\n\n  Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]\n\n  [Illustration: Hands from Botticini\u2019s \u201cSt. Jerome with St.\n  Damasius and other Saints\u201d\n\n  National Gallery, London]\n\n\n                          METHODS OF WEARING\n\nA striking illustration of the large number of rings that some of\nthe noblewomen of ancient Egypt wore on their fingers is given by\nthe crossed hands of the wooden image on a mummy case in the British\nMuseum. The left hand is given a decided preference in this respect\nover the right, there being no less than nine rings on the former\nagainst but three on the latter. These left-hand rings comprise one\nthumb-ring (the signet), three for the index, two for the middle\nfinger, two for the \u201cring-finger,\u201d and one for the little finger. The\nthumb of the right hand bears a ring and two are on the middle finger.\n\nIn the tomb of a king of the Chersonesus, discovered at Nicopolis\nin the Crimea, two rings were on the king\u2019s hand and ten on that of\nthe queen. The style of workmanship indicated that these rings were\nproductions of the Greek art of the fourth century B.C.,[89] a\nperiod when in the Greek world rings were usually worn more sparingly,\nin contrast with the fashion that prevailed during the latter part of\nthe first Christian century in Rome.\n\nThe fine Egyptian collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in\nNew York City offers an illustration of Egyptian ring wearing at the\nbeginning of our era. This appears in the mummy-case of Artemidora,\ndaughter of Harpocradorus, who died in her twenty-seventh year. The\nwooden case figures the form of the deceased woman. The index, fourth\nand little fingers of the left hand, each bear a ring; the fingers of\nthe right hand have been broken off. The hands are of stucco and the\nrings are gilded.\n\nIn the Golden Age of Greek gem-engraving, from about 480 B.C.\nto 400 B.C., the scarab, never used by the Greeks of Asia\nMinor, came into general disuse in the Greek world, and a type of\nring-stone appeared, destined to become very popular. In these the\nengraving was often done on the convex side of a scaraboid form, the\nconvexity having been much flattened out, while with the true scarab\nthe flat underside bore the engraved design or characters. Occasionally\nring-stones had been originally pierced for suspension. The flattened\nscaraboid marked a transition to the flat ring-stones; but few, if\nany, examples of these antedate the beginning of the fourth century\nB.C.\n\nOne of the theories given by Macrobius to explain the wearing of\nrings on the fourth finger, attributes this usage to the desire to\nguard the precious setting of the ring from injury. He states that\nrings were first worn, not for ornament, but for use as signets, and\nin the beginning were made exclusively of metal. However, with the\nincrease of wealth and luxury, precious stones were engraved and set\nin the metal ring, and it became necessary to place such a ring on\nthe best-protected finger. The thumbs were most constantly used; the\nindex was too exposed; the third finger was too long, and the little\nfinger too small, while the right hand was much more frequently used\nthan the left hand. Hence the choice fell upon the fourth finger of\nthe left hand as the best fitted to receive a precious ring.[90] Pliny\ndeclares that while at first, in the Roman world, the ring was worn on\nthe fourth finger, as was shown in the statues of the old kings Numa\nPompilius and Servius Tullius, it was later on shifted to the index and\nfinally to the little finger,[91] this being in accord with our modern\ncustom, for men\u2019s seal-rings especially.\n\n  [Illustration: UPPER PART OF THE MUMMY CASE OF ARTEMIDORA,\n  DAUGHTER OF HARPOCRADORUS (ABOUT 100 A. D.)\n\n  She died at the age of twenty-seven. On the fingers of the left\n  hand there are three rings; the fingers of the right hand are\n  broken off. The rings (which are gilded) as well as the hands\n  themselves are modeled in relief in stucco\n\n  Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. Gift of J. Pierpont\n  Morgan, Esq.]\n\n  [Illustration: SKETCH KINDLY MADE FOR THE AUTHOR BY SIR CHARLES\n  HERCULES READ\n\n  Curator of the Department of British and Medieval Antiquities and\n  Ethnography in the British Museum, with his autograph description]\n\nIsidore of Seville, in his brief chapters on rings, cites the words\nspoken by Gracchus against M\u00e6nius, before the Roman Senate, as a proof\nthat the wearing of many rings was then considered to be unworthy of\na man. The speaker calls upon his hearers to \u201clook upon the left\nhand of this man to whose authority we bow, but who with a woman\u2019s\nvanity, is adorned like a woman.\u201d The Bishop of Seville also adduces\nthe declaration of Crassus who, as an explanation for his wearing two\nrings, although an old man, said that he did so in the belief that they\nwould further increase his already immense wealth.[92] Hence he must\nhave thought them endowed with some magic power.\n\nOne explanation of the greater supply of ancient gems of the period\nsubsequent to the Augustan Age, as compared with those of an earlier\ndate, has been found in the increasing popularity of ring-wearing.\nHorace (65\u20138 B.C.) already considers three rings on the hand\nas marking the limit of fashionable wear, but Martial (ab. 40\u2013104\nA.D.), writing a century later, tells of a Roman dandy who\nwore six rings on each finger. As an instance of the multiplication of\nseal-rings, Pliny states[93] that the signet proper had to be placed\nfor safe-keeping in a special receptacle, which was then stamped with\nthe impression of _another_ seal, lest some improper use should be\nmade of the signet, the equivalent of an individual signature.[94]\n\nWhen the usage of wearing rings set with plain or engraved precious\nstones became general in Rome, special caskets were made--many of\nthem of ivory--to contain the rings and other small jewels. The name\n_dactyliotheca_, \u201cring-treasury,\u201d was given to such a casket. The\nfirst Roman to own one was Emilius Scaurus, son-in-law of Sylla (138\u201378\nB.C.), who lived in the early part of the first century before\nChrist, but for a long time his example was not followed by the Romans,\nthe next _dactyliotheca_ to be seen in Rome being that dedicated\nby Pompey to the Capitol in 61 B.C., out of the spoils of\nMithridates the Great, who owned the most famous gem collection of his\ntime.[95] In the first century A.D. these ring-caskets came\ninto general use, and were regarded as indispensable parts of a rich\nman\u2019s luxury. This is brought out in one of Martial\u2019s epigrams when,\nafter saying that Charmius wore six rings on each finger and kept them\non at night and even when he took his bath, he proceeds: \u201cYou ask why\nhe does so? Because he has no _dactyliotheca_.\u201d[96] This evidently\nimplies that he lacked one of the elements of Roman \u201cgood form\u201d in the\nfashionable world.\n\nThe Latin epigrammatist whose brief, caustic poems are a mine of\ninformation regarding the customs and costumes of the Romans in the\nImperial age, wrote the following couplet, probably designed for an\ninscription upon a _dactyliotheca_, or ring-case:[97]\n\n\u201cOften does the heavy ring slip off the anointed fingers; but if you\nconfide your jewel to me, it will be safe.\u201d\n\nIn the large ring collections of royal treasuries or of wealthy nobles\nin medi\u00e6val times, the rings with precious-stone settings were often\nclassified according to the particular stones, and then those of each\nof these classes were strung on one or more small sticks or wands\n(_bacula_). Among King John\u2019s (1167\u20131216) jewels in the Tower\nof London, an inventory of 1205 lists several such _bacul\u00e6_,\none with 26 diamonds, two with 40 and 47 emeralds, respectively,\nanother shorter one with 7 \u201cgood\u201d topazes and still another with 9\nturquoises.[98] Jewellers also, were wont to keep their rings strung on\nsuch small rods, an example of this being shown in a portrait depicting\na jeweller, painted by an unknown German artist of the sixteenth or\nseventeenth century.\n\nWith other royal collections of rings the classified set rings were\nkept already in ancient times in _dactyliothec\u00e6_, or ring-caskets,\nthe term _dactyliotheca_ coming to be used later more broadly as\nan equivalent for \u201cring collection\u201d or even \u201cgem collection.\u201d In 1272\nthe Crown Jewels of Henry III of England included a number of these\nring boxes, four of them for 106 ruby, or balas-ruby rings, two for\n38 emerald rings, one for 20 sapphire rings, and another for 11 topaz\nrings and one set with a peridot.[99]\n\nThe following description of a jade (nephrite) ringbox of\nseventeenth-century Indian workmanship, in the Heber R. Bishop\nCollection, is given in one of the great folios treating of these\nwonderful jades.[100]\n\n A small covered box of three compartments in the form of three\n compressed plums (or similar fruit) held together by the twigs\n and leaves of a leafy branch which projects to form a handle, and\n hollowed out to form a receptacle for finger-rings, studs or the\n like. The box proper is decorated underneath with leaves carved\n in slight relief, and is flanged on the edges to receive the\n three upper segments of the fruit which forms the cover and are\n similarly decorated on top with plum blossoms and held together\n by a twig, a leaf, and an upright bud which serves as a handle.\n The whole is very daintily cut and polished, and is so thin and of\n such translucency that print in contact with it can easily be read\n through it. The mineral is remarkably pure and resembles a pale\n transparent horn.\n\nWhile the Greeks and Romans did not usually wear rings on the middle\nfinger, the Gauls and Britons adorned it in this way. In the sixteenth\ncentury it was customary to assign rings as follows, according to the\nquality of the wearer:[101]\n\n    To the thumb for doctors.\n    To the index finger for merchants.\n    To the middle finger for fools.\n    To the annular finger for students.\n    To the auricular finger for lovers.\n\nThere is a curious Hindu superstition to the effect that anyone who\nwears a ring on the middle finger will probably be attacked and bitten\nby a scorpion. For this reason the Hindus are said to avoid wearing any\nrings on this finger, although the others are laden with them, each\nfinger-joint having its special adornment.[102] In the Gr\u00e6co-Roman\nworld also there was a prejudice against decorating the middle finger\nwith a ring.\n\nRegarding the liberality with which the Greeks and Romans of the second\ncentury of our era used ring adornments for their fingers, the great\nGreek humorist Lucian gives testimony. In his writing entitled \u201cThe\nCock,\u201d he makes a character relate a dream in which the dreamer thought\nthat a rich man had just died and had left him his fortune. Thereupon,\nin his dream, he saw himself arrayed in splendid raiment and wearing\n_sixteen_ rings on his fingers.[103]\n\nOf the affectations practiced in ring wearing by some _nouveau-riches_\nforeigners in Roman times, Juvenal says: When one sees an Egyptian\nplebeian, not long before a slave in Canopus, carelessly throwing back\nover his shoulder a mantle of Tyrian purple, and seeking to cool his\nperspiring fingers by wearing summer-rings of openwork gold, as he\ncannot bear the weight of gemmed rings, how can one fail to write it\ndown in a satire?[104]\n\nIndeed, to judge from the weight and size of some of the rings that\nhave been preserved from ancient times, this practice was not quite so\nfoolish as it may seem, for in the moist heat of the dog-day in Rome\nsuch heavy rings may well have been a burden. With the Roman ladies\nrings bearing images of the animals worshipped by the Egyptians came\ninto fashion in Imperial times, favored no doubt by the enthusiastic\nworship of Isis and Serapis. Such rings are said to have been worn\nalmost exclusively by women up to the reign of Vespasian, when men\nbegan to wear them also.[105]\n\nIn ancient Rome it was not unusual for the admirer of a philosopher\nor a poet to wear his portrait engraved on a ring-stone. One of\nthe elegies of Ovid[106] (b. 43 B.C.), written during his\nbanishment from Rome, by order of Augustus, alludes feelingly to this\ncustom. The poem is addressed to a faithful friend, who wears the\npoet\u2019s portrait in his ring, and Ovid says: \u201cIn casting your eye upon\nthis, perhaps you sometimes say, \u2018how far away is poor Ovid now!\u2019\u201d He\ndied in exile in 18 A.D.\n\nSo huge were the proportions of the Roman emperor Maximinus (d. 238\nA.D.), who rose from the ranks to the imperial dignity, that\nhe is said to have used his wife\u2019s bracelet for a thumb-ring.[107]\nThe great size of some of the Roman rings to be seen in collections\nindicates that they could only have been worn on the thumb.\n\nOne of the fingers of a bronze statue in the British Museum, a Roman\nwork of the third or fourth century, A.D., has a ring on its\nsecond joint. We are fortunate enough to be able to reproduce here a\nfull-size drawing of this, courteously made for the present book by\nSir Charles Hercules Read, Curator of the Department of British and\nMedi\u00e6val Antiquities and Ethnography in the Museum.\n\nIn a letter to M. Deloche, the German arch\u00e6ologist Lindenschmit states\nthat in only one instance was he able to ascertain definitely on\nwhich finger the rings of the early medi\u00e6val period were worn. This\nconcerned a female skeleton, exceptionally well preserved, owing to\nfavorable conditions of sepulture; on the fourth finger of the right\nhand there was a bronze ring. This sepulchre was found at Obermorlen,\nin Hessen-Darmstadt. Researches in France have furnished confirmation\nof this. In the Merovingian cemetery of Yeulle (dept. Pas-de-Calais) a\nwoman\u2019s ring was found on the right hand of the skeleton, as was also\nthe case with two rings in the Visigothic and Merovingian cemetery at\nHerpes (dept. Charente), and this proved to be the case with almost\nall the early medieval rings found in this region. On the contrary, M.\nAlbert B\u00e9quet, Curator of the Arch\u00e6ological Museum of Namur, and the\nFrench arch\u00e6ologist, M. L. Pilloy, report the discovery of rings placed\nupon the left hand. As a possible explanation of these contradictory\nresults, the opinion has been advanced that the rings on the right hand\nwere wedding rings, and those on the left, rings worn for ornament,\nas there is good evidence that at an early period among the Gauls the\nbetrothal ring was put on the right hand, not on the left.[108]\n\nThe portrait by Coello of Maria of Austria, daughter of Charles V of\nGermany, shows on the fourth finger of the left hand a ring set with a\nlarge table-cut stone, which may be a ruby, or else a rather dark-hued\nspinel. The right hand is gloved, the parts of the glove covering the\nindex and fourth fingers having slits so as to give space for the rings\non those fingers. There is an elaborate girdle of table-cut stones, a\nrichly worked cross with three pendent pear-shaped pearls is suspended\nfrom a gauze scarf about the neck, splendid pearl earrings hang from\nthe ears, and the coiffure is surmounted by a head ornament set with\nprecious stones and pearls.\n\nIn a three-quarter length portrait of Henry VIII, painted by Hans\nHolbein in 1540, when the king was in his forty-sixth year, he is\nrepresented wearing three rings on his hands, two of these, set with\nsquare-cut stones, are on the index fingers of the right and left hand,\nrespectively. The third and smaller ring, also set with a square-cut\nstone, is on the little finger of the king\u2019s left hand. There is an\nintentional harmony in the jewelling, for stones of the same form,\nalternating with pearls, adorn the collar suspended from Henry\u2019s neck\nand serve also as decoration for the sleeve-guards. This portrait is in\nthe Reale Galleria d\u2019Arte Antica, Rome.\n\nPrincess Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, and\nafterwards Queen of England (1553\u20131558), is portrayed in a painting in\nthe University Galleries, Oxford, by an unknown artist, as wearing, in\naddition to many fine pearls both round and pear-shaped, three rings,\none on the index, another on the middle finger, and the third on the\nfourth finger of the left hand. That on the middle finger is set with\na pearl, and the ring-adornment of this finger is quite worthy of note\nbecause of the comparative rarity of this setting.\n\nA large pear-shaped pearl, figured on a portrait of \u201cBloody Mary,\u201d was\ngiven to her by Philip of Spain, who afterward took it back to Spain\nwith him. It later came into the possession of Jerome Bonaparte, who\ngave it to Queen Hortense. She gave it to the young prince, who later\nbecame Napoleon III, and he, in turn, disposed of it to the Duke of\nAbercorn, in whose possession it now remains. Allison V. Armour, Esq.,\nto whom it was shown in Ireland by the Duke, at the time of an expected\nvisit from King Edward, told the author it was very interesting to note\nthat it had apparently preserved all its original lustre.\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF A LADY, BY ANTON VAN DYKE (1599\u20131641)\n\n  The thumb ring on the right hand, and the ring on the index\n  of the left hand, are both set with square-cut stones, the\n  last-named probably a ruby\n\n  Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Marquand Gift, 1888]\n\n  [Illustration: PRINCESS HATZFELD, BY ANTONIO PESARO (1684\u20131757)\n\n  Large pearl cluster on little finger of right hand\n\n  Catholina Lambert Collection sold at American Art Galleries, New\n  York, February, 1916]\n\nThe adornment with a ring of the second phalanx of the right-hand\nmiddle finger, appears in the fine portrait, said to be that of Mary\nStuart, in the Prado Gallery, Madrid; the little finger of the same\nhand shows a stone-set ring, worn as usual. Over the elaborately\nembroidered bodice hangs a neck-ornament, at the different sections\nof which are groups of three pearls, and there are pearl earrings\nin the ears, as well as groups of pearls in the head-ornament. The\nportrait is listed as a production of the French School, but is of\ndoubtful authenticity as a likeness of the unhappy queen.\n\nThe Italian fashion of ring-wearing in the sixteenth century is\nillustrated by the portrait of a noblewoman by Lorenzo Lotto, in the\nGalleria Carrara at Bergamo, Italy. On the right hand are two rings, on\nthe fourth and little finger respectively; the left hand bears three,\none on the index, apparently set with an engraved gem, and two on the\nfourth finger, the larger of which seems to have as setting a pointed\ndiamond, while the smaller one, possibly bearing a little facetted\ndiamond, is on the second phalanx of the finger, a fashion sometimes\nfollowed instead of wearing the two rings together, one directly over\nthe other, on the third phalanx.\n\nA fine example of a pearl-cluster ring is to be seen in the portrait\nof Princess Hatzfeldt by the artist Antonio Pesaro (1684\u20131757). The\nring, worn on the little finger, has a large centre-pearl surrounded by\nfive smaller ones, the whole constituting a rather inconveniently large\njewel, although unquestionably a very beautiful one. It appears to be\nthe only ring worn by the fair princess when posing for her portrait.\n\nFinger rings were sometimes worn suspended from the neck, usually\nstrung on a chain. This custom is testified to by several old\nportraits, among them by one of the Elector John Constans of Saxony,\nin the Collection of Prince George of Saxony, Dresden, and also in\nseveral of Lucas Cranach\u2019s portraits. In one of the latter, depicting\nan elderly and hard-featured Dutch lady, eight rings are to be seen\nstrung on a chain or band below the collar. As the sitter\u2019s hands are\nadorned with five rings, her object may rather have been to display\nall her choicest rings, than to wear them as amulets, although this\nsuperstitious use is generally believed to be the true explanation of\nwearing finger-rings suspended from the neck. Sometimes a single ring\nwas hung from the neck on a long string, and rings were occasionally\nworn attached to a hat or cap, as shown in the portrait of Bernhard\nIV, Margrave of Baden (1474\u20131536), by Hans Baldung Grien, in the\nPinakothek, Munich.[109]\n\nThe painting of hands adorned with one or more rings, was not favored\nby several of the portraitists of the seventeenth century. Few if\nany rings, for example, can be found on the delicately shaped hands\nof any of Sir Peter Lyly\u2019s beauties, hands undoubtedly lacking in\nindividuality and conforming to a preconceived type. Vandyke\u2019s usage\nin this respect varied, probably, with the taste of the respective\nsitters, although the frequent absence of rings might lead to the\ninference that he did not favor them in portraits. The great masters of\nthe sixteenth century certainly gave no evidence of any such prejudice,\ntheir realism and their fondness for rich ornament and color causing\nthem to adorn the hands of their subjects, both men and women, with\nvaluable and finely wrought rings. With eighteenth century painters,\nthe tendency to discard rings was very pronounced, as indicated by\ntheir sparing appearance in portraits of this period.\n\nIt may be interesting to note the distribution of the rings in\nseventeen portraits of the Blakeslee Collection, disposed of in New\nYork City, March, 1916, and representing a kind of average for the\nperiod from the latter part of the sixteenth century to the beginning\nof the nineteenth century:\n\n      Right Hand            Left Hand\n    Index finger,  7      Index finger,  4\n    Middle finger, 1      Middle finger, 0\n    Fourth finger, 7      Fourth finger, 7\n    Little finger, 1      Little finger, 6\n\nThus the index and fourth fingers of the right hand and the fourth and\nlittle fingers of the left hand are almost equally favored.\n\nAn oil-portrait of the Mah\u00e2r\u00e2n\u00ee of Sikkim, painted in 1908 by Damodar\nDutt, a Bengali artist, shows this queen decked out with all her\nfavorite jewel adornments; among them are two gold rings, one set\nwith a turquoise and the other with a coral, on the middle and fourth\nfingers of the left hand (see Frontispiece). The right hand is\nconcealed in a fold of her mantle, but had there been any rings on\nit, it would probably have been displayed, to judge from the variety\nof the ornaments she was pleased to wear at the sittings. She is a\nfull-blooded Tibetan princess, was born in 1864, and became the second\nwife of the King of Sikkim in 1882, so that she was forty-four years\nold when the portrait was painted. At this time she and her husband had\nbeen held in captivity by the British since 1893. The singular crown\nis the one adopted by the queens of Sikkim. It is composed of broad\nbandeaux of pearl, turquoise and coral; the gold earrings are inlaid\nwith turquoise in concentric rings; the necklace has large amber balls,\nand suspended from it is a _gau_ or charm-box, set with rubies,\nlapis lazuli and turquoise; on the wrist is a triple bracelet of\ncorals.[110]\n\nIn the opinion of J. Alden Wier, President of the Academy of Design,\nNew York City, rings can scarcely be regarded as in any sense important\naccessories of a good portrait, as this does not depend upon the\nelaboration of such detail. With Popes and Doges, and with some of the\nhigher ecclesiastics, however, rings are significant as insignia of\noffice, and are therefore depicted as marks of individuality.[111]\n\nA fifteenth century example of a thumb ring was found in England at\nSaxon\u2019s Lode, a little south of Upton. The material was of silver,\neither considerably alloyed, or else plated with a baser metal. In\nseventeenth century times in England the wearing of such rings was\nfavored by many of the richer, or more prominent citizens, so that they\nserved to differentiate the wearer from those less well-to-do, although\nhe might not have the right to a crest or coat-of-arms. A character in\none of the Lord Mayor\u2019s shows given in the reign of Charles II (1664),\nis described as \u201chabited like a grave citizen,--gold girdle and gloves\nhung thereon, rings on his fingers, and a seal ring on his thumb,\u201d like\nFalstaff\u2019s alderman.[112]\n\n  [Illustration: Two wire rings from a tumulus near Canterbury,\n  Kent, England, one with a bezel effect\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Two Anglo-Saxon rings found near Preston,\n  Lancashire, England, in 1840\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Silver thumb ring found at Saxon\u2019s Lode, England.\n  \u201cFifteenth Century Arch\u00e6ologia,\u201d vol. iii, p. 268]\n\n  [Illustration: Silver-gilt ring, with broad, flat hoop, and\n  rectangular bezel set with a carbuncle\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Ring of mixed metal set with engraved stone\n  showing a monkey looking into a mirror\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: 1, thumb-ring; two cockatrices engraved in relief\n  on agate. 2, ring set with Gnostic gem\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Two gold rings. 1, with high circular bezel;\n  Frankish (?); Sixth or Seventh Century; 2, with pyramidal bezel;\n  Lombardic (?); Seventh Century\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Agate ring with a Runic inscription. Late Saxon\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Massive gold ring with two bezels, one engraved\n  with circular design of interlacing curves, the other with three\n  interlaced triangles. Late Saxon\n\n  British Museum]\n\nEven native African potentates could boast of fine jewelled rings in\nthe seventeenth century. When an embassy of Hollanders came to visit\nthe christianized King of the Congo in 1642, and were ushered into his\npresence, they found him vested in a coat and drawers of gold-cloth,\nand adorned with three heavy gold chains. On his right thumb was \u201ca\nvery large Granate or Ruby Ring, and on his left hand two great\nEmeralds.\u201d[113] The red stone was almost certainly a large cabochon-cut\ngarnet, and it is very doubtful that the green stones were genuine\nemeralds.\n\nUnder the strict discipline of the Catholic rulers of Poland the\nwearing of rings was for a long time forbidden to the Jews. This\nrestriction was removed in the reign of Sigismund Augustus (1506\u20131548),\nbut the permissive decree required that a Jewish ring must bear the\ndistinguishing inscription \u201cSabbation,\u201d or \u201cJerusalem.\u201d The Jews\nthemselves sometimes enacted rigid sumptuary laws as to rings, for\ninstance in Bologna, where a convocation of rabbis decided that men\nshould be confined to one ring, while women were not to be allowed to\nwear more than three.[114] At a later period a Frankfort convocation\ndecreed that no young girl should be permitted to wear a ring. Not\nimprobably the natural fondness of the Hebrew women for rich jewels,\na fondness already emphasized by the prophet Isaiah (chap. iii, vs.\n16\u201326) in the case of the Daughters of Jerusalem in the eighth century\nB.C., may have led to an excessive use of fine rings. Indeed\nany strict sumptuary regulation always implies the existence of an\nundue degree of luxury in the usages that are subjected to legal\nrestraint.\n\nA unique collection of ring stones may be seen in the American Museum\nof Natural History, New York. These are oval, domed stones, about one\ninch long, and are all cut so as to fit a single setting. They were\ngathered together by an old gentleman in the seventeenth century, so\nthat without changing the gold ring to which he was accustomed, he\ncould vary the color of the precious stones, thus bringing them into\nharmony with that of the waistcoat he was wearing. As there are two\nhundred and forty of these specially-cut stones, the waistcoats must\nhave represented the whole gamut of colors and shades. A few of the\nstones are capped with a different gem. This collection was presented\nto the Museum in January, 1873, by the late Samuel P. Avery, Esq.\n\nThere is also in the Museum a remarkable collection of rings begun in\nthe eighteenth century by a Viennese imperial and royal jeweller named\nT\u00fcrk, and continued by his grandson up to 1860. It was later acquired\nby J. Pierpont Morgan, Esq. The settings of the seventy rings comprise\na variety of colored diamonds, as well as emeralds, sapphires, and a\nnumber of uncommon stones.\n\n\n\n\n                                  II\n\n          FORMS OF RINGS AND MATERIALS OF WHICH THEY ARE MADE\n\n\nAmong ancient gold rings, one of Egyptian workmanship is especially\nnoteworthy for its size and weight as well as for its design. It is \u00bd\ninch in its largest diameter, and bears an oblong plinth, which turns\non a pivot; it measures 6/10 inch at its greatest, and 4/10 inch at its\nleast breadth. On one of the four faces is the name of the successor\nof Amenhotep III, Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), who lived about 1400\nB.C.; on another is figured a lion, with the inscription \u201clord\nof strength\u201d; the two remaining sides show a scorpion and a crocodile\nrespectively. The weight of this massive ring is stated to be about\nfive ounces and its intrinsic gold value nearly a hundred dollars.[115]\n\nSome remarkably fine finger-rings were among the ornaments found by\nFerlini, an Italian physician, when he unearthed the treasure of one of\nthe queens of Mero\u00eb. These rings are now in the Berlin Royal Museum.\nSome of them are plain hoops to which movable plates are attached;\nothers are signet rings. In a few specimens of the first-named\nclass the plate is so large as to extend over three fingers, the\ninconvenience to which this could give rise being partly obviated by\njoints in the plate, so that the fingers might be moved with greater\nfacility. We hardly think that a design of this type is ever likely to\nbecome popular in our times.\n\nScarabs strung on wire so as to be worn on the finger were found at\nDahshur by De Morgan. These belonged to the Twelfth Dynasty, to the\ntime from Usertasen III to Amenemhat III (ab. 2660\u20132578 B.C.).\nStronger wire was used at a later time, the ends being thrust into\nperforations on the sides of the scarabs. In all these cases the scarab\nand the circlet, more or less well formed, were separate parts loosely\nput together. It was not until the Golden Age of the ancient Egyptian\ncivilization that complete metal rings were made, in which both circlet\nand chaton formed one piece. Rings of the Egyptian type, although\nstrongly modified by Ionic or Ph\u0153nician art, were introduced into\nEtruria at a very early period, and probably thence into Latium.[116]\nAt an even earlier date, at least 1200 B.C., scarab rings were\nworn in Cyprus, several examples having been found in sepulchres there,\nthe scarab being made of porcelain strung on a gold-wire hoop.\n\nThe ancient rings in the British Museum offer examples of nearly\nall the different types favored in early times.[117] Some, from the\nMycen\u00e6an period, exhibit a long shield-shaped bezel, convex above and\nconcave beneath, across the direction of the hoop; others have a flat\nband decorated with plaited or twisted wire on which is set a bezel\nholding a paste. Ph\u0153nician rings of the period from 700 to 500 B.C.\npresent a variety of forms, some being swivel rings, the extremities of\nthe rounded hoops passing into beads, in which are inserted the pivots\nof a scarab-setting; another type has elliptical hoops, either plain or\nornamental, the scarab being in a filigree-decorated bezel; in still\nanother, the lower part of the hoop is twisted into a loop, so that the\nring can be worn suspended; there are also some plain, flat or rounded\nhoops, sometimes with the ends overlapping.\n\nThe Greek and Hellenistic periods, from the sixth to the second century\nB.C., furnish a large variety of forms, some copied or adapted\nfrom earlier ones and then independently developed. A rounded hoop\ntapering upward, with ornamental extremities, occasionally appears in\nfine examples, the ends of the hoop representing the lions\u2019 masks; the\nbezels are frequently of oval shape, and the shoulders of the hoop\nare often nearly straight; in another type while the outside of the\nhoop is rounded, the inside is facetted; sometimes there is a high\nconvex bezel, bevelled underneath. There are still a few swivel rings\nwith scaraboids. In the Hellenistic period appear massive gold rings\nwith square-cut shoulders and raised oval settings, in which a convex\nstone is placed. Still another type is an expanding hoop formed of two\noverlapping ribbons and with a convex bezel.\n\nEtruscan rings assume various characteristic and peculiar forms, many\nof which are found among the Roman rings of a later period, indicating\nthe derivation from the Etruscans of ring-wearing among the Romans.\nOne of these in the British Museum has a broad hoop ending in convex\nshields, a scarab being pivoted in the terminals; in others, the hoop\nis hollow, terminating in cylindrical ornaments, between these a scarab\nrevolves on a wire swivel. A peculiar example has a grooved hoop, the\nends being convex disks, in which is pivoted a scarab. One of these\nEtruscan rings has a very large convex oval bezel, around the slope of\nwhich run a series of embossed figures.\n\nAs an example of Roman art found in Egypt, we have a spiral ring of\nserpent form, either extremity terminating in a bust, of Isis and\nSerapis respectively. The conjecture has been made that this ring,\nand others of the type, may have been intended to figure the reigning\nemperor and empress of Rome under the types of Isis and of Serapis,\nthe latter a Gr\u00e6co-Egyptian divinity as worshipped in Alexandria and\nin the Roman world, though having a distinctly Egyptian form in the\nnational pantheon as Asar-Hapi, or Osiris-Apis. The rings of the type\ndescribed have the advantage of being easily adapted to a finger of any\nsize, since pressure at both extremities would enlarge the girth of the\nsingle spiral.[118]\n\nIn his Etymologi\u00e6, Isidore of Seville defines three of the types of\nrings worn in ancient times, the _ungulus_, the _Samothracius_ and\nthe _thynnius_.[119] The _ungulus_ was set with a gem and owed its\ndesignation to the fancy that the stone was as closely attached to\nthe gold of the ring as a human nail (_ungulus_) was to the flesh\nof the finger. The Samothracian ring was of gold, but had an iron\nsetting. Lucretius in the sixth book of his great philosophic and\nscientific poem, \u201cDe Natura Rerum,\u201d in speaking of the magnet to\nwhich he attributes negative and positive powers, of repulsion and of\nattraction, relates that when, in an experiment, Samothracian rings\nwere placed in a brazen dish beneath which a piece of magnetic iron\nwas moved to and fro, he had seen the rings leap up, as though to flee\nfrom an enemy. The third type of ring was the _thynnius_, the name\nindicating, according to Isidore, that it was made in Bithynia, called\nat an earlier time, Thynna. Horace writes, in one of his odes, of rings\n\u201cchased by a Thynnian graver.\u201d\n\nOf the key-shaped rings, several specimens of which have been preserved\nfrom Roman times, it has been suggested that the key projection was\nintended to serve as a guard for an exceptionally long finger-nail,\nsimilar to the finger-guards the Chinese wear for a like purpose. The\nfact that many of these key-rings are evidently too large to have been\nworn on the finger, makes it not improbable that the ring form was\narbitrarily chosen, and that they may have been carried suspended from\na girdle. Some of them, however, might have fitted on a very stout\nthumb, and a few of the rings of this type do not exceed the ordinary\nfinger-ring in diameter.[120]\n\nOne of the large and unwieldly Roman rings, or at least a ring made\non this model, bears a bust said to be that of Plotina, the wife of\nTrajan. This was in the collection of Monsignor Piccolomini. The\nextraordinarily elaborate coiffure shows three rows of facetted gems,\nand this alone may be considered to testify against the antiquity of\nthe ring. Still, even as a production of the Renaissance period, the\nfact that it at least figures an ancient form makes it an object of\ninterest and of a certain arch\u00e6ological value.[121]\n\nIt was in the late Republican, and especially in the Imperial age in\nRome, that the greatest variety of ring forms were produced, originally\ninfluenced by the earlier Etruscan art, and later largely by the\nextraordinary eclectic art of Alexandria, where the combination of\nEgyptian, Oriental and Greek elements brought forth many peculiar\nforms, some of which are noted elsewhere. A Romano-Egyptian ring has a\nflat hoop, sub-angular on the outside, the large circular bezel being\nengraved with three figures of divinities. Then there are the composite\nrings, sometimes having as many as four hoops, joined together at the\nback of the bezel. A striking type is the penannular ring in the form\nof a coiled serpent, or else having at each extremity the head of a\nserpent. In another form the bezel is lozenge-shaped.\n\nThere are also massive rings with an elliptical hoop and thick\nprojecting shoulders, the setting being depressed; sometimes the\nshoulders slope sharply up to the bezel, forming a decided angle on the\nhoop. Hoops polygonal on the outside and circular within also occur.\nSome twin rings were made adapted to fit on two fingers of the hand;\nin one of these are three cup settings holding garnets, one on the top\nof each hoop and one between the hoops. In some instances the hoops of\nthese twin rings were not closely joined to each other, but connected\nby a short gold chain, so that the rings could either be worn on a\nsingle finger, or on two fingers.\n\n  [Illustration: Gold ring with plain hoop on which is freely\n  looped a little mouse wrought in gold and white enamel. It slips\n  around the hoop. About 1600\n\n  Albert Figdor Collection, Vienna]\n\n  [Illustration: Gold ring of Venetian workmanship. The ends of the\n  hoop form monsters\u2019 heads, supporting a bezel formed like the\n  petal of a flower. XIV Cent.\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: HAND OF A JEWELER, HOLDING A _BACULA_ WITH\n  FIVE RINGS\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Gold ring set with an amethyst. Found at Lorsch,\n  Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, and hence called the \u201cLorscher\n  Ring.\u201d German; end of Tenth or beginning of Eleventh Century.\n\n  Grossherzoglich-Hessisches Museum, Darmstadt]\n\n  [Illustration: Silver ring having projecting bezel in form of a\n  spur with revolving rowel. Italian (?), Fourteenth or Fifteenth\n  Century\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: \u201cRegard ring,\u201d with seven hoops. The initials of\n  the six stones spell the word \u201cregard\u201d\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Rings of modern Egyptian type. 1, woman\u2019s ring;\n  hoop of twisted gold; 2, man\u2019s ring made by silversmith of Mecca,\n  with stone setting; 3, cast silver ring; stone setting; with\n  guards\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Pipe stopper ring. A silver ring on which are\n  set three Indian, rose-cut zircons. This ring was placed on\n  the finger and the tobacco in the bowl of the pipe was pressed\n  down with it. French; about 1750. A similar ring was figured by\n  Hogarth in one of his illustrations\n\n  Field Museum, Chicago]\n\nMany of the hoops of the later Roman rings were elaborately decorated,\neither in openwork, with spirals in wire, or with beads on the\nshoulders; this latter type is, however, more probably of Merovingian\ntimes. A Roman polygonal hoop, with a high-set bezel, has on the side\nof this loops for carrying a string of pearls suspended from the ring.\nIn one of the rings specially designed for insetting with engraved\ngems, the hoop, rounded on the outer side, has shoulders ending in\ncurling leaves. A curious specimen is a plain hoop broadening in an\noval bezel; in this has been inserted an intaglio head in sard, the\nshape of the stone following the exact outline of the head, without any\nmargin.\n\nA Burgundian ring of a form that M. Deloche believes to be unique, has\nan open hoop. At one extremity is a nail-shaped attachment which can\nbe passed through the other extremity, thus closing the ring. A bronze\nring, also Burgundian, of a rare or unique type has at the bezel a\nhigh, oblong projection. Both these rings are of the Merovingian period\nwhich closed in 752 A.D.[122]\n\nIn no period were a greater number of ring forms produced than in\nthe Middle Ages. The major part of these medi\u00e6val rings were made as\ninsignia of office or rank, for sealing official documents, or for\nceremonial use. One of the earliest is that known as the Lorscher\nRing.[123] It is considered to belong to the end of the tenth,\nor the beginning of the eleventh century, and to be a product of\nGerman workmanship under the influence of the Byzantine art of the\nMerovingian period. The artistic and finely executed design of the\nbezel is especially worthy of admiration. The stone set therein is a\nlight-colored amethyst cut _en cabochon_ and without foil. This\nring is now in the Grossherzoglich-Hessisches Museum in Darmstadt.\n\nThe Besborough Collection of Gems, shown in June, 1861, by the\nArch\u00e6ological Institute of London, was interesting for the high\nartistic excellence of the rings in which many of the gems were set. A\nnumber of them rank among the finest examples of Renaissance work in\nthis direction. One, set with a sard in which a head of Lucilla has\nbeen engraved, shows, carved in flat relief on the gold hoop, two\nnude figures bearing in their hands torches, the design continuing\ncompletely around the hoop; about the figures are doves and flowers.\nThis beautiful specimen of goldsmiths\u2019 work belongs to the first half\nof the sixteenth century. The pose of the small figures has been\nwonderfully adapted to the curve of the ring.[124]\n\nTo a special class has been given the name \u201ciconographic rings,\u201d this\ndesignates those bearing, either on the bezel or the sides, images of\nthe Virgin and Child or of the saints. These rings, which date from a\nperiod running from 1390 to about 1520, are peculiar to England and\nScotland. The material is either gold or silver, those of the latter\nmetal showing much ruder workmanship than was devoted to the gold\nrings.[125]\n\nWhat must have been regarded in its time as an exceptionally ornate\nring is listed in an inventory of 1416. It is described as a gold ring\nhaving a helmet and a shield made of a sapphire, the shield bearing the\narms of \u201cMonseigneur.\u201d As supports of the shield were an emerald bear\nand a swan made of a white chalcedony.[126]\n\nAn ornate though tasteless type of Italian rings were those called\n\u201cgiardinetti,\u201d showing flower baskets, jardini\u00eares, or nosegays,\nthe flowers being figured by precious stones and pearls, with stems\nand leaves of gold. As the aim was purely decorative, the stones\nand pearls were usually small and inexpensive ones. Very few such\nrings have been made in recent times, but from the sixteenth to\nthe eighteenth century they were much favored and a number of fine\nspecimens have been preserved from that period.[127]\n\nA ring-setting consisting of a turquoise surrounded by small diamonds\nappears to have been favored in England in the seventeenth century, for\nSamuel Pepys in his \u201cDiary,\u201d under date of February 18, 1668, writes\nthat he had been shown a \u201cring of a Turkey-stone, set with little\nsparks of diamonds.\u201d\n\nA \u201cTrinity Ring,\u201d that is a ring consisting of three intertwined\ncirclets, was shown in February, 1857, to the Society of Antiquaries in\nLondon by Mr. Octavius Morgan. This specimen, carved, or turned out of\na circular band of ivory, was believed to be one of three executed by\nthe German ivory carver, Stephan Zick (1639\u20131715), who is said to have\nbeen the first to make a ring of this type out of ivory, although they\nmay have been made of gold--no exceptionally difficult task--before\nZick executed his ivory rings.[128] This ring, or one similar to it, is\nnow in the British Museum, Franks Bequest.\n\nWhile the rings of the Louis Quinze period were generally of delicate\nand beautiful form, the tendency to exaggeration in fashions that\ncharacterized the succeeding Louis Seize period found expression in\nrings of disproportionate size. At the same time both the number of\nrings in a fine lady\u2019s jewel casket, and the number she would wear at\nthe same time upon her hand, greatly increased over what was customary\nin the preceding reign. Thus Bachaument, in his \u201cM\u00e9moires Secrets,\u201d\nstates that at the sale of Mlle. de Beauvoisin\u2019s jewels, which took\nplace November 22, 1784, there were 200 rings rivalling one another in\nmagnificence. Another French author of this time, M. Mercier, wrote\nin 1782 \u201cwhen one takes the hand of a pretty woman, one only has the\nsensation of holding a quantity of rings and angular stones, and it\nwould be necessary first to strip these off the hand before we could\nperceive its form and delicacy.\u201d\n\nThe enthusiasm of the early days of the Revolution brought into vogue\nrings set with a little fragment of the stone-work of the recently\ndemolished Bastille; at the same time wedding-rings were enamelled in\nred, white and blue, the new Republican colors. At the outset the young\nroyalists, as a protest, wore rings of tortoise-shell, with the motto,\nDomine salvum fac regem, \u201cGod save the King.\u201d\n\nA type of ring that became popular during the darkest days of the\nFrench Revolution, the period of the dreadful Reign of Terror, was that\nof a large silver hoop with a plain gold bezel on which was graven the\nhead of some one of the leading spirits of the time, such as Marat, De\nChalier, or De Lepelletier St.-Fargeau.\n\nThere are several significant French proverbs regarding rings, of\nwhich we may here note the following: \u201c_Ne mets pas ton doigt en\nanneau trop \u00e9troit_\u201d (Do not put your finger in too small a ring);\n\u201c_Anneau en main, honneur vain_\u201d (A ring on the finger is an empty\nhonor); \u201c_Bague d\u2019amie porte envie_\u201d (The ring of a lady friend\narouses envy).\n\nPortrait rings were very popular at the time of the French Revolution,\nas they afforded an opportunity for the expression of the ardent\ndevotion to particular personalities characteristic of that troublous\nperiod. Many Washington rings and Robespierre rings were to be seen,\nbearing the enamelled portrait of the respective hero, but the most\npopular were the Franklin rings, for Franklin\u2019s personal influence,\nborn of his sterling qualities of insight and common sense, and perhaps\nstrengthened by the contrast of his cool-headedness with the feverish\nexcitement of the Paris of that time, was wide and far-reaching.\n\nHindu tradition tells of the wearing of rings in India in very ancient\ntimes. The earliest forms used by the Brahmans in their forest life,\nwere woven of _kusa_-grass (_Saccharum spontaneum_), and\neven in our time rings of this kind are worn by those assisting at a\nreligious ceremony, as otherwise the water offered to gods or to the\nspirits of ancestors will not be accepted. As to metal rings, Hindu\nlaw assigns those of gold to the index finger and silver rings to the\nfourth finger.\n\nA story related in the Hindu epic \u201cMahabharata\u201d alludes to a trick or\nmagic practice with rings, denominated _ishika_. A ring was thrown\ninto a deep well and then recovered in some mysterious way after it had\nseemed to be irrevocably lost. The \u201cMahabharata\u201d in its present form\nmay date from about 500 A.D. The other great Hindu epic, the\nRamayana of Valmiki, written perhaps as early as 500 _B.C._ even\nmentions engraved rings. When Sita, wife of Rama, the hero of the poem,\nis abducted by R\u00e1vana, the ten-headed Cinghalese giant, Rama sends a\nmonkey called Hanum\u00e1n to seek for her, giving him a seal ring as a\ntoken. As soon as the monkey succeeds in finding Sita, he approaches\nher holding out the ring and saying, \u201cGracious Lady, I am the messenger\nof Rama. Look, here is his ring engraved with his name.\u201d\n\nIn Sanskrit books the following types and kinds of rings are\nmentioned:[129]\n\n _Dwi-hirak_ (double diamond).--Rings with a diamond on either\n side and a sapphire in the centre.\n\n _Vajra_ (diamond, thunderbolt).--A triangular finger\n ornament, with a diamond in the centre and other stones on the\n sides.\n\n _Ravimandal._--A ring with diamonds on the sides and other\n stones in the middle.\n\n _Nandy\u00e1varrta._--A four-sided finger ornament studded with\n precious stones.\n\n _Nava-ratna_ or _Navagraha_.--A ring on which the\n nine most precious stones have been set. The nine precious\n stones in Sanskrit are called: _Hirak_, _N\u00e1nikya_,\n _Baiduryya_, _Mukt\u00e1_, _Gomed_, _Bidrum_\n or _Prab\u00e1l_, _Marakata_, _Pushpa-r\u00e1g_, and\n _Indranil_; or the Diamond, Ruby, Cat\u2019s-eye, Pearl, Zircon,\n Coral, Emerald, Topaz, and Sapphire.\n\n _Bajra-beshtak._--Ring of which the upper circumference is\n set with diamonds.\n\n _Trihirak_ (triple diamond).--Ring with two small diamonds on\n the sides and a big one in the centre.\n\n _Sukti-mudrik\u00e1._--Ring made like the hood of a cobra snake,\n with diamonds and precious stones on the upper surface.\n\n _Mudr\u00e1_ or _Anguli-mudr\u00e1_.--Ring with name engraved upon\n it.\n\n These are some of the principal names for finger rings in modern\n India:\n\n _Angushtri._--A ring set with stones, called also\n _Mundri_ or _Anguthi_.\n\n _Chhall\u00e1._--The _chhall\u00e1_ is a quite plain hoop or whole\n hoop ring (with or without stones), being gold or silver, but the\n same all round. Worn also on the toes.\n\n _Angusht\u00e1r\u00e1_ or _Anguth\u00e1_.--A big ring with a broad\n face, worn on the great toe.\n\n _Khari panj\u00e1ngla._--A set of finger rings of ordinary shape.\n\n _Sh\u00e1h\u00e1lami_ or _Kh\u00e1ri_.--A ring of long oval shape.\n\n _Birhamgand._--A broad ring.\n\n In Bombay, the local designations for finger rings are:\n _Angthi_, _Salle_, _Mohorechi Angthi_ and\n _Khadyachya angthya_; toe-rings are named: _Ranajodvi_,\n _Jodvi_, _Phule_, _Gend_, and _Masolia_.[130]\n\n  [Illustration: Oriental gold ring, large globular bezel with\n  leaves and flowers in openwork. Said to have belonged to Chief\n  Samory\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Oriental rings. 1, of cast silver; 2, of brass; 3,\n  of silver; 4\u20136, Moorish rings; 4, set with turquoise and rubies;\n  5, with octagonal bloodstone and turquoise; 6, signet-ring\n  bearing name of owner on a carnelian\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: 1, ring with pendent garnets; 2, silver ring. East\n  Indian. The loose-hung silver drops jingle as the hand moves\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Elaborate East Indian ring, with figure of Buddha.\n  Hoop of peculiar shape to keep the ring from falling off the\n  finger\n\n  Courtesy of Miss Helen Bainbridge]\n\n  [Illustration: Rings made by Siamese Bonza, or Priest, from metal\n  lying about among the idols at Ongchor, Old Cambodia, in 1871\n\n  Courtesy of Mr. Walter C. Wyman]\n\nRings, necklaces, armlets and _Sirpech_ (or tiaras) are made at\nBik\u00e1nir, and exquisitely light and fine rings of gold and silver are\nproduced at Jh\u00e1nsi in the Gwalior territory. An unusual form of ring\nornamentation appears in a silver ring of Indian workmanship, dated in\nthe fourteenth or fifteenth century. This has a projecting bezel in\nthe form of a spur, with a revolving swivel. A ring of similar design,\nbelieved to be Venetian, now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, was\nbrought from Chalis.[131]\n\nThe rings made by the Hindu goldsmiths are in many cases very\nelaborately chased and ornamented, in the ornate style characteristic\nof Indian jewellery. The women of the Deccan almost universally wear\nrings; they are usually of gold, a silver ring being looked upon as\nshowing meanness on the part of the wearer. There does not appear to be\nany preference of one finger over the other for decoration with rings.\nOne of the most attractive types is a closely-fitting ring to which is\naffixed a little mirror, about the size of a silver quarter-dollar;\nthis may be mounted either in gold or silver, and undoubtedly Hindu\nfemale vanity finds this thumb mirror of some practical use. With\nits rich ornamentation a ring of this kind is in itself a pretty\njewel, but would hardly suit Occidental taste on account of its size\nand the inconvenience of wearing it. A rather singular fact is that\nmirror-rings are sometimes worn on the great toe, where they would seem\nto be quite useless; but it has been suggested that as the Hindu women\nof the better class commonly have their feet nearly or quite bare when\nin their apartments, and have acquired the power to move and use their\nfeet much more freely than is the case with Occidentals, a toe mirror\nmight possibly be of some slight utility; still, it seems probable that\nthey are purely ornamental and came into fashion in imitation of the\nthumb-mirrors. Many varieties of toe-rings are made, a special type\nbeing that for wear on the middle toe.[132]\n\nA ring of an unusual form is worn on the great toe of the left foot\nby some Hindu married women, as a distinguishing mark of the married\nstate. Men frequently wear a ring on the big toe for curative purposes,\nor to augment their masculine vigor. These toe-rings of the men are not\ngenerally closed circles, but open hoops, so that they can be easily\nremoved when this is desirable.[133]\n\n  [Illustration: INDIAN TOE RINGS OF SILVER, MADRAS PRESIDENCY\n\n  1, three views of ring worn on second and third toes of the left\n  foot; the conventional fish is an emblem of Siva 2, 3, 4, other\n  toe rings\n\n  Journal of Indian Art and Industry, vol. v, 1894]\n\n  [Illustration: RICH CINGHALESE MERCHANT, IN GALA DRESS\n\n  The immense, round ring on the little finger of his right hand is\n  a favorite adornment in Ceylon; smaller rings are on the fourth\n  finger of right hand, and on the little finger of left hand]\n\nThe art of the Persian goldsmith in the fifteenth century is\ndisplayed in a ring belonging to one of the splendid collections of\nthe Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York. It is of massive form\nwith an immense bezel, richly decorated in openwork; the hoop is\nalso elaborately chased. The flat surface of the bezel is adorned\nwith a design in keeping with the ornamentation of its sides and of\nthe hoop. For a large and massive ring this one is remarkably\nwell-proportioned and harmonious in design.\n\nA good specimen of the rings worn on state occasions by East Indian\nprinces was sold in February, 1913, at the American Art Galleries. It\nis of gold, but bears no precious stones; the circlet is ornamented\nwith white enamelled crocodiles, and also with a minute enamelled\nfigure, within a temple and incased in glass; the bezel of this ring is\ndecorated in blue, green and red enamel.\n\nWhile the simpler Chinese rings as a general rule are unset, usually\nconsisting merely of a plain silver band on which are engraved designs\nof various objects, or else coated with ornaments in enamel, the rings\nof the Tibetans display a considerable variety of settings, turquoise,\ncoral, agate, mother-of-pearl, mica and similar stones being used. Few\nor none of the true precious stones are to be found in the rings of\nthese countries. The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago has a\nlarge number of specimens some of which are figured in the accompanying\nplate.[134]\n\nA collection of some two dozen rings of artistic Siamese workmanship\nwere sent to the Chicago Exhibition of 1893, in charge of Prince\nSurrya, later Siamese ambassador to France. These rings were of nearly\npure gold, and were ornamented with designs in red, green, and white\nenamel, representing animals, fish, and other forms, but never human\nfigures. They were believed to be of considerable age and historic\nvalue; indeed, they were so highly prized that they were not publicly\nexhibited but were kept locked up in a safe, and only rarely displayed\nto some especially favored visitor. After the close of the Exhibition\nthey were safely returned to Siam.\n\nAn American traveller in Cambodia, in 1871, succeeded in having a few\nrings made for him by a native Buddhist _bonza_, the material\nbeing old metal found lying about among the idols of a temple at\nOngchor. The work of the priest gives evidence of a considerable degree\nof skill in design, doubtless derived from examination and study of\nnative and Indian types of rings. The type having an intertwined bezel\nprevails; one massive ring is penannular.[135] An elaborate Burmese\nring has the hoop in the form of a serpent, whose open mouth displays\nthe death-dealing fangs. Along the body runs a continuous band of\nrubies placed in oval settings. The rest of the surface is adorned\nwith green, red and white enamel--mouth, nose, tail and scales being\nbrought out in this way. Of two red stones which originally marked the\nserpent\u2019s eyes, one has fallen out; on either side of the head is a\nsmall sapphire. This fine ring is in the British Museum.[136]\n\nWhile fifty years ago in Japan the women of the better classes did not\nfavor the wearing of finger-rings, it was not infrequently the case\nthat kitchenmaids and housemaids would wear silver or brass rings. They\nare believed to have been influenced by the example of Dutch women in\nNagasaki.[137] At the present day American and European influence is\nvery slow in making itself felt in the direction of ring-wearing.\n\nIn the large oval bezel of a fine Syrian ring is set a paste\nrepresenting a topaz. The shoulders expand to form the bezel.\nThis ring, the lower half of which has been broken off, shows an\nexceptionally fine patina; it was of large size and must have been\na striking ornament on the wearer\u2019s hand. As the broad oval extends\nacross the hoop, not at right angles with it, it must have interfered\nslightly with a free use of the fingers near the one on which the ring\nwas worn.\n\nIn the Philippine Islands a type of ring that is made by the natives\nhas a number of spiral twists, from five to as many as a dozen coils\nappearing in these rings. The serpentine form is accentuated by a\npattern of dots or cross-marking, with sometimes the indication of a\nconventional flower design. While rather clumsy for wear, these rings\nstill possess a certain artistic quality. Fine examples are in the\nEthnological Department of the American Museum of Natural History, New\nYork City.\n\nThe ancient city of refuge, Machu Picchu, probably built by the Incas\nnearly 2000 years ago on a Peruvian mountain top, was uncovered by\nthe National Geographic Society--Yale University Peruvian Expedition\nof 1912, of which Dr. Hiram Bingham was the director. Among the many\ninteresting relics found on this unique site were some silver rings,\none being of the twisted type, with the ends free, so as to suit the\nsize of any finger, while another has been welded or hammered into a\nclosed circlet. While it is impossible to date these rings with any\napproach to exactness, they are undoubtedly examples of the art of\nnative Peruvian silversmiths prior to the Spanish Conquest.[138]\n\nRings in great variety are worn in the Congo region and in every part\nof Bantu and Negro Africa. There are heavy rings and light ones, simple\nhoops and spirals, and they are worn on neck, arm, leg, finger and\ntoe. They are made of brass, copper, ivory, iron, elephant foot-pad,\nand several other materials. At Akkra, and in Liberia, there is quite\na manufacture of gold rings, and, to a lesser extent, of silver rings\nalso.[139]\n\nAn example of the exceptionally large rings sometimes made to\ncommemorate special occasions, rather than for possible wear, is one\ndonated to President Pierce by some Californian admirers in 1852. This\nsomewhat ambitious production scarcely answers the requirements of a\nhigh standard of art, but its decoration offers a great variety of\nappropriate designs illustrating life in the Far West in the middle\nof the past century. The ring is of solid gold and weighs something\nover a pound, thus having a mere metal value of about $250. On square\nsurfaces cut on the circlet are a series of designs intended to present\nan epitome of California\u2019s early history; the native animals in a\nwild state, the Indian warrior armed with bow and arrow, and a native\nmountaineer; then comes a Californian, riding a horse at full speed\nand casting his lasso; to him succeeds the miner with pick and shovel.\nThe bezel is engraved with the arms of California; it is hinged and\nwhen opened reveals a kind of box having nine compartments divided\nby golden bars. In each compartment is a characteristic specimen of\none of the principal ores found in California. Inside the circlet has\nbeen engraved the inscription: \u201cPresented to Franklin Pierce, the\nFourteenth President of the United States.\u201d[140] What may be called a\npresidential ring is that depicted in the effigy of Abigail Power\nFillmore, wife of President Fillmore (1850\u20131853), a quaint wax figure\nin the Wives of Presidents series, shown in the United States National\nMuseum, Washington D. C. In this she is shown wearing a handkerchief\nring.\n\n  [Illustration: Ring given to President Franklin Pierce in 1852 by\n  citizens of California\n\n  \u201cGleason\u2019s Pictorial Magazine,\u201d December 25, 1852]\n\n  [Illustration: Series of old rings worked up to form a pendant\n\n  Jewelers\u2019 Circular-Weekly, December 8, 1909]\n\n  [Illustration: RINGS FROM THE ALEXANDER W. DRAKE COLLECTION, SOLD\n  AT THE AMERICAN ART GALLERIES IN MARCH, 1913\n\n  1, silver ring of East Indian workmanship. 2, massive Tartar\n  finger ring of fine gold. 3, copy in silver of the betrothal ring\n  of Martin Luther, a gift of Richard Watson Gilder. 4, finger\n  ring with precious stone setting and two irregularly-shaped\n  pearls. Pendant shows the bust of a bearded man in armor. 5,\n  gold betrothal ring. Two hands holding a crowned heart. Type\n  used by Galway fisherman from the Thirteenth Century and called\n  a \u201cCladdugh Ring.\u201d 6, openwork gold ring. 7, old Chinese gold\n  ring--oval with Chinese characters, on either side a chiseled\n  bat. 8, Moorish finger ring of fine gold. Large shield with\n  characteristic ornamentation. 9, gold ring with intaglio of a\n  shepherd and goat cut on a light sard. 10, square gold ring, with\n  bead groups in centre and at corners, the central part in raised\n  openwork. 11, gold ring. French. Heart-shaped bezel set with\n  Watteau figure in repousse, under crystal, and surrounded with\n  bits of green and white crystal between small flowers of gold.\n  12, silver finger ring. Two hoops linked together by true-lovers\u2019\n  knot.]\n\nAn unusually large ring was worn by the well-known theatrical\nmanager, Sheridan Shook. It was set with an amethyst an inch long by\nthree-quarters of an inch broad and half an inch deep, and weighing two\nand a half ounces. The letter S was engraved in the stone and inlaid\nwith small diamonds. This immense ring with its massive gold setting\ncan hardly be termed a great work of art, but it is unique in its way\nand was greatly valued by its owner, who only ceased to wear it when\nill-health and weakness made it too much of a burden.\n\nThe extensive and remarkable collections of the late Alexander Wilson\nDrake, which were disposed of at the American Art Galleries in New\nYork, March 10th to 17th, 1913, comprised a fine collection of finger\nrings, illustrating a large variety of forms and periods. There were\nin all nearly 800 examples, set and unset. There were betrothal rings,\nmemorials rings, gimmal rings, puzzle rings, rings of Roman, French,\nGerman, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Irish, Scandinavian, English and\nAmerican workmanship, and many Oriental rings, Sassanian, Indian,\nJapanese, Chinese, Hebrew, Gypsy and Moorish, one of the latter being\na gold circlet with the twelve signs of the zodiac engraved in high\nrelief around it.\n\nThe personality of the collector added greatly to the charm of this\ncollection for all who had known him. As art editor of the _Century\nMagazine_, and in a thousand other ways, no one had labored more\nenthusiastically and successfully in the cause of art encouragement and\nart education, and his death constituted a real loss for the progress\nof art in America.\n\nThe valuable and carefully chosen collection of gem stones set\nin rings, which was made by the late Sir Arthur Herbert Church\n(1834\u20131915), has been presented by his widow, Lady Church, to the\ntrustees of the British Museum and is shown in the Natural History\nbuilding.[141]\n\nOf the 18 examples in the British Museum collection of the interesting\nclass of rings cut out of a single stone, The collection comprises 169\nspecimens, 45 of them zircons, fully illustrating the wide range of\ncolor to be found in this gem-stone; two of them are of a beautiful\nsky-blue. The following list gives the number of rings for each mineral\nspecies:\n\n    Corundum                      12\n    Spinel                        17\n    Chrysoberyl                    8\n    Quartz (amethyst, tiger-eye,\n      chrysoprase)                 3\n    Peridot                        1\n    Spodumene                      1\n    Labradorite                    1\n    Beryl                          4\n    Andalusite                     1\n    Tourmaline                    20\n    Opal (precious, fire, black\n      and milk)                   10\n    Zircon                        45\n    Phenacite                      5\n    Enstalite                      1\n    Moonstone                      2\n    Garnet                        19\n    Topaz                          8\n    Cordierite                     2\n    Sphene                         1\n    Turquoise                      1\n\nOnly three of the rings are set with more than a single stone.\n\nSeveral belonged to the collection of Sir Hans Sloane in 1753, five of\nthem being archers\u2019 thumb-rings, of agate, carnelian, mocha-stone, or\njasper. A green jasper ring of this type is thus entered in the Sloane\nManuscript catalogue: \u201cA thumb piece for defending it from being hurt\nby the bowstring, from Turkey.\u201d\n\nA remarkable, though decidedly eccentric ring of the _art nouveau_\nstyle of Ren\u00e9 Lalique shows in the long, irregularly oval bezel, a\nfull-length, nude female figure cut in very high relief out of a bluish\nrock-crystal; set at one side about the middle of the figure is a round\npearl, apparently of immense proportions as compared with those of the\nhuman body.[142]\n\nNot only are there the watch-bracelets which have been so extensively\nworn of late years, but minute ornamental watches have been set in\nfinger-rings, where they can be consulted with even greater ease than\nwhen worn on the wrist. The watch-face is surrounded by a bordering\nof small jewels. Apart from their practical value, the \u201cwatch-rings\u201d\nare pretty and dainty objects in themselves, and lend a new element of\nvariety to the long list of ring forms.[143]\n\nThere is in the collection of the Imperial Kunstgewerbe Museum, Vienna,\nan exceptionally fine example of the watch-ring, made by Johann Putz,\nof Augsburg, in the seventeenth century. It has a detachable cover,\ncut from an emerald, on which the Austrian double-eagle has been\nengraved. In the same collection are two sun-dial rings; one, made in\nthe seventeenth century, has a lid figuring a hedgehog, studded with\nblack diamond lozenges; the other, a sixteenth century ring, bears\na Greek inscription to the effect that \u201ctime removes all things and\nbrings forgetfulness;\u201d the sun-dial is on the inner side of this ring,\nwhich is of silver gilt. There is also a gold astrolabe ring, which\nwhen closed looks like an ordinary one; but when the connected circles\nare opened up, the ring constitutes a veritable astrolabe.[144]\n\nA gold \u201csphere-ring\u201d in the British Museum collection has an outer\nhoop in two parts, working like a gimmal, and three interior hoops\nwhich are almost concealed when the ring is closed. The exterior hoop\nis chased; on the inner surfaces, concealed from view when the ring is\nclosed, appears in sections the following inscription in black enamel:\nVerbo Dei celi firmati sunt. Dixit et creata sunt, ipse mandavit et\ncreata sunt. (The heavens are founded in the word of God. He spoke and\nthey were created; he commanded and they were created.) After \u201cfirmati\nsunt,\u201d is the date 1555. The three interior hoops bear, enameled in\nblack, the signs of the zodiac, stars, and other astral figures. This\nring is of German workmanship.[145]\n\nIn the collection of works of art bequeathed to the British Museum in\n1898 by Baron Ferdinand Rothschild, and designated as the Waddesdon\nBequest, there are several characteristic rings. Of these perhaps the\nmost notable is a large finger ring of gold, enameled and set with\njewels, a sixteenth century example of German workmanship. The bezel is\nin the form of a clasped book; on the cover is a skull, about which\nare four stones, sapphire, ruby, emerald, and diamond, and two toads\nand snakes in enamel. When the book cover is thrown back there appears\na loose plate of gold, on which is enameled a recumbent figure with\nskull and hour-glass; on the under side of the cover is inscribed in\nblack enamel (in capitals): SIVE VIVIMUS, SIVE MORIMUR, DOMINI\nSUMUS. COMMENDA DOMINO VIAM TUAM, ET SPERA IN EUM ET IPSE FACIET\n(Whether we live or whether we die we are the Lord\u2019s. Commit thy way\nunto the Lord and trust in Him, and He shall bring it to pass). This\ncombines the text, Romans xiv, 8 with Psalm xxxvii, 5. On the shoulders\nof the ring are two groups in enamel, the Fall and the Expulsion from\nEden.[146]\n\nSixteenth century ring-making, so rich in its variety of eccentric\ntypes, evolved whistle-rings, one of which is in the British Museum.\nThis is of bronze gilt; the large oval bezel is engraved with a shield\nof arms; the hoop is slender at the back. The shoulders are engraved\nwith strap-work, one of them having a tubular whistle.[147]\n\nAn enameled gold ring of striking and original design is owned by Dr.\nAlbert Figdor, Vienna. The bezel has a lid on which is enameled a head\nwearing a half-mask; the eyes are of small lozenge-shaped diamonds, and\nthere is a bordering of seventeen rubies. On lifting the lid there\nappears beneath an oval surface, on which is enameled a heart with the\nmotto: \u201cPour vous seule\u201d (For you alone). The inner side of the lid is\nhollowed out so as to serve as a receptacle for hair. The hoop, of a\nribbon-like form, bears the significant inscription: \u201cSous le masque la\nv\u00e9rit\u00e9\u201d (Beneath the mask is truth). This ring, which belonged to the\nfamous Viennese tragedienne, Charlotte Wolter, is of French workmanship\nand dates from about 1800. A whimsical gold ring in the collection has\na plain hoop, to which the figure of a little mouse, wrought in gold,\nis looped by the tail so that it slips around the circlet. Another gold\nring of singular design is one having a diamond in a silver setting\nabout which are three rubies in gold settings; between the rubies are\nthree playing cards in enamel. The hoop is of openwork with two playing\ncards and two ovals; a section of reddish gold that has been added to\nit, indicates that the ring was enlarged at some time from its original\nsize.[148]\n\nA decoration of a somewhat unusual type appears in a ring to be seen in\nthe Cleveland Museum of Art, the gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. Homer Wade.\nIt has for its adornment a minute landscape painting, in place of a\nprecious stone or seal decoration.[149] This might be a suggestion\nto those who may wish to bear with them a pretty reminder of their\nfavorite country home, or else of some scene that is associated with\nexceptionally happy memories.\n\n  [Illustration: GOLD RING, RICHLY ENAMELED\n\n The hoop has white, red and black enameling, and is studded with\n little emeralds and rubies. The high bezel is set with an emerald\n and with a small ruby on each of the four sides. Second half of\n Sixteenth Century\n\n Albert Figdor Collection, Vienna]\n\n  [Illustration: GOLD RING, WITH HEAD IN FORM OF A ROSE KNOT\n\n The setting consists of a diamond in a silver bezel, and three\n rubies in gold bezels; between the rubies are three enameled\n playing cards. The hoop is of openwork interspersed with two\n playing cards and two ovals in enamel; a section of reddish gold\n indicates an enlargement of this ring. Eighteenth Century\n\n Albert Figdor Collection, Vienna]\n\nA symbolic ring recently designed and executed in New York artfully\ncombines a number of significant elements, each of which has a\ndistinct bearing upon the history, the fortunes, or the taste of the\nprospective wearer. At the head of the ring is set his birth-stone,\nthe sard, about which are engraved his family crest and motto, and the\ninitials of his name. On the shank are two relief representations,\none of a lion, \u201cthe king of beasts,\u201d typifying royal descent, the\nother showing the wearer\u2019s patron saint, Michael; at the left of\nthis figure is set an emerald as the talismanic gem. Surmounting the\nhead of the ring are a series of light gothic arches, indicating the\nreligious character of this jewel. On the smooth inner side of the\nhead is engraved a mystic design, consisting of a double triangle,\ninterlaced to form a six-pointed star, and enclosed by a circle; within\nthe triangles appears in blue emerald the \u201cmystic number\u201d 15, that of\nthe wearer, blue being his astral color; the triangles symbolize the\ninseparability of the Holy Trinity, and the circle typifies Eternity,\nthis word being engraved above, as well as the date of the wearer\u2019s\nbirth, and a legend commemorating the gift of the ring. It is made of\nfine gold, so that it may the better denote absolute purity.\n\nIn one type of serpent ring, one of the ends is inserted loose into\nthe mouth of the serpent\u2019s head terminating the other end, so that by\na little careful bending, the trifling difference in the diameter of\nthe hoop necessary to adjust it perfectly to a finger can be easily\nattained. This form already appears among ancient rings.[150]\n\nTwo finely wrought serpent rings are shown on the Plate.[151] In one\nof these (No. 2), with three coils, the erect head of the snake with\ndistended jaws is vividly portrayed, making the ring a work of art\nindeed, but arousing an instinctive repulsion in the beholder. The\nother serpent ring constitutes a simple circlet, the head of the snake\noverlapping the tail. As an example of artistic workmanship it fully\nequals the larger ring, and may be considered better adapted for the\nadornment of the hand, since the serpent nature is not so aggressively\npresented.\n\nRings of a quite unique type, that owes its origin to the great war and\nto French skill and taste in adapting the most unpromising means to an\nartistic end, are those made by French soldiers out of aluminum fuses\ntaken from the bombs which their German foes have so liberally rained\nupon them. At the outset the disks were first worked with scissors to\nmake rude rings for men\u2019s big fingers. Later on the well-furnished\ntool-box of the machine-gun squad was called into requisition. This\nearly primitive type was soon abandoned, and in order to make rings\nof the proper dimensions the metal from the German shells was fused\nand run into ingots; the crucible was frequently one of the new iron\nhelmets, which was set on a wood fire that was kept going by a bellows\nimprovised from a bayonet sheath. However, the soldiers finally became\nso reckless in their search for material that it was found necessary to\nput a stop to this, after several had been shot by the enemy.\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n 1, mourning ring. Gold with enamel and jewels, Seventeenth\n Century. 2, snake ring. Carved gold with diamond eyes. Modern\n Oriental. 3, Chinese ring. Native gold with seal reading, \u201cRiches\n and public honors.\u201d Overlapping back. Nineteenth Century. 4,\n wish-bone ring. Copy of an African one in gold. 5, Persian ring.\n Gold and silver, set with a carnelian having seal characters\n of owner\u2019s name. Metal engraved inside. Eighteenth Century. 6,\n Chinese ring. Native gold with seal reading, \u201cLong life and\n riches.\u201d Overlapping back. Eighteenth Century. 7, animal ring.\n Carved gold in two colors with continuous procession of tigers.\n Modern French. 8, Chinese ring. Of greenish jadeite in one piece.\n Eighteenth Century.\n\n Rings from the Collection of W. Gedney Beatty]\n\n  [Illustration: THREE TYPES OF WATCH RING\n\n Front, side and end views]\n\nThe first models for the rings were made of wood or soft limestone.\nAt a more advanced stage, round bars were made, which were cut into\nsections by means of the jagged edge of an old trench-spade. The\nsmoothing off was done with a knife, and for making the ring\napertures a pick was commonly used. They were then polished with a\npiece of hard wood, moistened from time to time to soften it.\n\nThis still primitive form failed to satisfy the amateur ring-makers,\nand soon some of them began to engrave their rings with the point of\na pocket-knife, and others, more ambitious, encrusted them with small\npieces of copper, either mortised or rivetted in. Although many of\nthe rings were undoubtedly the work of entirely unpracticed hands, of\ncourse in any of the great modern national armies men of all trades\nand professions are represented, and hence the really fine examples\nof these war-time rings have been the work of those familiar with\nthe jewellers\u2019 art. So eagerly did some of the soldiers pursue this\navocation, that when their aluminum threatened to give out, they would\nlook impatiently for a bombardment to get a new supply.[152]\n\nThe \u201cadd-a-link\u201d ring is made up of a series of small links which all\nsnap one in the other. The purchaser buys one with the number of links\nrequisite to fit the finger exactly. If he wishes to have a stone in it\nhe buys a link with a stone inserted therein. A plain link is snapped\nout of the ring and the link with the stone is snapped in. Sometimes\nthese rings are made up of a variety of stones and then again with only\none stone. It is possible in this way for the purchaser to obtain, at a\nmoderate cost, a variety of settings, changeable at will. Moreover, a\nring of this type can be enlarged as the finger grows larger.\n\nAmong a number of ring-types designed for the practical convenience of\nthe owner and only worn temporarily to serve a particular purpose,\nwe may note the cigarette ring, provided with a straight sliding\nrod the end of which clasps the middle of a cigarette, so that when\na whiff has been taken, the hand may be freely used without laying\naside or dropping the cigarette. Another smokers\u2019 ring is one provided\nwith a projection for stopping a pipe, rendering it possible for the\nardent pipe-smoker to keep his pipe-bowl well filled and well packed\nwithout soiling the tips of his fingers. These pipe-stopping rings\nare sometimes of rich materials, in one instance the stopper was of a\nbeautiful white zircon, finely contrasting with the rich yellow gold\nof the ring proper. Rings of this kind were very much in vogue in the\neighteenth century, and one appears on the hand of a gentleman in one\nof Hogarth\u2019s engravings.\n\nThe name \u201cswivel ring\u201d is applied when the head of the ring is loose,\nand is loosely secured by a bar to the band or circlet, so that the\nring will swing around. This type is frequently used in scarab rings,\nor where there is a double intaglio, a double miniature, or other\ndouble object, or where the ring is what is known as a concealed seal\nring, the outside part being a gold ornament or a stone.\n\nOne of the \u201csurprise rings\u201d in which a hinged outer section of the\nhoop can be made to detach itself, on a spring being pressed, so that\na concealed surface appears, shows on its hidden surface a number of\nmagical signs and the names of the angels or spirits Ashmodel, Nachiel,\nZamiel, and others. Wearing a ring of this kind, the adept could reveal\nhis belief in the magic arts to others of his sect or fraternity,\nthus bearing about with him a secret passport admitting him to their\nconfidence.[153]\n\nA pretty way of utilizing old and cherished rings for the production\nof an attractive ornament is to link them together so as to form a\nchatelaine. By this means a large number of family memorial rings,\neither those of more or less remote ancestors or of persons whom the\nowner has known and loved, may be combined in a single beautiful chain.\nThis can be done in several ways. After opening the rings at the joint,\nthey are strung one below the other, the monotony of the effect being\nvaried by one or more double rings, the terminal of the chain being a\nseal-ring with the bezel downward. Another method is to have a series\nof double rings, each one of which is joined to the member of the pair\nimmediately below, by means of a small ring made for this purpose;\nhere again the terminal will be either a seal-ring, or one set with a\nlarge precious stone. Such ornaments are not only things of beauty in\nthemselves, but unique in the memories they serve to perpetuate in the\nhearts of the wearers.\n\n\n                        THE MATERIALS OF RINGS\n\nRing whittling or carving is a favorite occupation of sailors and young\nboys. Many interesting rings have been carved by them out of peach\npits, flexible ivory, cocoanut shells, gutta percha, walrus ivory,\nboxwood, whale\u2019s teeth and many other substances. These are frequently\nincised with the initials of the wearer or the one to whom the ring is\nto be presented. Then again, pins are cut off and the upper part driven\ninto the hoop, in such a way that the head of the pin appears as a\nbeading; often metallic points are added. Other rings are carved with\nhearts, folded hands and other symbols of sentiment.\n\nAs a ring is necessary in marriage it has occasionally happened when no\nprecious metal was available in hasty marriages, or out of economy,\nthat a curtain ring, taken from the church curtain, has been used.\n\nMemory rings, of threads wound around the finger, have often been\nemployed. Sometimes these are made of cord or yarn, and each ring is\nsupposed to represent one object to be remembered, and to be purchased,\nor delivered at the final place of destination. The writer distinctly\nremembers seeing an old man nearly 90 years of age, wearing a waistcoat\nolder than himself, and with at least twenty strings of different\ncolors and variety on his fingers. He trudged a distance of six miles\nto the nearest village and had been instructed not to return until\nhe had purchased or obtained the object meant by each string. This\nmemorizing by cords or strands has been practised by many primitive\npeoples who had not developed any system of writing, a well-known\ninstance being the wampum records of some of our North American Indian\ntribes.\n\nTo the famous episode of the descent of the life-goddess Ishtar to the\ninfernal regions, forming part of the great Babylonian poem known as\nthe \u201cGilgamesh Epic,\u201d have been appended a few lines suggesting an idea\ndistantly resembling that in the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. A\nmourner who seeks to release a loved one from the Realm of Death, is\ntold to address himself to Tammuz (= Adonis). A festival garment is\nto be put on the god\u2019s statue to induce him \u201cto play on the flute of\nlapis-lazuli,\u201d with a ring of porphyry. This divine music was believed\nto arouse the dead and call them to inhale the fragrance of the incense\noffering prepared for them.[154] The \u201cporphyry ring\u201d for playing the\nmusical instrument might seem to indicate that it was some form of\nlyre, on which the ring could be used as a kind of plectrum, rather\nthan a flute or other wind-instrument.\n\nRings made entirely of a precious stone substance were not uncommon in\nthe time of Rameses III (1202\u20131170 B.C.) and later Egyptian\nsovereigns, but there is no evidence of their having been made at a\nmore remote period. The prejudice against burying rings with the dead\ndoes not seem to have affected the Egyptians, for in a number of cases\nrings have been found on the fingers of mummies.[155]\n\nThe sardonyx was a favorite stone with the Romans of the Imperial Age,\nas is proved by the frequent allusions to it by the poets of this time.\nOf a celebrated player on the lyre, Juvenal (50\u2013130 A.D.)\nsays that as his hand passed over the strings the whole instrument was\nlighted up by the sheen of his many sardonyx rings.[156] Such a ring\nwas regarded as a most appropriate birthday gift.[157] Another passage\nrelates that the advocate Paulus, in order to render his address before\nthe court more impressive, wore upon his hand a fine onyx ring which he\nhad borrowed from a friend especially for this occasion.[158] Indeed,\nso highly was the stone prized that it was called the first of gems\n(_gemma princeps sardonychus_) and ivory caskets were regarded as\nfit receptacles for sardonyxes.[159] The value of rings set with them\nis shown by the fact that in Hadrian\u2019s (76\u2013138 A.D.) time,\nthey were expressly associated with the gems of greatest value, such\nbeing strictly differentiated from those worth but four gold pieces\neach.[160]\n\nSeveral rings of the Later Roman period in the British Museum are set\nwith small diamonds. Of these the following are believed to represent\noriginal settings:[161]\n\n No. 779. Plain solid hoop with sides cut flat. It is set with a\n small pointed diamond. Castellani Coll., 1872.\n\n No. 785. Thin rounded hoop, slightly expanding upwards. Pointed\n diamond in raised oblong setting. From Tart\u00fbs. Franks Bequest,\n 1897.\n\n No. 787. Angular hoop, projecting sharply below the shoulders,\n which are in the form of hollow leaves within a triangular frame.\n The bezel is square and contains an octahedral diamond; the sides\n are open and form a kind of wave pattern. Castellani Coll., 1872.\n 3rd century, A.D.\n\n No. 788. Type akin to last. On either shoulder is an openwork\n triangle. The bezel is square and contains an octahedral diamond;\n on either side of the bezel is a small openwork triangle.\n\n No. 789. Type akin to last. The lower part of the hoop has a\n groove running along its middle; either shoulder is cut away in a\n slight curve. The bezel is square, with a triangular space left\n open in each side and with a round opening below. It contains a\n diamond of octahedral form. Franks Bequest, 1897.\n\n No. 790. Type akin to last. The hoop is rounded without; the\n curved excision of the shoulders is more pronounced. Two double\n pyramid-shaped (octahedral) diamonds are set in the bezel. A\n triangle is cut out of either shoulder, and two smaller\n triangles on either side of the bezel. Underneath the stone are\n two lozenge-shaped openings. Franks Bequest, 1897.\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF AN UNKNOWN MAN IN THE COSTUME OF THE\n  FIFTEENTH CENTURY, BY ANTONIO DEL POLLAIOLO\n\n  He holds between the thumb and index of his left hand a ring set\n  with a naturally pointed diamond crystal\n\n  Galleria Corsini, Florence]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF A VENETIAN SENATOR, BY A. DA SOLARIO\n\n  Seal ring on thumb of left hand\n\n  National Gallery, London]\n\nIn all these cases the diamond is a small natural crystal of octahedral\nform suggesting the \u201cdiamond, a point of a stone,\u201d of which the\nastronomer Manilius wrote in the first century, and, perhaps, the\ndiamond in Berenice\u2019s ring mentioned in the same period by the satirist\nJuvenal. Another ring in the British Museum, however, is set with\ntwo _facetted_ diamonds, as well as with two other stones (No.\n778 of catalogue, Plate xx, same number). Here the diamonds have\nunquestionably been set at a time long posterior to the making of the\nring, which is believed to belong, approximately, to the same period\nas the others we have listed. The diamonds were probably inserted\nto replace two of the original stones that had fallen out of their\nsettings.\n\nSir Charles Hercules Read pronounces the instances of diamond settings\nin ancient rings to be exceeding rare. He states that the examples\nabove noted are the only ones of which he knows, and considers that\nthey belong to the third or fourth century of our era.[162]\n\nThe famous Marlborough collection of gems includes a thumb ring\nentirely of sapphire. To give this stone ring the necessary resisting\npower, it has been lined with a thick hoop of gold. The engraving it\nbears, a head of the Elder Faustina, the wife of Antoninus Pius (86\u2013161\nA.D.), is believed to replace an original Arabic inscription\nthat fitted this ring for use as a seal.[163]\n\nRings entirely of precious-stone material, or \u201chololith\u201d rings, have\nbeen found at Mycen\u00e6, one of jasper and another of rock-crystal, and\na carnelian ring was discovered in a tomb in southern Russia. Each of\nthese bears an engraved design. Two carnelian rings are in the British\nMuseum.\n\nChalcedony rings, that is, rings entirely formed of this stone, while\nquite rare, are represented by a few specimens. We describe elsewhere\nthe so-called betrothal ring of the Virgin at Perugia,[164] and the\nBritish Museum has a large example of a chalcedony ring, with the hoop\nrounded on the outer side, and a raised bezel that has been roughly cut\nso as to indicate a human head, some scratches marking the hair. The\nwork is late Roman and the inscription shows that it was made for some\nadherent of the Gnostic sect.[165]\n\nA large ring, entirely of rock crystal, shows on the oval flattened\nsurface of the upper part a curious combination of the \u201cTau Cross,\u201d\nwith superposed \u201cchrisma,\u201d and with a serpent twined about it,\nrecalling the brazen serpent of Moses, the view of which restored\nhealth to the diseased; the Greek letters, _alpha_ and _omega_, \u201cthe\nbeginning and the end,\u201d complete this interlacing of Old and New\nTestament emblems; the doves facing the cross are the faithful to whom\nthe Cross of Christ brings salvation.[166] Another entire crystal ring\nbears on its flat face a design of somewhat similar import, with,\nhowever, the curious difference that the lower end of the cross is\nsupported on a little Cupid, on either side of which figure is a\ndove.[167]\n\nThe jewels of the Mogul emperors were the most splendid in the world,\nbut few have survived intact to our time, as nearly all were broken\nup by the spoilers of the Mogul Empire. However, one of the few that\nhave been preserved for us is a most interesting illustration of the\ntype of ring favored in that age and region. This is one made for\nJehangir Shah, the father of Shah Jehan, for whom was erected the\nwonderful Taj Mahal at Agra, a memorial of his dearly beloved wife,\nMumtaz Mahal, who died in 1629. It is about 1\u00bc inches in diameter\nand is cut out of a solid emerald of exceptional purity and beauty\nof color; from the ring proper depend two fine emerald drops, while\nset in two collets are rose diamonds with ruby bordering. Jehangir\u2019s\nname is engraved on the hoop. This ring was probably carried off by\nNadir Shah at the looting of Delhi in 1739, and after remaining in\nthe Persian treasury for a few years found its way, with other gems\nand jewels plundered from the Moguls, into the hands of the Afghan\nchiefs. One of these, the unfortunate Shah Shujah, in the course of\nhis wanderings after he had been blinded and deprived of his throne\nby a brother, finally sought and found refuge under the protection of\nthe British East India Company, and as a token of gratitude, or as a\nslight _quid pro quo_, he gave this historic ring to the company.\nAfter having been acquired by Lord Auckland, it passed into the hands\nof the Hon. Miss Eden. This is probably the very finest specimen of the\nrare type of hololith rings, or rings entirely consisting of a single\nprecious-stone material.[168]\n\nFor those who believed in the magic virtues of precious stones, a ring\nof this kind would possess much greater efficacy than would a metal\nring set with the stone, as in the former case the substance when worn\nwould always be in direct contact with the skin of the wearer. Jehangir\nalso owned an entire ruby ring given him by Shaikh Farid-i-Bukhari, and\nvalued at 25,000 rupees (about $12,500). In modern times, the Burmese\nambassador to the court of Persia is said to have brought with him,\nas a gift to the Shah, a ring cut out of a solid ruby of the finest\ncolor.[169]\n\nOne of the most remarkable archers\u2019 rings was engraved out of a single\npiece of emerald. It is an example of the type which is narrow at one\nend, tapering to a broad edge at the other. It is of a beautiful green\nemerald and very handsomely engraved. This ring was probably made\nfor the Mogul Emperor Shah Jehan, about 1650. It was part of Nadir\nShah\u2019s share of the booty from the sack of Delhi in 1739, and this\nPersian adventurer had the following inscription engraved upon it in\nPersian characters: \u201cFor a bow for the King of Kings, Nadir, Lord of\nthe Conjunction, at the subjugation of India, from the Jewel-house\n[at Delhi] it was selected 1152 [1739 A.D.]\u201d. The luckless\nShah Shuja gave it to Runjit Singh, the Lion of the Panjab, in 1813,\nwhen he took refuge at the latter\u2019s court at Lahore. At the end of\nthe second Sikh war in 1849 it was found with the regalia in the royal\ntreasury of Lahore. This splendid ring once owned by Lord Dalhousie,\nwas sold at Edinburgh in 1898; it came into the possession of W. H.\nBroun, Esq., and is now one of the gems of a private collection in\nPhiladelphia.[170]\n\nIn past times the Shahs of Persia have passed ordinances restricting\nthe exportation of turquoise. Regarding this precious stone as\npeculiarly Persian and for the furthering of Persian goldsmiths, it\nwas enacted that no unset turquoises should be exported; as a rule\nthe settings were in rings, these being easily transported, since a\ngreat number of them could be strung together. Sometimes a prospective\npurchaser was permitted to test the quality of a string of turquoise\nrings by wearing a bunch of them for a while under his arm-pit, to see\nwhether the stones would change color. Although some failed to endure\nthis rather severe test, many withstood it successfully.\n\nThe entire circlet of certain of the finest turquoise rings was\nof pierced gold enriched with rose diamonds; other, less valuable\nturquoises have been set in fine gold rings, carved or plain, and those\nof the next lower value, in ornamented silver. The cheaper sort ranged\nin price all the way from one cent to a few dollars, and were often\nset in rings made of tin, or of tinned iron, the hoop costing but two\ncents. The stones were always cut irregularly _en cabochon_, the\nform being frequently quite pleasing; if the turquoise were thin the\nback was coated with pitch to bring out the color, and on the surface\nwas engraved some short formula from the Koran, such as \u201cAllah be\npraised!\u201d or \u201cAllah is great!\u201d Occasionally the Shah\u2019s portrait was the\nsubject.\n\nIn the Roman world entire rings of yellow amber were sometimes formed,\nand in a few instances figures or heads have been engraved in relief\nupon the chaton. Their execution need not have presented any greater\ndifficulty than did the carving of the many small amber figures which\nhave come down to us from ancient times. A carved amber ring in the\nFranks Bequest of the British Museum is beautifully formed with\nfull-relief figures of Venus and of Cupid on either side. It is cut out\nof a single piece of amber, and is considered to be the finest example\nextant of Roman carving in that material,[171] but unfortunately is\nconsiderably damaged.\n\nPliny declares that in his time amber ornaments were almost exclusively\nfor women\u2019s wear; indeed, a few years later, Artemidorus, in his\n\u201cOneirocritica,\u201d an interpretation of dreams, after saying that amber\nand ivory rings were only appropriate for women, proceeds to assert\nthat this was true of all kinds of rings.[172] There are but a very few\nivory rings in the British Museum, although the collection includes\nseveral bone rings, probably for wear on the thumb. The relief-carving\nof masks has been thought to make it likely that they were actors\u2019\nrings.[173]\n\nNot only have entire emerald and ruby rings been formed, but even the\nintractable diamond has lately been cut in this form. An entire diamond\nring, the work of the diamond-cutter Antoine, of Antwerp, was shown\nin the exposition held in Antwerp in 1894.[174] Another such ring has\nsince been executed by Bart Brouwer of Amsterdam. In this latter ring\nthe facets are all triangular.\n\nThe unrivalled Heber R. Bishop Collection of Jades, now in the\nMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, contains an ancient\nthumb-ring (_pan chih_), entirely of jade, from the time of the Han\nDynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.). Its major and minor diameters are 1.16\ninches and 1.03 inches, respectively, and it weighs .809 ounce. The\nmaterial is the nephrite variety of jade, the color being clouded gray\nwith very dark brown veinings. The rings of this type were worn on the\nthumb of the left hand to protect it from injury by the bowstring after\nthe discharge of the arrow. The dark veining results from the filling\nof the fissures in the material with some brownish-black substance; it\nis an excellent example of the amphibolic alteration of jadeite, which\nis shown by chemical analysis to be present here to the amount of 4.15\nper cent. (No. 330 of the collection).\n\nA recent type of archer\u2019s thumb ring in this collection, of the\nCh\u2019ien-Lung period (1736\u20131795 A.D.), is of cylindrical form,\nthe thick solid side bevelled inward at the base so as to adjust the\nring to the hand; the convex top slopes downward from the middle. This\nis of a beautiful light emerald-green jadeite, clouded here and there\nwith shades of greenish gray. It has diameters of 1.06 inches and 1.25\ninches, and weighs about 1\u2154 ounces. The specific gravity and hardness\nare those of the jadeite variety of jade, a silicate of aluminum, while\nnephrite is a silicate of magnesium (No. 508).\n\nThe Bishop Collection also contains two archers\u2019 rings of the original\ntype, with a wide flange on the lower side. These are entirely of\ncarnelian, and are representative of the kind really used by archers.\nThe greater part of the thumb-rings, many of them called more or less\nloosely \u201carchers\u2019 rings,\u201d were never designed for any such special use,\nbut constitute a modification of the original form to suit them for\nhabitual wear. Indeed, in many cases the more ornate were rather used\nas pretty toys to handle, as Orientals are fond of handling gems or\nsmall jewels, than for wear. Of course the gradual disuse of archery in\nmilitary operations contributed greatly to the change of fashion.\n\nIn this collection may be seen a finger-ring (chih-huan) of white jade\n(nephrite) set with jewels. Its shape resembles that of an archer\u2019s\nring and it is decorated with floral designs, the effect enhanced\nby sixty precious stones, comprising twenty-four rubies, thirty-two\nemeralds and four diamonds. This ring is of Indian workmanship, those\nmade in China scarcely ever having any precious-stone adornment.\nIn the floral ornamentation a row of rubies and emeralds cut _en\ncabochon_ are outlined in gold so as to represent flowers, while in\nthe field are four conventionalized upright sprays, each composed of\nthree flowers, the upper one a facetted diamond, while the lateral\npair are facetted emeralds. On the upper rim an undulating floral\nscroll has stem and leaves of gold, and flowers set alternately with\nrubies and emeralds.[175]\n\nAt the time a Corean embassy visited the United States in 1883,\none of its leading members was Min Yonk Ik, a princely personage,\nclosely related to the queen of the country, who brought with him\ntwo thumb-rings, which he wore, alternately, on his right hand\nthumb. In the case of one of these rings the Corean must have been\nimposed upon by the seller, for he supposed it to be jade, while\nthe present writer\u2019s examination of it showed that the material was\nmerely serpentine. Its outside diameter was 34 mm. (1\u2153 in.), the\ninside diameter being 22 mm. (about \u215e in.), the length, or height, was\n28.5 mm. (1\u215b in.). This ring was described by the writer in 1884, in\n_Science_; in the succeeding year he had occasion to correct a\nstatement that it was an archer\u2019s ring.[176] The Corean women commonly\nwear two rings, always exactly similar in every respect. As a rule they\nare perfectly plain, of oval form, the material being gold, silver,\namber or coral. The coral was usually imported from China.\n\nThe Chinese ambassador, Wu Ting Fang, wore a jade ring in which was\na thick plate of gold to reduce the size. Some of the more beautiful\nare of the pale green jade, known by the Chinese as _fei ts\u2019ui_,\nor \u201ckingfisher-plumes.\u201d Many of these rings are exceedingly costly;\nwhen made of some piece of jade possessing very exceptional qualities\nof color and surface, a thumb-ring may cost as much as $10,000, or\neven $15,000. Incidentally, it should be noted that Wu Ting Fang is an\nexcellent judge of precious stones.\n\nArchers\u2019 rings are made by Chinese and Manchus, Turks and Persians,\nwho release the arrow according to Asiatic style, the bowstring being\nheld by the bent thumb. In China they eventually became the insignia\nof military rank, and were of jade, or a glass imitation of jade; the\nlatter are the kind usually to be found in curio shops. The Japanese\ndid not use them, the archers wearing a glove with a horn thumb-piece.\nThis type of glove was, however, not used by the Japanese swordsmen, as\nthe stiff thumb-piece would have hindered the free use of the hand.[177]\n\nAn engraved finger ring entirely of milk-white jade is in the Berlin\nMineralogical Museum, and in the collection of Dr. David Wiser, of\nZurich, there is a jade ring-setting on which is engraved a scorpion.\nThis image was believed to lend to the object so engraved a talismanic\nvirtue. A slab of jade in the Freiburg Museum bears the carefully\nengraved figure of a scorpion and is considered to be an amulet. The\nsource of this specimen and the place and time in which it was engraved\nhave not been accurately ascertained.[178]\n\nThe Pueblo Bonito ruins in New Mexico have furnished us with a fragment\nof a jet ring. The portion remaining of this ring shows that it must\nhave had a diameter of about 2.3 centimetres, the width of the band\nbeing 1.4 centimetres. Apparently some accident befell the original\nring, causing part of the brittle material to chip off, for in the\nsection that has been preserved a piece of jet, as wide as the band and\n9 millimetres across, has been inlaid in the body of the ring. This was\ncut away to a depth of a millimetre, and the concave-convex inlay was\nthen glued on.[179]\n\nThe gold-plating of bronze rings dates back to the Mycen\u00e6an period, and\nIonic silver rings with gold plating were made in the sixth century\nB.C.; Cypriote bronze rings of about the third century B.C. have also\nbeen found. Where, as in many cases, mere gilding has been resorted to,\nonly traces of this may remain after the lapse of centuries.[180] We\nnote elsewhere the gold-plated iron rings worn by some Roman slaves to\nevade the penalty imposed upon those who illegally wore gold rings.\n\nGlass rings are frequently made at Murano and other places in Italy of\nthe so-called \u201cgold stone,\u201d aventurine, or Venice gold stone. They are\nvery inexpensive and are generally worn by children or young girls.\nMosaic rings are those in which the upper part of the ring contains\neither a Byzantine mosaic made up of colored glass or other material,\nor a Florentine mosaic, in which shell, marble and other materials are\nset in slate or marble settings.\n\nBohemian garnet rings are generally made of facetted, rose cut, or\ncabochon cut garnets, set usually in 8 to 14 carat gold. They are made\nin Prague and other cities in Bohemia, the garnet material, of the\npyrope variety, coming largely from the mines at Meronitz, Bohemia.\n\nAmong the cheap materials that have been used on occasion for making\nrings, are horseshoe nails, which may perhaps be supposed to possess\nsome of the wonderful talismanic power accorded by popular fancy to the\nhorseshoe. The nails are more or less skilfully twisted into a ring\nform, and are at least as durable as other forms of iron rings.\n\nAn extraordinary material combination for the substance of rings, is\nthat of dynamite and pewter. At present when the war-fever has seized\nupon almost all civilized peoples, we might accord to the dynamite in\nthis composition a symbolic martial meaning. What risk there might be\nof the painful results of war befalling the wearer of a dynamite ring\nthrough its detonating unexpectedly because of some powerful shock, is\nperhaps too slight to deter those who are in eager pursuit of novelties.\n\nThe pale alloy of gold, known as electrum,[181] was favored for\nring-making in Oriental Greece, and is termed \u201cwhite gold\u201d in ancient\ninventories. Thus in an inventory of the temple treasures of Eleusis,\nmade in 332 B.C., there is mention of \u201ctwo plain gold rings\nof white gold.\u201d[182] Some Ionic rings of the fifth century, B.C.\nfrom Cyprus are also of this metallic composition. Of gold rings set\nwith stones, a Parthenon inventory of 422 B.C. lists one\nwith an onyx, perhaps a scaraboid, and in a Delos inventory of 279\nB.C., there is one with an _anthrax_, probably a garnet.\nThe variation of the phrasing in these two mentions, the former naming\nan onyx having a ring of gold, while the latter speaks of a \u201cgold\nring having a garnet,\u201d might be taken to indicate that the onyx was a\nlarge object compared with the hoop, and the garnet a relatively small\none.[183]\n\nIn the masterpiece of ancient Greek romantic prose literature, the\n\u00c6thiopica of Heliodorus (fl. ab. 400 A.D.), perhaps Heliodorus Bishop\nof Tricca, the writer describes a splendid ring given by Kalasiris to\nNausikles. This was one of the royal jewels of the King of Ethiopia.\nThe hoop was of electrum, and in the bezel was set a beautiful amethyst\nengraved with a design showing a shepherd pasturing his flock.[184]\nHeliodorus especially dwells upon the fact that this was an Ethiopian\n(probably an Indian) amethyst, this variety far surpassing those from\nIberia (the Spanish Peninsula) and Britain. In the very successful\nrendering of this Greek passage by Rev. C. W. King, the contrast\nbetween the former and the latter is thus gracefully expressed:[185]\n\n For the latter blushes with a feeble hue, and is like a rose\n just unfolding its leaves from out of the bud, and beginning\n to be tinged with red by the sunbeams. But in the Ethiopian\n Amethyst, out of its depth flames forth like a torch a pure and\n as it were Spring-like beauty; and if you turn it about as you\n hold it, it shoots out a golden lustre, not dazzling the sight\n by its fierceness, but resplendent with cheerfulness. Moreover,\n a more genuine nature is inherent in it than is possessed by any\n brought from the West, for it does not belie its appellation, but\n proves in reality to the wearer an antidote against intoxication,\n preserving him sober in the midst of drinking-bouts.\n\nIn his \u201cRape of the Lock,\u201d Pope writes of Belinda\u2019s golden hair-bodkin,\nthat the metal had originally been worked up into rings and then into a\ngold buckle, thus the gold was\n\n    The same, his ancient personage to deck\n    Her great-great-grandsire wore about his neck\n    In three seal-rings, which, after melted down,\n    Formed one huge buckle for his widow\u2019s gown.\n\nBesides the precious metals many other materials were used in ancient\ntimes for rings. Thus a few leaden rings have been preserved, a number\nof them having been unearthed in a tomb at Beneventum. The casting has\nbeen roughly done, without finishing touches. It has been suggested\nthat in view of the rarity of leaden rings, the large number found\nin this tomb may be taken to indicate that the deceased had been a\nmanufacturer of rings of this kind. From Tanagra comes a leaden ring\nof great size; as it is too large for wear, it might be regarded as a\nvotive offering to a shrine or temple. Glass rings were also used at\ntimes for this purpose by the poorer classes, an example of such a ring\nbeing listed among the possessions of the temple of Asklepios at Athens\nas early as the fourth century B.C. The manufacture of glass\nrings was quite extensively carried on in Alexandria. In one case the\nbezel had been adorned with a painting of a woman\u2019s head, over which\nwas placed a translucent glass plate. This was found at the Rosetta\nGate, Alexandria.[186]\n\nAn ivory ring of Roman times, later provided with a band of silver, is\nnoted in the descriptive catalogue of the Royal Museum at Budapest. It\nis of oval form and artistically engraved with the seated figure of a\nmilitary leader clothed with a mantle, the left hand extended as though\ndelivering a speech; in his right hand he holds a spear. Behind him is\na trophy, and before him stands a Roman soldier fully armed. Engraved\nivory rings from Greek or Roman times are rare, just as are engraved\namber rings. The trophy emblem denotes that this ring commemorated some\ntriumph, or victory.[187]\n\nA \u201cSt. Martin\u2019s ring\u201d had become, in the seventeenth century, a name\nfor a brummagem ring, as is shown among other examples by the following\nsatirical passage from a book entitled \u201cWhimsies, or a new Cast of\nCharacters,\u201d published in London in 1631: \u201cSt. Martin\u2019s Rings and\ncounterfeit bracelets are commodities of infinite consequence; they\nwill passe current at a may-pole, and purchase favor from their May\nMarian.\u201d A rare tract called \u201cThe Captain\u2019s Commonwealth\u201d (1617) says\nthat kindness was not like alchemy or a St. Martin\u2019s ring, \u201cthat are\nfaire to the eye and have a rich outside; but if a man should breake\nthem asunders, and looke into them, they are nothing but brasse and\ncopper.\u201d The makers, or vendors of these rings lived within the\nprecincts of the collegiate church St. Martin\u2019s-le-Grand, and had long\nenjoyed a certain immunity from prosecution under the laws prohibiting\nthe manufacture of ornaments made in imitation of genuine gold or\nsilver ones. The gilding or silvering of brooches or rings made of\ncopper or latten, is prohibited by an ordinance of Henry IV (1404),\nand another of Edward IV (in 1464), which, while pronouncing it to be\nunlawful to import rings of gilded copper or latten, expressly declared\nthat the act should not be construed as meaning anything prejudicial\nto one Robert Styllington, clerk, dean of the King\u2019s free chapel of\n\u201cSt. Martin le Graund de Londres\u201d or to any person or persons dwelling\nwithin this sanctuary or precincts, or who might in after time dwell\nthere, or more especially in St. Martin\u2019s Lane.[188]\n\nRings set with precious stones, other than turquoises and pearls,\ncan be safely cleaned with warm water, white soap and a trifle of\nammonia. The wash should be applied with a soft old tooth-brush, so\nas to cleanse the spaces between the filling and the stone-setting. A\nlittle polishing off with a soft chamois will thoroughly restore the\nbrilliancy of the stone. Turquoise or pearl rings, however, need more\ncareful treatment and the above directions do not apply in their case.\n\n\n\n\n                                  III\n\n                             SIGNET RINGS\n\n\nIf we pass over the scene between Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar,\nrelated in Gen. xxxvii, 12\u201326, where the patriarch leaves his signet\n(not necessarily a signet _ring_) his bracelets and his staff, as\npledges for a promised gift, the earliest Hebrew notice of a ring is in\nGenesis xlii, 42, where we read that in return for the interpretation\nof his dream and for the valuable counsel as to laying up a stock of\ngrain in Egypt to forestall a coming famine, the Pharaoh of the time\n\u201ctook off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph\u2019s hand.\u201d\nThis might refer to a period about 1600 B.C., or possibly\nsomewhat earlier, always providing the tradition be accepted as in a\ncertain sense exact. Centuries later, in the Desert, when the Lord\ncommanded offerings for the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, and\nfor the ephod and breastplate, among the gifts proffered are enumerated\n\u201cbracelets, earrings, and rings\u201d (Exodus, xxxv, 22). The Book of\nDaniel, written not earlier than the sixth century before Christ,\nand more probably, in its present form, a work of the second century\nB.C., relating the imprisonment of Daniel in the lions\u2019 den,\nstates that when at the reluctant command of King Darius he was shut\nup therein, \u201ca stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den;\nand the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his\nlords\u201d (Dan. vi, 17). Still, these might have been of the well-known\nBabylonian type of \u201crolling seals\u201d and not rings.\n\nThe Book of Esther, however, of later date than Daniel, makes definite\nmention of the signet ring of the Persian monarch called Ahasuerus\n(Artaxerxes) in the Biblical text, and while the recital can scarcely\nbe accepted as historical in any sense, the details of custom and\nadornment are probably quite trustworthy. On investing Haman with a\ngreat authority, Ahasuerus \u201ctook his ring from his hand and gave it\nunto Haman,\u201d whereupon the latter summoned the king\u2019s scribes and had\nthem write letters to the provincial governors--instructing the latter\nto kill all the Jews in the kingdom on the thirteenth day of the month\nAdar; each of these letters was \u201csealed with the king\u2019s ring.\u201d Before\nthis dire disaster could be consummated, the royal favor was gently\nswayed in an opposite direction by the grace and charm of Esther, the\nHebrew favorite of the sovereign, and the wicked Haman was hanged\non the tall gallows he had set up for Mordecai, Esther\u2019s guardian,\non whom the ring stript from Haman\u2019s hand was bestowed. In spite of\nthe somewhat confused recital, one point is always strongly brought\nout, that the impression of the royal signet imparted to letters or\ndocuments the quality of royal ordinances.\n\nIn Persia the power and authority attributed to the ring of the\nsovereign is noted by the Persian poet Unsuri (fl. 1000 A.D.),\nand in the legends of that land the famous though fabulous hero-king,\nJemshid, is said to have had a magic ring of wondrous power. Among the\nPersians, as in many other Oriental countries, the signet-ring was long\nconsidered to be a symbol of authority.[189]\n\nThe gold ring of Queen H\u00e2tshepset (about 1500 B.C.), consort\nof Thothmes II, whose prenomen, Ma\u00e2t-ka-Ra, signifies \u201cflesh and blood\nof Amen Ra,\u201d is set with a lapis lazuli scarab inscribed with the\nabove words.[190] Another ring with lapis lazuli setting is that of\nThothmes III, whose titles, Beautiful God, Conqueror of All Lands,\nMen-kheper-Ra, are inscribed on one side of the rectangular stone\nabove a design representing a man-headed lion in the act of crushing a\nprostrate foe with his paw.[191] A steatite scarab, set in a gold ring,\nbears the name of Ptah-mes, a high priest of Memphis.[192] Another\nsteatite ring-scarab is inscribed with the name and title of Shashank\nI, the Shishak of the Bible, who reigned about 966 B.C.[193]\n\nThe gold signet ring of Aah-hotep I, queen of Seqenenra III (1610\u20131597\nB.C.) of the XVII Dynasty, was found with a wealth of other\njewels at Draa-abul-Nega, the northern and most ancient part of the\nTheban necropolis. This queen had an unusually long and eventful life.\nThe records clearly indicate that she must have been one hundred years\nold, or very nearly that age, at the time of her death, and while her\nyouth was passed at the end of the period of the oppressive rule of\nthe foreign Hyksos kings, she lived to witness the glorious revival of\nnative Egyptian rule under her husband, son and grandson. This ring is\nnow in the Louvre Museum.[194]\n\nAn interesting Egyptian signet bears the cartouche of Khufu, the second\nruler of the IV Dynasty (ab. 3969\u20133908), the Cheops of the Greeks\n(Manetho\u2019s Suphis), in whose reign the greatest of the pyramids was\nbuilt. The worship of Khufu continued to a late period of Egyptian\nhistory, and this signet belonged to a Ra-nefer-ab, priest or keeper\nof the pyramid under the XXVI Dynasty, 664\u2013525 B.C.[195] The\nring is of fine gold, and weighs nearly \u00be ounce; it was found at Ghizeh\nby Colonel Vyse, in a tomb known as Campbell\u2019s Tomb, and was acquired\nin Egypt by Dr. Abbott, who gathered together a choice collection of\nEgyptian antiquities during a residence of twenty years in Egypt. In\n1860, this collection was given to the New York Historical Society\nthrough the liberality of citizens of New York.[196]\n\nThe rings of the Minoan and Mycen\u00e6an periods from about 1700 B.C. to\n1000 B.C. offer a great variety of engraved designs, some in relief\nand others in intaglio, but all destined it seems for use as signets.\nUndoubtedly these rings derive in the last instance from Egyptian\ninfluence, their especial characteristics, however, are early Greek,\nbut rarely Egyptian, as in the case of a bronze ring with a sphinx in\nrelief found in the necropolis of Zafer Papoura near Knossos in Crete.\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF A MAN, BY LUCAS CRANACH THE ELDER\n  (1472\u20131553)\n\n  Seal ring on index of left hand with plain ring beneath it; ring\n  with precious stone setting on little finger of the same hand]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF KATHARINA AEDER, WIFE OF MELCHOW\n  HANLOCHER, BY HANS BOCK THE ELDER\n\n  Gem and serpent ring on right forefinger, and three rings on left\n  fourth finger\n\n  Art Gallery at Basel, Switzerland]\n\nMany of the Mycen\u00e6an engraved rings were evidently not intended to be\nused for sealing, as the intaglio is frequently very shallow, and as\nthe proper position of the parts of the body would not be rightly shown\nin an impression. Hence these rings must have been designed simply for\nwear as ornaments. The hoop is often astonishingly small, so much so\nthat it will not pass down onto the third finger-joint of an average\nman\u2019s hand, and would only fit the very slender finger of a woman.[197]\n\nSome remarkably fine rings are in the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote\nAntiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Among them\ntwo serpentine rings of gold are well worth noting. In one of these\nthe coil has six turns which are brazed together; at either end is a\nram\u2019s head. The other ring shows a serpent of two full coils, with\nerect head and curved neck and tail; scales are marked at the ends.\nThe bands of the ring are smooth and plain.[198] Many of the rings are\nof the swivel type and are set with artistically engraved scarabs. In\none of these the scarab is of green plasma, translucent but somewhat\nclouded; the cutting is well executed. The bottom shows two wrestlers,\neach entirely nude with the exception of a short ribbed apron about\nthe loins. Behind each is an erect ur\u00e6us (the serpent emblem of\nEgyptian divinities and kings), with wings like those of the goddess\nMut, extended in protection. Between the wrestlers, on the ground, is\nan object resembling a wolf\u2019s head. The bow and collet of this signet\nare of gold. The plasma scarab in another of these swivel rings has\nbeen pronounced to be a perfect example of this form. The stone is a\npure green and the scarab has been decorated with two seated, winged\nandrosphinxes (with man\u2019s head and lion\u2019s body), the paws raised before\nthe sacred tree between them; the symbol of lordship, _neb_, is\nplaced below. The hoop is a plain, thin wire.[199]\n\nTwo massive ivory rings were found in the course of excavations at\nSalamis, on the island of Cyprus. One was set with an oval disk of\ngreen glass, and was of the type used for sealing amphor\u00e6 of wine. The\nother bears the head of a woman in bas-relief; this is probably a cameo\nof Arsino\u00eb.[200]\n\nThe story of the ring of Polycrates, tyrant of Samos (d. 522 B.C.),\nis related by Herodotus[201] (b. 484 B.C.), who, writing less than a\ncentury after the death of Polycrates, may probably give us the main\nfacts with reasonable accuracy. According to this account, Polycrates\nhad formed an alliance with Amasis, King of Egypt, and the latter\nbegan to fear that the unbroken good fortune of the Samian ruler would\narouse the jealousy of the gods; he therefore counselled Polycrates to\nthrow away his most prized treasure. This was a splendid emerald, set\nin a gold ring, and engraved by Theodorus of Samos, the supreme master\nof the art of gem engraving in that age. Acceding to the request of\nAmasis, Polycrates sailed out to sea on one of his ships and cast the\nprecious ring into the waters. However, the gods refused the gift, for\nnot long afterward the tyrant\u2019s chief cook brought him back the ring,\nwhich had just been found in cutting up a fish. News of this occurrence\nwas sent to Amasis, who immediately broke off the alliance, since he\nbelieved that the gods were implacable, and would visit Polycrates with\ndownfall and destruction. This, indeed, proved to be the case, as a\nfew years later the tyrant was inveigled into the power of Or\u0153tes, a\nPersian satrap, and was put to death by crucifixion.\n\nThe design engraved upon this ring was a lyre, if we can trust\nthe statement to this effect made centuries later by Clemens\nAlexandrinus.[202] Strange to say Pliny, who relates the story quite\nfully, asserts that in the Temple of Concord there was shown the\nsupposed gem of the famous ring of Polycrates. This was an unengraved\nsardonyx, set in a golden cornucopia, and had been dedicated to the\ntemple by Augustus. Pliny is careful to write \u201cif we may believe,\u201d in\nreporting this almost certainly spurious treasure of the Temple of\nConcord. Probably the attribution was nothing more than an invention of\nthe custodians to enlist the interest of visitors.\n\nA corroboration to a certain extent of the tradition that the seal of\nPolycrates was cut on an emerald is given by the existence of a small\nengraved emerald of about this period, found in Cyprus, and evidently\nof Ph\u0153nician workmanship. It bears the figure of a sovereign holding\na sceptre in one hand and an axe in the other; on his head is a high\ntiara and the arrangement of hair and beard, as well as the dress and\nother details, are of \u00c6gypto-Syrian type. This gem formed part of the\nTyszkiewicz Collection.[203]\n\nIn a recently published work, M. Salomon Reinach, of the National\nMuseum at St. Germain-en-Laye, an arch\u00e6ologist of the highest repute,\nmakes a curious conjecture in regard to the real significance of the\nstory related by Herodotus regarding this signet. M. Reinach holds\nthat when Polycrates sailed out to sea to cast away his ring, he was\nengaged in the performance of a ceremony similar to that performed\nannually by the Doges of Venice, when they wedded the Adriatic by\ncasting a ring into its waters. Polycrates, as a \u201cthalassocrat,\u201d or\nruler of the sea, celebrated in this way his mastery over this element,\nand M. Reinach believes that this act, told as an isolated happening by\nHerodotus, was really a ceremony repeated each year. The conjecture is\nan ingenious one, although it may not be generally accepted.[204]\n\nThe signet of the Persian sovereign, Xerxes, is said to have borne\nthe nude figure of a woman with disheveled hair.[205] This depicted\nAnahita, the Persian goddess of fertilization and also of war, a\ndivinity closely resembling the Assyrian Ishtar in her attributes and\nfunctions. According to other ancient authorities, however, the design\nwas either a portrait of Xerxes himself, that of Cyrus the Great, or\nelse a representation of the horse whose neighing legend states to have\nbeen received as an omen determining the choice of Darius Hystaspes,\nfather of Xerxes, as King of Persia.\n\nIn Gr\u00e6co-Roman times, a certain Eurates is represented to be the owner\nof a ring set with an engraved signet bearing the head of the Pythian\nApollo, and to have boasted that the ring literally \u201cspoke\u201d to him. Of\ncourse, the satirist Lucian, who tells this tale, only offers it as a\nspecimen of the lies told by Eurates, still the recital indicates that\nsuch fables were credited in the second century of our era.[206]\n\nAnother superstitious use of signet rings was to throw a number of\nthem into a heap and pull out one at random, the design engraved on\nthe signet being interpreted as a favorable or unfavorable omen, which\nforetold the outcome of any contemplated action. An instance of this\nappears in Plutarch\u2019s life of Timoleon (d. 337 B.C.), the\nGreek general who freed Syracuse from the tyrant Dionysius. In one of\nhis campaigns the enemy had taken up a strong position behind a river,\nwhich the troops of Timoleon were forced to ford. A noble rivalry\nsprang up among the officers as to who should be the first to enter\nthe river, and Timoleon, fearing that confusion would result from the\ndispute, decided to settle the question by lot. Therefore he took from\neach of the officers his signet ring, cast them into his own cloak,\nshook them together, and drew out one, which fortunately bore the\nfigure of a trophy. This was hailed as a good omen, the quarrel was\nforgotten, and the stream was forded so impetuously, and the attack was\nso vigorous that the enemy was overwhelmed.[207]\n\nAfter his Persian conquests, in 331 B.C., Alexander the Great\nsealed the letters he sent to Europe with his old seal, while for\nthose sent to functionaries in his new Asiatic domains he used the\nseal of Darius III, Codomannus (reigned 336\u2013330 B.C.), whose\ndaughter Statira he afterwards wedded. Quintus Curtius regards this\nas emblematic of the idea that a single mind was not wide enough to\nembrace two such destinies,[208] but the true reason was undoubtedly\nthat the Asiatic officials were already familiar with the Persian\nsovereign\u2019s seal and were accustomed to render it due obedience.\n\nThe emblem of the anchor used by the Seleucid\u00e6, the dynasty founded\nin Syria by Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander\u2019s generals, is said to\nhave originated in a strange dream of Laodicea, mother of Seleucus and\nwife of Antiochus. One night she dreamt that she was visited by the God\nApollo, and that he bestowed upon her a ring set with a stone on which\nan anchor was engraved. This was to be given to the son she was to\nbear. As such a ring was found in the room the next morning, the dream\nseemed to be thoroughly corroborated, and, moreover, when Seleucus\nwas born, he had on his thigh the birthmark of an anchor. Subsequent\nto Alexander\u2019s death in 323 B.C., Seleucus founded, in 312\nB.C. the kingdom of Syria, which was transmitted to a long\nseries of his descendants, each of whom in turn is said to have borne a\nsimilar birthmark.[209]\n\n  [Illustration: CARDINAL OF BRANDENBURG, BY THE MASTER OF THE\n  DEATH OF MARY\n\n  Seal ring on index of right hand; rings set with precious stones\n  on fourth and little fingers of the same hand\n\n  Reale Galleria Nazionale, Rome]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF A MOTHER AND HER DAUGHTER, BY\n  BARTHOLOMEW BRUYN\n\n  Three rings on right hand, one with a pointed diamond; also three\n  rings on left hand, two on index finger; the one on the fourth\n  finger set with two pearls\n\n  Imperial Hermitage, Petrograd]\n\nIn the Hellenistic period (ca. 300 B.C.-ca. 100 B.C.) signet rings\nentirely of metal largely gave place to those in which the seal was\nengraved on a stone set in a metal ring. Chalcedony continued to be\nfreely used for this purpose, but the employment of the choicer and\nharder precious stones from India, transparent and brilliant, and of\ndeeper coloring, characterizes this period. In the front rank is the\njacinth, unknown in earlier times, with its wonderful ruddy hues. This\nis the favorite stone of the time. Usually the gem is given a strongly\nconvex form in order to bring out better the play of color. Scarcely\nless favored than the jacinths were the garnets, also cut in a convex\nshape; in many cases the under side was cut slightly concave to enhance\nthe effect. Evidently, however, garnets were less prized than jacinths,\nfor the engravings on the former are almost without exception much\ninferior to those on the latter. Sometimes, in this period, unengraved\ngarnets, cut convex, are used for ring adornment. Another precious\nstone that makes its first appearance in the Hellenistic epoch is the\nberyl, which, because of its costliness, is more rarely met with than\nthose we have already mentioned. It is only used for the very finest\nwork, as is also the case with the topaz. The amethyst, which had\nalmost gone out of fashion in the preceding periods, was now restored\nto favor, principally because of its beautiful color; like the other\nstones, it was cut convex. Rock crystal was still used, as were also\ncarnelian and sardonyx.[210]\n\nThat cruel persecutor of the Jews, Antiochus IV, Epiphanes (175\u2013164\nB.C.), on his death-bed, confided to his most trusted councillor,\nPhilip, the signet ring from his finger, that it might be held in\ntrust for his son, a child but nine years old, until the latter should\ncome of age and exercise the royal authority. In the meanwhile, the\ngrant of the signet was equivalent to the bestowal of the regency upon\nPhilip, as he had the power to affix the royal seal upon all edicts or\nordinances. The son did not, however, live to receive the ring, as he\nonly survived his father two years, although he was a nominal successor\nunder the title, Antiochus V, Eupator.[211]\n\nTwo Greek epigrams in the Anthology, on engraved amethysts in signet\nrings, express the prevailing superstition regarding the sobering\neffect of this precious stone; these have been very well Englished by\nRev. C. W. King.[212] One, by Antipater, concerns a signet of Cleopatra\nand runs in King\u2019s version as follows:\n\n    A M\u0153nad wild, on amethyst I stand,\n    The engraving truly of a skilful hand;\n    A subject foreign to the sober stone,\n    But Cleopatra claims it for her own;\n    And hallow\u2019d by her touch, the nymph so free\n    Must quit her drunken mood, and sober be.\n\nThat this was really a ring-stone is proved by the Greek words \u201con the\nqueen\u2019s hand,\u201d which King has not literally translated. The image was\nthat of Methe, goddess of intoxication. The other epigram is shorter\nbut to the same point:\n\n    On wineless gem, I, toper Bacchus, reign;\n    Learn, stone, to drink, or teach me to abstain.\n\nThat admiration of a work of art on the part of an unscrupulous\nofficial is sometimes fraught with danger for the rightful ownership\nof the object, was illustrated in the case of a seal ring belonging\nto a Roman citizen of Agrigentum in Sicily. The arch-pilferer Verres,\nRoman governor of the island from 73 to 71 B.C., being on\none occasion struck by the beauty of a seal impression on a letter\njust handed to his interpreter Vitellius, asked whence the letter\ncame and who was the sender. The information was of course quickly\ngiven, and thereupon Verres, then in Syracuse, dictated a letter to\nhis representative in Agrigentum, requiring that the seal ring should\nbe forwarded to Syracuse without delay, and the owner, a certain\nLucius Titius, was forced to give it up to the unscrupulous Roman\ngovernor.[213] The injustice of this act must have been felt all the\nmore keenly that the special and peculiar design on a seal was then\nregarded as something closely linked with the personality of the owner.\n\nA strong appeal to the memories aroused by a signet bearing the effigy\nof a renowned ancestor, was made by Cicero in one of his orations\nagainst Catilina. He declared that when he submitted to Publius\nLentulus Sura, who was involved in the great Catilinian conspiracy, an\nincriminating letter believed to be his, asking him whether he did not\nacknowledge the seal with which it was stamped, Lentulus nodded assent.\nThereupon Cicero addressed him in these words: \u201cIn effect the seal is\nwell known, it is the image of your ancestor, whose sole love was for\nhis country and his fellow-citizens. Mute as it is, this image should\nhave sufficed to hold you aloof from such a crime.\u201d[214]\n\nWhen, after the decisive battle of Pharsala, Julius C\u00e6sar came to Egypt\nin pursuit of his defeated adversary, Pompey, he learned that the\nlatter had been treacherously assassinated by the Egyptians, who hoped\nthereby to gain favor with the conqueror. As proof of Pompey\u2019s death,\nhis head was brought to C\u00e6sar, who turned away in aversion from the\nmessenger of death. At the same time, Pompey\u2019s signet ring was given\nto the victor, on receiving which tears rose to his eyes,[215] for no\nmemento could be more potent than such a ring. C\u00e6sar\u2019s manifestation\nof grief was absolutely free from hypocrisy for he was \u201cof a noble\ngenerous nature,\u201d and had long had the most friendly relations with\nPompey, to whom he gave his daughter Julia in marriage, until the\ninevitable rivalry for the control of Rome brought them into enmity.\nThe death of Julia is said to have contributed not a little to the\ntermination of the friendship between C\u00e6sar and Pompey.\n\nSt. Ambrose answering the self-posed query, whether anyone having an\nimage of a tyrant was liable to punishment, asserts that he remembered\nto have read that certain persons who wore rings bearing the effigies\nof Brutus and Cassius, the assassins of C\u00e6sar, had been condemned to\ncapital punishment.[216] Of course, the wearing of such a ring would\nimply not only an admiration of the person figured, but also devotion\nto his cause.\n\nThe imprint of a proprietor\u2019s seal was frequently made upon his trees,\nand served to establish his ownership, so that strangers could have no\nexcuse for cutting them down, or in case of fruit trees, for plucking\nthe fruit. The degree of confidence reposed in the seal impression\nis strikingly illustrated by the account that when Pompey learned\nthat some of his soldiers were committing atrocities on the march,\nhe ordered that all their swords should be sealed, and no one should\nremove the impression without having obtained permission to do so.[217]\n\nThe symbols used as mint-marks on ancient coins are often reproductions\nof the seals of the chief magistrate of the city or district, or else\nof the mint-master. Among these may be noted such types as: a locust,\na calf\u2019s head, a dancing Satyr, a young male head, a culex (gnat),\netc.[218] A ring as a mint-mark on early English coins is a clear\nindication that such coins were struck in one of the ecclesiastical\nmints. On a penny of Stephen\u2019s reign (1135\u20131154), from the Archbishop\nof York\u2019s mint, this mint-mark has been made by converting the left\nleaf of the fleur-de-lys surmounting the sceptre into a small annulet.\nThe ring-mark appears on the coins of York from the earliest times, and\nis assumed to have been especially favored for the English Primate\u2019s\nmint in reference to the Ring of St. Peter, or the Fisherman\u2019s Ring. A\npenny, probably coined after the installation of Archbishop William in\n1141, appears to be one of the earliest of this type. The reverse gives\nUlf as the name of the coiner or moneyer.[219]\n\nWhile none of the signet rings of Roman emperors, or even of Romans\nprominent in the social or political life of the centuries immediately\npreceding and succeeding the beginning of the Christian Era, have\nbeen preserved, it is possible to learn from literary sources the\ndevices engraved on many of them. Scipio Africanus, the conqueror of\nHannibal, had his father\u2019s portrait engraved on his signet, and his son\nfollowed the father\u2019s example in this respect. The idea seems to be an\nexcellent one, as both family honor and filial love could thus find\nexpression. The gifted, but dissolute Sylla, in the first design he had\ncut upon his signet, sought to perpetuate the memory of his victory\nover Jugurtha in 107 B.C., the Mauritanian king Bocchus being\ndepicted in the act of surrendering Jugurtha. Later on Sylla used a\nsignet with three trophies, and finally selected one with a portrait of\nAlexander the Great. For Lucullus, the great gourmet and master of all\nthe arts of Roman luxury, the head of Ptolemy, King of Egypt, seemed\nthe design best fitted for his signet.\n\nThe two great rivals, Pompey and C\u00e6sar, chose widely divergent symbols.\nThe former wore a signet engraved with a lion bearing a sword, while\non C\u00e6sar\u2019s ring was cut an armed Venus, the Venus Victrix, from whom\nthe gens Julia claimed descent, and for whose statue C\u00e6sar is said to\nhave brought pearls from Britain to be set on the statue\u2019s breastplate.\nThe first choice made by Augustus was a sphinx, in symbolical allusion\nto his taciturnity; later in his reign he wore a signet with Alexander\nthe Great\u2019s head engraved thereon, and finally, moved perhaps by\nthe flatteries of his adulators, he substituted his own image for\nthat of the great Macedonian. The famous literary patron of the\nAugustan Age, M\u00e6cenas (d. 8 A.D.), who was at the same time\na very able statesman, chose the singular emblem of a frog. That the\nbloodthirsty Nero should select a design figuring a martyrdom seems\nvery appropriate, and in the flaying of Marsyas by Apollo cut on his\nring, he undoubtedly identified himself with the sun god and leader of\nthe muses who took vengeance upon his would-be rival in the musical\nart. For Nero was a most devoted amateur of the arts as he understood\nthem, and had sung--in a strained, high-pitched voice it is said--in\nthe theatres of Greece, earning applause enough from the wily Greeks\nwe may be sure. Actuated by jealousy, he is said to have had the singer\nMenedemus whipped, and to have warmly applauded his \u201cmelodious\u201d cries\nof agony, evidently rejoicing in having forced him to \u201csing another\nsong.\u201d\n\nGalba (3\u201369 B.C.), Nero\u2019s immediate successor, is said to have\nused successively three signets, the first depicting a dog bending its\nhead beneath the prow of a ship; this was followed by a ring showing a\nVictory with a trophy, and lastly came one bearing the effigies of his\nancestors. As his reign of less than a year seems too short for us to\nsuppose that all these changes were made in that time, perhaps only the\nlast-mentioned ring was the one he used as emperor. Commodus (161\u2013192\nA.D.), the unworthy son of the philosopher-emperor, Marcus\nAurelius, had the figure of an Amazon engraved for his signet, this\nchoice having been made, so it is said, because of the pleasure he took\nin seeing his mistress Martia dressed in this way.\n\nAugustus C\u00e6sar reposed such unlimited confidence in his son-in-law,\nAgrippa, and in his friend and finance minister, M\u00e6cenas, that he was\nin the habit of confiding his letters to them for correction, and\ngave them permission to send off the corrected letters, bearing the\nstamp of his signet which he had deposited in their charge, without\nsubmitting them again to him. Similar trust was reposed by Vespasian in\nMutianus.[220]\n\nThe seal was stamped on a linen band passed around the closed tablets\non the inside surfaces of which the letter had been written. The\nimpression, made when the ends of the band were joined, was either\nupon wax, soft viscous earth, or even on a mixture of chalk; this\nwas commonly moistened with saliva before the signet was used, so\nthat the engraved stone might not adhere to the imprint and could\nbe easily taken off. The bearer of such a letter fully realized his\nresponsibility for its delivery with unbroken seal, and generally\ntook pains to have this duly recognized by the person to whom it was\naddressed.[221] The personal seal was also impressed, both in Roman\ntimes and later, upon all documents private or public. In the case\nof private documents the strictly guarded individuality of the seal\nreally afforded a very considerable guarantee of the genuineness of a\ndocument. A survival of this is the common little red seal attached\nnow-a-days to legal documents, necessary to their validity it is true,\nbut giving no possible confirmation of the signature. This latter was\nin fact represented by the design of the old signets.\n\nThe \u201cDream Book\u201d of Artemidorus relates as an especially direful\nvision, that of one who dreamed his signet ring had dropped from his\nfinger, and that the engraved stone set therein had broken into many\nfragments, the result of this being that he could transact no business\nfor forty-five days,[222] presumably until he could have a new signet\nengraved. For the impression of the individual signet was indispensable\nto give validity to any order or agreement.\n\n  [Illustration: Two brass rings. Roman. 1, set with an inscribed\n  agate,; 2, key-ring, set with an engraved onyx\n\n  Gorl\u00e6us, Dactyliotheca, Delphis Bat., 1601]\n\n  [Illustration: Two gold rings, with onyx gems. Roman. 1, engraved\n  with seated figure of Ceres; 2, design of dove bringing back the\n  olive branch to the Ark\n\n  Gorl\u00e6us, Dactyliotheca, Delphis Bat., 1601]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  Two bronze rings excavated at the Borough Field, Chesterford,\n  Essex, 1848. Late Roman.\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  Bone ring with grotesque mask carved on bezel. Found near the\n  amphitheatre at Lyons, France. Roman.\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Roman gold rings of the Fourth Century\n  A.D. 1, set with plasma bead; 2, double ring, set with\n  garnets; 3, gold hoop composed of a plain band on either side\n  of a wavy band; set with a convex plasma; 4. set with convex\n  almandine intaglio\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  Ornamental gold ring from Wiston, Sussex, England, set with a\n  dark amethyst\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  Silver ring. On bezel engraved design of a bird approaching a\n  fallen stag. About Fifth Century A.D.\n\n  British Museum]\n\nThe Jewish historian Josephus cites, as an example of\nabsent-mindedness, that when the Roman senator Cneius Sentius\nSaturninus arose in the senate and pronounced a fiery harangue on\nthe death of Caligula, urging the senators to regain their former\nliberties of which they had been robbed, he quite forgot that he wore\non his hand a ring set with a stone on which the head of the detested\ntyrant was cut. His fellow senator, Trebellius Maximus, remarking it,\nhowever, snatched it from his finger, and the stone was crushed to\npieces.[223]\n\nHow common in ancient Rome was the use of a signet ring to seal up the\nprovision rooms in a household, is shown by a passage in the \u201cCasina\u201d\nof the comic poet Plautus, written about 200 B.C., where\nCleopatra on leaving her home to visit a neighbor, directs her slaves\nto seal these rooms and bring her ring back to her.[224]\n\nOf the betrothal ring, Clemens Alexandrinus says that it was not given\nas an ornament, but for sealing objects in the conjugal domicile. As\nthe husband\u2019s signet ring was often used in a similar way, it was\nquite customary to bequeath it to a wife or a daughter. An example of\nthis appears in the case of Emperor Aurelian (214\u2013275 A.D.)\nwho left his seal ring to his wife and daughter jointly, the Latin\nhistorian adding that in so doing he was acting \u201cjust like a private\ncitizen.\u201d[225]\n\nA curious subject was chosen for his signet-ring by a native of\nIntercatia in Spain. His father had been killed in a single combat by\nthe Roman leader Scipio \u00c6milius, and it was this scene that the son had\nengraved upon his ring. When Stilo Preconinus related this fact in Rome\nhe laughingly demanded of his hearers what they supposed the Spaniard\nwould have done if his father had killed Scipio instead of being\nkilled by him.[226]\n\nIn the Roman world the custom of removing the rings in case of death is\nnoted by Pliny, who says that they were taken from the fingers of those\nin the comatose state of the dying; the rings were often replaced after\ndeath.[227] An instance in point is noted by Suetonius, who reports\nthat when Tiberius became unconscious, and was believed to be about\nto die, his seal ring was slipped from his finger, but on regaining\nconsciousness the emperor demanded that it should be replaced.[228] To\nhave a ring drop from the finger was regarded as a bad omen, and when\nan accident of this kind happened to Emperor Hadrian, he is said to\nhave exclaimed: \u201cThis is a sign of death.\u201d The ring which fell from his\nfinger bore a gem engraved with his own image.\n\nThe elegy of Propertius (49\u201315? B.C.) on the \u201cShade of Cynthia,\u201d gives\nproof that a valuable ring was often left on the hand of the corpse\nwhen it was burned on the funeral pyre. The Latin verses describing the\napparition may be thus rendered in prose:[229]\n\n\u201cShe still had the same eyes and hair as when on the funeral couch; but\nher garments had been burned away. The flame had destroyed the beryl\nwhich used to grace her finger, and the infernal stream had discolored\nher lips.\u201d\n\nThe sense of intimate connection between a valued ring and the wearer,\nfinds expression in Shakespeare\u2019s lines (Cymbeline Act I, sc. 5):\n\n    My ring I hold dear as my finger; \u2019tis part of it.\n\nAnd if we go back 2200 years to a far distant quarter of the globe we\nmeet with the same feeling of intimate connection in the inspired\nwords of the Hebrew prophet Jeremiah (xxii, 24):\n\n _As_ I live, saith the Lord, though Coniah the son of\n Jehoiakim King of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet\n would I pluck thee hence.\n\nThe prophet Haggai (chap. ii, verse 23) uses the designation signet to\nindicate a specially chosen instrument, in the following words:\n\nIn that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel,\nmy servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as\na signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\nThe Freemasons have adopted the signet of Zerubbabel as one of the\nsymbols of the Royal Arch, the seventh masonic degree.[230]\n\nThe monogram of Christ appears on a signet made for a Christian lady of\nRoman times, \u00c6lia Valeria. Of this sacred symbol St. John Chrysostom\nwrote that the Christians of his time always inscribed it at the\nbeginning of their letters, and he gives as a reason for this that\nwherever the name of God appeared there was nothing but happiness.\nUndoubtedly the shape of the Greek X (Ch), forming part of this\nmonogram, suggested a form of the cross, and gave an added significance\nto the monogram, especially in view of Chrysostom\u2019s statement that the\nChristians of his time painted or engraved a cross on their houses and\nmade the sign of the cross over their foreheads and their hearts.[231]\n\nClemens Alexandrinus in the second century tells us that men were\nrequired to wear the seal ring on the little finger, as worn in this\nway it would interfere least with the use of the hand, and would be\nbest protected from injury and loss.[232] While, however, fashion must\nhave dictated to a great extent the finger on which a seal ring was\nto be worn, we should bear in mind that any particular custom in this\nmatter was not constant, and that individual preferences must often\nhave determined the finger chosen to bear the seal ring. This diversity\nis attested by the differing statements of the old writers, as well as\nby the rare examples offered by ancient statues and paintings.\n\nOne of the rare ivory rings in the British Museum is a signet the\nbezel of which bears an engraved design of Christ on the Cross, with\nthe Virgin and St. John on either side. The legend is the motto of\nConstantine the Great: In hoc signo vinces. The hoop of this ring,\nwhich was found in Suffolk, has been restored at the back. The figures\nare very rudely engraved for a production of the sixteenth century.[233]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  Bronze signet-ring, Byzantine, two views and impression. The\n  abbreviated Greek inscription reads: \u201cMay the Lord help his\n  servant Stephan\u201d\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Bronze signet ring. European. Fifteenth Century\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Silver ring, broken at the back. Bezel bears\n  letter \u201cT\u201d crowned. Fifteenth Century\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  Ivory signet ring, with impression. On the carved bezel, the\n  Crucifixion, between the Virgin and St. John; legend: \u201c_In hoc\n  signo vinces_,\u201d motto of the Emperor Constantine\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  Bronze signet. The octagonal bezel is engraved with a greyhound\u2019s\n  head, and a rather obscure inscription. Ring and impression of\n  signet. Fifteenth Century\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Gold signet ring, engraved with a lion rampant;\n  beneath, a star. Ring and impression. Sixteenth Century\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  Massive gold ring; bezel engraved with a lion passant regardant,\n  and the legend: \u201cNow is thus.\u201d English, late Fifteenth Century.\n  Ring and impression of signet\n\n  British Museum]\n\nIt appears to have been an ancient usage in some parts of the Christian\nworld to use two signet rings in connection with the baptismal\nceremonies. One of these was employed to seal up the font, or else the\nbaptistry, while the other was used to affix a seal upon the profession\nof faith made by the neophyte, this profession being later entered on a\npublic register. Some of the ecclesiastical writers saw the origin of\nthe first-named ring in the text (Cant. iv, 12):\n\n A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a\n fountain sealed.[234]\n\nA recognition that at the beginning of the sixth century A.D.\nbishops were in possession of signet rings is offered by a circular\nletter addressed by Clovis I, in 511 A.D., after his victory\nover the Visigoths at Vougl\u00e9, to the bishops of the many cities that\ncame under his domination as the fruits of this success. He informs\nthe bishops that he will free all prisoners, either clerical or lay,\nfor whom this favor shall be asked in letters \u201csealed with your ring.\u201d\nThis, however, only confirms the other testimony to the effect that the\nbishops had signets, but does not suffice to establish the existence at\nthis time of rings given to them at their consecration as symbols of\ntheir office.[235]\n\nThe French kings of the Merovingian age stamped upon their royal\ndocuments the design engraved on their signet rings, the accompanying\nformula being frequently as follows: \u201cBy the impress of our ring we\ncorroborate (_roborari fecimus_)\u201d; slightly different forms appear\nsometimes. The following list gives, with the dates, a number of seal\nimpressions that have been found on such documents:[236]\n\n    Childebert I, 528 A.D.\n    Sigebert I, 545, A.D.\n    Childeric I, 583 A.D.\n    Dagobert I, 629, 631\u2013632, 635 A.D.\n    Childeric II, 664 A.D.\n    Thierry III, 673 A.D.\n    Dagobert II, 675 A.D.\n    Charles Martel (mayor of the palace), 724 A.D.\n    Pepin le Bref (mayor of the palace), 748 and 751 A.D.\n    Pepin le Bref, king, 755 and 768 A.D.\n\nIn the Carolingian period, Charlemagne and his successors continued the\nuse of the same formulas.\n\nThe possession of signet rings by well-born women, although not usual\nin Roman times, became quite common in the early Middle Ages, under the\ninfluence of the Germanic peoples, which accorded to woman a much more\nimportant station than did the Romans or Gallo-Romans. Among the relics\nof the Merovingian period that have been preserved to our day, is the\nring of Berteildis, one of the wives of Dagobert I (602?-638).[237]\nIt is of silver and is inscribed with the name of the queen and the\nmonogram of the word _regina_.[238] A document from the time of\nChilderic II, dated in 637, shows impressions of two queenly signets,\none that of Emnechildis, wife of Sigebert II, King of Austrasia\nand guardian of Childeric, and the other belonging to Blichildis,\nChilderic\u2019s wife.\n\nIn the tomb of the Frankish king Childeric I (458\u2013481 A.D.),\naccidentally discovered at Tournai in 1653, in an ancient cemetery\nof the parish church of St. Brica, were found a number of valuable\nrelics of this sovereign, among them his signet ring. After having\nbeen taken to Vienna by Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, then governor of the\nLow Countries, the treasure came, after his death, into the Imperial\nCabinet there. In 1665 the Archbishop of Mayence secured from Emperor\nLeopold I permission to offer it to Louis XIV. In July of this year\nthe precious objects were transmitted to the French king and were\ndeposited in the Cabinet de M\u00e9dailles, recently constituted in the\nLouvre. Shortly afterward, they were transferred to the Biblioth\u00e8que du\nRoi, and were safely preserved in this institution, under its changing\nnames, until 1831, when the ring and other of the Childeric relics,\nas well as a number of other historic objects, were stolen from the\nlibrary. The ring was never recovered. Fortunately there exists a very\nexact description and a figuration of the ring in an account of the\ntreasure published in 1655, at Antwerp, by Jean Jacques Chifflet, first\nphysician of the Archduke.[239] The ring, which is of massive gold,\nbears a large oval bezel on which is engraved the bust, full face.\nThe sovereign is beardless, with long hair parted in the middle and\nhanging down to his shoulders. The bust is garbed in Roman style; on\nthe tunic may be seen a decorative plaque. The king\u2019s right hand holds\na lance which rests on his shoulder, as may be observed in the imperial\nmedals of Constantine II, Theodosius II, and their successors. The\nlegend, in the genitive case, _Childerici Regis_, presupposes the\nword _signum_ or _sigillum_, as the ring was unquestionably\na signet. M. Deloche considers it probable that it was made on the\noccasion of Childeric\u2019s marriage with Basnia, Queen of Thuringia, who\nhad abandoned her native land and her husband to wed the Frankish\nsovereign. Clovis I (481\u2013511) was the offspring of this union. Although\nthe original has been lost there has fortunately been preserved an\nimprint from it on the margin of a manuscript in the Biblioth\u00e8que de\nSainte Genevi\u00e8ve; of the entire ring there is the carefully executed\ndrawing made for Chifflet\u2019s work.[240]\n\nIn many cases the Carolingian monarchs rendered their signets, set with\nantique gems, significant of their own personality by having their\nnames engraved around the setting. In this way Carloman (741\u2013747)\nutilized an antique gem showing a female bust with hair tied in a\nknot, while Charlemagne\u2019s choice was a gem engraved with the head of\nMarcus Aurelius; at a later time he substituted for this one bearing\nthe head of the Alexandrian god Serapis. It is noteworthy that there\nis a great likeness between the portraits of Antoninus Pius and the\ntype chosen for Serapis. Louis I, le Debonnaire (814\u2013840), selected\na portrait of Antoninus Pius, and his son, Lothaire, Roman emperor,\n840\u2013855 A.D., a gem with Caracalla\u2019s head, the choice being no\ninappropriate one in view of Lothaire\u2019s weak and treacherous character.\nRev. C. W. King conjectures that the selection of the particular head\nmay have depended upon its resemblance, more or less close, to the\nfeatures of the monarch, as even though the likeness should not be very\nexact, the work would surpass anything that the unskilful gem-cutters\nof this age could produce.[241]\n\nOf the seal of the Prophet Mohammed, we are told by Ibn Kaldoun that\nwhen he was about to send a letter to the Emperor Heraclius, his\nattention was called to the fact that no letter would be received by a\nforeign potentate unless it bore the impression of the Prophet\u2019s seal.\nMohammed therefore had a seal made of silver, bearing the inscription\n\u201c_Mohammed ras\u00fbl Allah_,\u201d \u201cMohammed the Apostle of God\u201d; these\nthree words, according to Al-Bokhari, were disposed in three lines.\nThe Prophet made use of this seal and forbade the making of any one\nlike it. After his death it was employed by his successors, Abu Bekr,\nOmar and Othman, but the last-named unluckily let it fall from his\nhand into the well of Aris, whose depth it had never been possible to\nmeasure. A duplicate was executed to replace the original, but its\nloss was greatly deplored, and was looked upon as a possible presage\nof ill-fortune.[242] The title inscribed upon it was prouder in its\nsimplicity than that assumed by any other ruler, not excepting those\nwho claimed for themselves a divine ancestry, or divine attributes.\nThese could at most pretend to rank as divinities of a lower order,\nwhile Mohammed claimed to be the mouthpiece of the one and only God.\n\nBurton writes that it is \u201ca tradition of the Prophet\u201d that the\ncarnelian is the best stone for a signet ring, and this is still the\nusage among Mohammedans in the Orient. In the Arabian tale entitled\n\u201cHistory of Al Hajjaj ben Yusuf and the Young Sayyed,\u201d we read that the\nsignet should be of carnelian because the stone was a guard against\npoverty.[243]\n\nSome Arabic signets bore peculiarly apt inscriptions. One of these\nreads: \u201cCorrespondence is only a half-joy,\u201d a delicate piece of\nflattery for the recipient of a letter bearing this seal. Another\nsignet gives the following very necessary warning to the person to\nwhom the letter is addressed, should it happen to contain something\nwhich ought not to be revealed. \u201cIf more than two know it, the secret\nis out.\u201d[244] Such inscriptions are certainly more significant than a\nmotto of less special meaning.\n\nIn an essay on Arabic signets, Hammer-Purgstall[245] calls attention\nto a fundamental distinction between talismans and signets. With the\nformer, the inscription is engraved so that it may be read as it\nstands, while with the latter the characters are reversed so that only\nthe impression gives them in their proper order. Besides this, the\ntalismans rarely contain the wearer\u2019s name, which is the most essential\npart of the signet. Nevertheless, there can be little doubt that in\nmany cases the signet was at the same time a talisman.\n\nThat lovers--even Mohammedan lovers--in the seventeenth century,\nhad romantic designs engraved upon seal rings, is illustrated by\nwhat Garzoni relates concerning the seal ring of \u201cMahometh Bassa.\u201d\nThis bore the figure of a silk-worm upon a mulberry leaf, the design\ncommemorating the wearer\u2019s love for a Moorish girl, and signifying that\nhe drew his life from her as did the silk-worm from the leaf.[246]\n\nTavernier relates that in his time, the last half of the seventeenth\ncentury, the secret treasure of the Sultans in Constantinople was\nguarded in an innermost treasure-chamber of the Serail. This chamber\nwas only opened at intervals to receive the surplus gold that had been\ncollected from the Empire or received in any way, when the total sum\nhad reached 18,000,000 livres (over $7,000,000] according to the value\nof the livre in Tavernier\u2019s day). The gold was contained in sacks, each\nof which held 15,000 ducats. When an addition to the treasure was to be\ndeposited, the Sultan himself led the way to the treasure-chamber and\nstamped his seal, with his own hand, on red wax spread over the knot\nof the cord with which the sack was secured. This seal was engraved on\nthe bezel of a gold ring and constituted no design, but simply the name\nof the reigning sovereign, the characters being probably intricately\ncombined in the elaborate and cryptic manner used in the case of the\nimperial name and titles.[247]\n\nA Byzantine signet ring of the sixth or seventh century of our era, in\nthe British Museum, shows the head of Christ, beneath which bending\nfigures of two angels in profound adoration are depicted. Angel-figures\nalmost exactly similar may be seen in Byzantine ivory carvings of this\nlater period, the type evidently being one of those rigidly defined\nin the hieratic art of the school. With this ring were found coins of\nHeraclius (610\u2013641), the Greek emperor in whose reign fell the death\nof Mohammed (June 8, 632) and the overthrow of the Sassanian Persian\nmonarchy by the Mohammedans.[248]\n\nHow important the possession of a royal seal-ring was considered to\nbe, as proving the title of a successor, appears in the story that at\nthe death-bed of Alexius Comnenus (1084\u20131118), Emperor of the East,\nwhen the son and rightful successor, John Comnenus, perceived that his\nmother Irene was working to exclude him from the throne and to seat\nthereon his blue-stocking sister Anna, he took off the imperial ring\nfrom the hand of his dying father and thus ensured for himself the\ntitle to the Eastern Empire.[249]\n\nSaint Bernard of Clairvaux (1091\u20131153), the enthusiastic preacher of\nthe Second Crusade in 1147, excuses himself in some of his letters\nthat he has failed to seal them, because he could not lay his hand on\nhis signet. In a letter to Pope Eugene III, the saint complains that\nseveral spurious letters bearing his name have been circulated, sealed\nwith a counterfeit seal; he also notifies the pontiff that from this\ntime his letters will bear a new seal, on which will be his portrait\nand his name.[250]\n\nWell-to-do merchants of medi\u00e6val times, not entitled to armorial\nbearings, often had special individual marks or symbols engraved\nupon their signets. This custom obtained on the continent as well\nas in England, and allusion is made in the Old English poem of the\nfourteenth century, \u201cPiers Plowman,\u201d to \u201cmerchantes merkes ymedeled\nin glasse.\u201d[251] Probably emblems of this kind came to have a certain\nassociation with the business which in many cases descended from\nfather to son through a number of generations.\n\nA royal signet ring once believed to be that of Saint Louis (Louis\nIX, 1214\u20131270) and long preserved in the treasury of St. Denis, as an\nobject of reverent care, is now in the Louvre Museum. The fact that\nthe crescent is introduced as a symbol fails to connect the ring with\nthe Crusader St. Louis, as this symbol was not used by the Saracens of\nhis time, but was only adopted as a Mohammedan device after the Turks\ncaptured Constantinople, the crescent having been a recognised symbol\nin ancient times in Byzantium long before the city came to be called\nConstantinople.[252]\n\nThe engraved stone in the ring is a table-cut sapphire, the monarch\nbeing figured standing, with a nimbus around his head; he is crowned\nand bears a sceptre. The letters S L on the stone have been interpreted\nto mean rather _sigillum Ludovici_ than _Sanctus Ludovicus_,\nand one critic suggests the possibility that it may have been executed\nin Constantinople, in Byzantine times, for Louis VII, who was there\nin 1147, and was received with high honors by Manuel Comnenus,\nthe Greek emperor\u2019s courtesy being rather bred of fear of French\naggression than of affection for the French crusader. As we have good\nevidence that gem-cutting was not practised at this time in France,\nit seems plausible enough that Louis VII should have availed himself\nof this opportunity to have a signet engraved for him by a Greek\ngem-cutter.[253]\n\nThe signet ring of King Charles V of France (1337\u20131380) was set with\nan Oriental ruby on which was engraved \u201cthe bearded head of a king.\u201d\nThis signet was used by King Charles to seal the letters written by\nhis own hand. The somewhat vague description in the inventory suggests\nthat this may have been an antique gem, the supposedly royal head being\nthat of some Greek divinity. The art of engraving on such hard stones\nas the ruby does not seem to have been practised in the thirteenth or\nfourteenth centuries, the revival of this art belonging to a later\nperiod. Evidently the head was not that of Charles himself or of any\nof his predecessors, for, had this been the case the inventory would\nhardly fail to note the fact.[254]\n\nWhen a certain Bratilos was sent as a messenger by the eastern emperor\nCantacuzene (1341\u20131355) to his empress Irene, to announce the outbreak\nof a dangerous revolt, he bore a sealed letter from the emperor.[255]\nWhile on his journey, however, he began to fear that he might be\nwaylaid and robbed of the important document. This peril he effectively\nprovided against by memorizing the letter and then destroying it, after\nhe had removed the wax impression of the imperial signet, which he\ncould safely guard in his mouth, and which served to accredit him when\nhe came before the empress.[256] Not long afterward Cantacuzene was\ndefeated and deposed by John V, Pal\u00e6ologus, and retired to a monastery,\nwhere he lived until 1411, composing a history of his own times in his\nleisure moments; his wife also took the religious vows under the name\nof Eugenia.\n\nMuch has been written about the ring or rather the engraved seal of\nMichelangelo. This gem enjoyed such high esteem that it was very often\ncopied, the copies sometimes acquiring the repute of being originals.\nFour of them, two in paste, one in amethyst, and one in carnelian,\nexist in Denmark, the two latter having the dimensions of the original\ngem. The copy in carnelian--the stone in which the original was cut--is\nexceptionally well executed.[257] The original seal is now in the\nBiblioth\u00eaque Nationale in Paris and came into the possession of Louis\nXIV in 1680. The king wore it set in a ring.\n\nIt was brought to France in 1600 by a Sieur Bigarris, director of the\nMint, and its history was at the time traced back to Agosto Tassi,\ngoldsmith in Bologna, to whom Michelangelo had bequeathed it. The gem\nwas the work of Pier Maria di Pescia, and bears his symbolic signature,\na boy fishing (_pescia_, fishing). The dimensions are given as 15\nmm. by 11 mm., the form being oval, and in this restricted space is a\ndesign embracing twelve human figures, two genii, a horse, a goat and\na tree. Two of the figures appear to have been copied from a detail of\nMichelangelo\u2019s Sistine Chapel frescoes: a woman helping another woman\nto place a basket of grapes upon her head. Watelet and Levesque in\ntheir \u201c_Dictionnaire des Arts_\u201d published in 1791, characterize\nthis seal as \u201cthe most beautiful engraved gem known.\u201d\n\nThe Royal Collection at Windsor Castle contains a gold ring set with\na cameo portrait of Louis XII, of France (1498\u20131515), cut in a pale\nruby of clear lustre. The work is believed to have been executed during\nthe lifetime of the king, and was considered by Rev. C. W. King to be\nthe earliest Renaissance portrait cut on a stone of the hardness of\na ruby. He regarded it as a work of the famous Renaissance gem-cutter\nDomenico dei Camei, this artist having engraved a portrait of the\nMilanese duke Ludovico Sforza, surnamed Il Moro, on the same hard\nmaterial. The gold plate at the back of the bezel holding the gem bears\nthe inscription \u201cLoys XII^{me} Roy de France d\u00e9c\u00e9da I Janvier, 1515,\u201d\nthe stone having been set in the ring at some time after the monarch\u2019s\ndeath.[258]\n\nThis collection also contains an imperfect specimen of a squirt-ring.\nThe hoop is of enamelled gold set with a garnet engraved in relief\nwith a mask or bacchic head finely executed by a sixteenth-century\nartist. The hole at the base of the hoop, with its internal screw-worm,\nindicates that it was once provided with a squirt for projecting\nperfumed liquids.[259]\n\nA sixteenth-century portrait by the German painter, Conrad Faber,\ndepicts a well-to-do burgher, possibly a burgomaster, who wears a seal\nring on the index finger of his left hand and a ring with a precious\nstone setting on the fourth finger of the same hand. In this hand he\nholds something which may be a staff of office; it is surmounted by\nan octagonal block of ebony in which is inlaid a medallion figuring\nSt. George and the Dragon. The city, as carefully delineated in the\nbackground as in the finest of engravings, appears to be one of the\nhistoric Rhine cities, and is evidently that with which the sitter was\nidentified.\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF A MAN, BY THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY GERMAN\n  PAINTER, CONRAD FABER\n\n  Seal ring on index of left hand, sapphire-set ring on fourth\n  finger of this hand, which holds what seems to be a wand or staff\n  of office, surmounted by an octagonal ebony block, with inserted\n  medallion of St. George and the Dragon\n\n  Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Kennedy Fund, 1912]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF BENEDIKT VON HERTENSTEIN, BY HANS\n  HOLBEIN\n\n  Showing seal ring on index finger, two rings on third finger, and\n  three on little finger of left hand\n\n  Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]\n\n  [Illustration: MAN AND WOMAN AT A CASEMENT\n\n  The woman wears three rings (sapphire, ruby and some other stone)\n  on the index of right hand, and two on the middle finger of this\n  hand, one of them on the second joint. The young man has a large\n  oval topaz on the little finger of his left hand. Florentine,\n  Fifteenth Century\n\n  Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]\n\nFor signet rings, antique gems continued to be those most favored\nuntil the Renaissance period, and even to a considerable extent during\nthis period. However, the development and elaboration of the science\nof heraldry and the great importance accorded to the possession\nof armorial bearings soon induced the engraving of these upon the\nsignets, in preference to using antique gems or copying their types.\nIn Elizabeth\u2019s reign and in those of her immediate successors, it\nis believed that scarcely a gentleman was to be found who did not\nown and wear a signet ring on which appeared his coat-of-arms. Those\nnot fortunate enough to have the right to display armorial bearings,\nsometimes sought to make their signets individual by using as designs\nrebuses expressing more or less well the pronunciation of their\nnames.[260]\n\nArms were sometimes blazoned on rings by enamel applied to the base\nof a setting; thus the arms engraved on a rock-crystal or a white\nsapphire, would appear with their proper hues, the colors showing\nthrough the transparent stone, and their effect being heightened by the\nbrilliant medium. A fine example of this kind of ring is one made for\nJean Sans-Peur, Duke of Burgundy (1401\u20131419); another is the signet\nring of Mary, Queen of Scots, now in the British Museum.[261]\n\nBequests of signets to near relatives occur not infrequently in wills\nof the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, as for example in that of\nJohn Horton, dated 1565, wherein appears the following: \u201cItem, I give\nunto my brother Anthony Horton, for a token, my golde ringe w^{th}\nthe seale of myne armes, desirenge him to be good to my wiffe and\nmy childringe as my trust is in him.\u201d Besides this seal ring, the\ntestator willed \u201ca golde ringe w^{th} a turkes [turquoise] in it\u201d to\nhis \u201csingular good Lord the Lord Eueerye,\u201d with a plea for friendship\ntoward his wife and children. A ring set with a diamond was bequeathed\nin 1427 by Elizabeth, Lady Fitzhugh to her son William.[262] This was\nalmost certainly one of the uncut, pointed diamonds used for settings\nat this early time.\n\nThe signet ring of Mary Stuart is one of the chief treasures in the\nring collection of the British Museum. It was made for her use after\nher betrothal to the French Dauphin, later, for a few months, King\nof France as Francis II (1543\u20131560), just before her marriage, as\nafter that time the arms of France would have been combined with\nthose of Scotland. The following description is given of this ring\nin the exceedingly valuable catalogue of the Franks Bequest by O. M.\nDalton[263]:\n\n 316. Gold; the shoulders ornamented with flowers and leaves once\n enamelled; oval bezel containing a chalcedony engraved with\n the achievement of Mary, Queen of Scots. The shield is that of\n Scotland surrounded by the collar of the Thistle, with the badge,\n and supported by two unicorns chained and ducally gorged; the\n crest, on a helmet with mantlings and ensigned with a crown, is\n a lion sejant affront\u00e9, crowned and holding in the dexter paw a\n naked sword; in the sinister a sceptre, both bendwise. Legend:\n _In Defens_, and the letters M R. On the dexter side is a\n banner with the arms of Scotland; on the sinister side, another,\n with three bars and over all a saltire. The metals and tinctures\n appear through the crystal on a field of blue. Within the hoop at\n the back of the bezel is engraved a cipher in a circular band and\n surmounted by a crown, once enamelled. The cipher is formed of the\n Greek letter \u03c6 and M, for the names Francis and Mary.\n\nIn this example of sixteenth-century French goldsmithing, the colors of\nthe arms have been applied beneath the crystal so that they would not\nbe effaced in using the signet for sealing. In 1792 this ring was in\nthe possession of Queen Charlotte, wife of George III. After her death\nit became the property of the Duke of York, and when his plate and\njewels were sold at Christie\u2019s, in London, March, 1827, it was bought\nby Mr. Richard Greene, F.S.A., and was acquired from him in 1856 by the\nBritish Museum.\n\nA signet ring believed by many to be that of the immortal Shakespeare,\nwas found on March 16, 1810. It was picked up on the surface of the\nmill-close that adjoins Stratford churchyard; the finder was the wife\nof a poor laborer. How lightly it was esteemed at the outset is shown\nby the low price at which it was acquired by Mr. R. B. Wheeler, who\npaid only thirty-six shillings ($9.00), considered to be the value\nof the fifteen pennyweights of gold in the ring. In fact, the only\ncircumstances seeming to connect it with Shakespeare are the initials\nW. S., and the facts that the ring appears to be of Elizabethan\nworkmanship and that it was found at Stratford-on-Avon, Shakespeare\u2019s\nhome.[264] The initial letters are bound together with a design\ncomposed of an ornamental band with tassels, so arranged as to outline\na heart. A queer coincidence, if the report be true, is that a certain\nWilliam Shakespeare was at work nearby when the ring was found.[265]\n\nOne of the somewhat less well-known Shakespeare portraits depicts the\npoet wearing a thumb ring on his left hand. This is the work of Gerald\nSoest, who was born twenty-one years after Shakespeare\u2019s death; its\ninspiration is probably to be sought in the Chandos portrait of which\nit is an amplification and re-arrangement. The face, however, wholly\nlacks the dignity and expression of the Chandos, being exceedingly\nweak and commonplace. The hands give the effect of having been\ncopied from those in some other portrait, and, of course, under all\nthese circumstances we would scarcely be justified in assuming that\nShakespeare wore a thumb ring, although he may well have done so, in\nview of the fact that the fashion was common enough in his time. Queen\nElizabeth, even, is depicted as wearing one in Zucchero\u2019s portrait of\nher at Hampton Court.[266]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  1, Shakespeare\u2019s gold signet ring, found in Stratford-upon-Avon,\n  March 16, 1810. 2, brass signet supposed to be that of the\n  physician, John Hall, Shakespeare\u2019s son-in-law. 3, wax impression\n  from Shakespeare\u2019s ring. (Photographed expressly for this book\n  as attested by signatures of Sir Sidney Lee, Chairman of the\n  Executive Committee of \u201cShakespeare\u2019s Birthplace,\u201d and of the\n  Librarian, F. C. Wellstood.) 4 and 5, gold signet ring owned by\n  Lord Byron, with impression from it. The seal shows the crests\n  and mottoes of three families. Photographed for this book. In the\n  possession of Judge Peter T. Barlow, New York]\n\n  [Illustration]\n\nAnother English poet, that master of impassioned verse, Byron, had in\nhis possession a most interesting bloodstone signet ring, engraved with\nthe following three family mottoes: \u201cTout prest\u201d (Quite ready), motto\nof the families Monk, Murray and Younger; \u201cConfido, conquiesco\u201d (I\ntrust and am contented), motto of the Dysart, Hodgett, Maroy, Tollmache\nand Turner families; \u201cPour y parvenir\u201d (In order to accomplish, or\nsucceed), motto of the families Manners and Manners-Sutton. This\nring was owned by Sir Walter Scott, and at the dispersal sale of his\npersonal effects at Abbotsford it was acquired by the late Samuel\nLatham Mitchell Barlow, the great art connoisseur and collector, by\nwhose son, Judge Peter T. Barlow, of New York, it has been inherited,\nin whose possession it now is, and through whose courtesy it is here\nreproduced.\n\nMany interesting facts in regard to the history of the diamond engraved\nfor Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, have been presented by\nMr. C. Drury Fortnum, who purchased the diamond from the collection\nof the Duke of Brunswick in 1879.[267] In the catalogue of the Duke\u2019s\ncollection this stone is described as the signet of Mary, Queen of\nScots, an attribution which had been current for many years; but Mr.\nFortnum has shown that the initials on the diamond should be read MR,\nthe cross-bar in the first character representing the letter H, and the\nwhole signifying Maria Henrietta Regina.\n\nFortunately we have the original of the treasury order given by Charles\nI, under date of January 16, 1629, directing the payment of a sum of\nmoney to the engraver for his work. As this is probably the only case\nin which the original record of payment for engraving an historical\ndiamond has been preserved, it is reproduced here from Mr. Fortnum\u2019s\npaper in Arch\u00e6ologia.[268]\n\n Charles by the grace of God King of England, Scotland, France, and\n Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c.\n\n To the Tr\u0113r and Undertr\u0113r of o^r Exchecq^r for the time being\n greeting:\n\n Wee doe hereby will and com\u0304and yo^u out of o^r treasure remaining\n in the Receipt of o^r Exchecq^r forthwith to pay or cause to be\n paid unto Francis Walwyn or his assignes the some of two hundred\n three-score and seven pounds for engraving, polishing, Dyamond\n boart and divers other materialls for the Cutting and furnishing\n of o^r Armes in a Dyamond with l\u2019res of the name of o^r deerest\n Consort the queene on each side, And these o^r l\u2019res shal be yo^r\n sufficient warr^t and discharge in this behalfe.\n\n Given under o^r privy Seal att o^r pallace of Westm^r the\n sixteenth day of January in the fourth yeare of o^r Raigne.\n                                                        Jo: Packer.\n\nAs a general rule a signet ring was one of the last objects of value\nthat an owner would part with, but we know that after Charles\u2019\nexecution Henrietta Maria was reduced to dire straits and was obliged\nto sell all her possessions in order to procure the bare necessaries of\nlife. In Tavernier\u2019s account of his travels in the East he states that\nin 1664, he showed to the representative of the Shah of Persia a ring\nengraved with the royal arms of England, and which had belonged \u201cto\nthe late King of England.\u201d As letters and papers have been preserved,\ndating from 1656 to 1673, and sealed by Charles II with the diamond\nsignet used by his father, we have proof that Charles II had that\nsignet in his possession in 1664, and Mr. Fortnum\u2019s conjecture that the\nengraved diamond in Tavernier\u2019s hands was that of Henrietta Maria is\nplausible enough.\n\nThe Shah of Persia sent the diamond back to Tavernier, requesting\ninformation as to what was engraved upon it, but the French jeweller,\nfearing possible complications, did not venture to go beyond the vague\nstatement that the stone bore the arms of a \u201cEuropean prince.\u201d The Shah\ndoes not appear to have bought this diamond; probably he did not care\nmuch for historic souvenirs of European royalties, and possibly he\ndoubted whether Tavernier had the right to offer for sale what might be\nthe signet of a European monarch. However, the Shah\u2019s minister did not\nfail to express his admiration of the skill shown by the \u201cFranks\u201d in\nthe art of diamond-engraving.[269]\n\nAlready, in the Vetusta Monumenta of Astle, published by him in 1792,\nthe seal is figured as that of Mary Queen of Scots, and is said to have\nbeen in the possession of Louis XIV. If this statement be correct, the\nsignet might have been among the diamonds sold by Tavernier to Louis\nXIV, on the former\u2019s return to Europe. It seems to have shared the fate\nof a large number of the jewels belonging to the French crown and to\nthe royal family, and next appears in a sale held in London June 19,\n1817, being described in the catalogue as \u201cthe engraved diamond ring\nof Mary, Queen of Scots, upon which are engraved the arms of England,\nScotland and Ireland, quartered,\u201d and authenticated by a communication\nfrom \u201cthat correct and learned antiquary the late Robert Gough, Esq.\u201d\nto the following effect:\n\n That it descended from Mary to her grandchild Charles I, who gave\n it on the scaffold to Arch Bishop Juxon for his son Charles II,\n who in his troubles pawned it in Holland for \u00a3300, where it was\n bought by Governor Yale and sold at his sale for \u00a3320, supposed\n for the Pretender. Afterwards it came into the possession of\n the Earl of Ilay, Duke of Argyle, and probably from him to Mr.\n Blashford.\n\nIn these statements there is probably a confusion between the diamond\nof Henrietta Maria, known later as that of Mary, Queen of Scots, and\na diamond signet of Charles I, for such a signet is said to have been\ngiven to Bishop Juxon by Charles just before his execution. We have\nevery reason to believe that Henrietta Maria bore her own signet with\nher when she left England.\n\nThe ring containing this historic diamond was purchased at the sale of\nJune 19, 1817, by Dr. Curry (probably James Curry, M.D., physician at\nGuy\u2019s Hospital) for the sum of \u00a390 6s ($450), although a contemporary\nletter states that the sum was \u00a386, and adds that the stone itself\nwas worth but \u00a310. The ring was subsequently acquired by an agent,\nVan Prague, and after passing through several hands came into the\npossession of Mr. Leverson, a diamond dealer of Paris, who sold it to\nthe Duke of Brunswick. At one time it was owned by the Earl of Buchan,\nand it was exhibited at Holyrood in 1843, when several rock crystal\nmodels were made of it. One of these served Mr. Fortnum as a standard\nof comparison for the identification of the Duke of Brunswick\u2019s diamond.\n\nThe stone is a table diamond and is engraved with the arms of England\nand France in the first and fourth quarters, with those of Scotland in\nthe second quarter, and those of Ireland in the third. In 1887, on the\noccasion of Queen Victoria\u2019s Jubilee, this signet was presented to the\nqueen by Mr. Drury Fortnum, and it is now in the royal collection at\nWindsor Castle.[270]\n\n  [Illustration: RINGS FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE IMPERIAL KUNSTGEWERBE\n  MUSEUM, VIENNA\n\n 1 and 3, rings of Empress Eleonora, wife of Ferdinand III\n (1608\u20131657); enameled gold; Seventeenth Century. 2, gold ring\n said to have belonged to Mary of Burgundy, daughter of Charles\n the Bold, and wife of Maximilian I., Emperor of Germany. Bears\n an M formed of black diamonds and has twice on the inner side\n the monogram of Maria in Gothic capitals. 4, ring with miniature\n portraits of Emperor Mathias and his wife Empress Anne; enameled\n gold; 1612\u20131619. 5, (_a_) ring with watch by Johann Putz\n of Augsburg, and (_b_) lid made of an emerald on which the\n Austrian double-eagle is engraved; Seventeenth Century. 6, ring\n with a sun-dial, the lid representing a hedgehog studded with\n black diamond lozenges; Seventeenth Century. 7 and 8, two rings\n set with topaz; enameled gold; Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century.\n 9, bronze ring, with head of Christ in white enamel on blue\n ground, the hair being of gold; Seventeenth Century. 10, ring\n set with a rock crystal, engraved with the arms of an Austrian\n archduke. On the inner side is a sun-dial; Seventeenth century.\n 11, ring with a miniature portrait of Empress Claudia Felicitas;\n enameled gold.]\n\n  [Illustration: IMPRESSION OF SIGNET.\n\n  Double size linear.\n\n  SIGNET RING, CHARLES I.\n\n  Double size linear.\n\n  SIGNET RING OF CHARLES I\n\n The richly ornamented gold hoop has on its shoulders a lion and a\n unicorn of chiseled steel. On the bezel is a steel plate engraved\n with the Royal arms, those of France and England in the first and\n fourth quarters; in the second, the arms of Scotland; and in the\n third, the Irish harp. On the sides of the gold base of the bezel\n is the inscription: \u201c_Dieu et mon droit_,\u201d inserted in steel\n letters]\n\nOne of the most interesting engraved diamonds is the signet of\nCharles I of England, when Prince of Wales.[271] This is a large\nshield-shaped diamond engraved in intaglio with the Prince of Wales\u2019\nfeathers between the letters C.P. and issuing from a coronet; on a\nribbon beneath appears the motto ~ICH DIEN~. The stone is set in\na ring of enamelled gold. The engraving is finely executed and deeply\ncut. This signet has often been regarded as that of Charles II, but all\ndoubt as to the original owner is set at rest by the existence of an\nautograph letter of Charles I, in the possession of M. Labouch\u00e8re of\nParis, bearing its impress.\n\nThe Royal Collection at Windsor Castle also contains the signet used\nby Charles I, as King. It has a richly ornamented hoop, to which are\nattached, at the shoulders, chiseled steel figures of a lion and a\nunicorn. The gold bezel has a steel facing constituting the seal. This\nis engraved with the royal arms; in the first and fourth quarters,\nthe arms of England and of France; in the second quarter, those of\nScotland; in the fourth quarter, the Irish harp. On the gold base of\nthe bezel is the motto: Dieu et mon Droit, inserted in letters of\nsteel. This constitutes an exceptionally fine example of composite\nmetal-work. The arch\u00e6ologist, Rev. C. W. King, suggests that it may\nbe the work of the \u201cInimitable Simon,\u201d as he was called, who later\nengraved dies for the coinage of the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell,\nalthough he admits that it may have been executed by Vanderdoort, who\nwas commanded in 1625 to make pattern pieces for the coinage of Charles\nI, at the beginning of the King\u2019s reign.[272]\n\nA signet ring used by Kaiser William II is set with a reddish-white\nonyx, on which has been engraved a shield bearing the German eagle,\nand surmounted by a crown and the letters, W. II. I. R., Wilhelm der\nZweite, Imperator Rex. This signet belonged to the present Kaiser\u2019s\ngrandfather William I, and has been adapted to the present monarch\u2019s\nuse.\n\nSignet rings were very popular in the latter part of the eighteenth\ncentury and into the nineteenth century. Then, later on, they were\nrevived in the latter part of the nineteenth century, this revival\ncontinuing into the twentieth century. In the earlier period it\nwas customary to engrave the crest and motto, or the full arms\nand motto, on the ring stone, which was generally bloodstone or\ncarnelian, occasionally white chalcedony, more rarely lapis lazuli,\nin contradistinction to the large seal fobs, in which the favorite\nstones were amethyst, rock crystal, smoky topaz (quartz variety), pale\nchalcedony or some lighter colored material. Many signet rings were\nengraved upon gold, the sides of the rings being also engraved, as a\ngeneral rule.\n\nSince the year 1900, great interest has been aroused in seal rings,\nmany of the designs of which are incised in gold or in platinum, the\nentire ring being of gold or platinum, or having a platinum disk set\nin a gold hoop. The entire variety of fancy stones is used: pale\namethyst, ruby, beryl, aquamarine, zircon, garnet, sard which has been\nstained brown, carnelian (rarely), bloodstone, and jade--both the\nnephrite variety from New Zealand and Russia and the jadeite variety\nfound at Bahmo, Burma. Occasionally the seals of rings are made of fine\nsapphires, emeralds, or rubies, and sell for from $1,000 to $10,000, or\neven more.\n\nSeal rings were extensively worn in the period from about 1865 to 1885.\nFrequently these had absolutely nothing engraved upon them. The setting\nwas often an oblong, rectangular onyx, sometimes one inch or one and a\nquarter inches long. Occasionally upon this was inset a rose diamond\ninitial; or else the initial was cut upon the stone--when the onyx was\nblack on top--rarely a crest. In many cases the stone was white above\nand pink below, a sardonyx, and the initial was cut through the light\nlayer. Or else it was white or pale gray on a black ground. The general\neffect was thus gray, the gem being of the type known as nicolo.\n\nThen came the cameo rings, with designs either black on white or brown\non white, sardonyx; or white on green, chrysonyx. Later again taste\ndeveloped for intaglio rings. In this instance, instead of stones of a\nbrownish or whitish gray,--chalcedony,--those of a pale brown or a dark\nbrown were chosen and these were called sard. Because of the brown hue,\nthe term onyx was also applied to them. This must not be confused with\nthe antique sard which resulted from burning a stone of a different\nhue, as in the case of the antique carnelian also. The translucent or\nopaque varieties, with rich red or dark brown top, were called sard,\nwhereas the paler translucent and almost transparent varieties,--when\npale red, yellowish red or almost yellow,--were called carnelian.\n\nWhile the natal gem in a simple but effective setting is the most\nappropriate ring for a girl or boy, a small seal ring for the boy,\nwhen he is about 12 years old is not unfitting, the seal being so\nwell-executed that it may serve him when he has reached manhood.\nFor very young children, no stone can be given the preference over\nthe turquoise, which in its delicacy and beauty of color cannot be\nexcelled. Small pearls are also used, or tiny brilliant rubies.[273]\n\nIn a brightly-written tale for children, the style of which is rather\npronouncedly \u201cup-to-date,\u201d a sapphire signet is an important element\nof the story. Long years ago, in the island of Bermuda, in the\nRevolutionary period, this heirloom was surreptitiously secured by a\nyoung girl, to whom it was destined on her coming of age, but who was\nchildishly impatient to gain possession of it before the time. The\nlittle heroine comes to New York and under the stress of a weird Tory\nplot, hides away her signet in the false bottom of an old trunk, stored\naway in the garret of the Charlton Street house in which she has lived.\nHere, more than a century later, a group of bright children find a\ndiary of the long-dead heroine written in cipher. One of them is clever\nenough to unravel this mystery and they finally succeed in finding the\nhidden signet.[274]\n\n  [Illustration: Gold ring with miniature portrait, given by\n  Washington to Lafayette on the latter\u2019s return to France. See\n  pages 191 and 192. It is now in the possession of Mr. G\u00f6sta\n  Fr\u00f6l\u00e9n of Falun, Sweden]\n\n  [Illustration: Photograph of two impressions in sealing wax, made\n  by President Woodrow Wilson, of his seal ring, the inscription\n  reading \u201cWoodrow Wilson,\u201d in Pitmanic shorthand. 1916]\n\n  [Illustration: Episcopal seal of Right Rev. David H. Greer,\n  Bishop of New York. Motto: _Crux mihi grata quies_ (The\n  Cross is my grateful rest). The shield bears the monogram of the\n  bishop\u2019s name, above which are two keys in saltire; below is the\n  coat-of-arms of New Amsterdam. As crest is an Episcopal mitre]\n\nTwo characteristic Oriental seal rings are owned by Miss Joan St.\nMichael Peters and Miss Katherine Harrower, both of New York City. The\ngems with which they are set were bought by the Rev. Dr. John P. Peters\nfrom an Arab, in the Kut-el-Amara region, where the British invaders\nof Mesopotamia underwent such a disastrous defeat. They are engraved\ncarnelians. Miss Peters\u2019 ring offers the design of a winged figure. The\nexcellence of the cutting might seem to indicate that it was done some\ntime between 500 B.C. and the beginning of our era, but a later date\nhas been assigned to it by Prof. A. V. Williams Jackson of Columbia\nUniversity, who pronounces it to be a Sassanian gem, and hence not\nolder than the third Christian century. The other ring, that belonging\nto Miss Harrower, appears to be of the Seleucidan period, and may be\ndated from 300 to 200 B.C. The inscription, difficult to decipher,\nshould be read \u201cKhan\u201d in Prof. Jackson\u2019s opinion.\n\nOne of the most intrinsically valuable of ancient signets is that\nengraved for Constantius II (317\u2013361 A.D.). This is of sapphire, the\nstone weighing 53 of the older carats (54.40 metric carats). The\ndesign shows the emperor in the act of spearing an enormous wild boar\non the plains of C\u00e6sarea, the Greek inscription _xiphius_ denoting\nthe sword-like tusks of the animal. The exploit is performed before\na reclining female figure, a personification of the city C\u00e6sarea of\nCappadocia. A Latin inscription ~CONSTANTIUS. AUG~ is considered to\nprove that this is veritably the emperor\u2019s signet. This remarkable gem\nis in the collection of Prince Trivulzio of Milan.[275]\n\nA novel idea finds expression in the ring of President Wilson, on\nwhich he has had engraved his name in stenographic symbols. This is\nin thorough agreement with his aim to utilize business methods in the\nadministration of national affairs, to do away with routine and take\nthe most direct route to the solution of national problems. One of our\ntwo ex-Presidents, William H. Taft, sent us this reply: \u201cI never wear\na finger ring and never have done so. For that reason, I cannot comply\nwith your request.\u201d[276]\n\n\n\n\n                                  IV\n\n                   SOME INTERESTING RINGS OF HISTORY\n\n\nThe principal types of the rings used as insignia, religious or\nsecular, or as signets, as well as of those devoted to some special\npurpose or believed to possess talismanic or magic virtue are treated\nof in other chapters. There are many rings, however, which owe their\nchief or only interest to their association with some particular\nhistoric personage, event or period, while often the mere fact that the\nornament has been owned by a famous person suffices to make it precious\nand interesting; in a number of cases the ring itself has been closely\nconnected with some important historic happening or else with some\ncherished legend. Examples of this are the ring of Essex in Elizabeth\u2019s\ntime, and the legendary ring of Edward the Confessor, regarding the\nstone setting of which several discrepant accounts exist.\n\nThe Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale in Paris has in its Cabinet des M\u00e9dailles,\ntwo massive gold rings, in each of which the _chaton_ is formed\nby an ancient coin. In one is set a rare gold quinarius of Maximinus\n(235\u2013238 A.D.) with his effigy, and the ring is believed to\nhave been made during this giant emperor\u2019s brief reign; the other bears\na golden solidus probably of Clotaire II, King of the Franks, who\nreigned from 584 to 628 A.D. This coin shows a figure of the\nking with the name Chlotarius Rex, and the mint-mark of the city of\nArras. The coin is more than \u00be inch in diameter.[277]\n\nIn a Frankish sepulchre at Laubenheim, near Bingen, Hessen-Darmstadt,\nwas found a gold ring on the bezel of which is engraved the head\nof a woman, turned to the right, around which are the letters of\nthe Gothic name Hunila. A princess of this name was married, about\n280 A.D., to Quintus Bonosius, one of the Thirty Tyrants\nwho established themselves in the Roman Empire during the short and\ntroubled reign of Probus (280\u2013281). While the ring we describe cannot\nbe assigned to such an early period, but probably belongs to the end\nof the sixth or the beginning of the seventh century of our era, the\nintrinsic value and the workmanship, superior for the place and time,\nrender it likely that this Hunila, also, was of royal race and station.\nIn the sepulchre which yielded this ring there was a chain of amber and\namethyst beads.[278]\n\nThe Persian poet-philosopher, Saadi, relates in his Gulistan, or\n\u201cGarden of Roses,\u201d a story illustrating how a happy chance may do more\nto help the attainment of a temporary success than special ability\nor training. A Persian sovereign, passionately devoted to archery,\ndetermined to make a crucial test of the skill of his most famous\narchers, and to stimulate their efforts by the bestowal of a rich\nprize. To this end he caused a ring set with an immensely valuable\nprecious stone to be suspended above the dome of Azad on the mosque\nnear Shiraz, and proclaimed to all men that this ring would be given to\nthe one who succeeded in shooting an arrow through its hoop. Despite\nthe apparent impossibility of the task, several hundred of the Shah\u2019s\narchers strove to fulfil the conditions of the trial, but in vain.\nSuddenly the Shah and his companions, who were closely watching the\ncontest, saw, to their amazement, an arrow speed through the air and\nexactly traverse the ring. None of the archers before the mosque had\nbeen shooting at the moment, and only after a careful search had been\nmade did it come out that the arrow had been shot off by a youth at\nplay in a nearby garden of a monastery. Nevertheless, the royal word\nhad been pledged, and the ring was adjudged to the youth. The latter,\nhowever, showed his wisdom by breaking his bow and arrows, and never\ntrying another shot, thus keeping unsullied his reputation as a great\narcher.[279]\n\nOne of the Latin treatises of Petrarch tells of a carbuncle or ruby,\nworn set in a ring by John II of France, and believed to possess\ntalismanic power. The poet remarks, however, that this stone did not\npreserve the King from being defeated and made prisoner at the battle\nof Poitiers in 1356. This ruby was taken by the English, but was\nreturned to John several years later, so that he was able again \u201cto see\nan object of infinite value, but of no use whatever.\u201d While admitting\nthe beauty of gems, Petrarch did not share the belief common in his day\nthat they possessed occult powers.[280] Of the diamond he says that,\nwhile in ancient times it was a gem worn only by kings, in his own day\nluxury and pride had increased to such an extent that many who were not\nkings possessed the stone, and even some of the common people wore it\non their fingers.[281]\n\nA ring called the \u201cFriday Ring\u201d is listed among the jewels of Charles\nV of France (1337\u20131380), in the inventory made in 1379. This had on\neither side a double black cross in niello work, and was set with a\ncameo bearing a crucifix and the figures of the Virgin Mary, St. John\nand two angels. The name was derived from the fact that the king wore\nthis ring every Friday, doubtless in memory of the Crucifixion, which\ntook place on that day.[282] There is also mention of another ring,\nset with a large ruby, \u201cthe form of a halfbean. This is the ruby which\nbelonged to St. Louis (1215\u20131270), and which has always been guarded\nsuccessively by the kings of France.\u201d[283] There seems to be some\nlikelihood that this was the highly prized ruby lost by King John\nII about 1357, and in this case it must have been restored to the\nFrench treasury. Still another ring was set with a large ruby, called\nthe \u201cruby de la Caille,\u201d which had formerly belonged to the dukes of\nBrittany and had been given to King Charles by Monseigneur d\u2019Anjou. A\nnote to this inventory informs us that the term \u201cruby d\u2019Alexandrie,\u201d so\noften met with in old French lists of jewels, denotes a ruby bought in\nAlexandria, where many of the finest precious stones from the East were\ndealt in during medieval times.[284]\n\nThe battlefield of Agincourt, in the department of Pas-de-Calais, not\nfar removed from the trenches of the Anglo-French army in the great war\nof to-day, was visited in 1815 by General Sir John Woodford, who was\nserving with the Grenadier Guards. Hoping to unearth a few relics of\nthe famous battle he had some excavations made, and his efforts were\nrewarded by the discovery of several knightly rings inscribed with\nmottoes or posies. About 1850 one of these rings, which had probably\nbeen worn by a French noble, was shown at a meeting of the London\nArch\u00e6ological Institute. The battle of Agincourt, where the French army\nwas decisively defeated by Henry V of England, was fought October 25,\n1415, on the day of Sts. Crispin and Crispian, and inspired Shakespeare\nwith the following proud lines addressed by the English king to his\nsoldiers:\n\n    And Crispin Crispian shall ne\u2019er go by\n    From this day to the ending of the world,\n    But we in it shall be remembered.\n\nHungary\u2019s great hero, John Hunyady (1387?-1456), had in his coat of\narms a raven holding a ring in its beak. The legendary explanation\nof this is that King Sigismund once gave a ring to his mistress,\nthe hero\u2019s mother, as a passport for entrance to the court. One day\nthe royal parent wished to see his offspring, and the child\u2019s uncle\nreceived orders to bring it to the court. On his way thither, while\ntraversing a piece of woodland, the man came to a clearing and sat down\non the grass to repose himself, giving the precious ring, his token\nto the king, to the child as a plaything. Suddenly a raven swooped\ndown from a tree, picked up the ring and flew away with it; but the\nman caught up a bow he had with him and sped a shaft after the bird,\nwhich fell dead to the ground with the ring still tightly held in its\nbeak. When, in later years, the illegitimate child grew up and finally\nascended the throne of Hungary, this event was figured on his coat of\narms by the emblems of the raven and the ring.[285]\n\nWhen the Constable Louis of Luxembourg was condemned to death in\n1475, in the reign of Louis XI of France, he drew from his finger a\nsmall gold ring set with a diamond and requested the father confessor\nto offer it to the image of Our Lady of Paris. Then, turning to the\nFranciscan monk, Jean de Sordun, he said: \u201cHere is a stone I have long\nworn on my neck and which I have greatly prized, for it resists poison,\nand also protects against pestilence. I pray you to take this stone\nfor me to my son, to whom you will say that I beg him to keep it for\nlove of me.\u201d This touching mission was never fulfilled, for after the\nexecution of the Constable, the court ordered that the stone should\nbe given to King Louis. The diamond ring, however, was duly dedicated\nto the image of the Virgin.[286] Of Louis XI himself, the chronicler\nquaintly says: \u201cBefore his death he suffered much from various diseases\nfor the cure of which the physicians who attended him concocted\ndreadful and wonderful medicines. May these illnesses procure the\nsalvation of his soul!\u201d[287]\n\nSome interesting historic rings are in the fine collection of Dr.\nAlbert Figdor, Vienna. One of them is a gold ring believed to have\nbelonged to Mary of Burgundy, (d. 1482) daughter of Charles the Bold,\nand wife of Maximilian I of Germany. On the ring is the letter M formed\nof black diamonds, and the monogram of the name Maria, in Gothic\ncharacters, appears twice on its inner side. Two enameled gold rings of\nEmpress Eleonora, third wife of Ferdinand III of Germany (1608\u20131657),\nare good examples of seventeenth century work. More interesting is\na ring bearing miniature portraits of Emperor Mathias of Germany\n(1557\u20131619) and his wife Empress Anne.[288]\n\nThe first historical instance of writing with a diamond point concerns\nFrancis I, who wrote, with the diamond of his ring, upon a pane of\nglass in the Castle of Chambord, the following oft-quoted lines:\n\n    Souvent femme varie,\n    Mal habile qui s\u2019y fie.\n\nThe king \u201cengraved\u201d these lines in such a conspicuous place that they\nmight be seen by his favorite, Anne de Pisseleu, Duchesse d\u2019Estampes,\nand make it clear to her that his jealousy was aroused by her\nconduct.[289] The story runs that the celebrated sister of Francis,\nMarguerite de Valois, authoress of the Heptameron, who was on very\nfriendly terms with the Duchesse d\u2019Estampes, immediately capped this\ndistich by writing with her diamond-point the following rejoinder:[290]\n\n    Souvent homme varie,\n    Bien folle qui s\u2019y fie.\n\nBrant\u00f4me, who relates that he saw the window-pane inscription of\nFrancis I at Chambord, merely cites the first words: \u201cSouvent femme\nvarie,\u201d and as there is considerable lack of agreement as to the second\nline, this may have been added by those who reported the writing,\naccording to their own idea of what a continuation should be. There\nis a rather vague rumor that the glass was broken out by order of Louis\nXIV, the fact being that it is no longer in existence and evidently\ndisappeared at least a couple of centuries ago.[291]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF A LADY, PAINTED IN COLOGNE, ABOUT 1526.\n\n Ring set with a pointed diamond on index of right hand, small ring\n on little finger of the same hand; two rings on index of left hand\n and one on fourth finger of the same hand; all set with precious\n stones\n\n K\u00f6nigliche Gem\u00e4lde-Galerie, Cassel]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF A MAN, BY HANS FUNK, PAINTED IN 1523\n\n  Large seal ring on right hand forefinger and two on left hand, one on\n  forefinger and one on fourth finger\n\n  Gallery at Basel, Switzerland]\n\nA ring set with a pyramidal diamond, one of the type used by Francis I\non this occasion, is shown in the Londesborough Collection. This ring,\nwhich dates from the sixteenth century and is of Italian workmanship,\nis known as a \u201ctower ring,\u201d possibly because those confined in the\nTower of London were able to use such rings for writing names or verses\nupon the windowpanes of their prison.[292]\n\nStill another story of diamond-point writing, probably even less well\nattested than the anecdote of Francis I, is that referring to Queen\nElizabeth and Sir Walter Raleigh.[293] On the occasion of an interview\nwith the wily queen, Sir Walter, rather distrustful of the royal\nencouragement accorded him, is said to have gone to a window in the\nroyal audience chamber and written on the window-pane with his diamond\nring:\n\n    Fain would I climb, but that I fear to fall.\n\nFor answer the queen scratched beneath this the following admonition,\nat once an encouragement and a warning:\n\n    If thy heart fail thee, do not climb at all.\n\nAn eighteenth century instance of diamond-point writing on a pane of\nglass was reported in an old newspaper.[294] A celebrated English\nbeauty of the eighteenth century, while sojourning at the famous\nEnglish watering-place, Bath, wrote on a window-pane the following\nimpromptu lines:\n\n    In vain, in vain is all you\u2019ve said,\n    For I\u2019m resolved to die a Maid.\n\nIn answer to this a gentleman of her acquaintance cut this rejoinder,\nthe idea being better than the rhyme:\n\n    The Lady who this resolution took,\n    Wrote it on Glass to show it might be broke.\n\nThe visitor who relates this states that on returning to Bath at a\nlater time, he found that the window-pane had been removed, and a new\none substituted. Did this mean that the vow had been broken?\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n MEDAL SHOWING RING, STRUCK IN 1578 FOR JOHN CASIMIR, COUNT\n PALATINE, TO COMMEMORATE HIS ALLIANCE WITH THE DUKE OF ANJOU\n AGAINST THE SPANISH IN THE LOW COUNTRIES\n\n  The clasped hands signify indissoluble friendship; the palm and olive\n  branches, victory and peace; and the diamond, courage]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n MEDAL SHOWING RING, STRUCK FOR HENRI II OF FRANCE, IN 1554, IN\n COMMEMORATION OF HIS CAMPAIGN TO FLANDERS\n\nThe diamond is a symbol of dauntless courage; the crowned fish probably\ndenotes the ruler of Flanders; the palm branch and olive branch above\nsignify the French King\u2019s victory]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF DIANE DE POITIERS (1499\u20131566)\n\n Mistress of Henri II of France, who gave her the splendid Ch\u00e2teau\n de Chenonceaux. She had great artistic taste and possessed many\n jewels. To her ability, knowledge and power were due some of the\n finest architectural and mobiliary achievements of the period.\n\n Mus\u00e9e de Versailles]\n\nThe use of rings set with natural diamond-points in a symbolical sense,\nas in the case of the three interlaced rings forming the _impresa_\nof Cosimo de\u2019 Medici, probably had to do with the ancient tradition\nthat the diamond conferred courage or even invincibility upon the\nwearer. It is in this sense that this type of ring is figured on\nthe reverse of certain \u201ccampaign medals\u201d issued in commemoration of\nimportant expeditions. Such is the medal struck for Henri II of France\nwhen, in 1554, he set out from Champagne to invade Flanders. On the\nreverse of this medal there is within the ring a palm branch and an\nolive branch, significant of an unconquerable soul and of victory.\nAcross the bottom of the hoop is a fish of a species very common in\nFlanders, on the head of which is a crown, this apparently denoting the\nruler of that land. The diamond emphasizes the idea of an unbroken\nand unconquered soul. In a similar though slightly different sense must\nbe explained the diamond-set ring on a \u201ccampaign medal\u201d struck in 1578\nfor John Casimir, Count Palatine; this is also a memorial of one of the\nperiodical incursions into unhappy Flanders. As the Count Palatine was\nat this time in alliance with the then Duke of Anjou, brother of Henri\nIII of France, the hoop of the ring terminates in two clasped hands,\ndenoting the fast friendship of the allies, which was, however, of very\nuncertain duration.\n\nThe rich Arundel Collection, chiefly brought together by a Lord Howard\nof Arundel, towards the end of the seventeenth century, incorporated\nin the Marlborough Cabinet and later dispersed, included a beautifully\nadorned gold ring set with a splendid lapis lazuli on which a Roman\nengraver had cut the design of Hercules wrestling with Ant\u00e6us. The\nhoop of this ring is ornamented on the inside with two fleur-de-lys in\nwhite enamel, the entire ring being covered with arabesques of entwined\nvine branches in black enamel. In his description, Rev. C. W. King\nconjectures from the style of ornamentation that the ring may have\nbelonged to one of the Valois kings of France.[295]\n\nOn the accession of Frederick the Great, he is said to have found\nin the royal treasury a case containing a ring, accompanied by a\nmemorandum to the following effect, in the handwriting of King\nFrederick I (1688\u20131740): \u201cThis ring was given to me by my father on\nhis death-bed, with the reminder that so long as it was preserved in\nthe House of Brandenburg, this would not only prosper, but would grow\nand increase.\u201d The way in which Frederick the Great spoke of this\nring illustrates at once his habitual scepticism and his devotion to\nfamily tradition, for while declaring that he put no faith in the\npeculiar virtues of such an object, he gave strict injunctions that it\nshould be carefully preserved. A rather doubtful tradition designates\nthis ring as the one said to have been surreptitiously removed from\nthe hand of Frederick William I, when he was dying, by the Countess\nLichtenau. The dying king feebly protesting against this spoliation,\nmurmured: \u201cHer den Ring\u201d (Give back the ring), but the countess saved\nthe situation by saying to those assembled in the deathchamber: \u201cHe\nwants to have a herring!\u201d This same tradition attributes the subsequent\ndisastrous defeat of Prussia by Napoleon I to the loss of the ring,\nwhich the countess finally yielded to Frederick William III in 1813,\nwhereupon the fortunes of war changed and Prussia was avenged for her\nhumiliations.\n\nHofrath Schneider, for a long time reader to Emperor William I, relates\nthat when he questioned that monarch touching the story of the ring, he\nonly learned that it had been a long time in the Hohenzollern family;\nthat it was an old-fashioned ring, and that it was set with \u201ca plain,\ndark-colored stone.\u201d Emperor William did not display much interest in\nthe matter and did not appear to have any superstitious reverence for\nthe ring.[296]\n\nAn old Portuguese ring has a half-sphere of rock crystal set in silver.\nAt the side of the bezel is a minute catch, and when this is put back,\nthe crystal setting, hinged on the opposite side, can be raised,\nrevealing beneath a tiny St. Andrews cross in gold, with a small ruby\nset in the centre. This ring is in the possession of an Englishman, a\ndescendant of the Duke of Peterborough who fought in the Peninsula War\nunder Wellington. In one of the battles he was seriously wounded, and\nwas kindly and carefully nursed by a Portuguese family. A not unnatural\nresult was that he fell in love with one of the daughters and married\nher. The ring is said to have formed part of her ancestral jewels, and\nthis may be regarded as a characteristic example of the Portuguese art\nof the past in ring-making.[297]\n\nA gold ring, said to be one of six made for distribution among the\nconspirators who planned Napoleon\u2019s escape from Elba in March, 1815,\nis to be seen in the British Museum. The bezel has a hinged lid, on\nthe inner side of which is engraved in relief the head of Napoleon; on\nthe outer side is an enamelled design showing three flowers on stems,\na laurel wreath running around the edge.[298] Whether the story of\nits having belonged to one of the conspirators be true or not, the\nconcealment of the Napoleon head shows that this ring was made for, and\nworn by, an adherent of the fallen emperor, at a time when it would\nhave been dangerous to proclaim his loyalty openly.\n\n\n                             ENGLISH RINGS\n\nIn the British Museum are two Anglo-Saxon rings of unrivalled historic\ninterest. They bear, respectively, the names of Ethelwulf, father of\nAlfred the Great and of Ethelswith, his sister, the queen of Mercia.\nBoth of these rings are of gold. In that of King Ethelwulf the flat\nhoop rises in front in the form of a high mitre-shaped bezel showing\nthe design of a conventional tree flanked by two peacocks; the\nground-work is of niello. The nielloed legend around the hoop reads:\n~ETHELWVLF . REX~. This ring was found in a cart-rut at Laverstock,\nWiltshire, in the summer of 1780. The ring of Ethelwulf\u2019s daughter,\nEthelswith, has a circular bezel with the figure of the Lamb of\nGod; here also the design is chased on a niello ground. On each\nshoulder of the ring is figured a monster on a similar ground-work.\nThe inscription, engraved inside the ring runs: ~EADELZVID. REGINA~.\nEthelswith\u2019s ring was found in the West Riding of Yorkshire, between\nAberford and Sherburn, and was tied to a dog\u2019s collar by the farmer\nwho discovered it. For this ignoble use it served during some six\nmonths until, to his surprise, the farmer learned that his ring was of\ngold.[299]\n\nThe famous ring known as that of Edward the Confessor (1024\u20131066),[300]\nand which was to be used as the Coronation Ring of the Kings of\nEngland, was granted on November 14, 1389, by King Richard II, to\nthe Abbot, etc., of Westminster, for the shrine of the Confessor in\nthis church. It is described as \u201ca certain ring with a precious ruby\ninserted therein.\u201d The King reserved the privilege of wearing it when\nhe was in England, but should he go abroad it was to be returned to\nthe shrine. A few years later the Abbot of Westminster appears to have\nbeen guilty of some negligence in sending this ring to the sovereign\nwhen the latter required it for use, and the repentant abbot craves\npardon of the king and prays that his fault shall not invalidate the\nchurch\u2019s rights to the possession of the relic. Nearly eighty years\nlater, a record dated December 21, 1468 (7 Edward IV) registers the\ndelivery by the former keeper, Thomas Arundell, of the vestments,\ncloths, relics and jewels of the Shrine of St. Edward in Westminster to\nhis successor, Richard Tedyngton.[301]\n\nThe jewels and precious stones of this shrine were taken away and\npawned by Henry III in 1267, the monarch having entered into a solemn\nengagement, under the Great Seal, to return them in a year\u2019s time\nfrom the ensuing Michaelmas. Henry also sent to the then Abbot of\nWestminster a \u201cLetter Obligatory\u201d promising the restitution of the gems\nand submitting himself in the matter to the judgment of the Pope and\nthe Papal Legate. The precious jewels were really restored to the Abbey\nshortly afterwards, as is shown by a document dated February 10, 1269\n(53 Henry III). The ruby ring, being a later gift, could not have been\namong them.[302]\n\nA contemporary entry referring to this shrine in Edward I\u2019s time\n(1272\u20131307), is interesting as casting a sidelight on the English\ncoinage at the end of the thirteenth century. Under date of 1299,\nprovision is made for returning to the church of Westminster the half\nof 38 marks of gold (about $9,500 intrinsic value) that had been taken\nfrom the shrine of St. Edward for the jewels sent to Queen Margaret on\nher first coming to Westminster, \u201cthe coinage being so debased and real\nsterlings rarely found.\u201d[303]\n\nThe cross on the summit of the Imperial State Crown of England, as\ndescribed by Prof. Tennant, is surmounted by a rose-cut sapphire. There\nis a tradition that this sapphire was once set in the ring of Edward\nthe Confessor, a ring which, according to popular belief, was endowed\nwith wonderful curative virtues, and gave its successive owners the\npower to consecrate the so-called cramp rings.[304] This attribution of\nthe sapphire is in disagreement with the early notice of the ruby ring\ngiven to Westminster Abbey by Richard II as that of the saintly Edward,\nand also to the usage long observed of setting a ruby in the Coronation\nRing. King, in his account of Edward\u2019s ring, calls attention to an\nentry in the inventory of Henry III\u2019s jewels describing a sapphire\nweighing 52 dwts (about 337 metric carats), and suggests that this may\nbe the large sapphire of the English crown.[305]\n\nWhen Pope Hadrian IV (1154\u20131159) acknowledged the sovereignty of\nHenry II of England over Ireland, he sent to the monarch by John of\nSalisbury, the messenger who bore the Brief of Investiture, a valuable\nring set with an exceptionally fine emerald. This historical fact\nprobably suggested the name Emerald Isle as a designation for Ireland.\nThe ring and the Brief were carefully guarded in the royal archives at\nthe time John of Salisbury wrote his recital.[306]\n\nDuring the crusade which brought into martial rivalry two of the most\nromantic figures of history, Richard C\u0153ur de Lion and Saladin, an\nEnglish knight, Sir William D\u2019Annay, killed a Saracen prince, in 1192,\nand not long afterwards vanquished a lion near the ancient Syrian\ncity of Acre, later known as St. Jean d\u2019Acre, as it was placed under\nthe care of the knights of the Order of St. John. As a special and\nappropriate offering to King Richard, Sir William brought him a paw\nof the slain lion, and received from the king as a recognition of the\nbravery he had displayed a ring from the royal finger. The knight was\nalso directed to bear on his crest a \u201cdemi Saracen\u201d holding in one\nhand a lion\u2019s paw and in the other a ring, so that the memory of the\ngallant deeds and of the royal recompense should never be forgotten.\nIn 1856 this ring was in the possession of Dawnay, Viscount Downe, a\nlineal descendant of the crusader, who still bore the crest assigned\nby Richard C\u0153ur de Lion.[307] The ring is of silver and is set with a\nso-called toadstone, the palatal tooth of a ray, famous in medi\u00e6val\ntimes as a talisman against poison.[308]\n\nPope Innocent III (1198\u20131216) sent to Richard C\u0153ur de Lion four gold\nrings, each set with a different stone. With the rings, the pope sent a\nletter from St. Peter\u2019s in Rome, dated May 28, 1198, in which he wrote\nthat the four stones were symbolical. The verdant hue of the emerald\nsignified how we should believe, the celestial purity of the sapphire,\nhow we should hope, the warm color of the garnet, how we should love,\nand the clear transparency of the topaz, how we should act. Moreover,\nthe ring-form also possessed a symbolical meaning, roundness denoting\neternity, which has neither beginning nor end. Hence the royal\nconscience had in the ring a monition to pass from terrestrial to\ncelestial matters, from temporal to eternal things.[309]\n\nIn the ruins of the palace at Eltham in Kent was found a gold ring\nset with an Oriental ruby surrounded by five diamonds in their native\ncrystalline state, placed at equal distances from one another. This\nring weighed over half an ounce (exactly, 267\u00b9\u2044\u2081\u2080 grains) and bore the\nfollowing inscription in Old French:\n\n    Qui me portera expliotera\n    Et a grant joye revendra.\n\n    (Whosoever weareth me will do doughty deeds,\n    And will return filled with joy.)\n\nThis motto is believed to indicate that the ring had been given to a\nCrusader to wear on his expedition for the rescue of the Holy Land from\nthe hands of the infidels. That it should have been found on English\nsoil seems to be proof that the wearer returned safely to his native\nland.[310]\n\nIn 1774, after long and urgent solicitation, the Dean of Westminster,\nDr. John Thomas, later Bishop of Rochester, consented to the opening\nof the tomb of Edward I of England (1272\u20131307) and the disinterment\nof his body. The corpse was found closely wrapped in coarse, thick\nlinen cloth, the face being covered with a face-cloth of crimson\nsarcinet.[311] The features were still in great part well-preserved\nthough the skin was dark brown, almost black. The monarch had been\nclothed with royal vesture and royal insignia, but no ring was found on\neither of the hands. The disinterment of King Canute\u2019s body, however,\nresulted in the finding of a ring set with a large and fine stone, of\nwhat particular kind we are not informed.\n\nWhen, in 1562, the iconoclastic Calvinists of Caen broke open the tomb\nof Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror, in the Abbey of the Holy\nTrinity, there was still to be seen on one of the queen\u2019s fingers a\ngold ring set with a fine sapphire. This was yielded to the Abbess, of\nthe house of Montmorency, who later gave it to her father, the famous\nconstable of France, Anne de Montmorency, when he attended Charles\nIX on the latter\u2019s visit to Caen in the following year. The tomb of\nWilliam Rufus, the Conqueror\u2019s son, in Winchester Cathedral, was opened\nin the reign of Charles I, and in the dust of the king lay a large gold\nring. So customary was it at this period to have a royal ring interred\nwith the sovereign\u2019s body, that even when Richard II left special\ndirections in his will that the crown and sceptre to be buried with him\nshould not be enriched with any precious stones, he expressly ordered\nthat a ring set with a precious stone and worth 20 marks should be put\non his finger.[312]\n\nWhen, in 1360, the Earl of Richmond married the Lady Blanche, daughter\nof the Duke of Lancaster, King Edward III gave as presents a ring with\na ruby and a belt garnished with rubies, emeralds and pearls.[313] The\nrubies may have been considered especially appropriate, since the red\nrose was the emblem of the House of Lancaster. More than a century\nlater, in the reign of Henry VII, when Perkin Warbeck utilized his\nstriking resemblance to Edward IV in support of his claim that he was\none of the princes slain in the Tower, in 1483, by order of Richard\nIII, and succeeded in persuading Edward\u2019s sister, Margaret, and also\nKing James IV of Scotland, of the truth of his pretensions, one of his\nrural agents in England was called in the conspirators\u2019 correspondence\n\u201cThe Merchant of the Ruby,\u201d a designation designed to cast off possible\nsuspicion by representing the agent to be only a gem dealer.\n\nThere still exists in the English records a paper dated in 1445, the\nyear of Margaret of Anjou\u2019s marriage, and signed by King Henry VI. In\nthis the king directs that a warrant of discharge be given to \u201cour\nTrusty and Wellbeloved Squire John Merston, Tresorier of our Chambre\nand Keper of our juwelles,\u201d for sundry jewels which had been confided\nto his care. The following item refers to the ring of Margaret of\nAnjou:[314]\n\n\u201cA Ryng of Gold, Garnished with a fayr Rubie, somtyme Yeven unto Us by\nour Bel Oncle the Cardinal of Englande, with the which we were Sacred\nin the Day of oure Coronation at Parys, delivered unto Mathew Phelip,\nto Breke, and thereof to make an other Ryng for the Quenes Wedding\nRing.\u201d\n\nThere is no mention here of any engraving on the stone of this ring,\nwhich had been used in 1431, when Henry VI was crowned in Paris. If the\nspinel in the Marlborough Collection, engraved with a head somewhat\nresembling that of Henry VI on his coins, really adorned this ring, the\nengraving may have been executed subsequent to Henry\u2019s marriage with\nthe unfortunate Margaret of Anjou.\n\nRings set with precious stones were given as prizes at the tournament\nheld by Henry VII of England in 1494. The prize for jousting was to be\na ruby ring, while the best in the tourney and the one delivering the\nmost telling strokes was to be rewarded with a diamond ring. The Earl\nof Suffolk, Thomas Brandon, who later married King Henry\u2019s daughter\nMargaret, after the death of her first husband Louis XII of France, was\nsuccessful in gaining one of the ruby rings, bestowed upon him by the\n\u201cLadie Margaret,\u201d his future wife, and Sir Edward A. Borough fought so\nstoutly in the m\u00eal\u00e9e that he was adjudged worthy of a diamond ring. An\nextra prize of an emerald ring was given to the Earl of Essex for his\nvalor.[315]\n\nIn 1681 the Duke of Norfolk presented to the College of Arms in London\nthe sword, dagger, and ring worn by James IV of Scotland (1473\u20131513)\nat the battle of Flodden Field, fought August 22, 1513, in which he\nmet his death. This ring was set with a turquoise and had been sent to\nJames by the queen of France, as a pledge of friendship and regard,\nwhen she solicited the good offices of the Scottish monarch with Henry\nVIII, who had just laid siege to T\u00e9rouanne. Another account states that\nwhen the queen sent the ring to James, she charged him to break a lance\nfor her sake. This ring is said to have been taken from the body of\nKing James by Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, an ancestor of the donor.[316]\nThe belief that the turquoise protected those who wore it from falls\nand wounds, probably determined its selection, but the result in this\ncase was hardly calculated to increase the stone\u2019s prestige.\n\nOn the site of this disastrous defeat of the Scotch by the English\narmy under the Earl of Surrey, an inscribed ring was found in 1783.\nThe inscription, in Norman French, reads: \u201cOn est mal loiauls amans\nqui se poet garder des maux disans\u201d (Only a lover of scant loyalty can\nescape calumny). The words are disposed in groups of two, and between\neach pair is a boar\u2019s head, the crest of the Campbells. This has led to\nthe conjecture that the ring belonged to the second son of the Duke of\nArgyll, Archibald Campbell, who met his death in the forefront of the\nfight.[317]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF HENRY VIII, BY HANS HOLBEIN, PAINTED\n  IN 1540\n\n  Rings of identical form and setting on index fingers of each hand\n  and on little finger of left hand. These are designed to match\n  exactly the jewels on his collar and sleeves.\n\n  Reale Galleria d\u2019Arte Antica. Palazzo Corsini, Rome]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF JANE SEYMOUR (CA. 1510\u20131537) THIRD\n  WIFE OF HENRY VIII, AND MOTHER OF EDWARD VI, BY HANS HOLBEIN, THE\n  YOUNGER\n\n  Rings set with precious stones on index and fourth fingers of\n  left hand\n\n  Kaiserliche Gem\u00e4lde-Galerie, Vienna]\n\nAt the spoliation of the tomb of St. Thomas \u00e0 Becket at Canterbury\nin 1538, among the precious objects taken away was \u201c[a stone with]\nan angel of gold pointing thereunto, offered by the King of France:\n[which King Henry put] into a ring and wore it on his thumb.\u201d This\njewel, containing a diamond, was the most prized ornament of the\nshrine, and is believed to have been given by Louis VII of France\non the occasion of his visit in 1179. Henry VIII must have tired of\nhis massive thumb ring, for in the inventory of the precious stones\ndelivered to Queen Mary, March 10, 1554, shortly after her accession,\nthere appears the following entry: \u201cA collar of golde set with sixteen\nfaire diamounts, whereof the Regal of France is one, and fourteen\nKnotts of perles, in every Knotte four perles.\u201d[318]\n\nTwo pretty New Year\u2019s gifts for January first, 1571, were delivered to\nLady Mary Sidney on the last day of the year 1570. One of them was a\nring \u201cset with a rose\u201d; the other was more ambitious in design, being\ndescribed as \u201ca jewell with the storie of time\u201d set with diamonds and\nrubies, certainly an appropriate gift for the day. This cost but \u00a310\nor $50, a much larger sum, however, in those bygone days than it is\naccounted to be to-day, for the purchasing power of money was many\ntimes greater.[319]\n\nThe earliest mention of the diamond ring given by Elizabeth to Mary\nQueen of Scots occurs in Camden\u2019s account of the events of Elizabeth\u2019s\nreign. After relating the events that determined Mary to seek\nElizabeth\u2019s protection, Camden continues:\n\n She therefore sent John Beatoun to her [Elizabeth] with the\n diamond she had formerly received from her as a symbol of mutual\n good-will, signifying to her that she was about to come to England\n and ask for aid in case her subjects continued to make war against\n her.[320]\n\nThis is said to have been a gimmal-ring, two diamonds joining together\nto form a heart. One half was kept by Elizabeth who gave the other half\nto Mary. This appeal to the tender mercies of the Virgin Queen, and\nMary\u2019s hope, were in vain, for \u201cshe cutt off her head for all that\u201d as\nAubrey dryly puts it.[321]\n\nSeveral epigrams on this diamond were written by the Scotch poet and\npublicist George Buchanan (1506\u20131582), the best being as follows:[322]\n\n    Quod te jampridem fruitur, videt, ac amat absens,\n      Haec pignus cordis gemma, et imago mei est.\n    Non est candidior, non est haec purior illo,\n      Quamvis dura magis, non magis firma.\n\nThis has been rendered:\n\n    The gem which saw thee near and loves thee still,\n      Is pledge and image of my heart and will.\n    My heart is not less white or pure than this,\n      And though less hard, \u2019tis quite as firm I wis.\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS (1542\u20131587).\n  FRENCH SCHOOL\n\n  Rings on the second joint of fourth finger of right hand, and on\n  little finger of the same hand\n\n  Museo del Prado, Madrid]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF QUEEN ELIZABETH, BY THE FLEMISH\n  PAINTER LUCAS DE HEERE\n\n  On little finger of left hand, ring set with a large, oblong,\n  table-cut stone\n\n  Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]\n\nA memorial ring was sent by Mary of Scotland, just before her execution\nat Fotheringay Castle, February 8, 1587, to her faithful follower and\nkinsman, Lord John Hamilton, with an affectionate message and her\nlast farewell. This ring, set with a sapphire, was handed down from\ngeneration to generation in the Hamilton family, and was seen, in\n1857, at Hamilton Palace, by Miss Agnes Strickland. She described the\nsapphire as being large, of rectangular form, and cut with a number\nof facets, a kind of rose-cutting; the setting was of blue enamelled\ngold in the style favored by sixteenth century goldsmiths.[323] It\nmight be looked upon as a noteworthy coincidence, that as a sapphire\nwas a memorial of Mary\u2019s death, another sapphire was the token to her\nson, James I, of Elizabeth\u2019s death and his accession to the throne of\nEngland.\n\nOn the night before her execution, Mary Stuart found an opportunity\nto ask her apothecary, a Monsieur Gorion, whether he could safely\nconvey a letter and two diamonds to those for whom they were intended,\nand whether he would promise to perform this service faithfully. He\nassented, saying that he could make some drug in which the objects\nmight be safely concealed, so that he could carry them away with him.\nOne of these diamonds was to be given to Mendoza, for a long time\nSpanish ambassador to the court of Elizabeth; the other, and larger\none, was destined for Philip II of Spain. This was to be received as \u201ca\nsign that she was dying for the truth, and was also meant to bespeak\nhis care for her friends and servants.\u201d[324]\n\nOf rings which have been treated as sacred relics, none can be said to\nrecall a more painful tragedy than one donated to the monastery-church\nof the Escurial. On April 15, 1587, the Spanish king Philip II had a\nnocturne and a requiem sung in the church in memory of the unfortunate\nMary of Scotland. When the echoes of the solemn chants had died away,\nthe king gave to the abbot a ring set with a diamond which had belonged\nto the unhappy victim, with the injunction that it should be placed\namong the sacred relics and preserved as \u201ca symbol of the purity and\nthe firm faith of this saintly queen.\u201d[325] This ring, or at least the\nlarge diamond of its setting, must have been the farewell gift which we\nhave just noted.\n\nAlthough not a betrothal ring, that given by Queen Elizabeth to the\nEarl of Essex was most certainly a love token. When this nobleman\nwas high in the queen\u2019s favor she bestowed upon him a gold ring set\nwith a sardonyx cut with her portrait; giving him, at the same time,\na solemn promise that whatever charges might be brought against him\nshe would accord him her pardon if he sent her this ring. Some years\nlater, Essex--who in the meanwhile had lost the queen\u2019s favor--was\nimpeached for high treason and condemned to death. In this extremity,\nhe endeavored to find some means of transmitting to the queen the ring\nshe had given him. Fearing to trust his keepers with the execution of\nhis wish, Essex found no better way than to throw the ring to a boy who\nwas passing the prison, directing him to give it to Lady Scrope, Lady\nNottingham\u2019s sister. Unfortunately for Essex, the boy gave the ring,\nby mistake, to Lady Nottingham, whose husband was one of his bitterest\nenemies, so that the token never reached the queen, who was convinced\nthat her former favorite was too proud and obstinate to seek her\nmercy. She thereupon left him to his fate. Years afterwards, when Lady\nNottingham was on her death-bed, she asked for the queen and confessed\nthat she had failed to deliver the ring sent to her by Essex. This\nconfession aroused the queen\u2019s wrath to such an extent that she burst\nforth in violent reproaches and rushed from the room exclaiming: \u201cGod\nmay forgive you; I never shall!\u201d The proud heart of the virgin queen\nwas broken by this revelation, and, weighed down by remorse for the\ndeath of Essex, she expired a few weeks later.\n\n  [Illustration: Gold ring set with an oval cameo-portrait, on\n  onyx, of Queen Elizabeth. Sixteenth Century. Two views\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Gold ring set with pearls pierced and threaded;\n  two views. Venetian (?) late Seventeenth Century\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Multiple silver rings. Four hoops connected by\n  three vertical bars: one of these is set with two corals and a\n  glass paste. North African (?)\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: PUZZLE OR MAGIC RINGS, PLAIN AND JEWELLED]\n\nQuite recently this historic Essex ring has found its way to the\nauction-room, and to judge from the price it brought, the purchaser\nmust have been convinced of the truth of the legend concerning it, as\nits merely artistic qualities--which are in no wise remarkable--and the\nfact that it is incidentally a product of sixteenth century art would\nscarcely suffice to justify the amount paid for it. The sale took place\nat Christie\u2019s in London, on May 18, 1911, and after spirited bidding\nthe ring was adjudged for $17,060. A firm of dealers in antiquities\nwere the nominal purchasers, but they are said to have acted for Lord\nMichelson of Hollingly, a baron in the lately overthrown Kingdom of\nPortugal, and the senior partner in the firm of Stern Bros., of London.\nThis ring is stated to have been bequeathed by mother to daughter in\na long line of Essex\u2019s descendants, beginning with his daughter Lady\nFrancis Devereux. Finally it came to Louisa, daughter of John, Earl\nof Greville, and wife of Thomas Thyme, second Viscount Weymouth and\ngreat-grandfather of the late owner.\n\nSome authorities do not think that the story of the Essex ring has a\nsatisfactory historical foundation.[326] It first appears in a book\npublished about 1650 and entitled \u201cHistory of the most renowned Queen\nElizabeth and her great Favourite, the Earl of Essex. In Two Parts.\nA Romance.\u201d In 1658 Francis Osborn repeats it in his \u201cTraditional\nMemoires of Elizabeth.\u201d It was even treated dramatically by John Banks\n(fl. 1696) in his play \u201cThe Unhappy Favourite.\u201d Certain later writers\nclaim to have learned of it through trustworthy informants, as for\nexample, Louis Aubery, Sieur de Maurier, who published in Paris, in\n1680, a history of Holland and therein states that Sir Dudley Carleton\ntold the story to Prince Maurice of Saxony. In the English translation\nof this work the episode has been omitted. Still later, at the end of\nthe seventeenth century, it is given by Lady Elizabeth Spelman on the\nauthority, as she alleged, of Sir Robert Carey, brother of Lady Scrope.\nIn earlier versions the ring was represented to have been sent directly\nby Essex to Lady Nottingham; in Lady Spelman\u2019s recital, however, as\nwe have already noted, Essex instructs the boy to whom he entrusts\nthe ring to deliver it to Lady Scrope, sister of Lady Nottingham. It\nis suggested that this variation was made to offset the objection\nthat Essex would never have chosen his enemy, Lady Nottingham, as an\nintermediary between himself and the queen. Manningham, in his \u201cDiary,\u201d\nthe only contemporary who alludes to a ring in connection with Essex\u2019s\nrelations with Elizabeth, only states that \u201cthe queen wore till her\ndeath a ring given her by Essex.\u201d Possibly this fact may have served as\na nucleus for the romantic tale.\n\nA portrait of Queen Elizabeth, elaborately be-pearled as usual, the\nwork of the Flemish painter, Lucas De Heere, shows her with a ring on\nthe little finger of her left hand. It is set with an oblong, table-cut\nstone. This interesting portrait, which is in the Metropolitan Museum\nof Art, New York, while conforming generally to the type with which\nwe are familiar, differs in some respects therefrom. The very slender\nneck, the delicacy of form and face, may, of course, represent\nmannerisms of the artist.\n\nThe sapphire set in the ring thrown out of the window of Queen\nElizabeth\u2019s death chamber by Lady Scrope to her brother Robert Carey,\nas a signal that the queen was dead, so that he might be the first\nto bear the news to her impatient successor, James I, was exhibited\nin the great Loan Exhibition of Ancient and Modern Jewellery shown\nat the South Kensington Museum in London, in 1872. As there shown,\nthis historic sapphire was the central ornament of a diamond star, or\ncinque-foil. The original ring was given to John, Earl of Orrery, by\nthe Duchess of Buckingham, natural daughter of James II, and the small\nbrilliants surrounding it in its present setting are the same as those\nwhich were about it in the ring.[327]\n\nBy the terms of his will, dated December 18, 1630, Sir Edward Coke, of\nGodwick, bequeathed among other jewels two of historic significance.\nOne of these was a ring \u201cset with a great Turkey (turquoise), which\nKing Henry the Eighth used to wear, and was painted with it on his\nforefinger.\u201d The other jewel, also a ring, is curiously suggestive when\nwe recall that an attempt (unsuccessful, of course) had been made to\npoison the unfortunate Sir Thomas Overbury with diamond dust, before\npoison of a more effective sort was administered to him. The ring in\nquestion is described here as set with \u201ca Diamon cut with faucetts\n(facets)\u201d and the statement is added that it had been given to Sir\nEdward by Anne of Denmark, Queen of James I, \u201cfor the discovery of the\npoisoning of Sir Thomas Overbury.\u201d[328]\n\nA gold ring, said to have been one of five such rings given by Charles\nI to Bishop Juxon, on the scaffold, just before the king\u2019s execution,\nwas shown in the Loan Collection exhibited in the South Kensington\nMuseum, in London, in 1872. The statement is made that this ring was\npresented by Bishop Juxon to Sir John Halloway, and from him passed\ninto the possession of the Dalby family. The ring bears a death\u2019s head\nin white enamel on a black ground, and has the motto, \u201cBehold the\nende\u201d; around the edge is the inscription, \u201cRather death then fals\nfayth\u201d; at the back are the initials \u201cM\u201d and \u201cL,\u201d tied with a mourning\nribbon.[329]\n\nThe \u201cVerney Ring,\u201d with a portrait of Charles I of England, is, if\ngenuine, the only relic of a heroic tragedy. It is said to have been\nbestowed by Charles I upon Sir Edmund Verney, one of his most faithful\nfollowers in the perils of the Civil War. Sir Edmund was killed at the\nbattle of Edgehill, in 1642, where the Cavaliers were utterly defeated,\nbut even in death he still held the royal standard in his grasp. The\nring was taken from his hand, and the body abandoned; it was never\nrecovered. As he was helped into the world by a C\u00e6sarean operation, it\nbecame a common saying in the neighborhood of Edgehill that Sir Edmund\nwas neither born nor buried.[330]\n\nWith that striking indifference to moral right and wrong so\ncharacteristic of Charles II of England, he did not hesitate to bestow\na choice ring from his own hand upon the notorious Jeffreys, when the\nlatter was leaving London on one of his circuits always marked by the\nbrowbeating of witnesses and accused, and the imposition of capital\nsentences, wherever possible. It was at a somewhat later date, in\n1685, just after the accession of James II, that Jeffreys conducted\nthe trials of the unfortunate Duke of Monmouth\u2019s adherents, which came\nto be known as the \u201cBloody Assize.\u201d This fact of the presentation was\npublished in the Royal Gazette, thus notably strengthening Jeffreys\u2019\nprestige. So general, however, was the reprobation of his heartless and\nbloodthirsty administration of his judicial office that the ring was\ncalled \u201cJeffreys\u2019 bloodstone.\u201d[331]\n\nIn March, 1748, as some ploughmen were tilling a field seven miles from\nMullingor, County Westmeath, Ireland, they discovered a grave, the\nbottom, sides and ends of which were formed each of a single slab of\nstone. Within the grave were the bones of a man of gigantic stature,\nand also an urn and a valuable ring, set with twenty-five diamonds.\nBishop Pococke, treating of this ring, mentions the fact that Rosa\nFailge, eldest son of Cathoir More, known as Cathoir the Great, who\nreigned in 122 A.D., was called the \u201cHero of Rings,\u201d but the\nwriter adds that the ring could scarcely have belonged to him, since\ndiamonds do not appear to have been known in Ireland at this early\ndate.[332]\n\nA most interesting Washington relic is a pearl and gold ring made\nin his lifetime and containing a lock of his hair placed beneath a\nconical glass. This is encircled by a setting of blue and white enamel,\na square of red being set at each corner, and around this a circle\nof thirteen pearls, the number of the original States. This ring\nwas given by Washington to Lieut. Robert Somers. The latter lost his\nlife while fighting the Algerene pirates in Tripoli, but before his\ndeparture he confided the ring to the care of his sister, Sarah Keen.\nIt is now owned by Vice-Chancellor E. B. Leaming of Camden, New Jersey,\nwho inherited it from his paternal grandmother, an heir to Somers\u2019\nestate. Only two other rings containing Washington\u2019s hair are known of,\none in Washington\u2019s Headquarters at Newburgh on the Hudson, the other\nin the Boston Museum.[333]\n\nIn far-away Sweden there has been preserved a historic Washington\nrelic. This is a ring given by the Revolutionary leader to Lafayette\nbefore the latter\u2019s return to France after the victorious Yorktown\ncampaign. The ring passed from Lafayette to his intimate friend, Baron\nErik Magnus Sta\u00ebl von Holstein, Swedish ambassador to France. The\nlatter, on a visit to his native land gave it to his brother, Major\nBogislaus Sta\u00ebl von Holstein, in whose family it was transmitted as an\nheirloom until it reached the hands of the maternal grandfather of the\npresent owner, Mr. G\u00f6sta Fr\u00f6len of Falun, Sweden. The ring is of gold\nand is set with a miniature portrait of Washington.\n\nIt is said that two other rings were given by Washington about the\nsame time to two Swedish noblemen, who had served as adjutants to\nRochambeau. The presentation occurred at a banquet given in their\nhonor, just before their departure for their native land, at the City\nTavern in Philadelphia, November 11, 1782. In bestowing these gifts\nWashington is said to have used the following words: \u201cI am happy to be\nhere amongst men belonging to the race of my own early ancestors.\u201d All\ntrace of these rings has been lost.\n\n\n\n\n                                   V\n\n            BETROTHAL (ENGAGEMENT) RINGS, WEDDING (NUPTIAL)\n                        RINGS, AND LOVE TOKENS\n\n\nSpecial wedding-rings, as we understand them, were not used at an early\nperiod, the espousal ring being employed at the wedding ceremony also.\nAt a later time, a signet was set in the _anulus pronubus_, or\nbetrothal ring, to signify that the spouse was to have the right of\nsealing up the household goods, and occasionally a small key formed\npart of the ring, with a similar significance. We have a testimony to\nthis view in the words of the marriage ceremony: \u201cWith all my worldly\ngoods I thee endow.\u201d The wives of our day are quite disposed to accept\nthis passage in its literal sense, although some may incline to a more\nliberal interpretation of the promise to love, honor and obey their\nhusbands. The ring as a pledge of love is said to be first mentioned in\nRoman literature by Plautus in his \u201cMiles Gloriosus\u201d (Act IV, sc. i,\nv. 11); this passage, however, does not refer to a nuptial ring, but\nrather to a love token.\n\nSomewhat distantly related to the betrothal or wedding rings were those\ngiven by lovers to the objects of their affection. Of such a ring the\nRoman poet Ovid writes, apostrophizing it as \u201ca ring soon destined to\nencircle the finger of a beauteous girl, a ring having no worth except\nthe love of the giver.\u201d It was to be a gift to the poet\u2019s ladylove\nCorinna.[334] The ring sent by a fair lady, as a token of love to a\nhandsome soldier, in the \u201cMiles Gloriosus\u201d of Plautus was also of this\nclass.\n\nThe custom of placing the betrothal or wedding ring upon the fourth\nfinger seems undoubtedly to owe its origin to the fancy that a special\nnerve, or vein, ran directly from this finger to the heart. Macrobius,\nin his Saturnalia,[335] alludes to the belief in the following words:\n\u201cBecause of this nerve, the newly betrothed places the ring on this\nfinger of his spouse, as though it were a representation of the heart.\u201d\nMacrobius asserts that he derived his information from an Egyptian\npriest.\n\nIt has been conjectured that this was not the real source of the\ncustom, but that in the church service it was usual for the Christian\npriest to touch three fingers successively with the ring while saying:\n\u201cIn the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost,\u201d and then\nto place it upon the last finger touched. We know that this was the\nusage in the bestowal of episcopal rings, and later with wedding rings,\nbut the express statement cited from the pagan writer Macrobius shows\nthat in the earlier marriage or betrothal ceremony this custom must\nhave had an entirely different origin.\n\nDuring the reign of George I of England it was not unusual to wear the\nwedding ring on the thumb, although it had been placed on the fourth\nfinger at the marriage ceremony. Possibly this custom may have arisen\nbecause exceptionally large wedding rings were favored by fashion at\nthat time. That wedding rings were often worn on the thumb in the\nmiddle of the seventeenth century is proved by the lines from Samuel\nButler\u2019s Hudibras quoted on another page.[336]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF AN UNKNOWN WOMAN BY PANTOJA DE LA CRUZ\n\n  Rings on thumb and index of right hand, and on fourth and little\n  fingers of left hand Museo del Prado, Madrid]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF THE EMPRESS MARY, DAUGHTER OF CHARLES\n  V AND WIFE OF MAXIMILIAN II, BY JUAN PANTOJA DE LA CRUZ\n\n  Two rings on index and one on little finger of right hand; one on\n  index of left hand; all set with precious stones Museo del Prado,\n  Madrid]\n\nEcclesiastical rituals in France from the eleventh to the fifteenth\ncentury prove, with but few exceptions, that the nuptial ring was to be\nplaced on the right hand of the bride, in most of the dioceses upon the\nmiddle finger of this hand, but in the diocese of Li\u00e9ge on the fourth\nfinger. As Isidore of Seville, writing in the early part of the seventh\ncentury, declares that the betrothal ring was put on the fourth finger,\nand repeats the Roman fancy as to the vein intimately connecting this\nparticular finger with the heart,[337] it seems likely that this rule\nwas generally followed in the Roman Empire up to its end, and even\nlater in some parts of what had once been Roman provinces, while the\nearly French rules were derived from a Gallic usage which had never\nbeen supplanted by the Roman one.[338] That the Gauls and Britons of\nthe first century wore their rings on the middle finger is already\nnoted by Pliny.[339]\n\nA gold ring, a unique relic of Anglo-Saxon times in England, was found\nin an ancient burial place at Harnham Hill, near Salisbury.[340] It\nwas on a finger bone of the left hand of a skeleton, and resembles\nexactly our wedding-ring of to-day. In the same cemetery was unearthed\na twisted ring of silver, a mere band twice encircling the finger; a\nsection of the finger-bone remains within the ring. These relics are\nbelieved to date from the seventh century. On or near the skeleton\nwith which this silver ring was found were several amber beads; the\nremains were evidently those of an elderly person, although of one not\nover 55 years of age, according to Professor Owen.\n\nThat part of the Order of Matrimony relating to the marriage vows and\nto the wedding ring, in the Sarum Rite or Use current in England in\npre-Reformation times, runs as follows, after the bride and groom have\nclasped hands:[341]\n\nIch N. take the N. to my wedded wyf, to haven and to holden fro this\nday forward, for betre for wors, for rychere for porere, in syknesse\nand in helthe, til deth us departe, and theerto y plith the my trewthe.\n\nThen the woman:\n\nIch N. take the N. to my wedded hosebund, to haven and to holden fro\nthis day forward, for betre and for wors, for rychere and for porere,\nto be boneyre and buxum ... and at borde, till dethe us departe and\nthereto y plith the my trewthe.\n\nThen let the man lay gold, silver, and a ring on a dish or book; and\nlet the Priest ask if the ring hath been blessed already; if it be\nanswered not, then let the Priest bless the ring.\n\nBless, O Lord, this ring (looking at it) which we hallow in Thy Holy\nName, that whosoever she be that shall wear it may be steadfast in Thy\npeace and abide in Thy will, and live, increase, and grow old in Thy\nlove, and let the length of her days be multiplied.\n\n  [Illustration: Gold ring in which are inserted representations of\n  two winged figures cut in intaglio in a brown chalcedony. Antique\n  workmanship. See page 363\n\n  Collection of B. G. Fairchild, Esq., New York City]\n\n  [Illustration: Locket ring, opening at the bezel and on the\n  sides, leaving room for the introduction of hair, or tiny\n  portraits. When closed the ring appears to be plain and smooth]\n\n  [Illustration: Antique Syrian ring of bronze, set with a\n  yellowish green paste. Half of the circlet has broken away]\n\n  [Illustration: Gold ring set with octahedral diamond. Late Roman.\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Twisted hoop of silver on the bone of a finger.\n  From an ancient sepulchre at Harnham Hill, England. Saxon, 7th\n  century\n\n  Arch\u00e6ologia, vol. xxxv, pl. opp. p. 278]\n\n  [Illustration: WEDDING RINGS FROM SYRIAN TOMBS OF CHALCEDONY,\n  AGATE, AND BANDED AGATE]\n\nBut if the ring shall have been already blessed, then, as soon as\nthe man have laid it on the book, let the Priest take the ring and\ndeliver it to the man; and let the man receive it in his right hand,\nwith the first three fingers, holding the right hand of the Bride with\nhis left hand, and say, after the Priest:\n\nWith this ryng ich the wedde, and with my body ich the honoure and with\nal my gold ich the dowere.\n\nAnd then let the bridegroom put the ring on the thumb of the Bride,\nsaying--\n\nIn the Name of the Father; (on the first finger) and of the Son; (on\nthe second finger) and of the Holy Ghost; (on the third finger). Amen.\n\nAnd there let him leave it, because in that finger there is a certain\nvein which reaches to the heart; and by the purity of the silver is\nsignified the inward affection which ought ever to be fresh between\nthem.\n\nIn the modern Protestant Episcopal service, the bestowal of the ring is\nordered as follows:\n\nThen shall they again loose their hands; and the Man shall give unto\nthe Woman a Ring. And the Minister, taking the Ring, shall deliver it\nunto the Man, to put it upon the fourth finger of the Woman\u2019s left\nhand. And the Man holding the Ring there, and taught by the Minister,\nshall say:\n\nWith this Ring I thee wed, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow:\nIn the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.\n\nIt will be noted that the ring is first given by the man to the woman,\nthen taken from her by the priest who returns it to the man, upon which\nthe latter puts it on the fourth finger of the woman\u2019s left hand.\n\nFour fine specimens of later Byzantine work in ring-making are in\nthe British Museum. These are all marriage-rings of massive gold,\nthe designs being similar, with certain variations. The bezels\nbear engraved figures of Christ alone, or of Christ and the Virgin,\nbestowing a blessing upon the newly wedded pair; beneath is the Greek\nword \u1f78\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u03cc\u03b9\u03b1 (or \u1f78\u03bc\u03cc\u03bd\u03c5\u03b1\u03b9), signifying their spiritual union. All but\none have on the hoop in Greek characters the inscription: \u201cMy peace I\ngive unto you\u201d (John, xiv, 27). On the remaining ring there is on the\nhoop a decoration in niello, depicting very roughly scenes from the\nGospel. The character of the work indicates that it probably belongs\nto the tenth century.[342] A massive gold ring found not long since\nin Mainz, bears a Greek inscription showing that it was executed for\nthe nuptials of King Stephen Radislav of Servia (1228\u20131234) with\nAnna Comnena, daughter of Emperor Theodore Ang\u00e9lus Comnenus, Duke of\nThessalonica, the region of the Saloniki of to-day. The inscription on\nthis early thirteenth century ring of Byzantine workmanship is nielloed\non the gold.[343]\n\nSome interesting inscriptions appear on certain of the Greek betrothal\nrings in the collection of the British Museum. A gold ring of about\nthe fourth century B.C. bears a Greek inscription which may\nbe rendered as follows: \u201cTo her who excells not only in virtue and\nprudence, but also in wisdom.\u201d In marked contrast to this rather\nelaborate dedication is the inscription on another ring, which bears\nthe single word \u03bc\u1f72\u03bb\u03b9 \u201cHoney.\u201d It strikes us strangely enough to find\nthis particular term of endearment, so freely used by the Negroes, on\na ring from classic times. Perhaps the most beautiful of all these\ninscriptions is on a late Greek ring and runs: \u201cI rejoice in the gift\nbecause of the affection of the giver.\u201d[344]\n\nThe custom of bestowing a ring upon the betrothed bride has been traced\nback in Rome to the second century B.C. Plain iron rings were\nfirst used for this purpose and they were still favored even when the\nwearing of gold rings had become general among certain classes of the\nRoman citizens. However, in the course of the second century of our\nera, and perhaps earlier, gold rings came into use in the ceremony\nof betrothal. Pliny\u2019s assertion that the bride wore an unset iron\nring has been interpreted to mean no more than that, in the case of\nthose entitled to wear gold rings, the bridegroom after having given\nthe bride a gold ring, later bestowed upon her one of iron for wear\nwithin doors. For it appears to have been a rather general usage, in\nor before Pliny\u2019s time, to wear gold rings only when in public, and\nwithin the house iron rings. That the nuptial ring was of gold, in the\nsecond century at least, is plain from the statement of St. Clement\nof Alexandria, who declares that this ring was not bestowed upon the\nspouse as an ornament, but that she might seal up whatever was worthy\nof special care in the household.[345]\n\nPerhaps the earliest allusion in Christian literature to the betrothal\nring appears in one of Tertullian\u2019s writings, dated from the end of\nthe second century A.D., wherein he says: \u201cAmong our women\nthe time-honored rules of their ancestors, which enjoined modesty and\nsobriety, have died out. In former times women knew nothing of gold\nexcept the single betrothal ring, which was placed on one of their\nfingers by the fianc\u00e9.\u201d[346] That this usage had endured for many years\nis clearly apparent from the allusion to times long past. In a curious\npassage,[347] St. Augustine, in the fourth century, writes: \u201cNo priest\nshall hesitate to wed a couple who present themselves before the altar,\nif the bride and bridegroom are not able, because of poverty, to give\nrings to each other; for the (offering of) the earnest-money is a\nmatter of decorum, not of necessity.\u201d\n\nOne of the rare marriage rings or love tokens of the early Christian\ncenturies, bears incised on its circular, button-shaped chaton, a male\nand a female bust, the faces turned toward each other. Above is a\ncross, the lower part of its upright shaft much longer than the upper\npart or the arms. This ring is of Byzantine workmanship and has been\napproximately dated about 440 A.D. It is a good example of the\nso-called bi-cephalic rings, rings bearing two heads, and weighs 3\u215d\ndwt., or 87 grains.[348]\n\nThis usage was introduced among the ancient Germans by the Romans.\nThe significance of the betrothal ring is noted in a law of the\nVisigoths, promulgated by Chindaswinthe (642\u2013643 A.D.). There\nhad evidently been a disposition to treat lightly the obligations of\nbetrothal, for we read: \u201cSince there are many who, forgetful of their\nplighted faith, defer the fulfillment of their nuptial contracts, this\nlicense should be suppressed.\u201d Therefore, it was provided that when a\nsolemn declaration had been made before witnesses and the espousal ring\nhad been given and accepted as representing earnest-money, the marriage\nceremony must follow, if either of the parties should fail to agree to\na rupture of the engagement; that is, it could only be broken by mutual\nconsent.\n\nA celebrated betrothal ring was that sent by Clovis I (465\u2013511\nA.D.) to Clothilda in 493. The following account is given of\nthe bestowal of this ring:\n\n\u201cAurelian pursued his journey from these parts [of Burgundy], bearing\nwith him the ring of Chlodwig that he might gain the better credence\nthereby. When he arrived at the city where Chrotechilda resided with\nher aunt, Aurelian presented himself and said: \u2018Chlodwig, King of the\nFranks, hath sent me to thee; if such be the will of God, he wishes to\nassociate thee with himself in his majesty, as spouse. That thou mayst\nbe assured of this, he hath sent thee this ring.\u2019 Accepting the ring,\nshe was filled with great joy, and answered: \u2018Take a hundred solidi\nas a reward for thy labor. Return quickly to thy lord and say to him:\n\u2018If thou desirest to associate me with thyself in matrimony, send\nenvoys straightway to my paternal uncle Gundobard, and ask him for my\nhand.\u2019\u201d[349] The money gift was a considerable one for the time, as the\nsolidus was worth intrinsically about $3 of our money, and six or eight\ntimes as much in purchasing power in that age.\n\nA most interesting ancient wedding ring, presumably of the Gallo-Roman\nperiod, was unearthed toward 1850 in the neighborhood of Mulsanne,\ndept. Sarthe, France. It is of massive gold and weighs 24 grams, 20\ncentigrams, or over \u00be ounce. On the bezel, which is square, are rudely\nengraved two figures, that of a warrior resting on his lance and that\nof a woman holding out her arms to him. On the shoulders, toward the\nbezel, is a foliated ornamentation, and along the edge of the bezel are\nengraved the two names \u201cDromacius\u201d and \u201cBetta,\u201d the characters being\nfilled in with the black enamel called niello. This ring is believed to\ndate from the fifth century A.D.[350]\n\nThe religious aspect of the ring in the ritual of the Greek Church\nfinds an exponent in Symeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica, who wrote\nabout a half-century before the capture of Constantinople by the Turks\nin 1453. In his description of a typical marriage ceremony he states\nthat the officiating priest laid upon the altar two rings, an iron one\nsymbolic of masculine force, and a gold one typical of the less hardy\nbut purer feminine constitution. These rings he consecrated. After\nbestowing his benediction upon the bride and bridegroom and offering\na prayer for them, he gave the woman the iron ring, as from the man,\nand to the man the gold ring on the part of the woman, and changed\nthem three times, in adoration of the Holy Trinity, the perfecter and\nsustainer of all things. Hereupon he joined the right hands of the\nspouses, demonstrating their unity in Christ and that the man had\nreceived the woman from the hand of the Church. The rings also\nsignified the agreement and sealing of the marriage contract.[351]\n\n  [Illustration: BETROTHAL OF JOSEPH AND MARY, BY JUAN RODRIGUEZ\n  JUAREZ (OR XUAREZ), MEXICO CITY, (1666\u20131734) CALLED THE \u201cMEXICAN\n  CARRACCA\u201d\n\n  In the possession of the author]\n\n  [Illustration: Right hand of the Virgin, right hand of St.\n  Joseph, and hands of the high-priest, showing the manner of\n  placing the wedding ring at Hebrew marriages as depicted in\n  the picture of Rodriguez Juarez [Xuarez]. The ring contains an\n  octahedral diamond crystal set in gold]\n\nAccording to Buxtorf (De sponsal. et divort.), the Jews did not place\nthe betrothal ring upon the annular finger, but upon the index. As\nto this there is a curious statement in the \u201cOpus aureus contra\nJud\u00e6os,\u201d[352] by Victor de Carben, a converted Jew. He states that,\nat the betrothal ceremony, care should be taken that the fianc\u00e9e\nextends her index finger to receive the ring, lest it should be put, by\nmistake, upon the middle finger, for it was on this finger that Joseph\nplaced the ring when he betrothed Mary. Buxtorf adds that he has never\nbeen able to find this statement in Jewish writings.\n\nOne of Ghirlandajo\u2019s frescoes in the church of Santa Croce, in\nFlorence, depicts the betrothal of the Virgin. Here the ring is placed\nby Joseph on the fourth finger of the Virgin\u2019s right hand, and the\nfamous Sposalizio by Rafael in the Brera Gallery in Milan illustrates\nthe same usage. Possibly the ring was transferred to the left hand at\nthe actual marriage ceremony.\n\nThe custom of the Greek church at the present day in relation to\nbetrothal or wedding rings differs in some respects from that observed\nin other Christian churches, for the priest places a ring on the fourth\nfinger of each of the contracting parties, who then proceed to exchange\nthem with each other.\n\nThe old custom of exchanging rings and betrothal vows obtains in the\nRussian branch of the Eastern Church. For the succeeding marriage\nceremony, or \u201ccrowning,\u201d the same rings are again used. The rubric\nstates that the bride\u2019s ring should be of silver to show that she is\nthe less honorable vessel, while the bridegroom\u2019s ring is of gold to\nsignify the superiority of the man. The brides, however, have shown a\ndisposition to resent this inequality, and, in modern times at least,\nthey are given gold rings also. The old Russian custom is for the\nhusband to wear his ring on his forefinger.[353]\n\nIn the Greek and Russian churches, the rings--of gold for the man, of\nsilver for the woman--are bestowed at the betrothal ceremony, when also\na contract between the parties is made. The later nuptial ceremony is\ngenerally designated as \u201cthe crowning,\u201d a crown being placed on the\nheads of bride and bridegroom by the officiating priest.\n\nThe question was often raised whether the mere fact of giving or\naccepting a ring constituted a definite promise of marriage. The best\nauthorities decided the question in the negative. In reference to\nthis matter Peter M\u00fcller writes: \u201cIf when a ring is given there is no\npromise of marriage, the ring shall not be regarded as a betrothal\nring, but as a simple gift. Whence it may be inferred that a contract\nof marriage cannot be proved by a ring alone, since mere donations,\nbestowed through liberality, do not produce any obligation.\u201d[354]\n\nThe connection between the wedding ring and the bestowal of\nearnest-money is clearly indicated in the marriage service as given in\nthe Prayer-Book of Edward VI. Here, after the words \u201cwith this ring I\nthee wed,\u201d there is added: \u201cThis gold and silver I give thee\u201d; and at\nthese words the bridegroom usually placed in the bride\u2019s hands a purse\ncontaining a sum of money. There can, indeed, be little doubt that the\nespousal ring was rather the type of a valuable consideration offered\nat the consummation of the marriage contract, than a symbol of the\nbondage and subjection of the spouse as many have maintained.\n\nThat the ring was sometimes given conditionally is shown by a curious\nold German formula to the following effect: \u201cI give you this ring as a\nsign of the marriage which has been promised between us, provided your\nfather gives with you a marriage portion of 1000 reichsthalers.\u201d[355]\n\nIt is not possible to indicate with any precision at what date the\nbetrothal ring became the wedding ring, but this change seems to have\ntaken place in England about the time of the Reformation. This did not,\nhowever, entail the abandonment of the betrothal ring, but rather the\nsubstitution of another, and frequently less simple ring, to mark the\nbetrothal. Of course, the change was gradual and the usage varied in\ndifferent countries, since the employment of a separate marriage ring\nwas rather a matter of custom than of ecclesiastical ordinance.\n\nThe Manx usages and customs are so strange in many cases that the ring\ntraditions of the Isle of Man also present certain peculiarities.\nThus if a man was found guilty of having done injury to a maiden, the\nlatter was given a sword, a rope and a ring, signifying that she could\neither have him beheaded, or hung, or else could force him to wed her.\nThat the last-mentioned choice was the one most frequently made is\nvery probable, as the rehabilitation of her good name thus attained\nmight well outweigh any satisfaction to be gained from the exercise of\nrevenge.[356]\n\nThe use of rush-rings in England, in 1217, for mock marriages, is\nvouched for in the \u201cConstitutiones\u201d[357] of Richard, Bishop of\nSalisbury. It is provided that whoever places a rush-ring, or a ring\nof cheap or precious material, in sport and jest upon a woman\u2019s hand,\nthat she shall the more willingly become friendly with him, although\nimagining himself to be joking will be constrained to marry. Another\nauthority declares that when the ecclesiastical court enforced\nmatrimony as a penalty or a reparation for bad conduct, a rush ring or\na ring of straw was used at the ceremony.[358]\n\nThere are several passages in English poetry of the Elizabethan age\nand later, referring to this use of a \u201crush ring.\u201d In his \u201cTwo Noble\nKinsmen,\u201d Fletcher writes:\n\n                    Rings she made\n    Of rushes that grew by, and to \u2019em spoke\n    The prettiest posies; Thus our true loves ty\u2019d;\n    This you may loose, not me, and many a one.\n\nIn the seventeenth century Sir William Davenant (1605\u20131668) speaks in\nthe following mocking strain of such a ring:\n\n    I\u2019ll crown thee with a garland of straw then\n      And I\u2019ll marry thee with a rush ring.\n\nThe ballad called the Winchester Wedding has these lines:\n\n    Pert Strephon was kind to Betty,\n      And blithe as a bird in the spring;\n    And Tommy was so to Katy,\n      And wedded her with a rush ring.\n\nThe \u201crush ring\u201d is touched on in an old English ballad of Shakespeare\u2019s\ntime, in which occur the lines:[359]\n\n    Then on my finger I\u2019ll have a ring\n    Not one of rush, but a golden thing;\n    And I shall be glad as a bird in spring,\n        Because I am married o\u2019 Sunday.\n\nA purely spiritual view of the meaning of a wedding-ring is expressed\nby Guillaume Durant, Bishop of Mende (died 1296). For him it was\nthe symbol of the mutual love of the espoused, at once a pledge and\na symbol of the union of their hearts. However, the more mercenary\nsignificance of the ring, as a sign of the marriage gift to be bestowed\nupon the bride by the bridegroom before the wedding, is quite clearly\nbrought out in the old French Rituals, wherein its composition and\nmeaning are defined. A simplification of the ring itself seems to\nhave taken place from about the thirteenth century when gold rings\nadorned with precious stones were generally worn. The metal used at a\nlater time varied in different dioceses. While in that of Limoges the\nring was of gold, the rituals of the dioceses of Auxerre, Lyons and\nParis prescribe a silver ring. In the Manual of the priests belonging\nto the diocese of Paris, it is strictly enjoined that there shall be\nno inscription or figure upon the ring, and that no precious stone\nshall be set therein. The officiating priest receives it from the\nbridegroom together with one or more pieces of money \u201cas sign of the\nconstituted endowment.\u201d The Manuel de Beauvais, published in 1637, also\nprescribes that the nuptial ring shall be severely plain and entirely\nwithout inscription. The ritual of the Abbey of St. Victor is even\nmore definite, for here the blessing of the ring is preceded by the\nreading of the endowment on account of marriage (_dotalitium propter\nnuptias_). Hence the \u201cdower\u201d was not given with the wife, but was\nbestowed upon her by the husband.[360] This has been erroneously looked\nupon by some as a survival of the primitive custom of wife-purchase;\nit differs, however, essentially from this in that the wife receives\nthe endowment for her own use and as her own property. A curious\nsuperstition is condemned by the Ritual of Evreux. As the ring was\nhanded to the bride by the bridegroom, the former would let it fall on\nthe ground to conjure a possible evil spell.\n\nIt has been remarked by Jacob Grimm (1785\u20131863) the great lexicographer\nand student of German arch\u00e6ology, that in early times, among the\nchristianized Germans, the fianc\u00e9 gave the ring to the young woman, who\nwas thenceforth bound to carry out the marriage contract. On the other\nhand, according to the poetical recitals of the thirteenth century,\nthe fianc\u00e9e gives a ring to her future husband, without receiving one\nfrom him. The same writer regards the usage of betrothal rings as one\nintroduced among the Germans by Christian influence, not one that can\nbe looked upon as properly Germanic.[361]\n\nThe contracting parties often exchanged rings at the betrothal\nceremony, which in many cases was celebrated in the church with all\ndue solemnity. Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cTwo Gentlemen of Verona\u201d contains an\nallusion to a more informal exchange of rings:\n\n    Julia: Keep this remembrance for your Julia\u2019s sake.\n\n    Proteus: Why then we\u2019ll make exchange; here take you this.\n\n                           (Giving a ring.)\n\n    Julia: And seal the bargain with a holy kiss.\n\nIn our own time, in Germany, two rings, one for the bride and the other\nfor the bridegroom, are given at the marriage ceremony, and these rings\nare called \u201cTrauringe,\u201d a name which designates the ring as an emblem\nof faith and trust, just as does the Italian name for the betrothal\nring, _fede_, or faith.\n\nFrom the almost innumerable poesies inscribed upon espousal rings we\nselect a few of the more noteworthy. An antique Roman ring has the\nwords: \u201cPignus amoris habes\u201d (Thou hast a pledge of love);[362] another\nshows the simple form \u201cProteros Ugi\u00e6\u201d (Proteros to Ugia), the names\nbeing inscribed between two clasped hands.[363] A sentiment given by\none who was no believer in unrequited love reads: \u201cLove me, I will love\nthee.\u201d A massive gold ring of early date, found in 1823 at Thetford,\nin Suffolk, gives us the following inscription in Old French: \u201cDeus\nme octroye de vous servir a gree com moun couer desire\u201d (God grant me\nto serve thee acceptably as my heart desires).[364] On a ring in the\ncollection of the late Sir John Evans we have the following graceful\ninscription: \u201cJe suis ici en lieu d\u2019ami\u201d (I am here in the place of a\nfriend).\n\nAn elaborate wedding-ring, probably executed in Germany, in the latter\nhalf of the fifteenth century, is in the fine collection of the court\njeweler Koch, of Frankfort-on-the-Main. Out of richly ornamental\nfoliage work arise the figures of the wedded pair, evidently carefully\nrendered portraits. Although somewhat lacking in purely artistic\nharmony, this production of the ring-maker\u2019s art is an excellent\nillustration of the quality of the best German goldsmith work of the\ntime in the smaller objects.\n\nThe Figdor Collection in Vienna contains a fifteenth century betrothal\nring made in France. It is of gold and bears the inscriptions: \u201cIl est\ndit\u201d (in small letters) and \u201cELLE ME TIENT\u201d (in capitals),\nliterally: \u201cIt is said (spoken)\u201d and \u201cShe holds me.\u201d A betrothal ring\nin the form of a so-called \u201cPuzzle Ring,\u201d has six connecting hoops.\nThree of these are enameled, two others bear closed hands, and the last\nshows a key and the head of a winged angel. This is of seventeenth\ncentury workmanship.[365]\n\nA wedding-ring of simple Gothic design formed part of a grave treasure,\nthe characteristic inscription: \u201cIn Mir Ist Treue\u201d (In me is fidelity),\nleaving no doubt as to the use to which the ring had been put. This\nplain triangular band is in the Germanic Museum in Nuremberg and is\nassigned to the thirteenth century. Another most interesting ring\nfrom the same period was found in the territory formerly known as the\nF\u00fcrstenbergerhof, at the southwest end of the city of Mainz; it is now\nowned by the family Heerdt of that city. The clasped hands engraved on\nthe lower part of the hoop designate this clearly as a betrothal or\nwedding-ring.\n\nAn English ring of the early part of the fifteenth century bears this\ncouplet:\n\n    Most in mynd and yn myn herrt\n    Lothest from thee ferto deparrt.\n\nIn seventeenth century rings the religious sentiment predominates: \u201cI\nhave obtaind whom God ordaind\u201d; \u201cGod unites our hearts aright\u201d; \u201cKnitt\nin one by Christ alone\u201d; \u201cWee join our love in God above.\u201d A little\nmore human, if less devotional, are the mottoes: \u201cUnited hearts death\nonly parts\u201d; \u201cA faithfull wife preserveth life,\u201d and \u201cLove and live\nhappily.\u201d\n\nThere have been many types of betrothal rings from the simplest up\nto the most elaborate and ornate. One having a graceful symbolism\nwas found near Wassy, dept. Haute Marne, France, in June, 1868. The\nhoop is of yellow gold, alloyed sufficiently to give it consistence.\nInstead of one chaton, it has two placed close to one another and\neach set with a small, cabochon-cut emerald. The choice of this\nstone is a good indication that we have to do here with a betrothal\nrather than a wedding ring, for the emerald was emblematic of hope,\nof unfulfilled desire and of virginity. Around the setting runs the\nfollowing inscription in Old French, beginning with the sign of the\ncross: CE QUE DESIR HOM DONE UN BIEN. This may be rendered:\n\u201cWhat one desires brings happiness,\u201d the idea being perhaps that so\nbeautifully expressed by St. Thomas Aquinas: \u201cThe soul dwells with the\nloved one rather than in the body it animates.\u201d[366] While the letters\nof the French inscription are so much worn as to make the decipherment\nof two words a little uncertain, the general sense is clear enough,\nand constitutes a very fine motto for such a ring.[367]\n\nThe ring which had been used by Louis IX (St. Louis) at his betrothal\nto Marguerite de Provence, in 1231, was so greatly prized by him that\non his death-bed he expressed the wish that it should be interred with\nhis body. On its gold hoop he had caused to be engraved the lilies of\nFrance and certain military emblems.[368]\n\nA graceful thought is expressed in the following Old French inscription\non a ring found near Poitiers:\n\n    Mon cuer se est resioui aussi doit il si maist Dieux.\n    A mon gre ne puis mieux aueir choisi.\n\n\u201cMy heart is rejoiced, and so should it be, if God aid me. For I feel I\ncould not have chosen better.\u201d\n\nA shorter motto, but one full of significance, appears on a ring in the\nmuseum of Poitiers; it consists merely of the two words: \u201cSans Partir.\u201d\nThis could mean either \u201cwe shall never separate,\u201d or else that the\ndonor would never abandon his love. Another brief motto, found on a\nring in the Louvre dating from the reign of Francis I, runs \u201cRiens sans\namour,\u201d or \u201cLove is all in all.\u201d[369]\n\n  [Illustration: JEWISH BETROTHAL RINGS IN GOLD, SET WITH PRECIOUS\n  STONES\n\n  Mus\u00e8e de Cluny, Paris]\n\n  [Illustration: Jewish wedding rings, one with Temple dome, the\n  other with slant-roofed structure. Each bears the Hebrew words\n  _Mazzel Tob_, or \u201cGood Luck\u201d Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an\n  Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Jewish wedding ring, with five bosses and as bezel\n  a projecting figure. This is hinged and covers a gold plate. On\n  the inside _Mazzel Tob_ or \u201cGood Luck\u201d\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Jewish marriage ring. Gold hoop with five bosses\n  of filigree enriched with flowers in pale blue, green and white\n  enamel, and a gable-like projection with two small windows.\n  N\u00fcrnberg. Sixteenth Century\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Jewish wedding ring; broad gold hoop, the sides\n  showing the Creation of Eve, the Fall, and the Expulsion from\n  Eden. German. Sixteenth Century\n\n  British Museum]\n\nAt weddings in Spain and also in some parts of France, in connection\nwith the bestowal of a ring, the curious usage has been observed of\ngiving thirteen pieces of money to the bride. This gift, called in\nFrench a _treizain_, has its origin, as the name indicates, in\nthe ancient custom of giving to the purchaser of a dozen articles,\nan extra one, ostensibly as a testimonial of good will, but really to\ninduce further purchases. This old usage is said to have been observed\nat the marriage of King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1906.\n\nThe Hebrew betrothal rings were elaborate and somewhat clumsy\nproductions, frequently of massive gold. The broad hoop was surmounted\nby the representation of a temple, sometimes with a Moorish dome, but\nusually with a slanting roof. This is a curiously conventionalized\nfiguration of Solomon\u2019s Temple, similar to that found upon certain\nspurious Hebrew coins. Upon the temple or else around the ring, are\ngenerally the Hebrew words FIO ERG, equivalent to \u201cGood Fortune.\u201d[370]\nSeveral such rings are described in the privately printed catalogue\nof the Londesborough Collection (London, 1853, p. 4). A more artistic\nspecimen, also in the Londesborough Collection, bears the figures\nof Adam and Eve in Paradise, accompanied by representations of\nanimals, all in high relief.[371] The specimens described belong to\nthe sixteenth century. The learned Jesuit, Athanasius Kircher, cites\na statement to the effect that the inscription _mazzel tob_,\nengraved upon many Hebrew betrothal rings, referred to the planet\nJupiter as the \u201cgood star.\u201d[372] This planet was, indeed, called by the\nHebrews _cocab zedeq_, \u201cstar of righteousness\u201d or \u201cjustice,\u201d but\nthere is little doubt that _mazzel tob_ should be rendered \u201cgood\nfortune\u201d or \u201cpropitious fate.\u201d\n\nThe earliest Jewish wedding-rings are said to have been plain golden\ncirclets, without setting, indeed a silver substitute or even one of\na cheaper metal was not forbidden. Pearls, favorite gems with the\nJews, were sometimes used for settings at a later period. The purely\nceremonial or symbolic significance of the Jewish wedding ring in early\ntimes is exemplified in its great size, the major part of these rings\nbeing much too large for wear. Sometimes, at the wedding feast, rings\nof this type were used as holders of myrtle-branches. The circlet\nsurmounted with the temple figure was occasionally formed of two\ncherubim.[373]\n\nA ring supposed to have been the wedding ring of the Roman Tribune,\nCola di Rienzi (ca. 1313\u20131354), is of silver, with an octagonal bezel;\nthe hoop bears the names: \u201cCatarina\u201d and \u201cNicola,\u201d those of Rienzi\nand of Catarina di Raselli, his bride. The letters have been placed\nin sharp relief by cutting away the background and filling it up with\nniello. Between the names are two stars. As Rienzi chose a star as\nhis emblem on the coins he struck during his brief rule in Rome, this\ndevice coupled with the names makes the attribution of the ring not\nwithout some good foundation.[374] This ring was bought by Mr. Waterton\nin Rome for a trifling sum. It had been pledged in a Monte di Piet\u00e0,\nand was disposed of at one of the periodical clearing sales.\n\nIn the fifteenth century the betrothal ceremony was usually performed\nin the presence of a notary public, not of a priest, and this continued\nto be the usage until after the Council of Trent, which ended in 1563.\nAt the betrothal, by proxy, of Lucrezia Borgia with Giovanni Sforza,\nFebruary 2, 1493, twin gold rings set with precious stones were given,\none to be put on the fourth finger of the fianc\u00e9e\u2019s left hand, \u201cwhose\nvein leads to the heart\u201d as the record specifies, while the other was\nto be placed on the bridegroom\u2019s little finger.[375]\n\nIn one of the very risqu\u00e9 tales forming the \u201cCent Nouvelles Nouvelles,\u201d\nthe authorship of which has been attributed to King Louis XI of France\n(1461\u20131483), it is related that a lady, while bathing, lost a diamond\nring; the narrator adds: \u201cThis was one her liege lord had given her\non the day of her espousal, and she prized it the more highly on this\naccount.\u201d Although diamond rings were not common at this time, the\nrecently invented art of facetting the diamond was rapidly bringing\nthese stones into fashion and favor. There is, indeed, a record, or at\nleast a family tradition, that one of the three large diamonds cut in\nfacets by Lodowyk van Berken of Bruges, about 1476, at the order of\nDuke Charles the Bold of Burgundy, was set in a ring and given by the\nduke to Louis XI, with whom he was then seeking to get on a friendly\nfooting. This diamond is described as having been cut as a \u201ctriangle\nand a heart.\u201d This possibly means that the triangular shape was\nslightly modified into a heart shape.[376]\n\nA Scotch legend relates that a married woman by ill-chance let her\nwedding ring fall into the river Clyde. On her return home her husband\nnoted its absence and, believing she had given it to a lover,\nbecame furiously jealous, used the harshest language to her and even\nthreatened her life. In her despair the innocent wife went and cast\nherself at the feet of St. Kentigern, Bishop of Glasgow, supplicating\nhim to render her faithfulness manifest. The bishop had compassion\nupon her, and uttered a prayer that the ring might be restored. His\nprayer was answered, for ere a few hours had passed a fisherman came\nto him bearing as a gift a large salmon he had just caught, and in\nthe mouth of the fish was found the lost ring. The husband, convinced\nof his injustice, was kinder to his wife than ever before, so as to\nmake good the wrong he had done her. To the story given in this legend\nare ascribed the figures of a salmon with a ring in its mouth on\nthe coat-of-arms of the city of Glasgow, as well as on the armorial\nbearings of several of the bishops of that city from the time of Bishop\nWishert, who lived under Edward II of England (1307\u20131327).[377]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF ANNE OF CLEVES (1515\u20131557), FOURTH\n  WIFE OF HENRY VIII, BY HANS HOLBEIN\n\n  Thumb-ring on left hand, one ring on index finger, and two on\n  fourth finger of right hand. This portrait, when shown to Henry,\n  pleased him so well that he agreed to the marriage, but he\n  expressed sore disappointment when he at last saw the new queen\n\n  Mus\u00e9e du Louvre, Paris]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF JUDITH, AFTER LUCAS CRANACH\n\n  Rings worn beneath gloves, which have slits to relieve the\n  pressure and to show the rings. Right hand has four rings, on\n  thumb, index, fourth finger, and little finger, respectively\n\n  Kaiserliche Gem\u00e4lde-Galerie, Vienna]\n\nAmong historic wedding rings especially worthy of note is that\ncommemorating the marriage of Martin Luther to Catharina von Bora, June\n13, 1525.[378] Both Luther and his wife had taken the vow of celibacy\nin the Roman Catholic church, and he was bitterly reproached by Roman\nCatholics for contracting this marriage. Replying to his accusers, he\nis declared to have said that he married \u201cto please himself, to tease\nthe Pope, and to spite the Devil.\u201d The inscription on this ring is:\n\u201cD. Martino Luthero Catharina v. Boren, 13 Jun. 1525.\u201d This probably\nindicates that the ring was given to Luther by his wife in memory\nof the wedding. It is stated to have belonged to a family in Leipsic\nas late as 1817. A copy of the ring is in the writer\u2019s possession.\nIt was given him by Mrs. Edith True Drake, as a memento of her\nhusband Alexander W. Drake, of whose collection it had formed part.\nThe original ring is set with a small ruby, and bears in high relief\nrepresentations of the crucifixion, and of the instruments of the\nPassion; the pillar, scourge, spear, etc.\n\nA pendant to this is a ring given either to Luther or his wife, as a\nmemento of his marriage, by some friend. This is of the type of gimmal\nrings, divisible but not separable. On one hoop the setting is a\ndiamond, on the other a ruby. The bezel separates into two halves when\nthe ring is opened, and reveals on the two hidden sides the initials C\nV D and M L D, for Catharina von Bora and Martin Luther, Doctor. On the\ninner side of the conjoined hoops is the inscription: \u201c_Was Got zusamen\nfiegt sol kein mensch scheiden_\u201d (Those whom God hath joined, shall no\nman put asunder), in the old German spelling.[379] The diamond is on\nthe Luther side of the divided bezel, and signifies power, durability\nand fidelity; the ruby on the side marked with the wife\u2019s initials\nis taken to mean exalted love. Both this ring and the one already\ndescribed are believed to have been designed by the artist, Lucas\nCranach, who was a friend of Luther\u2019s and assisted at his marriage. The\nring is in the Grossherzogliches Museum at Brunswick.\n\nA very noteworthy ring, in the Waterton Collection at the Victoria\nand Albert Museum, London, belonged to Henry, Lord Darnley, and\ncommemorated his marriage with Mary, Queen of Scots. On the bezel are\nthe initials M H, entwined with a true-love knot, and within the hoop\nis engraved HENRI L. DARNLEY, and the date, 1565. Between the\ntwo groups of letters constituting the inscription, is figured a lion\nrampant on a carved shield. This ring is said to have been found in the\nruins of Fotheringay Castle, where Mary Stuart was executed.[380]\n\nA peculiar class of rings bears the name of \u201cgimmal rings.\u201d This\ndesignation is derived from the Latin _gemelli_, \u201ctwins,\u201d and\nindicates the form of the ornament. Two rings are joined together by a\npivot so that when united they constitute a single ring, although they\ncan be easily separated. On each circlet there is a band, so disposed\nthat when both are brought together the hands are clasped and hold the\nseparate rings in place. Occasionally, there are three or more rings\ncombined in the same way, the designation \u201cgimmal ring\u201d being used for\nthese also. The following lines by Herrick refer to this latter type:\n\n    \u201cThou sent\u2019st to me a true-love knot; but I\n    Return a Ring of _jimmals_ to imply\n    Thy love had one knot, mine a _triple_ tye.\u201d\n\nA specimen of this type of ring is given in the privately-printed\ncatalogue of Lady Londesborough\u2019s collection (London, 1853, p. 17).\nThis is described as \u201ca triple gimmal, the first and third circlet\nhaving each a hand, so that, when joined, the two hands are clasped\ntogether and serve to conceal two united hearts on the third ring. Of\nGerman workmanship.\u201d It was customary to separate the conjoined rings\nat the betrothal ceremony and to give the upper and lower to each of\nthe betrothed, respectively, while the middle ring was given to an\nintimate friend of the lady. When the marriage was solemnized, the\nrings were reunited and bestowed upon the bride. As a general rule all\nrings bearing clasped hands were termed gimmal rings, although the\ndesignation properly belonged to two or more separate rings joined\ntogether.\n\n  [Illustration: Ring with pointed diamond used for writing on glass\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Massive gold Gallo-Roman ring. Found near\n  Mulsanne, dept. Sarthe, France, about 1850. Believed to be a\n  wedding ring; five views. Fifth Century. See page 202\n\n  Abbe Barraud, \u201cDes Bagues de Toutes les Epoques,\u201d Paris, 1864]\n\n  [Illustration: Rings of Mary Stuart. 1, signet ring; 2, wedding\n  ring of Mary and Darnley, with date of marriage, 1565; two views\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Gold betrothal ring, bezel in form of clasped\n  hands, hoop shaped as two amoretti. Sixteenth Century\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Hebrew wedding ring. Adam and Eve in Paradise\n\n  Wedding ring of Martin Luther, two views. Original had a small\n  ruby in the centre\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Wedding ring of gimmal type. German, Sixteenth\n  Century. Set with a ruby and an aquamarine. Inscription visible\n  when ring is separated: _Quod Deus conjunxit homo non\n  separet_ (Let man not separate what God hath joined together).\n  The betrothal or wedding ring of Sir Thomas Gresham (1519\u20131579)\n  is of similar design\n\n  British Museum]\n\nThe following lines from Don Sebastian, a play written by Dryden\n(1690), explains quite fully the character and use of a gimmal ring:\n\n        A curious artist wrought \u2019em\n    With joynts so close as not to be perceiv\u2019d;\n    Yet are they both each other\u2019s counterpart.\n    (Her part had Juan inscrib\u2019d, and his had Zayda,\n    You know these names were theirs:) and in the midst\n    A heart divided in two halves was plac\u2019d.\n    Now if the rivets of those Rings inclos\u2019d\n    Fit not each other, I have forg\u2019d this lye:\n    But if they join, you must for ever part.\n\nIn Burgon\u2019s life of Sir Thomas Gresham, the merchant prince of Queen\nElizabeth\u2019s time and founder of the Royal Exchange, we are shown his\nwedding ring. This is a gimmal ring composed of two hoops, one bearing\nthe inscription \u201cQuod Deus conjunxit\u201d (What God hath joined together)\nand the other: \u201cHomo non separet\u201d (Let not man put asunder).[381] The\ntwo hoops are set with a red and a white stone, respectively.\n\nA curious development of the gimmal-ring was the so-called\n\u201cpuzzle-ring\u201d consisting of pieces of gold wire ingeniously bent and\nintertwined so that they appeared to form a single indivisible ring,\nalthough by a certain clever twist they could easily be separated into\nseveral independent hoops. This type was derived from the East.\n\nOn a gimmal ring belonging to the first half of the fifteenth century,\nin the Londesborough Collection, is an engraved head of Lucretia;\nat the back appear two hands clasped. This type seems to have been\ncommon in Shakespeare\u2019s time, for in Twelfth Night (Act II, sc. 5),\nMalvolio exclaims, after examining the seal on a letter: \u201cBy your\nleave, wax. Soft!--and the impressure her Lucrece with which she uses\nto seal.\u201d[382] The choice of this image for a betrothal ring must have\nbeen intended either as a tribute to the lady\u2019s chastity, or else as a\nkind of amulet to protect her from attacks on her virtue.\n\n  [Illustration: Gimmal ring, open\n\n  Edward\u2019s \u201cHistory and Poetry of Finger Rings\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  Silver betrothal ring; two views. On the shoulder appears the\n  legend: \u201cGod Help.\u201d English, Fifteenth Century\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  Gold puzzle rings. 1, three hoops, cruciform bezel: 2, with four\n  hoops. Two views of each, closed and open. Seventeenth Century\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  Curious old posy ring. The motto is to be read: Our _hands_\n  and _hearts_ with one consent, Hath tied this _knot_\n  till _death_ prevent\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Wedding rings with \u201cposies.\u201d English, Seventeenth\n  Century\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Two Gimmal rings, one double, the other triple.\n  Betrothal or wedding rings\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\nThe talismanic quality of the turquoise is noted by Edward Fenton, in\nhis \u201cSecrets of Nature\u201d (1569), wherein he says: \u201cThe Turkeys doth\nmove when there is any perill prepared to him that weareth it.\u201d In\nhis commentary on Shakespeare\u2019s Othello, Steevens remarks that the\npoet probably had the mystic virtues of this stone in mind when he\nmade Shylock mourn the loss of the turquoise his wife Leah had given\nhim before their marriage.[383] In the original text of this passage\nthe name is spelled \u201cturkie,\u201d and this old spelling is interesting as\nshowing the identity of the name given to the stone with that bestowed\nupon the fowl known to us as a turkey. In this latter case the spelling\nand pronunciation have been retained, while in the former we have the\nmodified form turquoise, both names indicating an association of\nthe respective objects with Turkey, as the land from whence they were\nerroneously believed to come. As Shylock\u2019s turquoise seems to have been\nset in a betrothal ring, it is singular to note that at the present day\nthe turquoise is a favorite stone for betrothal rings in Germany.\n\nIn Shakespeare\u2019s Cymbeline, where the diamond is so often mentioned\nin connection with a ring given as a sign of faithfulness, a passage\noccurs denoting that this stone was sometimes set in a betrothal ring\nin Shakespeare\u2019s time. The line runs (Act I, sc. 4):\n\n    This diamond was my mother\u2019s: take it, heart;\n    But keep it till you woo another wife.\n\nThe preciousness and dazzling lustre of diamonds are also alluded to\nin this play. It is worthy of note that while in all of Shakespeare\u2019s\nplays the diamond is only mentioned twenty-one times, seven of these\nmentions are in his Cymbeline.\n\nAn emblematic wedding-ring with a deep, and perhaps somewhat ambiguous\nsignificance, was bestowed upon his spouse by Bishop Cokes. Upon it was\nengraved a hand, a heart, a mitre, and a death\u2019s head, the inscription\nreading:\n\n    These three I give to thee\n    Till the fourth set me free.[384]\n\nA frankly humorous inscription was that placed upon the wedding-ring of\nLady Cathcard when, in 1713, she wedded her _fourth_ husband, Hugh\nMaguire. This was as follows:\n\n    If I survive\n    I will have five\n\nA similar poesy is said to have been used at a later date by John\nThomas, Bishop of London, on the ring which he used at his fourth\nmarriage:\n\n    If I survive\n    I\u2019ll make them five.[385]\n\nThe Puritan reaction in England during the Commonwealth, against the\ncustoms of the English Church, extended to the use of the wedding-ring,\nand Samuel Butler in his Hudibras alludes to this tendency in the\nfollowing lines:\n\n    Others were for abolishing\n    That tool of matrimony, a ring\n    With which the unsanctify\u2019ed bridegroom\n    Is marry\u2019d only to a thumb.\n\nThere is a possibility that this curious custom of wearing a wedding\nring on the thumb may have had some connection with the old fancy that\nthe second joint of the thumb was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, whose\nsupposed espousal ring is preserved in the Cathedral of Perugia. It\nis true that this ought rather to apply to a betrothal ring than a\nwedding ring. The following list gives the religious dedication of the\nvarious finger-joints: In the right hand the upper joint of the thumb\nwas dedicated to God, the lower joint to the Virgin; the first joint\nof the index to St. Barnabas, the second to St. John, the third to\nSt. Paul; the first joint of the middle finger to St. Simon Cleophas,\nthe second to St. Thadd\u00e6us, the third to St. Joseph; the first joint\nof the annular to St. Zacch\u00e6us, the second to St. Stephen, the third\nto St. Luke; the first joint of the little finger to St. Leatus, the\nsecond to St. Mark, the third to St. Nicodemus. The dedication of\nthe left hand fingers was: First joint of thumb, to Christ, second\njoint to the Virgin; first joint of the index to St. James, the second\nto St. John the Evangelist, the third to St. Peter; first joint of the\nmiddle finger to St. Simon, the second to St. Matthew, the third to St.\nJames the Greater; first joint of the annular to St. Jude, the second\nto St. Bartholomew, the third to St. Andrew; first joint of the little\nfinger to St. Matthaias, the second to St. Thomas, the third to St.\nPhilip.[386]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF CLARA EUGENIA, DAUGHTER OF PHILIP II\n  OF SPAIN, BY GONZALES\n\n  Rings on thumb and index of right hand, which holds a miniature\n  of Philip. Elaborately jewelled dress and splendid pearl necklace\n  and head-ornament\n\n  Museo del Prado, Madrid]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF CATARINA MICHELA, DAUGHTER OF PHILIP\n  II OF SPAIN, BY COELLO SANCHEZ\n\n  Thumb ring on right hand and ring on index of same hand; both\n  with precious-stone settings. Similar rings on index and little\n  fingers of left hand\n\n  Museo del Prado, Madrid]\n\nAs in Europe a couple of centuries ago, so in the India of to-day, a\nwedding ring is often worn on the thumb. This is of gold, about an\ninch wide. It is only worn, however, for a short period, sometimes\nonly during the several days devoted to the celebration of the wedding\nceremonies; in other cases, it is worn for six months, or occasionally\neven for twelve months after marriage. Eventually it is melted down,\nthe precious metal being then worked up into some other ornament.[387]\n\nThe great lexicographer, Dr. Samuel Johnson, was devotedly attached to\nhis wife, although the alliance can scarcely be looked upon as a love\nmatch on the learned doctor\u2019s side. His patient devotion to his sickly\nand rather ugly wife goes to show how wide is the divergence between\ntheory and practice, for in his dictionary Johnson defines a ring as:\n\u201ca circular instrument placed upon the noses of hogs and the fingers\nof women to restrain them and bring them into subjection.\u201d After his\nwife\u2019s death Dr. Johnson preserved her wedding-ring in a box bearing\nthe following inscription:\n\n \u201cEheu! Eliza Johnson, Nupta July 9^o 1736, Mortua, eheu! Mart.\n 17^o 1752.\u201d\n\nThat the betrothal ring was occasionally worn on the index finger is\nshown in two celebrated seventeenth century pictures, the \u201cBetrothal\nof Marie de\u2019 Medici,\u201d by Rubens, and the \u201cBetrothal of St. Catherine,\u201d\nby Murillo. Sometimes, however, the little finger was chosen for this\nhonor and an interesting example of this custom is given by a document\nin the Hohenzollern Museum in Berlin. Here is exhibited a list of the\nrings worn by Queen Louisa of Prussia on the day of her death, written\ndown by her husband, King Friedrich Wilhelm III, and the first entry\nreads: \u201cOur betrothal ring, on the little finger of the right hand.\u201d\nThe list closes with the following simple and touching words in the\nKing\u2019s handwriting: \u201cAt Hohenzieritz, on the most unhappy day of my\nlife, July 19, 1810,\u201d this being the day of Queen Louisa\u2019s death.\nIt may be noted that at the present day, while the usual custom in\nSouth Germany is to wear the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the\nleft hand, in North Germany the right hand is generally given the\npreference. This applies both to men and women.\n\nKing George IV of England is said to have had two rings made, each\nprovided with a secret spring which, on being pressed, opened a\npanel and revealed the king\u2019s portrait and that of Mrs. Fitzherbert,\nrespectively. The ring containing the king\u2019s portrait was bestowed by\nhim upon Mrs. Fitzherbert, whom he is said to have married in 1785,\nand that with her portrait was kept by him, and, before his death,\nentrusted to the Duke of Wellington, the latter promising solemnly that\nhe would place it upon his royal master\u2019s breast when his remains\nwere in the coffin. Mrs. Fitzherbert left her ring to Miss Dawson\nDamer.[388] Another ring given by George IV to Mrs. Fitzherbert was\nexhibited in the Victoria Exhibition, at the New Gallery, London, and\nis described as being a gimmal, the two hoops closely fitting together,\nwith the inscription \u201cGeo. Adolph. Frederick\u201d on the inside of one and\n\u201cMaria Anne\u201d on that of the other.[389]\n\nIn former times rings used to be presented to the chief guests at a\nwedding, and at the marriage of Queen Victoria with Prince Albert, six\ndozen such rings were bestowed, each one having a profile portrait of\nthe bride engraved upon it, with the inscription, \u201cVictoria Regina.\u201d\nThe revival of this graceful custom would serve to perpetuate among the\nwedding guests the memory of the ceremony at which they had assisted.\n\nWedding rings figuring two clasped hands are still used by the peasants\nof Normandy, and in Galway also rings bearing two hands clasping a\nheart have been passed down from generation to generation, from the\nmother to the eldest daughter. This illustrates the general rule that\nlong after a custom or a form of personal adornment has ceased to be\nin favor with the higher classes it continues to be popular with the\npeasantry.\n\nThe inscriptions on rings occasionally seen, which appear to be a\nmedley of meaningless letters, are often the makeup of two names\ninterlocked, such as \u201cGeorge\u201d and \u201cSophia\u201d:\n\n                             gAeIoHrPgOeS\n\nthe one name reading to the right and the other to the left.\n\nIn some parts of Ireland the belief in the special virtue of a gold\nwedding ring is so strong that when the bridegroom is too poor to\nbuy one he will hire it for the occasion, and it is reported that a\nshopkeeper of Munster realized quite a little sum annually by renting\nrings for weddings, to be brought back to him after the ceremony.\nStrange to say, there is said to have been a superstitious fancy in\nYorkshire, England, that to wed with a borrowed ring would bring good\nluck.[390]\n\nA Scottish tradition in regard to a ring used at a wedding is imbued\nwith the gloomy superstition so characteristic of Scotland. The heir\nof a noble family was about to be married to a Dutch lady of rank,\nbut when the wedding-day came was so apathetic, or so preoccupied,\nthat he forgot the hour of the ceremony, and had to be hurried from\nhis breakfast to the church. In his haste he had forgotten all about\nthe wedding-ring, and was obliged to use a ring offered to him by a\nbystander when the ceremony reached the point where one had to be put\non the bride\u2019s finger. What was her terror, however, when she saw that\nit was a mourning-ring that had been placed upon her hand, one bearing\nthe sinister design of a skull and cross-bones. This she felt to be an\nomen that death would soon overtake her, and she brooded so much over\nthe happening that she sank into a decline, and died before a year had\npassed. The effect of the mind upon the body is so great, especially in\nhighly nervous organisms, that such a tragic result of a mere piece of\ncarelessness is far from being impossible.\n\nIn modern times betrothal rings are often of the type called \u201cregard\nrings,\u201d where the letters of a word are indicated by the initial\nletters of the stones set in the ring, as, for example:\n\n    R uby\n    E merald\n    G arnet\n    A methyst\n    R uby\n    D iamond\n\nIn a similar way the Christian name of either of the betrothed may be\nindicated, as, for instance:\n\n    S apphire\n    O pal\n    P eridot\n    H yalite\n    I olite\n    A methyst\n\nAlthough a diamond ring is the one most appropriate as an engagement\nring, it has long been recognized that for a wedding ring nothing\ncan replace the simple hoop of precious metal, which may, indeed,\nbe rendered a trifle less plain by some very chaste and beautiful\nengraving. A reason for the preference given to the ring without\nsetting is offered by Fuller in his \u201cHoly State,\u201d where he says:\n\u201cMarriage with a diamond ring foreshadowed evil, because the\ninterruption of the circle augured that the reciprocal regard of the\nspouse might not be perpetual.\u201d[391]\n\nAn attempt is being made in Germany to introduce the use of\nwedding-rings with moderate ornamentation and appropriate mottoes\npatterned on those of former times, in place of the severely plain gold\nhoop that has for a long time been decreed to be the only proper form\nof wedding-ring. If the tendency to over-ornamentation is kept strictly\nwithin bounds and if the mottoes are well chosen, there is some reason\nto think that the innovation, or rather revival, may meet with some\nsuccess, as it will afford scope for individuality of taste to assert\nitself, and for the expression of sentiment in a way that has not been\npossible under present conditions.\n\nA wedding ring of iron and gold artistically combined has gained some\nfavor of late, as symbolizing the union of strength and beauty, of\nthe more solid with the more brilliant qualities. The uncompromising\nplainness of the plain gold ring, which represented a reaction to\nprimitive forms from the over-ornamentation of the Rococo period, will\nprobably give place to certain simple and chaste designs which can be\nmade to symbolize some of the thoughts and sentiments connected with\nthe marriage ceremony. But the unstable, oxidizing quality of the iron\nwill not recommend this metal for durability.\n\nThe recurrence of a great national crisis will often cause the\nrevival of some custom or usage of an earlier one. Thus it is that\nin the present War of Nations, Germans have revived the practice of\nexchanging gold rings for iron ones that was resorted to in the dark\ntime of Napoleonic supremacy in Germany. The total value of the metal\nsecured in this way is of course relatively small, though not entirely\nnegligible, but the spirit of devotion to the Vaterland finds both\na real and a symbolic expression in the deposition of many a valued\nheirloom on the country\u2019s altar. To avoid a rust stain on the finger\nthese iron rings--which usually bear the figure of the Iron Cross--are\nfrequently lined with a thin layer of gold. Not only rings but gold\nand silver objects of all kinds and valuable jewels have been brought\nin by patriotic Germans, to such an extent, indeed, that the Viennese\njewellers are urging that the metals should be immediately melted, as\nin case the objects or ornaments should be put on the market, they\nwould compete disastrously with the jewellers\u2019 shops. It is stated that\nup to the middle of September, 1915, as many as five thousand wedding\nrings were donated in the single Prussian province of Posen, and the\nestimate has been made that about one million dollars will be realized\nfrom the total offerings throughout the Germanic countries.\n\nThe ancients and the alchemists called gold the metal of the sun and\nsilver the metal of the moon, but within the past two centuries the\nworld has become familiar with platinum, a metal of equal dignity with\ngold, but with the pure whiteness of the somewhat tarnishable silver.\n\nPlatinum, because of its durability and purity, may well be called\nthe metal of Heaven, and within the past century we have added to our\nlist of metals aluminum, a metal which constitutes a fair percentage\nof the earth\u2019s surface. This can be appropriately termed the metal of\nthe earth. These two metals, platinum and aluminum, have been used to a\ngreat extent; platinum for the purpose of mounting jewels--the stars of\nHeaven, as it were, in their heavenly setting--and aluminum, the metal\nof earth, for a great variety of purposes.\n\nSurely platinum, the metal of Heaven, is a most appropriate material\nfor a wedding ring, and as gold has always been termed the metal of\nman, so platinum, the metal of Heaven, might be dedicated to woman, the\nfairest gift of Heaven, and an alliance ring made of these two metals\nwould be an ideal matrimonial ring.\n\nMany of those who were married before platinum was used for wedding\nrings have recourse to an ingenious device by which a plate of platinum\nis spun or turned over the entire part of the setting which is visible,\nso that the gold ring will appear to be of platinum, either plain,\ncarved or chased. Great ingenuity is required in this mounting, because\nit is in most cases impossible to permit the metal to do more than\ntouch the inner part of the ring. Otherwise, the size of the circlet\nwould be reduced. Alliance rings are sometimes made one side gold and\none side platinum.\n\nAt the present time many platinum wedding rings are made perfectly\nplain, others are engraved with a laurel wreath, as a peace or\nanti-divorce symbol, with oak leaves for strength, ivy for clinging\ndevotion, and some other symbolic devices. Many alliance rings are made\nof two parts, one bearing the names of the engaged couple, the other\nthe date of the engagement. Narrow gold rings with diamond settings are\nalso used, closely resembling the type of diamond ring that has been\nworn as a guard-ring for many years.\n\nThat men should be forced to wear wedding rings is a proposition\nrecently agitated in London. Public attention was called to this\nquestion by newspaper reports to the effect that a young lady had\ntestified at a divorce suit that she had innocently encouraged the\nattentions of a married man, because she had no means of knowing that\nhe was married. In many continental countries married men are always\nexpected to wear such rings, although there is of course no legal\ncompulsion to do so, any more than in the case of a wife. We can hardly\ndeny that anything serving to fix the status of both men and women in\nthe matter of their marital relations is eminently desirable.\n\n  [Illustration: Lady\u2019s gold ring, with French motto: \u201c_Mon c\u0153ur\n  est \u00e0 vous_\u201d (My heart is yours)\n\n  Albert Figdor Collection, Vienna]\n\n  [Illustration: Engagement ring with adjustable hoop; fully open;\n  half-open; and closed]\n\n  [Illustration: Ornamental wedding rings, and separable alliance\n  wedding ring of \u201cgimmal\u201d type closed and open]\n\n  [Illustration: WEDDING RINGS. PLAIN GOLD, PLATINUM AND CHASED]\n\nApropos of wedding rings, the notice of a special marriage ceremony\nperformed for a man and woman who were both ardent advocates of woman\nsuffrage, suggests that such unions might be signalized by the use\nof a ring of a characteristic type. In this case the parties to the\nmarriage contract were careful to emphasize the fact that the union\nwas one between equals, each of whom made the same pledge of fidelity\nand love to the other. Perhaps a ring enamelled with the suffragette\ncolors might be acceptable to the pioneers of the new era. As in many\nold-fashioned marriages the woman was accorded a _de facto_\nprimacy, the man who willingly accepts the doctrine of the equality of\nthe sexes may be rather a gainer than a loser by his adherence to the\nnew faith.\n\nIn England, it is said that a movement has been initiated to abolish\nthe use of the wedding-ring, possibly in some sense as a war measure,\nto constitute a slight check on the use of gold for ornamental\npurposes. It is, however, conjectured that its real source is rather\nto be sought in the general movement for the complete independence of\nwomen, the wedding-ring being looked upon by some extremists as an\nantiquated badge of slavery. It is hardly probable that such a movement\nwill meet with any considerable measure of success, for the idea that\nthe ring is a symbol of faith has become too deeply rooted in the\npopular mind to warrant the rejection of the time-honored usage.\n\nPerhaps the objection of the extreme advocates of \u201cwoman\u2019s rights\u201d\nmight be satisfied by the introduction of an interchange of rings\nboth at engagements and marriages. This exchange of rings is an\nacknowledgment of the mutuality of the relation, and it has been\npracticed, and still is practiced in many countries on the European\ncontinent. Moreover, the introduction of this usage in England and\nthe United States would afford scope for a broadening of the symbolism\nconnected with these rings, by differentiating them in some way, so\nthat they might signify the special virtues each of the contracting\nparties bring to their mutual relation. This differentiation would\nin no wise imply any subjection, but would merely emphasize those\nfundamental distinctions, without which the true progress of the world\nwould be checked. Real equality consists in the untrammeled development\nof the characteristic excellences, not in any arbitrary reduction of\nall to some preconceived standard.\n\nOf all the marriage-medals that have been struck none can be said to\nequal in beauty of design and tenderness of sentiment that designed in\n1895 by the great French medallist Oscar Roty (1846\u20131911). The obverse\nshows the bridegroom about to place the wedding-ring on the bride\u2019s\nhand, but in the very act of doing so, he is impelled to look upward,\nas though calling for Heaven\u2019s blessing upon his marriage. The girlish\nbride has her head slightly bent down in token of assent. The scene is\nin the open country; the figures are seated opposite to one another on\nplain stone seats, and the landscape background is Rafaelesque in its\ndelicate beauty. Beneath, in the exergue, is the single word \u201cSemper,\u201d\nan earnest that the solemn contract so gladly and so religiously\nentered into will be kept for this world and for the great future.\nThe reverse shows a statue of Cupid on a fountain pedestal; alongside\nrises the trunk of a sturdy oak. On the right is ample space for a\ndedicatory inscription. The companion-piece, Roty\u2019s second marriage\nmedal, executed ten or more years later, although a noble work, falls\nsomething short of his first effort. Here the bridegroom, who displays\nno ring, kneels before the bride with uplifted head, the French\nmotto reading \u201cA Elle Toujours\u201d (\u201cForever Hers\u201d); on the reverse is\na church altar. Under this is a plaque, enclosing which are roses,\noak-leaves and acorns.\n\n  [Illustration: MARRIAGE MEDALS BY THE GREAT FRENCH MEDALLIST,\n  OSCAR ROTY (1846\u20131911)\n\n  The upper medal shows the putting on of the wedding ring]\n\n  [Illustration: BETROTHAL RING OF GOLD IN FORM OF SO-CALLED\n  \u201cPUZZLE RING\u201d\n\n  Six connecting hoops, three of them enameled, two others with\n  clasped hands, and the sixth with a key and a winged angel\u2019s\n  head. Seventeenth Century.\n\n  Albert Figdor Collection, Vienna]\n\n  [Illustration: BETROTHAL RING OF GOLD\n\n  Inscribed in Old French \u201c_Il est dit_\u201d and \u201c_Elle me\n  tien_\u201d (literally \u201cIt is said (spoken)\u201d and \u201cShe (or it) holds\n  me\u201d). French. Fifteenth Century.\n\n  Albert Figdor Collection, Vienna]\n\n  [Illustration: LOVE RING OF GOLD, ENAMELED AND SET WITH PRECIOUS\n  STONES\n\n  The bezel has a lid on which is enameled a head wearing a domino\n  mask; it is framed by seventeen rubies. When the lid is raised\n  there appears beneath an oval, enameled with a heart, around\n  which is the motto: \u201c_Pour vous seule_\u201d (For you alone). The\n  interior of the lid is hollowed out to serve as a receptacle for\n  hair. On the ribbon-like hoop is the inscription: \u201c_Sous le\n  masque la v\u00e9rit\u00e9_\u201d (Beneath the mask is truth). About 1800.\n  Formerly belonged to the great Viennese tragic actress Charlotte\n  Wolter.]\n\nA type of ring of occasional use, not distantly related to the wedding\nring, comprises the so-called \u201cpacifying,\u201d or teething rings, generally\nmade of ivory, rubber or celluloid, and large enough for one or two\nfingers of a child. Diagonally on the hoop is a flat, circular piece of\nthe same material as that of which the ring is made, and which prevents\nit from slipping into the mouth of the child. Upon this flat piece is\nmounted a small bit of rubber or ivory for the child to suck or bite\nupon, to develop its teeth, or at least to keep it quiet.\n\nWhat might be called a \u201cLatitude and Longitude Ring,\u201d would be an\nattractive memento of engagement and marriage. There would be a narrow\nband showing, around it, a degree of latitude marked with longitudes,\nand having a small star at the place where the parties became engaged,\nand a double star at the spot where they were married.\n\nA few appropriate inscriptions on modern engagement rings are as\nfollows: \u201cOur engagement\u201d; \u201cMy love to thine\u201d; \u201cTo her who merits all\nmy love\u201d; \u201cTo my Pet\u201d; \u201cTo my \u2018Chiquita\u2019 from Bill,\u201d this last in\nSpanish. In a more serious vein we have: \u201cTime-Eternity,\u201d and \u201cPerfect\nlove casteth out fear.\u201d Occasionally there is a note of sadness, as\nappears in the inscription: \u201cFaithful, but unhappy.\u201d A ring bearing the\nwords \u201cStick to me, my darling\u201d may show that the fianc\u00e9 was a trifle\ndistrustful of his lady love\u2019s constancy; another who sets in his ring\n\u201cFirm and True\u201d makes us infer that he had more faith. The three words\n\u201cBessie sweet sixteen\u201d show that early engagements sometimes occur\neven in our sophisticated age. On ornaments other than rings, bestowed\nin connection with either engagement or marriage, we read: \u201cMy heart I\ntake not back from thee. H. B. L.\u201d and \u201cThine own wish, wish I thee. A.\nB. T. & R. V. P.\u201d A curious inscription runs: \u201cA nasty cold face and\nmetal eye,\u201d and we have: \u201cFor my sake wear this, it is a manacle of\nlove.\u201d Modern wedding rings are often inscribed with pious sentiments,\nsuch, for instance, as: \u201cAll for Jesus\u201d; \u201cEach for the other, both for\nGod\u201d; \u201cOur unity is Christ\u201d; \u201cMercifully ordain that we may grow old\ntogether\u201d; \u201cIn Christ and in Thee my comfort shall be\u201d; \u201cGod gave thee\nto me\u201d; \u201cThrough weal and through woe, to each other on earth, to God\nin Heaven. Always true to Bertha.\u201d A somewhat philosophic sentiment\nappears in the words: \u201cUltimate Good, not present pleasure.\u201d Latin\ninscriptions are now quite rare, but here is one: \u201cSi Deus nobiscum,\nquis contra nos?\u201d (If God be with us, who can be against us?)\n\nIn other cases the legend is more worldly: \u201cLove for Love\u201d and \u201cHe that\ntaketh a wife hath a good thing.\u201d Let us hope that this optimist was\nnot mistaken in his confidence. Another bridegroom declares that he, at\nleast, has a \u201cgood thing,\u201d for he places in his ring the simple motto:\n\u201cCarrie suits.\u201d If she suits him, that is enough. Lastly, we have the\nmost satisfactory inscription of all, since it testifies to the result\nof one fortunate experiment; this reads: \u201cIn token of 30 years fidelity\nas Wife and Mother.\u201d\n\nThe use of a diamond ring for betrothals seems to have been general\ntoward the end of the fifteenth century, for royal personages at least,\nto judge from a letter written from Ghent on July 30, 1477, by Dr.\nWilhelm Moroltinger to Archduke (later Emperor) Maximilian, just before\nhis betrothal to Mary of Burgundy, daughter of Charles the Bold. This\nletter runs: \u201cAt the betrothal your Grace must have a ring set with a\ndiamond and also a gold ring. Moreover, in the morning your Grace must\nbestow upon the bride some costly jewels.\u201d[392]\n\nFrom time immemorial we have had wedding-rings, but it seems that\nin view of the great number of divorces now granted we might well\nintroduce the custom of giving \u201cdivorce-rings,\u201d for at no time in the\nhistory of the Christian world have there been more divorces than at\nthe present day. This divorce-ring might be differentiated from the\nold-fashioned wedding-ring by substituting the inscription A B C _from_\nD B F for A B C _and_ D E F.\n\nA novel idea in divorce-rings is reported from Chicago, where a\nfashionable divorc\u00e9e had her wedding-ring made smaller so that she\ncould wear it on the little finger of her left hand as a divorce-ring.\nHowever, we fear that if this idea should be generally adopted, the\nlittle finger would scarcely offer room for the series of rings that\nsome of our theatrical stars would have to wear. Perhaps in some cases\nthis wearing of the wedding-ring, even in a modified form, after a\ndivorce, might be intended to indicate that the old love had not wholly\nvanished, and that some day those who had been put asunder could be\nrejoined, as occasionally happens now-a-days.\n\nAt weddings in Tunis, the Arabs have the custom of placing the\nwedding-ring upon the first finger of the left hand, and the finger\nand toe-nails of the bride receive an especially rich coloring of\nhenna on this occasion, staining them a deep red; her eyebrows also are\nheavily pencilled and joined across the nose so that they form a single\nbar over the eyes. In order to make the home-coming as auspicious as\npossible, a gilded pair of horns are set above the portal of the house,\nalong with the favorite charm known as \u201cthe hand of Fatima,\u201d believed\nto afford safety from the malign influence of the Evil Eye, so much\ndreaded in the East and in some Occidental lands also.[393]\n\nAn interesting incident in which a ring plays an important part is\nrelated in connection with the visit of Secretary, afterward President\nTaft, accompanied by a number of prominent Americans, to the Sulu\nIslands a few years ago. Mrs. Longworth, then Miss Alice Roosevelt, was\none of the party, and the Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram II, expressed a\ngreat desire to be introduced to her. The favor was readily accorded,\nand on the day set for the interview the Sultan and several Sulu\ndattos, or chiefs, duly presented themselves. One of the dattos was a\nmortal enemy of the Sultan, but naturally on this occasion all personal\nor political feuds were forgotten for the time being. After the Sultan\nhad been presented to Miss Roosevelt, came the turn of the rebellious\ndatto, who approached the sprightly young American girl, greeted\nher, and presented to her a native pearl of great beauty, which was\ngraciously accepted.\n\nThe chagrin of the Sultan may easily be imagined, for he had forgotten\nto provide himself with a suitable gift, and now his mortal enemy\nwas basking in the sunshine of favor, while he himself, the lord\nparamount, was neglected. Suddenly his eye fell upon a ring set with\na magnificent pearl which he wore on his left hand. He immediately\ntook off this ring, and again approaching Miss Roosevelt, gave it to\nher. As the Sultan\u2019s pearl far exceeded in beauty and value that given\nby the datto, the former\u2019s dignity was cleared of all reproach and\nthe situation was saved. A curious sequel to this incident was the\ncirculation of a report in the press to the effect that the Sultan of\nSulu had made an offer of marriage to Miss Roosevelt. This proved how\nclosely the gift of a ring is associated with the idea of engagement or\nmarriage.\n\nA Pennsylvania (U. S. A.) court has been called upon to decide whether\nthe gift of an engagement ring bestowed by a man just prior to a\ndeclaration of bankruptcy, should be looked upon as a transfer of\nassets to the prejudice of the creditors. The fact that in this case\nthe fair recipient of the ring was a jeweller\u2019s daughter might be\nthought to render it likely that this particular engagement ring was of\nsubstantial intrinsic value. The court reserved its decision.\n\nA choice of pretty \u201cposies\u201d for rings was offered to seventeenth\ncentury readers in a London publication entitled \u201cLove\u2019s Garland; or\nPosies for Rings, Handkerchiefs and Gloves, and Such Pretty Tokens as\nLovers Send Their Loves.\u201d Unyielding constancy found expression in the\ncouplets:\n\n    Where once I choose\n    I ne\u2019er refuse.\n\n    Hearts content\n    Can ne\u2019er repent.\n\nAnother verse makes a very modest claim for an expression of gratitude\non the part of the recipient:\n\n    The sight of this\n    Deserves a kiss.\n\nThe warmth of reciprocated love is thus asserted:\n\n    In thee a flame\n    In me the same.\n\nAnother lover wishes to proclaim that his love will rise superior to\nall offenses:\n\n    No bitter smart\n    Can change my heart.\n\nA more serious and trusting posy runs:\n\n    To me till death\n    As dear as breath.\n\nA ring mentioned in an old English record dating from 1473, offers\napparently an early example of a so-called \u201cposy\u201d ring. It is here\ntermed a \u201chope rynge with scrytorio\u201d (inscription); this, together with\na brooch adorned with the figure of a \u201cjyntylle woman,\u201d was pledged\nwith a certain Richard Walker to secure a small loan of \u00a34 8d.[394]\n\nA good example of a \u201cring posie\u201d is given by Ben Jonson in his play\n\u201cThe Magnetic Lady, or Humours Reconciled,\u201d first licensed for\nperformance in 1632, during the reign of Charles I, and but five years\nbefore Jonson\u2019s death. Here, when bride and groom come before the\nparson to be wedded, he asks the bridegroom:\n\n    Have you a wedding ring?\n\nTo which the latter replies:\n\n                  Ay, and a posie:\n    Annulus hic nobis, quod sic uterque, dabit.\n\nThis the parson quickly renders as follows:\n\n    This ring will give you what you both desire;\n    I\u2019ll make the whole house shout it, and the parish.\n\nOn other pages a number of characteristic and striking\nring-inscriptions are given, but in view of the wide range of these\n\u201cposies\u201d (poesies) and mottoes, a fairly full list of them, compiled\nfrom various sources, may be of interest here.[395] The French mottoes\nare nearly all in Old French, and the English spellings of those of the\nseventeenth century are delightfully irregular.\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF YOUNG WOMAN. DUTCH SCHOOL\n\n  Large rings on little finders of right and left hands; large ring\n  on third joint of left-hand fourth finger, and smaller one on\n  second joint of the same finger; plain gold ring (wedding ring?)\n  on fourth finger of left hand\n\n  Kaiserliche Gem\u00e4lde-Galerie, Vienna]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF A MAN, BY THE ARTIST KNOWN AS THE\n  \u201cMASTER OF THE DEATH OF MARY,\u201d FROM HIS MOST NOTED PICTURE\n\n  Rings on index and little fingers of right hand\n\n  K\u00f6nigliche Gem\u00e4lde-Galerie, Cassel]\n\n    Till death divide.\n\n    _Nemo nisi mors._\n    (No one but Death).\n\n    _Tout pour bein feyre._\n    (All to do well).\n\n    _In bone fay._\n    (In good faith).\n\n    _Sans mal desyr._\n    (Without evil wish).\n\n    _Amor vincit om._\n    (Love conquers all things).\n\n    Till my life\u2019s end.\n\n    _Erunt duo in carne una._\n    (They shall be two in one flesh).\n\n    _Semper amemus._\n    (May we love forever).\n\n    In Christ and thee my comfort be.\n\n    _Honeur et joye._\n    (Honor and joy).\n\n    Let reason rule affection.\n\n    God continue to love us.\n\n    _Mon cur avez._\n    (You have my heart).\n\n    _Deux corps ung cuer._\n    (Two bodies and one heart).\n\n    _Amour et constance._\n    (Love and constancy).\n\n    God unite our hearts aright.\n\n    Knit in one by Christ alone.\n\n    God\u2019s providence is our inheritance.\n\n    Our contract was heaven\u2019s act.\n\n    In thee, my choice, do I rejoice.\n\n    God above increase our love.\n\n    My heart and I, until I dye.\n\n    Not two, but one, till life be gone.\n\n    When this you see, remember me.\n\n    Julia is mine own peculiar.\n\n    I cannot show the love I O.\n\n    We strangely met, and so do many,\n    But now as true as ever any. 1658.\n\n    As we begun, so let\u2019s continue.\n\n    My beloved is mine, and I am hers.\n\n    True blue will never stain. 1653.\n\n    Against thou goest, I will provide another. 1658.\n\n    In loving thee, I love myself. 1658.\n\n    Let him never take a wife,\n    That will not love her as his life.\n\n    A heart content cannot repent.\n\n    I do not repent I gave consent.\n\n    No gift can show the love I owe.\n\n    What the heart saw the love hath chosen.\n\n    Love one little, but love one long.\n\n    Love him who gave thee this ring of gold,\n    \u2019Tis he must kiss thee when thou art old.\n\n    This circle, though but small about,\n    The devil, jealousy, will keep out.\n\n    If I think my wife is fair,\n    What need other people care? 1653.\n\n    God\u2019s appointment is my contentment.\n\n    Love, I like thee; sweet, requite me.\n\n    With heart and hand at your command.\n\n    My heart in silence speaks to thee,\n    Though absence barrs tongue\u2019s liberty.\n\n    Faithful ever: deceitful never.\n\n    I like, I love as turtle dove.\n\n    As gold is pure, so love is sure.\n\n    Despise not mee: y^t joyes in thee.\n\n    If you deny, then sure I dye.\n\n    Your right is my delight.\n\n    As true, bee just.\n\n    No better smart shall change my heart.\n\n    This ring is a token I give to thee,\n    That thou no tokens do change for me.\n\n    My dearest Betty is good and pretty. 1658.\n\n    I did commit no act of folly,\n    When I married my sweet Molly. 1658.\n\n    \u2019Tis fit no man should be alone,\n    Which made Tom to marry Joan. 1658.\n\n    Sue is bonny, blythe, and brown;\n    This ring hath made her now my own. 1658.\n\n    Like Phillis there is none:\n    She truly loves her Choridon. 1658.\n\n    My life is done when thou art gone. 1653.\n\n    This hath no end, my sweetest friend:\n    Our loves be so, no ending know.\n\n    God send her me my wife to be.\n\n    As God decreed so we agreed.\n\n    Take hand and heart, I\u2019ll ne\u2019er depart.\n\n    Love and dye in constancy.\n\n    A virtuous wife that serveth life.\n\n    As long as life y^r loving wife.\n\n    I will be yours while breath endures.\n\n    Love is sure where faith is pure.\n\n    A virtuous wife doth banish strife.\n\n    God did forsee we should agree.\n\n    Love me, and be happy.\n\n    None can prevent the Lord\u2019s intent.\n\n    Virtue surpasses riches.\n\n    Let virtue rest within thy breast.\n\n    Time lesseneth not my love.\n\n    Joye without end.\n\n    Let lykinge last.\n\n    This and giver are thine for ever.\n\n    Think on mee.\n\n    Let love increase.\n\n    Thou art my star, be not irregular. 1653.[396]\n\n    Without thy love I backward move. 1613.\n\n    Thine eyes so bright are my chief delight. 1653.\n\n    This intimates true lovers\u2019 states. 1653.\n\n    Thou wert not handsome, wise, but rich;\n    \u2019Twas that which did my eyes bewitch. 1658.[397]\n\n    As we begun, so let\u2019s continue. 1658.\n\n    What the eye saw the heart hath chosen. 1658.\n\n    More faithful than fortunate. 1658.\n\n    Constancy and heaven are round,\n    And in this the emblem\u2019s found.\n\n    As God hath knit our hearts in one,\n    Let nothing part but death alone.\n\n    God our love continue ever,\n    That we in heaven may live together.\n\n    Weare me out, love shall not waste,\n    Love beyond lyvie still is placed.\n\n    Weare this text, and when you looke\n    Uppon your finger, sweare by th\u2019 booke.\n\n    There is no other, and I am he,\n    That loves no other, and thou art she.\n\n    Eye doth find, heart doth choose,\n    Faith doth bind, death doth loose.\n\n    As God hath made my chyce in thee,\n    So move thy heart to comfort me.\n\n    God y^t hath kept thy heart for mee,\n    Grant that our love may faithful bee.\n\n    Fear ye the Lord then rest content,\n    So shall we live and not repent.\n\n    Divinely knit by grace are wee,\n    Late two, now one, ye pledge here see. 1657.\n\n    Breake not thy vow to please the eye,\n    But keepe thy love, so live and dye.\n\n    Love thy chast wife beyond thy life. 1601.\n\n    I love the rod and thee and God. 1646.\n\n    Pray to love; love to pray. 1649.\n\n    More weare--more wear. 1652.\n\n    Endless as this shall be our bliss. 1719.\n\n    Be truly wise lest death surprise.\n\n    Live in love and fear the Lord.\n\n    Godly love will not remove.\n\n    United hearts death only partes.\n\n    You and I will lovers die.\n\n    We joyn our love in Christ above.\n\n    God gives increase to love and peace.\n\n    God did decree our unitie.\n\n    Heart content cannot repent.\n\n    Live, love, and be happie.\n\n    Noe heart more true than mine to you.\n\n    In thee I find content of mind.\n\n    A blessing we do hope to see.\n\n    In love divine we love to joine.\n\n    Hearts united live contented.\n\n    In love and joy I will live and die.\n\n    In thy breast my heart shall rest.\n\n    The love is true that I.O.U.\n\n    My love is fixed I will not range.\n    I like my choice too well to change.\n\n    This is the thing I wish to win.\n\n    My promise past shall ever last.\n\n    Well projected if accepted.\n\n    God thought fit this knott to knitt.\n\n    Thy Desart hath won my heart.\n\n    True love is the bond of peace.\n\n    Let our contest be who loves best.\n\n    Thine eyes so bright are my chief delight.\n\n    Our loves be so no ending know.\n\n    My pledge I prove of mutuall love.\n\n    Gift and giver, your servants ever.\n\n    _Lel ami avet._\n    (Thou hast a loyal friend).\n\n    Remember Him who died for thee,\n    And after that remember me.\n\n    Take hand and heart, ile ne\u2019er depart.\n\n    Breake not thy vow to please the eye,\n    But keepe thy love, so live and dye.\n\n    I will be yours while breath endures.\n\n    I am sent to salute you from a faithfull friend.\n\n    This and my heart.\n\n    Too light to requite.\n\n    Your sight, my delight.\n\n    For a kiss, take this.\n\n    My heart you have and yours I crave.\n\n    The want of thee is grief to mee.\n\n    _Privata di te morir\u00f3._\n    (Deprived of thee I shall die).\n\n    _Mon esprit est partout,\n    Mon c\u0153ur est avec vous._\n    (My mind is everywhere,\n    My heart is with you).\n\n    Faithfull ever, deceitfull never.\n\n    God\u2019s blessing be on thee and me.\n\n    Love him in heart whose joy thou art.\n\n    A loving wife prolongeth life.\n\n    Desire hath set my heart on fire.\n\n    Both or neither, chuse you whether.\n\n    Parting is vayne when love doth remayne.\n\n    I fancy none but thee alone.\n\n    God sent her me my wife to be.\n\n    This is your will, to save or kill.\n\n    If you deny, then sure I dye.\n\n    Your sight, my delight.\n\n    Joyfull love this ring do prove.\n\n    In thee I prove the joy of love.\n\n    Silence ends strife with man and wife.\n\n    This ring doth binde body and minde.\n\n    Death never parts such loving hearts.\n\n    Body and mind in thee I finde.\n\n    Ryches be unstable\n      And beauty will dekay,\n    But faithful love will ever last\n      Till death dryve it away.\n\nOne of those posies might seem to refer covertly to the length of the\nforegoing list:\n\n    This hath no end, my sweetest friend. 1653.\n\n  [Illustration: SOME RINGS IN THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON\n\n  1, silver and gilt; pierced with scrolls and the \u201cLittle Monk\u201d of\n  Munich. Modern. Bavarian. 2, Tyrolese. Peasant\u2019s engagement ring\n  of silver with design of two hearts and scrolls. 3, French (?).\n  Said to have belonged to a collateral branch of the Montmorency\n  family. Gold, large garnet with emerald each side; the crown\n  composed of pearls and small diamonds. Bought in London. 4,\n  Chinese ornament. 5, heavy silver, set with malachite. 6, Chinese\n  ornament. 7, Italian (?). Peasant\u2019s engagement ring of silver.\n  8, Italian. Gold, set with a turquoise, a horse\u2019s head in white\n  enamel at either side. 9, Tyrolese. Silver, set with a chamois\n  tooth for good luck. 10, French. Bishop\u2019s ring of gold and\n  silver. Enameled bezel set with an almandine and diamonds. Bought\n  in Geneva. 11, Italian. Sixteenth Century style. Gold set with a\n  garnet. 12, Italian (?). Silver, set with a large crystal (?).\n  Black and white enamel on bezel. 13, Italian. Gold, set with a\n  cluster of red and green stones alternating; a crystal in the\n  centre. 14, gilt, set with red glass (?). 15, bronze, decoration\n  in relief. 16, Italian. Gold set with turquoises. 17, French (?).\n  Gold, set with a brilliant. 18, Laplandish. Silver-gilt with\n  pierced design.]\n\n  [Illustration: JACQUES GUAY, COURT GEM ENGRAVER OF LOUIS XV,\n  ENGRAVING GEMS IN HIS WORKROOM AT THE LOUVRE\n\n  Mariette, \u201cTrait\u00e9 des Pierres Grav\u00e9es,\u201d Paris, 1750]\n\nThe sacred and peculiar quality of a ring that has been given to a man\nby his wife as a memorial of marriage is expressed in strong terms in\nShakespeare\u2019s Merchant of Venice (Act v, sc. 1). One of these rings\nwas given by Nerissa to Gratiano, the other by Portia to Bassanio.\nWhen Gratiano is charged with having parted with his ring, he defends\nhimself by making light of it but is rebuked for this by Nerissa. The\nverses run as follows:\n\n    Gratiano: ... a hoop of gold, a paltry ring\n              That she did give me, whose posy was\n              For all the world like cutler\u2019s poetry\n              Upon a knife, \u201cLove me, and leave me not.\u201d\n\n    Nerissa: What talk you of the posy or the value?\n             You swore to me, when I did give it you,\n             That you would wear it till your hour of death,\n             And that it should be with you in your grave.\n\n    Portia, joining in Nerissa\u2019s feigned rebuke, says:\n             You are to blame, I must be plain with you,\n             To part so lightly with your wife\u2019s first gift;\n             A thing stuck on with oaths upon your finger\n             And so riveted with faith unto your flesh.\n             I gave my love a ring and made him swear\n             Never to part with it; and here he stands;\n             I dare be sworn for him he would not leave it,\n             Nor pluck it from his finger, for the wealth\n             That the world masters.\n\nBassanio, however, is forced to confess that he, too, has relinquished\nhis ring. Of course, as all readers of Shakespeare know, both Portia\nand Nerissa have these rings in their own possession, since they\nthemselves were, in disguise, the judge and the clerk to whom Bassanio\nand Gratiano unwillingly yielded them.\n\nWhile the finger-ring was known to the Chinese from a very early\nperiod, it never seems to have enjoyed great favor with them. According\nto primitive court etiquette in that land, the Emperor\u2019s \u201cleading\nlady\u201d--for the time being--had to wear a silver ring at court. In case\nshe presented her sovereign with a descendant, she was rewarded by the\ngift of a gold ring, which she wore on one of the fingers of her left\nhand. About the mid-period of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-221\nA.D.) nephrite (jade) rings were known as well as those with\nstone setting but they were only rarely used as ornaments.[398]\n\n\n\n\n                                  VI\n\n                      THE RELIGIOUS USE OF RINGS\n\n\nThe adornment of rings with religious emblems, and their use as\ninsignia of office for the higher ecclesiastics and for the priests\nof the ancient ethnic religions will be considered in the present\nchapter. Of special interest are the rings used by Roman Catholic\npopes, cardinals and bishops, the usage in this direction having varied\nconsiderably in the different periods. With regard to the engravings on\nmany ancient rings it may often be difficult, however, to know whether\na religious symbol, or the conventional figure of a divinity, has been\nused in a strictly religious sense, or merely for ornamental purposes.\n\nThe employment of rings as religious symbols is often bound up with\ntheir use in some other way, as in the case of many seal rings for\ninstance. This was undoubtedly the case with a large number of the\nancient rings noted in earlier chapters. Here we have endeavored to\ngroup together those which were more exclusively religious in their\ncharacter, the ecclesiastical rings, especially those worn by Roman\nCatholic popes, cardinals and bishops, constituting of course a large\npart of these. A very few examples will serve as brief illustrations of\nthe religious use of rings in pagan times.\n\nThere is in the Louvre, among the Egyptian antiquities, a gold ring\nengraved with figures of two horses. The symbol of the Sun-God which it\nbears is believed to signify the gratitude of Rameses II--to whom this\nring is attributed--for the aid of the divinity in securing the king\u2019s\nvictory over the Khetas in one of his Asiatic campaigns. Unquestionably\nmany of the engraved scarabs set in Egyptian rings had a specifically\nreligious significance, and the same is true of the engravings on the\nchatons of gold rings, as, for example, in the case of that worn by the\npriest in charge of the Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu). Some of these have\nalready been described in the chapter on signets, the essential use\nof these rings being for sealing. In many other cases the presence of\na divine name as a component of the royal name, or in a royal title,\nprobably had not much more of a distinctly religious meaning than the\n\u201cDei Gratia\u201d on the coins of European rulers.\n\nThe rings worn by the high priests of Jupiter (flamines Diales),\nwho had, ex-officio, the rank of senators, were made hollow and of\nopenwork. This particular form is said to have been chosen for mystic\nand symbolic reasons, as showing that everything indicating hardness or\nseverity, the restriction of liberty, or arduous labor, was to be held\naloof from this flamen, who, with those of Mars and Quirinus (Romulus),\nbelonged to the group of greater priests selected from the patrician\norder.[399] The conjecture that we should seek here the origin of\nChristian episcopal rings is very far-fetched, the general symbolism of\nthe ring as an emblem of eternity, and its bestowal as a mark of rank,\nhaving been probably sufficient determining factors.\n\nNo one, man or woman, was permitted to enter the sanctuary of the\n\u201cMistress\u201d at Lycosura, wearing a ring on any finger; only rings\ndestined for dedication might be brought into the temple.[400] This\nis attested by an inscription from the second century B.C.;\nthe regulation must, however, date from an earlier period. The same\nprohibition as to wearing rings was decreed in the case of all those\nwho wished to seek for enlightenment from the oracle of Faunus, and the\npetitioners were also required to abstain from meat and to preserve\ntheir chastity. The ring was supposed to interfere with the freedom of\nthe spirit to receive the divine grace or counsel.[401]\n\nOf rings apparently dedicated to some deity, the rich British Museum\ncollection has several examples. A bronze ring, having a thin rounded\nhoop, to the ends of which a transverse oval plate has been soldered,\nbears an inscription in Greek letters signifying \u201cGreat is the name\nof Serapis\u201d; this ring is late Roman, from a time when the worship\nof Serapis was wide-spread in the Roman world. An octagonal ring of\nsolid gold may have been dedicated to Apollo, as it is engraved with\nthe name of this divinity; the two sides of the octagon flanking the\ncentral one bear, respectively, engravings of a crescent and of a\nstar. An inscription found in Delos records several rings dedicated\nto the Delian temple by Stratonice, wife of Seleucos I, Nicator\n(365\u2013281 B.C.). One of these was a gold ring, set with a sard\non which was engraved the image of Apollo, the temple god; a gold\nring dedicated to both Apollo and Artemis, and having the image of a\nVictory; and another gold ring, set with a stone on which was engraved\nan inscription signifying that it was dedicated by Queen Stratonice,\ndaughter of Demetrius, to the Artemis of Delos.[402]\n\nIn a list of jewels dedicated to Isis, engraved on the base of an\nancient statue of that goddess at Alicante, Spain, four rings are\nnoted. Two of them had emerald settings, while the other two, placed\non the little finger of the statue, were set with diamonds. This\ninscription contains the name of the donor, Fabia Fabiana, and the\nstatement that the gift was made on behalf of her granddaughter Avita.\nThe statue has disappeared, but the inscription still calls to mind\nthe honor it received in long past time and the brilliancy of the\njewel decoration, for beside the rings, a pearl and emerald earring\nwas inserted in either ear; about the neck was a necklace of four rows\nof emeralds and pearls; two circlets composed of eleven beryls and two\nemeralds clasped the ankles, and two bracelets set with eight emeralds\nand eight pearls spanned the wrists.[403]\n\nThere does not appear to have been any \u201cRabbi\u2019s Ring\u201d worn as an\ninsignia of office, although many rabbis owned and wore engraved\nrings, perhaps using them as signets. Of this class may be an old ring\nreferred to the time of Judah Hanasi (175\u2013247 A.D.), now in\nthe Albertinus Home in Dresden, Saxony. It is set with an amethyst\non which has been engraved the seven-branched candlestick, one of\nthe adornments of the Temple and figured on the Arch of Titus, in\nRome, as among the treasures borne off by the victorious Romans after\nthe fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Rabbi Judah ben Ezekiel\n(220\u2013299 A.D.) had a ring showing the figure of a man\u2019s head.\nThe design on a ring of Rabba bar Rabbi Huna (ca. 300 A.D.)\ndepicted a palm, while on a fifth century ring worn by another Rabbi\nJudah Hanasi was engraved the figure of a fish.[404]\n\nThe following principal symbolic or typical designs have been observed\nupon early Christian rings:[405]\n\n The lyre, rare.\n\n A ship, denoting the life-voyage of the Christian to the port of\n salvation.\n\n An anchor, emblem of constancy and of hope.\n\n A dove, symbolical of innocence and typical of the Holy Spirit.\n\n Alpha and Omega, the Greek characters, first and last of the\n alphabet. Symbol of Christ, as in Rev. i, 8: \u201cI am Alpha and\n Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord.\u201d\n\n The Monogram of Christ formed of the first two Greek letters of\n the name Christos, the so-called Chrisma combining the X (Ch) and\n the P (r).\n\n The Good Shepherd, with the lost sheep on his shoulder.\n\n Scenes from the life of Christ.\n\n Episodes of the story of Jonah, as Jesus cited this story when\n speaking of the Resurrection.\n\n Daniel in the Lion\u2019s Den, a triumph of faith which must have\n appealed strongly to the Christians in time of persecution, when\n those of the faith were often given as prey to wild beasts.\n\n Elijah borne to heaven, probably typical of the resurrection.\n\n Orpheus playing on the lyre. This pagan design was given a\n Christian meaning, mainly because of certain spurious Orphic poems\n foreshadowing the birth of Christ.\n\n Fall of Adam and Eve. Here the meaning is quite obvious: \u201cAs\n in Adam all died so in Christ shall all be made alive,\u201d as the\n apostle Paul wrote.\n\n The Ark of Noah; God\u2019s promise to save mankind.\n\n A lion, evidently signifying the Lion of the Tribe of Judah,\n applied to Christ.\n\n A lamb, typical of Christ and of Christians. In the Gospel of\n John, ii, 36, John the Baptist exclaimed on seeing Jesus: \u201cBehold\n the Lamb of God.\u201d\n\n A hare. This may denote the dangers which so often menaced the\n early Christians, who had to be constantly apprehensive, as a hare\n is of the hunters.\n\n A ph\u0153nix; naturally figuring the Resurrection.\n\n A peacock. This has a similar meaning, for the peacock, Juno\u2019s\n bird, had been used by the Romans as an emblem of the apotheosis\n of an empress.\n\n A cock, as awakener of grace, and typical of the awakening of\n mankind to the true faith.\n\n A serpent. This may seem strange as a Christian symbol, but it\n denotes foresight, and recalls the Gospel monition, \u201cBe ye wise as\n serpents and harmless as doves.\u201d A Christian gem evidences this\n interpretation, for on either side of the serpent is figured a\n dove.\n\n The vine; suggested by the words of Christ: \u201cI am the vine and ye\n are the branches.\u201d\n\n A blade of wheat. The harvest of souls?\n\nThe symbolic design of a ship traversing the sea was used in early\nChristian funeral sculptures, and also in pagan Rome, to denote the\ncourse of life. For the Christians the tempest-tossed vessel of life\nfound its port and resting place in death. This idea is rudely figured\nin a design on a sepulchral stone, in memory of a certain Firmia\nVictoria, from one of the early Christian cemeteries of Rome. On it\nappears a ship riding the waves, and in the background a four-storied\ntower from which rises a flame, the lighthouse marking the final port\ntoward which the vessel bends its course.[406]\n\nOf the few designs engraved upon Gr\u00e6co-Roman rings which were permitted\nto the early Christians, the dove, as has been noted, symbolized the\nHoly Spirit; a fish became a Christian symbol because the Greek word\nfor fish (_ichthus_) gave the initial letters of Iesus Christos,\nTheou huios, Soter (Jesus Christ, The Son of God, the Saviour). An\nanchor, or the representation of a fisherman, recalls to mind the\nFisherman\u2019s Ring of the Roman pontiff.\n\nThe fish symbol appears on an engraved Gnostic gem bearing the head\nof Christ surrounded with the Greek letters of his name. This offers\none of the types current in the third and fourth Christian centuries.\nWe have the testimony of St. Augustine that the diversity of types in\nhis time was very great, and that no record remained of what Christ\u2019s\nphysical appearance really was.[407] The oldest portrait is believed\nto be that on the ceiling of a chapel in the cemetery of St. Calixtus\nat Rome, and the type presented here is that which has persisted\nessentially to the present day.\n\nThe ring of the Christian martyr Saturus was a precious memorial of his\ndeath for the faith. When he had already received his death-blow, he\ntook off his ring and moistening it with the blood that was flowing\nfrom his wound, handed it to the Roman soldier, Pudeus, who was present\nat his death, but was a secret convert to the Christian faith, charging\nthe soldier to guard it as a heritage and a reminder that true faith\nwas rather confirmed than weakened by the martyr\u2019s death.[408]\n\nA tender and beautiful allusion to a religious ring is contained in the\naccount of the life and death of St. Marcina the Younger (ca. 330\u2013379\nA.D.), by her brother St. Gregory Nyassa. When, after the\ndeath of this pious daughter of Basil the Great, her body was being\nprepared for burial, there was found, suspended by a cord from her\nneck and resting just over her heart, an iron ring. On its chaton was\nengraved a cross, and in a hollow space beneath was secreted a small\nfragment of the True Cross. This ring the brother removed, declaring\nthat it should be his precious heritage, the more sacred that it\nrecalled the cross of Christ, not only by its engraved design, but\nstill more by the priceless memento placed beneath this.[409]\n\nAn antique ivory ring found at Arles in France bears inscriptions\ndenoting that it had been designed for use as a Gnostic amulet,\nand illustrating the peculiar eclecticism of Gnostic belief. The\nmonogram of Christ appears here between the two Greek letters \u0391 and \u03a9,\nsymbolizing the beginning and the end[410]; added to this is the name\nABRA\u03a3AX (Abrasax, Abraxas), the favorite designation of the Creative\nEnergy among the Gnostics.[411]\n\nA Christian talismanic ring in the British Museum is set with a red\njasper upon which is engraved, in Greek characters: IHCOYC OEOY\nYIOC THPE, \u201cJesus son of God, preserve (me).\u201d[412] To jasper\nat all times has been accorded a high rank among talismanic stones,\nmore especially to the green and red varieties, the latter being\nparticularly favored where protection was sought against death from\nwounds or hemorrhage.\n\nOriental Christian rings include many unusual types. The British Museum\nhas one of gold, with engraved and nielloed ornament; on the flat\noctagonal hoop is depicted the Annunciation, in the rigid, hieratic\nstyle of Byzantine art. The Virgin is seated on a high-backed chair;\nbefore her stands the archangel Gabriel. The hoop bears as inscription\nthe first words of the angel\u2019s greeting, in Greek characters \u03a7\u1f04\u03b9\u03c1\u03b5\n\u03ba\u03b5\u03c7\u03b1\u03c1\u03b9\u03c4\u03c9\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b7 \u03cc \u039a\u03cd\u03c1\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 \u03bc\u03b5\u03c4\u1f00 \u03c3\u1f78\u03c5 (Luke i, 28: \u201cHail thou that art highly\nfavoured, the Lord is with thee.\u201d). This ring is believed to belong to\nthe seventh century A.D., and is a very characteristic example\nof the type.[413]\n\nThree Merovingian rings found in August, 1885, on the skeleton finger\nof a woman, at Aigusy, dept. Aisne, offer proof that in this period\nmany rings were sometimes worn on a single finger. The upper and lower\nare plain silver rings, but the central one, of bronze, has a circular\nbezel on which is engraved a cross, with, at its angles, the nails of\nthe Passion. Another ring, from the same locality, with a cross of\nsimpler form engraved on the chaton was found attached to a chain. Both\nring and chain are of bronze, the ring, presumably a signet, having\nbeen worn suspended by the owner, instead of on the hand. A silver ring\nfrom the same French department, bears the Latin inscription V I\nV A S, and in six compartments the following symbolic figures: a\ndove holding a branch; a lamb, above which is a star; an upright palm;\na stag; a fantastic animal figure, and a hare. These symbols, most of\nwhich are characteristically Christian, and the Latin invocation \u201cmayst\nthou live,\u201d _vivas_, usually followed by the words \u201cin Deo\u201d (in\nGod), point clearly to the religious faith of the owner of the ring. It\nis true that the presence of a gold solidus of Valentinian II (375\u2013392)\nin the mouth of the deceased person, as \u201cCharon\u2019s toll,\u201d might be\nthought to indicate that we had here to do with a pagan, were it not\nwell known that this custom was maintained to some extent after the\ndecisive triumph of Christianity.[414]\n\nAccording to Mercato a toadstone set in a silver ring was preserved\nin the Monastery of Saint Anne in Rome. The popular belief was that\nthis ring had belonged to the Virgin Mary, and it was considered to\nbe a cure for fistulas, if the stone were rubbed around them twelve\ntimes.[415]\n\nThe ring known as the betrothal ring of the Virgin Mary, now in\nthe cathedral of Perugia, has had a long and eventful history. The\nfollowing details are taken from a monograph written by Abbot Adamo\nRossi. According to the legend, this ring was given by Mary to St.\nJohn, the \u201cbeloved disciple,\u201d and was taken by him to Rome in 95\nA.D. Here it seems to have come into the possession of the\nRomans, and about 275 A.D. it was in the hands of Mostiola, a\ncousin of Marcus Aurelius Claudius, and a convert to Christianity. In\nthe reign of Aurelian began what was known as the eighth persecution of\nthe Christians, and Mostiola was obliged to flee from Rome. She sought\nrefuge in Clusium, the ancient capital of the Etruscans, the Chuisi of\na later time, but she was seized by the Roman authorities and died a\nmartyr\u2019s death. In the eighth century a church was erected at the spot\nwhere she was buried and the ring was guarded therein as a precious\nrelic.\n\nAbout the middle of the thirteenth century this ring was transferred,\nfor greater security, from the Church of St. Mostiola, which lay\noutside the city, to the cathedral, where it was seen, April 17, 1355,\nby Emperor Charles IV, on his return from his coronation. In 1420, by\norder of the bishop, the ring was taken to the Church of St. Francesco.\nThere was a belief that a mysterious virtue emanated from it which\nacted miraculously upon the sight of those who gazed upon it. Learning\nof this, Filippo Maria, Duke of Milan, who suffered from a disease of\nthe eye, requested, in 1445, that the ring might be brought to him.\nAlthough Pope Eugene IV supported his request, the historian inclines\nto the belief that nothing came of the matter, _for the Duke became\ncompletely blind a year later_.\n\nAmong the Franciscan friars who had the care of the ring was a certain\n\u201cFra Vinterio\u201d (Winter), called \u201cthe German,\u201d from the land of his\nbirth. Possibly because he was a foreigner, he became an object of\ndislike, and upon the occurrence of a robbery of some articles of\nvalue, his fellow monks eagerly seized upon the occasion to fix\nthe guilt upon the unfortunate Winter. He was cast into prison and\nsubjected to the most cruel tortures, but as no avowal could be\nwrung from him, he was finally released and resumed his life in the\ncommunity. However, although outwardly calm, the cruelties to which\nhe had been subjected burned into his soul, and aroused thoughts of\nvengeance. He could think of but one way to punish his tormentors\neffectively, and that was by taking away the precious ring. If this\nwere lost, the Chiusans would place the blame upon its careless\nguardians and would perhaps drive them from the city. Winter succeeded\nin taking wax impressions of the keys of the chamber where the ring\nwas kept and of the case wherein it lay. He had duplicate keys made\nfrom these impressions, and, on the night of July 23, 1473, he secured\npossession of the ring. Of course he was no longer safe in Chiusi and\nhe made all haste to Perugia, where he determined to rid himself of\nhis treasure and curry favor with the Perugians by conferring it upon\nthem. His offer was accepted without hesitation, and when the Chiusans\nenergetically demanded the return of the ring, the Perugians refused\ncompliance.\n\nThe matter was brought before the Roman court and was the subject of\nprolonged controversy. For a time it seemed as though resort would be\nhad to arms, but finally, in 1486, a decision was reached to the effect\nthat the ring should remain in Perugia. Here it has been preserved ever\nsince, and many wonderful stories are told of its miraculous virtue.\nIn seasons of prolonged drought and also when the land was deluged by\nsuperabundant rains, the betrothal ring of the Virgin was solemnly\nborne from the chapel of St. Joseph, where it was kept, to the high\naltar, and the result was always fortunate.\n\nWhatever may be thought of the credibility of the legend, there can be\nno question that this ring is one of the most highly prized relics.\nIt is of chalcedony, and its form seems to indicate that it was at one\ntime set with a precious stone. On only four days in the year, March\n19, the second Sunday in July, July 30, and August 2, can this unique\nring be seen by the public.\n\nThe betrothal ring of the Virgin is in the Capella del Santo Anello,\nin the left aisle of the Cathedral, where the celebrated painting\nby Perugino, the Spozalizio, now at Caen in Normandy, was preserved\nuntil 1797, when it was taken off by the French invaders. The ornate\ntabernaculum was executed by the goldsmith Cesarino del Roscetto in\n1519.\n\nThe espousal ring of St. Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary, was preserved\nin the monastery of St. Sylvester, at Rome. It is of unwrought silver,\nwith a clear crystal set in the middle, surrounded by black spots and\nopaque at the back, so that it reflects images, just as does a mirror.\nOn the festival of the betrothal of St. Anne, the eyes of those whose\nsight was weak were touched with the ring.[416] The curative results\nof this application were doubtless all that could be desired, more\nespecially as weak sight is often caused by nervous depression, or\nnervous derangements.\n\nThe body of St. Caius, martyred in 296 A.D., was exhumed from\nthe Cemetery of Calixtus, in Rome, on the anniversary of the sainted\npope\u2019s birth, April 21, 1622, in the reign of Pope Gregory XV. Within\nthe sepulchre were found three coins of Diocletian, in whose reign St.\nCaius (283\u2013296 A.D.) received the papal crown, and also the\npope\u2019s ring, probably his signet, although no exact description of it\nhas reached us.[417] In the succeeding century there is notice of\nanother ecclesiastical signet-ring, for in a letter of St. Augustine\n(354\u2013430) to Victorinus, the Church Father concludes with the words: \u201cI\nhave sent this epistle sealed with a ring which shows the profile-head\nof a man.\u201d[418] As in the case of all the very early bishops\u2019 rings,\nthis one of St. Augustine was merely his personal signet and had no\ndirect connection with his sacred office.\n\nA massive ring of Pope Pius II (Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini, 1457\u20131464)\nhas on the sides of the hoop the coats-of-arms of the Piccolomini and\nTiara families; below the bezel are figures symbolical of the Four\nEvangelists. This interesting papal ring is in the collection of Dr.\nAlbert Figdor, Vienna.[419]\n\nThe \u201cFisherman\u2019s Ring,\u201d or Annulus Piscatoris, is the gold seal ring\nof the pope, a new one being made for each successive pontiff. As\ntestified to by early records, the custom of breaking the ring on the\ndeath of a pope has long obtained. After the attending physicians\nhave pronounced him to be dead, the Cardinal Camerlengo, or Papal\nChamberlain, approaches the body, and taps it thrice with a golden\nhammer, each time calling on the pope by name. The ring is then\nhanded by him to the papal master of ceremonies, who breaks it; he is\npermitted, or perhaps required, to keep the fragments. The design on\nthe seal depicts St. Peter seated in a bark and holding a net in each\nhand, the name of the reigning pope being inscribed above. The ring\ntakes its name from the words of Christ to Peter, after the latter made\nthe miraculous draught of fishes (Luke, v, 10): \u201cFrom henceforth thou\nshalt catch men.\u201d In Mark i, 17, a similar announcement is made to\nboth Simon (Peter) and his brother Andrew: \u201cCome ye after me, and I\nwill make you to become fishers of men.\u201d\n\n  [Illustration: FIVE VIEWS OF THE RING OF POPE PIUS II (\u00c6NEAS\n  SYLVIUS PICCOLOMINI, 1457\u20131464)\n\n  On the sides of the hoop are the coats-of-arms of the Piccolomini\n  and Tiara families, and below the bezel are figures symbolical of\n  the Four Evangelists\n\n  Albert Figdor Collection, Vienna]\n\n  [Illustration: \u201cRing of the fisherman\u201d\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Hand of \u201cJudith\u201d from picture by Lucas Cranach:\n  Rings beneath glove-fingers slit to give them room]\n\n  [Illustration: Impression of the Annulus Piscatoris (Ring of the\n  Fisherman) of Pope Clement VIII (1592\u20131605)\n\n  Arch\u00e6ologia, vol. xl, p. 140]\n\nThe ring is broken to prevent the sealing of any pontifical document\nduring the vacancy of the papal see. When the army of the French\nRepublic occupied Rome in 1798, the Republican emissary Haller, after\ninforming Pius VI that he would be taken from Rome, demanded all his\npapal rings. After surrendering the others, the pope pleaded that he\nmight be allowed to keep the Fisherman\u2019s Ring, but as the Frenchman\nsternly insisted that this also must be given up, the pope reluctantly\nyielded. However, when on examination, the ring was found to be of\nsmall value, it was restored to the pontiff.\n\nThe earliest existing mention of the Fisherman\u2019s Ring seems to be in\na letter addressed by Pope Clement IV, in 1265, to his nephew Pietro\nGrossi of St. Gilles, in which he states that in addressing members of\nhis family he used the Sigillum Piscatoris, the _private_ seal\nof the popes.[420] It was not until the fifteenth century that this\noriginally private seal came to be generally used for the papal Briefs.\nAn impression of the Fisherman\u2019s Ring of Clement VIII made in 1598, in\nthe sixth year of the pope\u2019s reign, is surrounded with a bit of twisted\nvellum. A comparison of this seal with the one used by Pius IX, shows\nthe modifications of the established design due to the preferences of\nthe engravers of successive rings. The ring of Pius IX was of plain\ngold, weighing about an ounce and a half, the design was engraved on an\noval plate. It is said to have been made out of the gold constituting\nthe Fisherman\u2019s Ring of his predecessor, Gregory XVI.[421]\n\nIt is thought probable that the custom of breaking the Fisherman\u2019s\nRing on the demise of a pope was first instituted at the death of Leo\nX in 1521. The papal engravers are believed to have kept a new ring\nready in case of sudden need, leaving a blank space for the new pope\u2019s\nname. When his election has been confirmed, the Cardinal Camerlengo\nplaces the ring on his hand, asking him at the same time by what name\nhe elects to be called. The ring is then removed and given to the\nengraver for the addition of this name. In later times it has been kept\npermanently in the guardianship of the Cardinal Chamberlain, and has\nnot been generally used for stamping documents, an iron die of like\ndesign being employed for this purpose.\n\nIn at least one instance this ring was not destroyed at a pope\u2019s\ndeath. When Pius VI expired at Valence, Aug. 29, 1799, his Fisherman\u2019s\nRing was left unbroken and, with a new inscription, served for his\nsuccessor, Pius VII. When this latter pope fell into disgrace with\nNapoleon in 1809, because he refused to nullify the marriage of Jerome,\nNapoleon\u2019s brother, to Miss Patterson, he was carried off from Rome\nto France, and obliged to surrender his Annulus Piscatoris to General\nRadet. Before relinquishing it, however, he took the precaution of\nhaving it cut down the middle. Later when he was restored to the Roman\nSee, a substitute ring was made, as the original, given back by Louis\nXVIII after Napoleon\u2019s downfall, could no longer be used because of its\nmutilation.[422]\n\nBesides the Fisherman\u2019s Ring, the popes now have two others, the papal\nring which they habitually wear, and the pontifical ring, which is\nonly assumed for the pontifical ceremonies. The pontifical ring of\nPius IX was worth more than $6,000. It is of gold, of remarkably fine\nworkmanship, and is set with a magnificent oblong brilliant. This ring\ncould be made smaller or larger at will, so that it might serve for\nfuture popes.[423]\n\nBy a special privilege the ring ordinarily worn by a pope may bear a\ncameo, that usually worn by Pius IX showed an image of the Virgin Mary.\nThe Fisherman\u2019s Ring is but rarely worn. When after a pope\u2019s death,\nthe ring has been broken, as we have noted, a cheap facsimile, or the\nbroken ring, is sometimes buried with the pope.[424]\n\nOf the three main classes of ecclesiastical rings, the pontifical ring\nwith its single precious stone, worn over a glove and exclusively\nat pontifical ceremonies, is so large that its stone setting covers\nthe first phalanx of the fourth finger of the right hand, on which\nit is worn. The \u201cgemmed ring,\u201d a mark of distinction, may have but\none stone, or a central stone surrounded by brilliants, just as the\nregulations provide. A third class of ecclesiastical rings are those\nof plain gold, commonly with a smooth chaton; sometimes, however, this\nmay be engraved with armorial bearings, so that the ring can be used\nas a signet. In Rome those who have received the degree of doctor of\ndivinity have the word ~ROMA~ engraved upon the chaton of\nthe ring.[425]\n\nOne of the earliest notices of a bishop\u2019s ring, not however in the\nstrictly ecclesiastical sense, but of one worn by a bishop, is given\nin a letter written by St. Avit, Archbishop of Vienne (494\u2013525), to\nhis colleague, Apollinaris, Bishop of Valencia (ca. 520): \u201cThe ring\nyou have been kind enough to offer me should be made as follows: In\nthe middle of a very thin iron hoop, representing two dolphins facing\neach other, a double seal should be set by means of two pivots, so that\neither side may be shown or hidden at will and in turn, and offer,\nalternately, to the eyes a green stone or a pale electrum. Let not\nthis metal be as I have sometimes seen it, easily tarnished in the\ncleanest hands, and similar to the impure mixture of gold that has not\nbeen exposed to the fire; let it not resemble the alloy which formerly\nthe king of the Goths introduced into his coinage, an emblem of his\ndownfall. Let my electrum be of a medium color, having at once the\ntawny hue of gold and the whiteness of silver, precious by their union\nand enhancing the brilliant green of the emerald when it appears. Let\nmy monogram be engraved on the seal surrounded by my name, so that it\nmay be read. Opposite the setting, the middle of the ring shall be\nformed by the tails of the dolphins; to set between these an oblong\nstone shall be sought, pointed at the extremities.\u201d[426] It will\nbe noted that this was not a gold ring, but an iron one, and thus\nessentially different from the recognized episcopal rings.\n\nThe oldest formula used at the conferring of the pontifical ring upon a\nbishop, is found in the Sacramental of St. Gregory, 590 A.D.\nand, translated into English, runs as follows: \u201cReceive this ring of\ndistinction and honor, a symbol of faith, that thou mayst seal what is\nto be sealed, and reveal what is to be revealed, and that to believers\nbaptized into the faith, who have fallen but are penitent, thou mayst\nby the mystery of reconciliation open the gates of the Kingdom of\nHeaven.\u201d A much shorter formula is that in the Pontifical of Ecgberht,\nArchbishop of York; it reads: \u201cReceive the ring of the pontifical honor\nthat thou mayst be endowed with sound faith.\u201d At present the following\nsimple formula is used: \u201cReceive the ring of faith as a sign that thou\nwilt guard the Bride of God, Holy Church, with undaunted faith.\u201d\n\nA very early mention of the true episcopal rings is to be found\nin the writings of Isidore, Archbishop of Seville from 601 to 636\nA.D.[427] He definitely states that the ring was one of the\ncanonical insignia of the episcopate and terms it \u201ca sign of pontifical\nhonor, or a seal of secrets,\u201d adding that priests must keep many\nsecrets confided to them hidden in their breasts as though beneath\na seal.[428] At about the same time a decree of Pope Boniface IV,\npromulgated in the third council of Rome, in 610, mentions a pontifical\nring, and in the fourth council of Toledo, in December, 633, a canon\ntreating of the restitution to his office of an unjustly deposed\nbishop, directs that he be given anew his stole, his ring, and his\npastoral staff.[429]\n\nThe liturgical kissing of a bishop\u2019s hand usually means a kiss\nimpressed upon the ring he is wearing at the ceremony. That in the\nworks of Rabanus Maurus, Archbishop of Mainz (786\u2013856), and in those\nof others of his time, no mention is made of episcopal rings of\ninvestiture, cannot be taken to prove that none were worn in this\nperiod, but only that they were not yet in general use.[430] The\ndistinct evidence contained in the canon of the Council of Toledo, over\nwhich Isidore of Seville presided in 633, and the still earlier formula\nof investiture in the Sacramental of Gregory, 590 A.D., must\nbe accepted as conclusive evidence that such rings were conferred.\n\nUntil after the eleventh century, almost all the Episcopal rings were\nused as signets and the Sacramental of St. Gregory alludes to this use.\nThe ring was generally worn on the index finger of the right hand,\nthe middle of the three fingers uplifted in conferring a blessing;\nbut, when celebrating mass, the bishop transferred it from the index\nfinger to the annular. At the present day it is always worn on this\nlatter finger. The removal of the ring from the index is explained by\nGaranti,[431] as being an act of humility, since the ring was regarded\nas a kind of crown upon the index, \u201cfor sages say that the ring is the\ncrown of the hand,\u201d and this crown should be removed in the presence of\nChrist. In our day bishops wear but one ring, but in old pictures\nand effigies they are shown wearing several, and sometimes even a thumb\nring. The celebrated portrait of Leo X, by Raphael, represents the pope\nwearing no less than six rings, and the hands of Julius II in Raphael\u2019s\nportrait are adorned with rings of equal number.\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF POPE CLEMENT IX (1667\u20131670) BY CARLO\n  MARATTA\n\n  Ring with square-cut, beveled stone on fourth finger of right hand\n\n  Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gift of Archer M.\n  Huntington, Esq.]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF POPE JULIUS II (1503\u20131513) BY RAFAEL\n\n  Six rings, three on each hand; on index, fourth and little fingers\n\n  Uffizi Palace. Florence.]\n\nWhile the sapphire eventually became the stone especially assigned for\nuse in episcopal rings, the older specimens which have been preserved\nfor us show that, in early times, many other precious stones were\nemployed for this purpose. Indeed, the emerald, or some green stone,\nseems to have been given the preference at one time, if we can judge\nfrom the letter sent by Avitus, Archbishop of Vienne to Apollinaris,\nBishop of Valencia. Besides rubies and emeralds, balas-rubies,\nturquoises, chalcedonies and even the opal were used, while pearls and\ngarnets, also appear occasionally.\n\nPossibly the earliest known specimen of an episcopal ring is in the\ntreasury of the cathedral of Metz. It is believed to have belonged to\nArnulphus, who was consecrated Bishop of Metz in 614. This ring, which\nhas been sometimes ascribed to the fourth century, is set with an\nopaque milk-white carnelian.\n\nAn episcopal ring found at Oxford and now in the Waterton Collection,\nVictoria and Albert Museum, is a curious specimen of the adaptation of\nantique gems to Christian uses. The gold circlet is set with an antique\nplasma engraved with the bust of a female, the pagan original doing\nduty for some Christian saint, or perhaps for the Virgin Mary.[432] An\nintaglio of Jupiter-Serapis was provided by the monks of Durham with an\ninscription designating it to be a portrait of St. Oswald. Cameos were\nalso used, on occasion, as we read in the enumeration of the precious\nstones and rings donated by Henry III to the shrine of St. Edward in\nWestminster Abbey,[433] the following entry: \u201cj chamah in uno annulo\npontificali.\u201d\n\nOccasionally a stone was taken from some antique ornament and set in an\nepiscopal ring. Of this kind is the pierced sapphire in Mr. Waterton\u2019s\ncollection, and probably another ring described in the Wardrobe Books\nof Edward I and which belonged to Robert, Bishop of Coventry and\nLichfield, who died in 1295. The old description calls this \u201ca golden\nring with a perforated ruby.\u201d[434] The same records mention a gold ring\nwith a sapphire, the ornament being, as was supposed, the work of St.\nDunstan, who is reputed to have been a skilful worker in metals.\n\nA letter written in 867 by Charles the Bald to Pope Nicholas I,\nmentions a ring sent to Ebbo, Bishop of Rheims, by Judith, the mother\nof Charles the Bald. This ring was given by the empress at the time of\nthe birth of her son, so that Ebbo, who had been made bishop because of\nhis piety and sanctity, should remember the child in his prayers. In\nlater years, whenever the good bishop was in trouble, he used to send\nhis ring to the empress with an humble petition for aid, and the letter\nof Emperor Charles was written as a result of a most earnest appeal of\nBishop Ebbo, after he had been deposed from his office and subjected to\npersecution.[435]\n\n  [Illustration: Christian ring of glass. Design shows snake and\n  doves, a cross, the Greek letters _alpha_ and _omega_\n  and the Latin word _Salus_. Bosio.\n\n  \u201cRoma Sotterranea,\u201d Roma, 1650]]\n\n  [Illustration: 1, Venetian ring. Bezel with engraved figure of\n  St. Mark is hollowed to enclose relics. 2, poison ring set with\n  a diamond and two rubies. The poison was concealed beneath the\n  bezel. See pages 36\u201339\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Gold ring of Ahlstan, Bishop of Sherborne (824\u2013860\n  A.D.)\n\n  Arch\u00e6ological Journal, vol. xx, p. 226, 1863]\n\n  [Illustration: Bishop\u2019s ring of investiture. Bezel set with flat\n  crystal; two views. Said to have belonged to Robert of Anjou,\n  King of Naples (1309\u20131343 A.D.)\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Lady\u2019s memorial ring of enameled gold inscribed\n  \u201c_R. C. Not lost but gone before,_\u201d in gilt letters on a\n  white enamel ground. English, about 1800\n\n  Albert Figdor Collection, Vienna]\n\n  [Illustration: Mourning ring of gold. The head has the form of a\n  coffin with skull and cross-bones on the lid. When this is lifted\n  a heart is disclosed within. The hoop has two wires. On the sides\n  of the coffin is inscribed: \u201c_Hier ist die Ruhe_\u201d (Here is\n  rest). German. Eighteenth Century\n\n  Albert Figdor Collection, Vienna]\n\n  [Illustration: Massive silver mourning ring inscribed in Old\n  French, _dort couat_ (rest in peace). Found at Huy near\n  Statte, Belgium. French. Fifteenth Century\n\n  Albert Figdor Collection, Vienna]\n\nIt is said that only one episcopal ring from Anglo-Saxon times has\nbeen preserved in England. This relic forms part of the Waterton\nCollection in the Victoria and Albert Museum; it is of gold, nielloed,\nand shows the letters of the name Ahlstan. This name was borne by a\nBishop of Sherborne who held the office from 824 to 867 A.D.,\nhis death occurring four years before the accession of Alfred the\nGreat.[436]\n\nNiello is a mixture of silver, copper, lead, crude sulphur, and borax;\nfrequently a little antimony is added. The mixture is fused and pressed\ninto the design engraved upon a silver plate; when it has cooled\noff it forms a deep black, brilliant, and tough, though not hard,\nsubstance, like an enamel. The antimony on cooling, spreads slightly,\nthus obviating any danger of undue contraction of the alloy, which\nmight fail to fill out the design exactly; occasionally, however,\nthe antimony expands unequally, producing some slight irregularities\nof outline or surface. Sometimes the alloy is applied to the silver\nbackground of the design, instead of to the design itself, so that\nthe latter appears white against a rich dark foundation. This variety\nof enamelling was already used in Roman times; in our day it is most\nextensively employed in Russia, where very beautiful work of the kind\nis done, the lines being of hair-like fineness and delicacy.\n\nIn 886, at the degradation of two bishops who had been consecrated\nwithout the consent of their metropolitan, their episcopal vestments\nwere rent, their croziers broken on their heads, and their episcopal\nrings rudely snatched from their fingers. Here, as in cases of military\ndegradation, the ignominious removal of the insignia of rank served to\ngive public emphasis to the sentence passed upon the condemned.[437]\n\nThe Cathedral of Chichester has yielded a number of fine specimens of\nmedi\u00e6val episcopal rings. Notable among these as a curiosity is one\nthat belonged to Bishop Seffrid who died in 1151, for it is set with\na Gnostic gem showing the well-known cock-headed figure generally cut\nto represent the divine principle the Gnostics called Abrasax (or\nAbraxas). This is an intaglio on jasper, and the ring was found in the\nbishop\u2019s tomb. The fact that he was willing to wear it shows either\nthat he was ignorant of its being a Gnostic, and hence an heretical\ndesign, or else that he was more than usually tolerant. Another of the\nChichester rings came from the tomb of Bishop Hilary (1146\u20131169); it is\nof massive gold and is set with a sapphire. When the tomb was opened\nthe ring was on the thumb of the skeleton. In a stone coffin on which\nwere cut the letters Episcopus, with no personal name, there was found\na ring adorned with an octagonal sapphire, on four sides of which was\nset a small emerald. As the sarcophagus contained a pastoral staff and\nremains of a vestment, this was undoubtedly an episcopal ring. It will\nhave been remarked that of these rings two were set with sapphires,\nbut the ring of Archbishop Sewall (d. 1258), found in his tomb in the\nCathedral of York, and that from the tomb of Archbishop Greenfield (d.\n1315), were each set with a ruby.[438]\n\n  [Illustration: Gold ring with inscription. \u201cBuredruth\u201d is\n  probably a personal name, and the Greek characters _alpha_\n  and _omega_ should have a religious significance. Late Saxon\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Episcopal rings. 1, found in York Minster, tomb\n  of Archbishop Sewall (d. 1256); 2, found in tomb of Archbishop\n  Greenfield (d. 1315)\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: 1, Papal ring set with large crystal,\n  Londesborough Collection; 2, ring of Bishop Stanbury of Hereford\n  (1452\u20131474). Found in his tomb, 1843; two views\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: 1, silver ring, two clasped hands; inscription\n  signifies Jesus Nazarenus Rex. 2 and 3, rosary rings, with bosses\n  used to count the prayers recited\n\n  Londesborough Collection.\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: 1, gold ring set with Gnostic intaglio on jasper.\n  Found in tomb of Seffrid, Bishop of Chichester (1125\u20131151); three\n  views. 2, gold ring set with a sapphire. Found in tomb of Hilary,\n  Bishop of Chichester (1146\u20131169); two views. 3, gold ring set\n  with a sapphire and four emeralds. Found in tomb of unknown bishop\n\n  Arch\u00e6ological Journal, vol. xx. pl. opp. p. 235; 1863]\n\nThe mystic significance of the episcopal ring as typifying the union\nof Christ with his Church was expressed by Innocent III (1198\u20131216) in\nthese words: \u201cThe ring is a sacrament of faith, by which Christ endows\nhis spouse the Holy Church.\u201d[439] This can be taken as confirmatory\nof the theory that the episcopal rings were directly derived from the\nbetrothal rings, and were not merely attributes of ecclesiastical rank.\nSo closely was the Bishop bound to his see, that his abandonment of it\nto go to another was regarded by some as equivalent to the commission\nof adultery.\n\nA fine example of a sapphire-set episcopal ring was found in 1844,\nduring some alterations to the chapel of Notre Dame in the Cathedral\nof Troyes. Several stone coffins were discovered, among them that\ncontaining the remains of Herv\u00e9e, Bishop of Troyes, consecrated in\n1206. The body was clothed in full episcopal vestments. The ring had\nfallen from the hand but was found at the left side of the body. It\nhad a diameter of 2 cm. (about \u2158 inch) and was set with a fine oblong\nsapphire held in place by four claws.[440] The opening of the tomb of\nPope Boniface VIII (1294\u20131303) revealed the presence, on the gloved\nhand of the dead pope, of a splendid gold ring, set with a sapphire of\nquite exceptional size and beauty.[441]\n\nIn 1804, at the opening of a thirteenth-century archbishop\u2019s sepulchre\nin the Cathedral of Mainz, believed to be that of Archbishop Sigfroi\nIII, 1249, a fine pontifical ring was found; it is set with a large\nruby.[442] The bezel is of disproportionate size in comparison with\nthe dimensions of the rather slender circlet.[443] This ring is large\nenough to be worn over a glove in accord with liturgical requirements.\nIt has been noted that in process of time the width and thickness of\nthe circlet were gradually increased, at first to make it harmonize\nbetter with a large bezel; gradually, however, both bezel and hoop\nwere made so large as to render the ring a burden to the wearer, and\neven difficult to keep from slipping off the finger. Indeed, it was\nsometimes necessary to wear a second, closer-fitting ring _under_\nit as a guard.[444]\n\nThe treasury of Canterbury Cathedral contained in 1315, according to an\ninventory of the \u201cOrnamenta Ecclesiastica,\u201d a very rich and elaborate\npontifical ring. It is described as a large square ring, set with an\noblong emerald, four plasmas (leek-green quartz), and four garnets. The\nother episcopal rings listed on this inventory were set with sapphires\nbordered with small gems, one of them having a \u201cblack sapphire\u201d set\n_\u00e0 jour_, and held in place by claws. While at this period great\nlatitude was exercised regarding the particular stone to be chosen for\nthe chief adornment of the ring, it was required that it should be one\nof the more precious stones.[445]\n\nThe color of the stones chosen for the adornment of episcopal\nrings always had a symbolical significance. The glowing red of the\nruby indicated glory, the clear blue of the sapphire, chastity and\nhappiness, the pure white of the rock-crystal, guilelessness, while the\nhue of the amethyst called to mind the color of the wine used in the\nHoly Eucharist. The emerald, as is well known, signified by its green\ncolor the virtue of hope and also the Resurrection.\n\nThe general rule, expressed or understood, that a sapphire should be\nset in an episcopal ring, seems to have been more commonly observed\nin England in the earlier centuries than it was on the Continent.\nUndoubtedly many of these stones were obtained at the time of the\nCrusades. As English examples, Mr. O. M. Dalton cites the rings of\nthree early bishops,[446] namely, those of Flambard (1099\u20131128),\nGeoffrey Rufus (1133\u201340) and William de St. Barbara (1143\u201352), now in\nthe Durham Chapter Library; all have sapphires. The same stone serves\nas setting for the ring of William of Wykeham, a massive plain gold\nhoop, exhibited by the Dean of Winchester at South Kensington in 1862,\nto which the cathedral also contributed a thirteenth-century episcopal\nring set with a large sapphire cut _en cabochon_.[447] There is\nas well the ring of William Wytlesey, Archbishop of Canterbury (d.\n1374) in the possession of Sir Arthur Evans and that of John Stanbery,\nBishop of Hereford (d. 1474). The inventory of 28 Edward I lists\nsapphire-set rings of the archbishops of Dublin and York as well as\nof the bishops of Salisbury and St. Asaph. The rebel Piers Gaveston,\nfavorite of Edward II, carried off with him, among other royal jewels,\nsapphire rings that had belonged to the Bishop of Bath and Wells and\nto the Abbot of Abingdon. In the inventory of Elizabeth\u2019s favorite\necclesiastic, Archbishop Parker of Canterbury, is listed \u201ca ringe with\na blewe sapphire,\u201d valued at four pounds sterling.\n\nOld records show that even in the fourteenth century, the sapphire,\nalthough greatly favored for prelates\u2019 rings, did not yet enjoy any\nexclusive preference.\n\nFor example, during the reigns of Clement V, and John XXII, in Avignon\n(1307\u20131334), the papal registers for 1317 note, in one case, \u201cseven\ngold rings with various stones for new cardinals, 68 gold florins.\u201d\nThis, however, is followed by another entry recording \u201cfour gold rings\nwith Oriental sapphires for the consecration of prelates, 26 gold\nflorins,\u201d and again \u201ca gold ring with an Oriental sapphire for Cardinal\nA, 23 florins.\u201d Three years later, in 1320, we have \u201cseven rings for\nthe seven new cardinals, three set with Oriental sapphires, three\nothers with Oriental emeralds, and one with a balas-ruby, the total\ncost being 106 gold florins.\u201d[448]\n\nThat the topaz at one time shared with the sapphire the honor of being\nespecially fitted for use in ecclesiastical rings is shown by a passage\nin a rare fourteenth-century manuscript written in Italy. Here we are\ninformed that the topaz was the most honorable of stones \u201cabove all\nother stones,\u201d and that for this reason the great prelates wore it on\ntheir fingers.[449]\n\nThe green variety of tourmaline found in Brazil, and often called\n\u201cBrazilian emerald,\u201d was for a long time and is now used quite freely\nin Brazil as a setting of episcopal rings.[450] While this is a\ndeparture from the general usage of selecting a blue stone, preferably\nsapphire, for this purpose, it nevertheless finds a parallel in the\nemployment of emeralds for bishops\u2019 rings in quite ancient times, as is\nthe case with one of the earliest of these rings, that described, or\nwe should rather say proposed, in the letter of St. Avitus, Bishop of\nVienne in France.\n\nWhen a prelate has been raised to the rank of cardinal, he has to\nresign any ring he may have been entitled to wear previously, and\nawaits the bestowal of the special cardinal\u2019s ring by the pope. It\nis conferred by the pope personally at the consistory wherein he\nassigns a title to the newly-chosen cardinal. This ring is made by a\npontifical jeweller; it is of gold, with a sapphire in the bezel and,\non the inside, the arms of the Sovereign Pontiff. Withal it is rather\ninexpensive, the average cost having been put at about $32, although\neach cardinal is obliged to pay into the Congregation of the Propaganda\nthe sum of $642 (3,210 francs) as a \u201cring tax.\u201d This payment, however,\ngives him the valuable right of bequeathing his property as he pleases\nby testament; otherwise everything would go to the Church.[451]\n\nAs in many portraits of cardinals and high church dignitaries they\nare depicted as wearing two or more rings, it has been erroneously\nconjectured that each ring represented a separate benefice, there being\nthus as many rings as benefices. The ceremonial regulations, however,\nclearly indicate that the wearing of many rings is simply a matter of\ntaste, all except that on the annular finger of the right hand being\npurely ornamental.[452]\n\nA ring on the fourth finger of the right hand is shown in Carlo\nMaratta\u2019s portrait of Pope Clement IX (1667\u20131670), given to the\nMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York, by Archer M. Huntington, Esq.,\nin 1891. The ring bears no design, the setting being a large, square,\nbeveled stone. The beard and mustache of the pontiff are of the type\nfamiliar to us in portraits of Cardinal Richelieu, who died in 1642.\n\nA splendid example of the cardinal\u2019s ring was recently made for\nCardinal Farley. It is set with an exceptionally large and fine\nsapphire, of rounded oval form and an inch in length; the color is rich\nand deep; the stone weighs 18\u00bd carats and is a Cinghalese sapphire. A\nbordering consisting of twenty-eight diamonds surrounds the central\nstone and serves to render more strikingly beautiful the rich blue of\nthe sapphire, often called the \u201ccardinal\u2019s stone\u201d because it is the one\nused for cardinal\u2019s rings. This is noteworthy, as red is pre-eminently\nthe cardinal\u2019s color, as is shown in his robes, hat, etc.; hence we\nmight rather expect that the ruddy ruby would have the preference.\nHowever, the fact that the sapphire denotes chastity and celestial\npurity has caused this stone to be chosen for the adornment of the\nrings worn by those who, from their exalted ecclesiastical rank, are\nmore especially called upon to set a high example to the priesthood.\nThe shank of Cardinal Farley\u2019s ring is one of the most beautiful\nexamples of American goldsmithing in existence. The chasing of the\ncirclet shows on one side the ample facade and the lofty spires of St.\nPatrick\u2019s Cathedral in New York, and on the other side emblems of the\ncardinalate. It was the gift of a priest who has known the Cardinal for\nmany years.[453]\n\nWhen the Right Rev. David H. Greer was consecrated Bishop of New York,\nsome of his friends presented him with a very handsome amethyst signet,\nbut unfortunately this tribute was stolen from his home by burglars,\ntwo or three years ago. When necessity arises of making an official\nsignature he uses a steel impression stamp of the seal of the diocese.\nHe has a facsimile impression stamp of the seal which was stolen, but\nhe seldom or never uses this.[454]\n\nThe amethyst seal of Bishop Greer bore for its motto, \u201cCrux Mihi Grata\nQuies\u201d (The Cross is for me a grateful rest). This is the motto of Mrs.\nGreer\u2019s family. On the shield is the monogram of the bishop\u2019s initials,\nD. H. G.; above are two keys in saltire; on the lower part of the\nshield just beneath the monogram, is the coat-of-arms of New Amsterdam;\nas crest is an episcopal mitre. This was not, however, a seal ring.\n\nThe so-called \u201cmitred abbots\u201d, those who governed the larger\nmonasteries, or whose notable services in the cause of the Church were\nthought to merit some special mark of honor, were sometimes given\nthe right of wearing the episcopal ring at solemn ceremonies. We are\ntold that at the deposition of Abbot Rainaldus, head of the great\nBenedictine Abbey of Monte Casino, not far from Naples, he publicly\nlaid his staff and his ring upon the shrine containing the body of St.\nBenedict.[455]\n\nThe energy with which some of the leading theologians of the twelfth\ncentury protested against the use of episcopal rings by abbots, merits\nillustration by an extract from the writings of St. Bernard, who in a\ntractate addressed to Henri, Archbishop of Sens, writes:[456]\n\n\u201cSeveral have clearly enough indicated where were their thoughts\nwhen, having obtained apostolic privileges by many intrigues and by\nbribery, they appropriated to themselves and use, in virtue of these\nconcessions, the mitre, the ring and the sandals, just as do the\npontiffs themselves.... Oh, Monks, whither will this lead you? Have you\nbanished all fear from your souls? Can the blush of shame no longer\nrise to your cheeks?\u201d\n\n  [Illustration: ABBESS PRAYING. FRENCH SCHOOL\n\n  Seal ring on index of right hand; ring with precious stone\n  setting on fourth finger of the same hand\n\n  Mus\u00e9e du Louvre]\n\n  [Illustration: PORTRAIT OF A LADY, BY CONINXBO\n\n  Two rings on index of right hand and two on index of left hand;\n  smaller one on fourth finger of left hand\n\n  Mus\u00e9e de Bruxelles]\n\nNot only abbots, but abbesses also, are represented on their monuments\nas wearing rings, as for example Agnes Jordan, Abbess of the Bridgetine\nConvent of Syon, whose brass figure at Denham, Bucks County,\nEngland,[457] shows a ring on her finger. However, in 1572, the year\nof his accession to the papal throne, Gregory XIII abolished this\ncustom; how long it had endured has not been determined.[458]\n\nCertain other prelates of lesser rank than bishops have the right to\nwear rings, such as the protonotaries, for example, but as a rule they\nare not permitted to wear them while celebrating an ordinary mass, low\nor high; only when officiating pontifically may they wear pontifical\nrings. The ring commonly worn is much smaller than that accorded to a\nbishop and is set with a single stone, as is expressly ordained in the\nconstitution _Apostolic\u00e6 Sedis_ of Pius IX, dated in 1872.[459]\n\nThat the canons of a cathedral should generally be allowed to wear\nrings has been repeatedly decided adversely in the Roman Catholic\nChurch, a recent instance being when the Bishop of Nicaragua submitted\nthis question to the Sacred Congregation of Rites in Rome, because the\npractice had become common in Nicaragua. In reply he was informed that\nthis must not be tolerated, except in case of a special indulgence from\nthe pope, and the bishop was required to suppress the abuse. The reply\nwas dated August 20, 1870, just a month before the entry of the Italian\narmy into Rome and the cessation of the papal rule over the city.[460]\n\nIn a letter written December, 1751, Pope Benedict XIV relates the\nfinding of a gold ring so small that it would fit the finger of a\nthree-months\u2019 old babe, and bearing certain characters indicating\na priestly quality of the infant. This the pope understood not as\nsignifying that it had been made a deacon, but that its parents had\nconsecrated it to the service of the church, so that it should later\nbecome a monk or priest.[461]\n\nHis Grace, the Most Reverend Archbishop Evdokim, the highest dignitary\nof the Russian Church in the United States, has stated that neither\nthe Metropolitan, nor the Archbishops nor clergy of the Russian Church\nwear rings of any kind. They use seals but these are not in the form\nof signets. In this respect, the usage differs from that in many other\nchurches.\n\nThe ring given to the King of England at his coronation bears a close\nrelationship to the episcopal ring, and emphasizes the religious\nauthority of the sovereign. This appears very clearly in the English\nceremonial, where the Archbishop of Canterbury pronounces the following\nprayer of consecration:\n\n Bless, O Lord, and sanctify this Ring, that Thy servant, wearing\n it, may be sealed with the ring of faith, and by the power of the\n Highest be preserved from sin; and let all the blessings which\n are found in Holy Scriptures plentifully descend upon him, that\n whatsoever he may sanctify may be holy, and whatsoever he may\n bless may be blessed. Amen.[462]\n\nThe Coronation Ring of the English kings is of pure gold and is usually\nset with a large table ruby of a violet hue, the flat surface engraved\nwith the figure of a St. George\u2019s cross. About the ruby are set\ntwenty-six diamonds. As the ring is designed to serve for successive\ncoronations, the circlet is jointed so as to fit a larger or smaller\nfinger. A queen consort is given at the ceremony of coronation a ring\nof pure gold also bearing a ruby, but unengraved; about the stone\nare sixteen smaller rubies, so graded as to size that the largest\nare placed nearest to the central stone, the size diminishing as\nthe distance increases. The ruby has been chosen as emblematic of\nfaithfulness. These rings are put on the fourth finger of king and\nqueen, and the king\u2019s ring is called by some writers \u201cThe Wedding-Ring\nof England,\u201d the sovereign being regarded as espoused to the nation\nover whose welfare he is to watch.[463]\n\nThe coronation ring of William IV of England, although scarcely a\nnotable example of the jeweller\u2019s art, is striking enough in its way.\nIn many earlier coronation rings, for which the ruby (or a spinel) was\nthe stone traditionally favored, a St. George\u2019s cross was engraved on\nthe ruby, but in the case of William IV\u2019s ring the cross is formed\nof five rubies, a square central stone and four oblong ones for\nthe arms of the cross, all set over a large cabochon-cut sapphire,\nthis affording a blue background for the red cross, similar to the\nblue field of the cross of St. Andrew. There is also a bordering of\nbrilliants. This ring while effective enough in the sharp contrast of\ncolor, is lacking in harmony and taste.[464]\n\nThe insignia of the Prince of Wales include most of the emblems\nbelonging to royal insignia, and each of them has its especial and\npeculiar significance. Unity is typified by the ring; the coronet\nis an emblem of friendship. The staff in conjunction with the ring\nsuggests the religious side of the princely or royal office, for these\nemblems form an important part of the episcopal insignia. A special\nlocal association results from the fact that Welsh gold, mined by\nWelshmen in the Merionethshire mines, is used in the manufacture of\nthese ornaments. A gold medal bearing the head of the Prince of Wales\non the obverse, and on the reverse a representation of the Eagle Tower\nof Carnarvon Castle, was struck for the present holder of the title.\n\nAt the coronation ceremonies of the kings of France, the officiating\necclesiastic said to the sovereign in handing him the Coronation Ring:\n\u201cReceive this ring, a symbol of holy faith and of the stability of the\nKingdom, a sign of power, by which thou shalt be able to defeat all\nenemies with triumphant power, to destroy all heresies, to unite all\nsubjects and to maintain them constantly bound together by the Catholic\nfaith.\u201d This formula dates back at least as far as 986 A.D.,\nand was probably in use at an even earlier date.[465] The close union\nof Church and State is strongly emphasized, as well as the necessity\nfor uniformity of belief, this having been a source of strength for the\nState when voluntarily present, but a cause of manifold and dreadful\nmisfortunes when the religious convictions of the subjects became\ndiscordant.\n\nWhen a nun is consecrated the priest places a ring on her finger,\nreciting the following words from the Roman pontifical:\n\n I espouse thee to Jesus Christ, Son of the Supreme Father, who\n will preserve thee from all ill. Accept, therefore, this ring of\n faith, a symbol of the Holy Spirit, that thou mayst be called a\n spouse of God, and be crowned for ever.\n\nBefore the rings are bestowed they are heaped up on the altar and are\ncollectively blessed by the officiating priest. As the formula used\ndefines the character and quality of the ring more closely than do the\nsimple words of presentation, it is here given as follows, this formula\nalready appearing in the pontifical of Pierre, Bishop of Senlis,\n1350:[466]\n\n Creator and preserver of the human race, grantor of spiritual\n grace and bestower of bodily health, O God, send forth thy\n blessing upon these rings that those who may wear them, shall\n possess celestial virtue, perfect faith and true fidelity, shall\n maintain, as spouses of Christ, their vow of virginity, and shall\n persevere in constant chastity. By Christ Our Lord.\n\nA pretty usage was observed at the reception into the order of the\nAugustinian nuns of Saint Thomas, at Villeneueve. On taking the vow,\na ring was placed on the nun\u2019s finger by a poor little girl, who said\nat the same time: \u201cRemember, dear sister, that you have become this\nday the spouse of Jesus Christ and the servant of the poor.\u201d The\nsister, after having respectfully accepted the gift made her by one who\nrepresented the Lord, kisses the child who has reminded her of the poor\nto whose service she is consecrated.[467]\n\nAccording to an old recital, a miraculous ring was once found by a\npious nun in the convent garden. One day when she was engaged in\ntending a bed of flowers, there came over her the ardent wish to\nreceive a divine sign in the shape of a ring, testifying to the reality\nof her espousal with Christ. The Lord answered the fervent aspiration\nof his handmaiden, for suddenly there appeared before her in the flower\nbed an actual ring, no deception of the senses, but a material body.\nThis story is related by Johann Nider in his Latin work, \u201cFormicarius,\u201d\npublished in Strassburg in 1517, and the writer asseverates that he saw\nthe ring, which was of a white substance resembling pure silver.[468]\n\nA Ring of Widowhood, sealing a widow\u2019s vow to remain faithful to the\nmemory of her dead husband, was not rarely bestowed, three or four\ncenturies ago, to serve as a mark of the solemn vow. A noteworthy\ninstance is that of Katherine Rippelingham, who, in her will dated\nFebruary 8, 1473, describes herself as \u201cadvowes\u201d (\u201cvowed\u201d), and\nexpresses the wish to be interred in \u201cBaynardes Castell of London.\u201d In\na codicil she leaves to her granddaughter, Alice St. John, \u201cher gold\nring with a diamante therein wherewith she was sacrid,\u201d or consecrated.\nIn another will, that of William Herbert, Lord Pembroke, the wife\nis enjoined to remember her promise that she will take the order of\nwidowhood, so that, as the testator continues, \u201cye may be the better\nmaistres of your owen, to perform my will, and to help my children, as\nI love and trust you.\u201d[469]\n\nIn view of the bad results of a second marriage when a widow falls into\nthe hands of some designing man, to the destruction of her children\u2019s\nwelfare, this usage, so long discontinued, of binding herself by a\nsolemn vow, had something to recommend it in times far past, when more\nstress was laid upon the sanctions and prohibitions of religion than is\ngenerally the case in our day.\n\nAt a solemn ceremony of this kind, held at the Priory of Campsey, in\n1382, during the reign of Richard II, Isabella, Countess of Suffolk,\ntook the vow in the presence of the Earl of Warwick, Lords Willoughby\nand Scales, and other nobles. The old Norman French form of her pledge\nhas been preserved and may be given here for its historic interest:\n\u201cJeo Isabella, jadys la femme William de Ufford, Count de Suffolk, vowe\n\u00e0 Dieu, en presence de tres reverentz piers en Dieu, \u00e9vesques de Ely et\nde Norwiz, qe jeo doi estre chaste d\u2019ors en avant ma vie durante.\u201d (I,\nIsabella, formerly the wife of William de Ufford, Count of Suffolk, vow\nto God in presence of the very reverend fathers in God, the bishops of\nEly and of Norwich, that I shall remain chaste from now on during my\nentire life.)[470]\n\n\n\n\n                                  VII\n\n                      MAGIC AND TALISMANIC RINGS\n\n\nFrom their close contact with the person as well as from their symbolic\nform, the significance of many designs engraved upon them, and the\nsupposed virtues of stones set in them, some rings have enjoyed the\nrepute of possessing magic powers, both in ancient and medi\u00e6val\ntimes, and even much later. In a number of cases, we can find some\nclue to the attribution of a special virtue to a magic ring; in other\ncases, however, the circumstances leading to this are no longer to be\nascertained, and we must content ourselves with the fact that such and\nsuch a ring, or type of rings, has been thought to have such and such a\nmysterious influence.\n\nNo ancient talisman enjoyed a greater repute in medi\u00e6val legend than\nthe \u201cRing of Solomon\u201d or \u201cSolomon\u2019s Seal\u201d as it was often called. An\nArab legend tells that by means of the power inherent in his ring,\nthe Hebrew King was able to succeed in all his undertakings. However,\nfor the space of forty years he was deprived of its aid, as he once\nthoughtlessly took it off his hand when he was in the bath and it was\ncarried away by a malevolent genius. At the end of the forty years it\nwas found again in the body of a fish served on the monarch\u2019s table. In\nRabbinical legend this ring is said to have been set with a marvellous\nprecious stone, perhaps a diamond, which served as a magic mirror\nwherein Solomon was able to see reflected the image of any distant\nplace or of any persons in regard to whom he wished to be informed.[471]\n\nA variant of the legend we have just given is found in another Arabian\ntradition, which recounts that Solomon was so much infatuated with a\nfemale prisoner, the daughter of a Gentile prince, and named Aminah,\nthat he entrusted to her care his precious signet, given to him by\nthe four angels that presided over the four elements. A mighty Jinn\nsucceeded in gaining possession of the ring, and, by its power, assumed\nSolomon\u2019s form, at the same time changing that unhappy monarch\u2019s\nappearance to such an extent that his courtiers no longer recognized\nhim, and drove him from his kingdom. However, one of Solomon\u2019s\nministers was shrewd enough to see through the disguise of the Jinn,\nand proceeded to exorcise the evil spirit by reciting certain verses of\nthe Law. The Jinn fled affrighted, and dropped the ring into the sea.\nHere it was swallowed by a fish, and in due time this fish was caught\nby Solomon, who had entered the employ of a fisherman. Once again in\npossession of his ring, Solomon soon regained his kingdom.[472]\n\nThe great Persian poet Hafiz of Shiraz thus uses Solomon\u2019s Seal to\npoint a moral:[473]\n\n    Matters of beauty other there be, beside sweet speech,\n    And Solomon-hood by a seal-ring alone is not begot.\n\nThe legend of the mystic ring of Gyges is related by Plato in his\nRepublic.[474] According to this recital the ring was found under very\nextraordinary circumstances by \u201can ancester of Gyges the Lydian,\u201d but\nthe text seems to be corrupt, and Gyges himself was probably said\nto have been the finder. Gyges (or his ancestor) was at the time a\nshepherd in the service of the Lydian King. One day a violent storm\noccurred, followed by an earthquake which opened up a deep chasm in the\nearth, near the place where this shepherd was feeding his flock. Moved\nby curiosity, he descended into the chasm and saw therein a hollow,\nbrazen horse, with openings at the sides; bending down and looking\nthrough these openings, he discerned within the horse the body of a man\nof immense size. A golden ring glittered on the finger of the corpse.\nThis the shepherd removed, and climbing out of the chasm, straightway\ntook his departure. When, a few days later, all the shepherds assembled\nto prepare their monthly reports to the king, the man who had found\nthe ring was of their number. As he sat with the others he carelessly\nturned and twisted the ring which he had placed on his finger,\nuntil, by chance, he turned the bezel toward the inside of his hand.\nImmediately he became invisible, and heard the other shepherds talking\nof him as though he were absent; but when he turned the ring around\nagain, so that the bezel was outside, he reappeared. He repeated this\nexperiment several times until he had assured himself of the strange\nvirtue of the ring. Realizing then the extraordinary opportunities that\nthis power afforded him, the shepherd asked and obtained the privilege\nof bearing the reports to the king, and soon found means to seduce the\nqueen, and, by her aid, to slay the king and gain possession of the\nkingdom.\n\nAlthough the legend does not expressly state that the ring was set with\na stone, the use of the term \u201cbezel\u201d (\u03c3\u03c6\u03b5\u03bd\u03b4\u03cc\u03bd\u03b7) suggests that some\nprecious stone was the seat of the magic power the ring possessed. The\ntraditions current at a later period with regard to the opal, which was\nreputed to render the wearer invisible, make it not improbable that, in\nthe original legend, the ring of Gyges was represented to have been set\nwith an opal, or rather perhaps with one of the rainbow-hued specimens\nof iridescent quartz. Plato may well have omitted this detail, for he\nwas making a didactic use of the story and would naturally treat his\nmaterial very freely.\n\nAn old author conjectures that the stone set in the ring of Gyges was\na serpent-stone from India. In that land brilliant and exceedingly\nbeautiful stones were said to be found in the heads of certain crested\nsnakes that abode in the mountains. If such a stone were set in a gold\nor silver ring, at the time when the planetary or stellar control of\nthe stone was in the ascendant, the wearer of the ring was sure to\nhave the fullest possible benefit from its powers.[475] The idea that\nserpents were endowed with supernatural wisdom was held by many ancient\npeoples, and in India legend assigned to these mysterious and dreaded\nreptiles the guardianship over diamonds, and also over the corundum\ngems, chief among which are the fair sapphire and the glowing ruby.\n\nThe gold ring of Minos, King of Crete, although of course purely\nmythical, is usually ranked among the magic rings. It is said to have\nbeen used by the Cretan, who claimed Jupiter as his father, to test\nwhether Neptune were really the father of Theseus. Taking his ring\noff his finger, Minos cast it into the sea, and commanded Theseus to\nbring it back to him, if the latter wished people to believe Neptune\nto be his father. He himself, Minos, could easily furnish proof of\nhis descent from Jove by praying for a celestial sign. This he did,\nand immediately a loud thunder-clap resounded in the heavens. Not\nto be outdone, Theseus, not even stopping to make any supplication,\nthrew himself into the sea to seek the ring. On this, there appeared\na multitude of dolphins, and Theseus was softly borne away to the\nNereides, who gave him the ring so that he might restore it to\nMinos.[476]\n\nThe legendary ring of Helen of Troy is said to have borne as its\nsetting an astroites or star-gem taken from the head of a mysterious\nfish called pan, because in appearance it resembled the god Pan.\nPerhaps the gem was simply one of the head-stones existing in certain\nfishes of other species. This stone, which emitted rays of flame, was\nconceived to be a most potent love-charm, drawing to its wearer the\nlove of anyone he, or she, might wish to fascinate, and the particular\nspecimen of this strange gem which Helen wore was a signet, engraved\nwith the image of the god by whose name the fish was called.[477]\n\nAmong the rings miraculously found after they have apparently been\nirrevocably lost, was one of iron given to Seleucus I, Nicator\n(365\u2013281 B.C.), whose wide dominions stretched from the western\nseaboard of Asia Minor to India. This prized ring was lost by chance\nnear the river Euphrates, but was later recovered at the very spot\nwhere the ruler\u2019s mother had predicted it would be found.[478] Whether\nthis was revealed to her in dream or trance the recital does not\nstate.[479]\n\nA talismanic bronze ring in the British Museum is set with an amethyst\non which has been engraved a human eye, evidently a charm against the\nEvil Eye. This dread influence was also combated by a peculiar type of\nring having gold nails or studs inserted in them. This is a Gr\u00e6co-Roman\ntype of about 500 to 200 B.C., and does not appear to have\ngained favor with the Romans. In a large and massive gold ring of the\nlate Roman period, the entire bezel has been given the form of an\neye. This ring weighs 975 grains, or over two ounces; it was found in\nTarsus, and belongs to the third Christian century.[480]\n\nIn a few ancient rings gold and silver have been combined, as shown by\na striking example in the British Museum, where the upper part of the\nhoop is of gold and the lower half of silver. This has been conjectured\nto have been designed to render the ring a talisman, the joining of\ngold and silver having a similar effect to that obtained by inserting a\ngold nail in the bezel of a silver ring. The bezel of the massive ring\nwe have noted is set with a sard engraved in intaglio with the design\nof a shepherd seated on a rock.[481]\n\nThe wearing, at certain religious ceremonies, of a ring set with a gem\non which was engraved a design having some fancied connection with the\nceremony, appears not to have been uncommon in the Roman world. An\ninstance of this is given by the historian Suetonius, who states that\nwhen Nero was about to take the auspices (the bird-augury), Sporus gave\nhim a ring the gem of which represented the carrying off of Proserpina,\ngoddess of the infernal regions.[482] The finding of a ring with a\nparticular design was also looked upon as a harbinger of good fortune.\nShortly after the choice of Galba as emperor (68 A.D.), there was found\nin building the fortifications of a city, on the spot the emperor\nhad selected for a military exercising ground, a ring of antique\nworkmanship engraved with the figure of a Victory with a trophy. This\nwas accepted as a happy presage.[483]\n\nJosephus tells us of a magic ring which was used by a Jew named\nEleazar. In the presence of the emperor Vespasian, of his son, and of\nhis court, this man cured those suffering from demoniacal possession.\nHis method was to introduce into the nose of the patient a ring having\nbeneath its device an herb designated by Solomon. The evil spirit\nwas attracted by the odor of the herb and immediately passed out of\nthe man\u2019s body. After this Eleazar exorcised it by chanting certain\n\u201cpsalms of Solomon.\u201d Furthermore, in order to convince the spectators\nof the presence of the evil spirit, he used to place on the ground a\nvase filled with water, and command the demon to upset it. As the text\nof Josephus indicates that this experiment was successful, Eleazer\nmust have had recourse to some clever deception in the matter.[484]\nThis tale shows that rings somewhat similar to those described in the\nCyrianides (a work written in Alexandria about the third or fourth\ncentury of our era) were used in the first century. It is true that\nJosephus does not say that the ring was set with a stone, but merely\nstates that it bore a device.\n\nThe god Mercury was popularly regarded as a bestower of magic rings,\nto judge from the words Lucian, the greatest humorist of ancient\ntimes, puts into the mouth of one of his characters. Timolaus, in\n\u201cThe Ship,\u201d expresses the wish that Mercury would grant him a number\nof wonder-working rings; one of these should preserve his health\nand protect him from wounds and other injuries; another should make\nhim invisible as did the ring of Gyges; a third should give him the\nstrength of ten thousand men; a fourth was to give him the power to\nfly through the air, and a fifth, the power to sleep at will, and the\nprivilege of seeing all doors open before him. The crowning gift,\nhowever, would be a ring possessing the virtue of attracting the\nlove of all fair women, and the affection and respect of his fellow\nmen.[485] We might infer from this that rings engraved with the figure\nof Mercury were supposed to be especially propitious; very possibly the\nstory of the magic rings of Apollonius of Tyana, later embodied in the\nlife of this strange personality written by Philostratus, was known to\nLucian, and suggested this description of the various and wonderful\npowers inherent in rings of this kind.\n\nThe same author mentions a magic ring used to frighten away\nghosts.[486] This was made, by an Arab, out of an iron nail from a\ncross, and the virtue ascribed to it recalls that attributed to a piece\nof wood from a gallows. In each case an object that was associated\nwith a violent and ignominious death was believed to have the power of\nexorcising unwelcome visitants from the grave.\n\nThe Church father Clemens Alexandrinus, born about 150 A.D.,\nsays, giving Aristotle as his authority, that a certain Execestus, a\ntyrant of Phocis, owned and wore two magic rings, and by means of the\nstones set in these rings he had knowledge of future events. They seem\nto have done him but little service, however, for he met his death by\nassassination, although it is stated that the gems gave him warning of\nthis.[487]\n\nFlavius Philostratus, who flourished under Septimius Severus (193\u2013211\nA.D.) and later, wrote at the request of the Empress Julia\nDomna, a remarkable life of Apollonius of Tyana in which he laid\nspecial stress upon the miracles ascribed to this pagan saint. The work\nwas used later to oppose the teachings of the Christians. Here we read\nthat Apollonius possessed seven enchanted rings corresponding to the\nseven planets, the gift of the Hindu prince Iarchas. These he wore,\none by one, in the order of the week days; \u201cfor it is said that he\nrevered them as divine, so that he changed them each day and made them\npartakers of his greatest secrets.\u201d[488]\n\nThe Leyden Papyrus (No. V), of the third century of our era, contains\na number of directions, in Greek and Demotic Egyptian, for the\npreparation of amulets and talismans, and gives two formulas for the\nmaking of magic rings. The text of one is defective in part, but can be\nrendered as follows:[489]\n\n\u201cA ring for constant use and for prosperity ... very efficacious for\nkings and emperors. Take an azure jasper, engrave on it a dragon in the\nform of a circle, the tail in the mouth, and in the midst of the dragon\n(an animal) having two stars on its two horns, and the sun above (with\nthe name) Abrasax, and place as an inscription upon the stone the same\nname, Abrasax, and on the ... engrave the great and supreme appelation,\nIao Sabaoth. Wear the stone in a gold ring. May it be always useful for\nyou, existing pure and ... for whatever you may desire. Consecrate the\nring and the gem which projects above it. The design upon the gold,\nwhich has been described above, has the same virtue.\u201d\n\nThe names Abrasax and Iao Sabaoth indicate that this ring was probably\ndesigned to be a talisman for adherents of the Marcian form of\nGnosticism.\n\nA second formula runs thus:\n\n\u201cRing to obtain (a wish) a favor and success; it renders glorious,\ngreat, admirable and rich; it insures love. It is proper and excellent\nto be worn on all occasions, this incomparable ring. It bears the\nwonderful name of the sun, cut in a heliotrope, and is fashioned as\nfollows: A complete serpent, like a circle, holding its tail in its\nmouth; on the inside is a scarab, sacred and radiant. As to the name,\nthou shalt engrave this in sacred characters on the reverse side of\nthe gem, as is taught by the prophets, and thou shalt wear the ring\nin all purity. Having it with thee, all thy wishes will be fulfilled;\nthe hatred of kings and emperors toward thee will be appeased; when\nthou wearest it all that thou sayest to others will be believed, all\nwill favor thee, all doors will be open to thee. Thou wilt rend the\nbonds and break the stone-walls, if thou takest out the stone, that is\nthe gem, and pronouncest the name inscribed beneath it. This ring is\nequally useful for demoniacs, give it to them, and on the instant the\ndemon will flee.\u201d\n\nDreams of rings set with precious stones have a special significance,\nand Achametis tells us, from his Hindu sources, that if anyone\nshould dream of receiving a ring set with a red stone, the splendor\nof the stone signified great authority and much joy to the dreamer.\nIf, however, a man had a dream of a ring set with a yellow stone,\nthe vision portended that his wife would be liable to illness and\nchagrin.[490]\n\nAn Anglo-Saxon dream-book from the time before the Norman Conquest,\ngives the significance of various dreams about rings. Thus, for\nexample, merely to see a ring betokened a desired place; should one\ndream of receiving a ring as a gift, however, this denoted freedom from\ncare. If the dreamer fancied himself to be the owner of a gold ring,\nthis indicated that great honor was going to be his portion. Lastly,\nthe dream that a gem had been lost from a ring was a very bad omen and\nportended some serious accident.[491]\n\nThree subjects of the Eastern Emperor Valens (364\u2013378 A.D.),\nbelieving that he had incurred the public hatred to such a degree that\nhe would soon perish at the hands of his enemies, sought the aid of\nthe diviners Hilarius and Patricius to learn what would be his fate\nand who would succeed him. The diviners, having engraved around the\nedge of a basin the characters of the Greek alphabet, suspended above\nit an enchanted ring, which, by its vibrations marked in turn the\nletters that composed the words of the response of the oracle. It was\nconceived in the following terms: \u201cThe successor of Valens will be an\naccomplished prince. The curiosity of those who have consulted the\noracle will be destruction to them, but their murderers will themselves\nincur the vengeance of the Gods.\u201d As the oracle had failed to designate\nthe prince clearly, the inquirers demanded his name. Thereupon the ring\nstruck successively at the letters T. H. E. O. D., and one of\nthose present exclaimed that the Gods named Theodore. The others all\naccepted this view and the matter appeared so evident that no further\nattempt at research was made.[492]\n\nA curious type of magic ring is vouched for by St. Augustine, in the\nfourth century, who notes as a superstitious practice the wearing\nof a ring (or \u201cfingerband\u201d _ansula_) made from the bone of an\nostrich.[493] Whether the attribution of a magic quality resulted from\nthe rarity of the bird for the Romans, or from some analogy with its\nhabits, is left to our imagination to determine.\n\nA talismanic ring of the late Roman times, about the fifth century\nA.D., was found by Lieut. Scheibel, in 1896, embedded in\nsand that had been dredged from the bed of the Save River, near\nVincovce, Slavonia, Austria. The hoop is divided by ridges into eleven\ncompartments in which are engraved the Greek letters _\u0396 \u0397 \u0393\u0391\u0399\u03a3\n\u0391\u03a1\u0399\u03a9\u039d_ (equivalent to \u201cLong live Arion\u201d). This ring is in the Albert\nFigdor Collection, Vienna.[494]\n\nAmong the legends which gathered about the personality of Charlemagne,\nnone is more interesting than that which tells of a precious stone\nwhich exercised a magic power over him. This legend is of German origin\nand probably localized in Aix-la-Chapelle; it does not appear in any of\nthe numerous French _chansons de geste_ treating of Charlemagne\nand his times. It seems to have originated about the thirteenth\ncentury, although it may have been current at an earlier date, and we\nhave two principle versions, one given by Brandwaldius,[495] and the\nother by Petrarch.\n\n  [Illustration: Silver-gilt ring with Greek inscription \u03a7\u03a1\u039f\u039d\u039f\u03a3\n  \u0394\u2019\u0391\u039d\u0391\u0399\u03a1\u0395\u0399 \u03a0\u0391\u039d\u03a4\u0391 \u039a\u0391\u0399 \u03a9\u0397\u0398\u0397\u039d \u0391\u0393\u0395\u0399 (Time removes all things and\n  brings forgetfulness). In the interior a sun-dial. Sixteenth\n  Century\n\n  Albert Figdor Collection, Vienna]\n\n  [Illustration: Ring of gilt bronze, set with a square table-cut\n  rock crystal\n\n  Albert Figdor Collection, Vienna]\n\n  [Illustration: Gold ring. The hoop has eleven ridges between\n  which are the Greek letters Z\u0397\u03a3\u0391\u0399\u03a3 \u0391\u03a1\u0399\u03a9\u039d (Long live Arion). Found\n  by Lieutenant Scheibel, in 1896, in sand dredged from the bed of\n  Save River, near Vincovce, Slavonia, Austria. Late Roman, about\n  Fifth Century\n\n  Albert Figdor Collection, Vienna]\n\n  [Illustration: 1, copper ring, with glass paste. First Century\n  A.D. Syria. 2, bronze ring, shape of finger. Found in\n  grave in Syria. First Century A.D. 3, 4, jadeite finger\n  rings. Body of the ring pale white jade; top, intense emerald\n  green. Chinese, Twentieth Century. 5, Chinese signet ring, made\n  of Burmese jadeite. Top, intense green; sides, pale green.\n  Twentieth Century. 6, antique Christian hollow ring of fine gold\n  with Greek Cross engraved on garnet. Second Century A.D.\n  7, antique ring of fine gold with Nicolo. Black band surrounding\n  white oblong. 8, Chinese ring of fine gold, with motto. Shank of\n  ring is in two parts, all fine gold, so they can be made to fit\n  any finger. 9, ancient Greek ring of twisted gold. Sard engraved\n  with figure of man. 10, ring of Egyptian gold, carved. Second\n  Century B.C.]\n\nThe first-named version describes the acquisition of the stone in\nmuch the same terms as are employed in the story from the Gesta\nRomanorum regarding the stone brought by a serpent to the blind\nTheodosius;[496] indeed, the resemblance is so close that one of\nthese tales must be derived from the other. Here also the serpent rings\na bell outside the palace gates, and finally succeeds in obtaining\njustice against a toad which has secured possession of its nest.\nGrateful for this service, the serpent appears before Charlemagne, when\nhe is seated at meat, crawls up on the table and, lifting the cover\nof a beaker, drops therein a precious stone. From this point we have\nthe specifically Carolingian legend. The stone possessed a strange,\nhidden power, by means of which it attracted the affections of the\nfirst owner to any one who subsequently acquired it. Charlemagne gave\nit to his wife and immediately all his thoughts became centered in her.\nNaturally enough she in no wise objected to this, but when she was\ntaken dangerously ill she could not endure the thought that some other\nwoman should acquire the stone, and take her place in Charlemagne\u2019s\nheart; therefore, when at the point of death, she slipped it beneath\nher tongue and soon thereafter expired. The power of the charm over\nCharlemagne\u2019s mind was so great that after his wife\u2019s body had been\ninterred he caused it to be exhumed, and spent his days and nights\nwith it. This state of things continued for no less than eighteen\nyears, until, finally, one of Charlemagne\u2019s ministers discovered the\ncause of the enchantment and removed the stone from beneath the tongue\nof the corpse. Instantly the spell was broken, but all the emperor\u2019s\nregard was now directed toward his minister, whose presence became\nindispensable to him. Marking this, and fearing that the gem might\nfall into unworthy hands, the minister threw it into a spring, which\nchanced to be that of Aix-la-Chapelle. Even here the stone did not lose\nits power, and the place became the favorite resort of Charlemagne,\nwho established himself there and built a church and a palace near the\nresting place of the charmed stone.\n\nA somewhat different version of this tale is given by Petrarch,[497]\nwho states that he had it from the priests of Aix-la-Chapelle. There\nis here no mention of a serpent bringing a stone, and the object of\nCharlemagne\u2019s love is not his wife but a woman who possesses a magic\nring. The emperor is so thoroughly infatuated that when she dies he\nhas the body decked out with gorgeous apparel, adorns it with precious\nstones and refuses to leave it. Anxious to relieve his sovereign from\nthis obsession, the Bishop of Cologne prays to God for a solution of\nthe mystery, and is told, in a vision, that the cause lies beneath the\ntongue of the corpse. He searches in the place indicated and finds\nthere a gem set in a slender ring. When this is removed Charlemagne\nregains his normal state, and gazes with surprise and horror upon the\nobject of his love. The story then proceeds in much the same way as in\nthe older German version.\n\nThe remains of Charlemagne, and presumably whatever ornaments may have\nbeen buried with him, were disinterred at Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle)\nin 1000, by order of the German emperor Otto III. The bare fact\nof the discovery of Charlemagne\u2019s bones is recorded in the early\nchronicle,[498] but according to legends of a later time, when the\nimperial crypt was opened, the emperor was to be seen seated on a\nmarble throne and adorned with imperial vesture and ornaments. Such\nhad been his persistent vitality that his finger-nails had continued\nto grow after his death, and had pierced through the gloves on his\nhands.[499]\n\nThe magic ring of the Nibelungen was given by the Asar Loki to\nHreidmar, as wergeld for the murder of Hreidmar\u2019s son Otr, whom Loki\nhad killed. As Otr had assumed the shape of an otter when he met his\ndeath at Loki\u2019s hands, the latter was required to furnish enough\nblood-ransom to fill the otter\u2019s skin. This he obtained by capturing\nthe dwarf Andvari and forcing him to give up his riches to ransom his\nlife. His other treasures Andvari yielded with much hesitation, but\nhe was extremely loath to part with his ring, and when finally forced\nso to do, he pronounced a curse upon all who should ever come into\npossession of it. This curse was fulfilled by the successive violent\ndeaths of Hreidmar, killed by his son Fafner who wished to rob him of\nhis treasure; of Fafner, who in the snake or dragon form he had assumed\nwas slain by Sigurd; of the hero Sigurd himself and of Brunhilde upon\nwhom he bestowed the fatal ring.[500] This is the legend as related\nin the Volsung Saga, composed in the fourteenth century from older\ntraditions.\n\nCaxton\u2019s English version of the tale of Reynard the Fox, derived from\nthe eleventh century \u201cRoman de Renard,\u201d contains a detailed description\nof a magic ring.[501]\n\n A rynge of fyn gold, and within the rynge next the fyngre were\n wreton letters enameld wyth sable and asure, and there were thre\n Hebrews names therein. I coude not my self rede ne spelle them,\n for I understonde not that langage, but moister Abrion of Tryer,\n he is a wyse man, he understandeth wel al maner of herbes ... And\n yet he bileveth not on God, he is a Jewe, the wysest in conynge,\n and especially he knoweth the vertue of stones. I shewde hym this\n ryng, he saide that they were the thre names that Seth brought out\n of Paradys, when he brought to his fadre Adam the oyle of mercy.\n And who somever bereth on hym thise thre names, he shal never be\n hurte by thondre, ne by lyghtnyng, ne no witchecraft shal have\n power over hym, ne be tempted to doo synne. And also he shall\n never take harm by colde, thaugh he laye thre wynters nyghtis in\n the feelde, thaugh it snowed, stormed, or froze never so sore, so\n grete myght have thise wordes.\n\nThis wonder-working ring was set with a stone \u201cof three maner colours,\u201d\nred, white and green. The red part had the fabled quality of the ruby\nfor \u201cthe shynyng of the stone made and gaf as grete a lyghte as it had\nbeen mydday.\u201d The white portion was a remedy for diseases of the eye,\nfor headache, and, indeed, for almost all ills, \u201csauf only the very\ndeth,\u201d if the part affected were stroked with the stone, or, when the\nmalady was internal, if the patient drank of water in which the stone\nhad been placed. The third color was \u201cgrene lyke glas,\u201d with some small\nspots of purple. This procured love and friendship for the wearer and\nalso victory in battle; even should he be \u201cal naked in the felde agayn\nan hondred armed men,\u201d he would escape with honour. However, the ring\nmust only be worn by one of gentle birth.\n\n  [Illustration: THE \u201cHERMIT STONE,\u201d A TALISMAN OF CHASTITY WHEN\n  WORN SET IN A RING\n\n  Lapidario del Rey D. Alfonso X, Codice Original, Madrid, 1881,\n  fol. 14]\n\n  [Illustration: FINDING OF STONE WHICH WHEN SET IN A RING ASSURES\n  MALE OFFSPRING TO THE WOMAN WHO WEARS IT\n\n  Lapidario del Rey D. Alfonso X, Codice Original, Madrid, 1881,\n  fol. 3]\n\nThe \u201cLapidario,\u201d an astrological treatise on stones, written at the\ninstance of the Castilian King, Alfonso X, the Wise, (1221\u20131284),\nostensibly a translation from a \u201cChaldee\u201d original, but probably mainly\nbased on Arabic lore, gives, under the obscure name _ceritiz_, an\naccount of an Indian stone found on the banks of the river of the same\nname. It was of a very dark green hue, was exceedingly tough and its\nweight is fixed at 120 drachmas. When cleaned and polished it cast a\nreflection like that of a fine mirror. A piece of this stone set in a\nring and worn by a woman would assure her a series of boy babies.\n\nAnother ring-stone, one having a different effect, was that called the\n\u201chermit\u2019s stone,\u201d which was washed up by the waves on the shore of the\nRed Sea. Its color was yellow, transparent, and had a sheen like that\nof pure oil; possibly this may have been chrysolite. It was eminently\nand rigidly a stone of chastity. The lapis lazuli was dedicated to\nVenus, and any man who wore one set in a ring, while Venus was in the\nascendant, would attract the love of women, especially of those with\nblue-gray eyes. On a woman\u2019s hand, it had a corresponding effect upon\nthe opposite sex.[502]\n\nAn old German lay tells of a magic gold ring set with a diamond. Should\nthe woman wearing this ring prove unfaithful in love, the gold turned\nto dross, and the diamond became glass. The Latin name of the diamond,\n_adamas_, is the form used in this poem.[503] This word, which\nprimarily signified an exceedingly hard metal, finally came to mean\nthe diamond, or at least what was believed to be a diamond, although\nit might in reality be only a colorless corundum, much less hard than\nthe genuine diamond, but harder than any of the other precious stones\nexcept the colored corundums, ruby, sapphire, etc.\n\nThe thirteenth century German romance, \u201cWolfdietrich,\u201d celebrates a\nring given by the empress to the hero of the poem. This ring was set\nwith a stone destined to double the strength of the wearer, and to\nprotect him from the sheets of flame ejected by the fearful dragon he\nwas about to combat. However, before his encounter with this fabulous\nmonster, Wolfdietrich determines to return the ring, and sends it back\nto the empress, whereupon she bursts into tears, exclaiming: \u201cI let\nit down from the battlements with my own hand. Does he value it so\nlightly, that he sends it back to me?\u201d[504]\n\nIn a satirical and malicious life of Pope Boniface VIII (ca.\n1228\u20131303), the bitter opponent of the French king Philippe le Bel\n(1268\u20131314), written by, or at the instance of his royal enemy, it\nis related that when this pope was dying and was told that he must\nprepare his soul for the great change, he cast his eyes upon a stone\nset in a ring he was wearing, and exclaimed \u201cO you tricky spirits\nimprisoned in this stone, why have you deceived me to abandon me now in\nmy extremity?\u201d And so speaking he snatched off the ring and threw it\naway.[505]\n\nOne of the old monkish tales from medi\u00e6val times, collected under the\ntitle of \u201cGesta Romanorum,\u201d runs as follows:\n\n Frediricus, who reigned in a Roman city, had been a long time\n without offspring. Finally, by the advice of wise counsellors,\n he married a beautiful girl in parts far distant and lived with\n her in an unknown land and had offspring. After this, he wished\n to return to his realm but could not obtain his wife\u2019s consent;\n indeed, she always repeated that if he abandoned her she would\n kill herself. Hearing this, the emperor caused two splendid rings\n to be made, and had engraved upon two gems images of the following\n efficacy: one of remembrance and the other of forgetfulness.\n Having set these in their appropriate rings he gave one--that of\n forgetfulness--to his wife, and kept the other for himself ... The\n wife began straightway to forget the love of her husband, and the\n emperor, noting this, journeyed back to his realm with great joy,\n and never returned to his wife. He ended his life in peace.[506]\n\nWelsh legend offers us parallels to the ring of Gyges and to that set\nwith the \u201cStone of Remembrance\u201d told of in the Gesta Romanorum. In the\nold Welsh epic, the Mabinogion, the following directions are given by a\ndamsel to her lover in regard to a ring of the former type: \u201cTake this\nring and put it on thy finger with the stone within thy hand; and close\nthy hand upon the stone, and as long as thou concealest it, it will\nconceal thee.\u201d This Stone of Invisibility was regarded as one of the\nthirteen rarities of the ancient British regalia, formerly treasured\nup in Caerleon, Monmouthshire, and in another Welsh legendary cycle\n(the Triads) it is said to have \u201cliberated Owen, the son of Urien,\nfrom between the portcullis and the wall.\u201d Whoever concealed the stone\nwould be concealed by it. Here indeed the similarity with the story\ntold of the ring of Gyges is so close that it is apparent we only\nhave to do with an adaptation of the classic tale. As to the stone of\nRemembrance, however, the Welsh tradition seems to be essentially an\nindependent one. The Mabinogion makes Iddawe say to Rhonabwy: \u201cDost\nthou see this ring with a stone set in it upon the Emperor\u2019s hand?\nIt is one of the properties of that stone to enable thee to remember\nthat thou seest here to-night, and hadst thou not seen the stone, thou\nwouldst never have been able to remember aught thereof.\u201d This refers to\na dream or vision accorded to Rhonabwy while he lay upon an enchanted\ncalf-skin.[507]\n\nDactylomancy, as it was called, was resorted to in the Middle Ages by\nthose who sought to probe the mysteries of the future. This art was\npracticed by the use of a ring (sometimes bearing the figure of one of\nthe constellations), which was suspended by a thread in the middle of\na glass or metal vessel. The number and quality of the strokes it made\nagainst the sides of the vessel as it swung free on the thread, were\ninterpreted by the magician according to a secret formula, and were\nexplained by him to signify that some expected or dreaded event would\nor would not take place.[508]\n\nAmong the Sagan Kerens of southeastern Asia there is a curious\nsuperstitious use of a ring in connection with funeral feasts. On such\noccasions a metal ring is suspended from a support just over a brass\nbasin. One by one the relatives of the deceased person approach and\nstrike a succession of quick taps on the edge of the basin with a piece\nof bamboo. When it comes to the turn of the one who was most beloved by\nthe departed, the spirit is believed to answer the call by making the\nstring twist about and lengthen, so that, finally, it either parts and\npermits the ring to fall into the basin, or else swings and lengthens\nsufficiently to cause the ring to strike the basin edge.[509]\n\nA magic ring is introduced by Sir Thomas Malory in his \u201cMorte\nd\u2019Arthur,\u201d written in 1469 or 1470, the tale being of course borrowed\nfrom some one of the numerous sources he used in this compilation\nof the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The\nring was given by Dame Liness to Sir Gareth, who wished to hide his\npersonality while competing in a tournament. The dame assured the\nKnight that this ring had such virtue that it would turn green to red,\nblue to white, and vice versa, and so through all the range of colors.\nThe lady required, however, a solemn promise that her ring would be\nreturned to her at the close of the tournament, for in addition to its\nother virtues, it possessed marvellous cosmetic powers, increasing her\nbeauty to an extraordinary degree.\n\nIn the tourney, the baffling changes of color in Sir Gareth\u2019s arms\nand equipment confused his assailants and rendered him more easily\nvictorious than he would otherwise have been, good knight that he was.\nHaving ridden for a moment out of the press of knights to adjust his\nhelmet, which had become loosened, a dwarf approached him, offering a\ncup of wine to quench the knight\u2019s thirst, at the same time asking to\nhold the ring lest Sir Gareth should let it slip from his finger while\ndrinking. The knight gave it to him, but in his eagerness to join again\nin the affray, forgot to take it back. But now his armor retained its\nnormal yellow tint, and, fearing recognition, for it was important for\nhim to conceal his personality at this time, he noted that his ring\nwas not on his hand. He quickly sought the dwarf and obliged him to\nsurrender the magic ring. No sooner was it on his finger than his armor\nchanged color, and he was able to avoid a threatened pursuit, as all\nwere in search of the Yellow Knight.\n\nA ring having magic power to protect the wearer from danger appears in\nthe medi\u00e6val romance of Sir Eglamore. The tale appears to have been\nknown to Shakespeare, to judge from the line: \u201cWhat think\u2019st thou of\nthe fair Sir Eglamore,\u201d which occurs in Two Gentlemen of Verona. This\nring was given to the gallant knight by his lady love:[510]\n\n    Then said Arnada, that sweete thing\n    \u201cHave here of me a gold ring\n    With a precyous stone;\n    Where-soe you bee on water or Land\n    And this ring upon your hand\n    Nothing may you slone.\u201d[511]\n\nSometimes the virtues of the ring are conceived in a poetic spirit and\nare associated intimately with the giver, as we find in the romance\nof Ywaine and Gawin. Here the stone set in the ring given by Ywaine\nprotects the wearer from imprisonment, illness, loss of blood, and\ndanger in battle, but the lady tells her lover that this virtue exists\nin the ring \u201cwhile you it have and think on me,\u201d that is, only so long\nas his love endures.[512]\n\nThat the magic virtues of the images and talismans were liable to wane\nand pass away, was taught by Albertus Magnus, who likened these powers\nto those of animate objects which were also transitory. When the period\nfixed by heaven had come to an end, the power of the image would be\nbroken and it would be useless, cold and dead. This, in his opinion,\naccounted for the fact that many talismanic figures failed to display\nany efficacy, although they had done so in ancient times.[513]\n\nIn the \u201cBook of Thetel,\u201d as quoted by Konrad von Megenberg,[514] one of\nthe engraved gems is described as follows:\n\n A man seated upon a footstool, crowned, and stretching forth\n his hands to the heavens. Beneath him are four men appearing to\n support the stool. Take mastic and terebinth (turpentine) and put\n them under the stone in a silver finger-ring, having twelve times\n the weight of the stone in the ring. If this be placed beneath the\n head of a sleeping person, he dreams of what he longed for when\n awake.\n\nThe curious statement that the metal ring was to weigh twelve times as\nmuch as the stone, seems to indicate an influence of the superstition\nin regard to the number twelve.\n\nThe Londesborough Collection contains a ring which represents a toad\nswallowing a serpent. This was evidently used as an amulet and the\ndesign seems to have some connection with the curious superstition\nthat a serpent, to become a dragon, must swallow a serpent. A Greek\nproverb, found in Suidas (ab. the tenth century A.D.), is\naptly rendered by Dryden (Edipus, Act III, sc. 1) as follows:\n\n A serpent ne\u2019er becomes a flying dragon till he has eat a serpent.\n\nHence this ring combined the curative or talismanic powers attributed\nto the toad, the serpent and the dragon.[515]\n\nThe ring of St. Mark, said to have been long preserved in the treasury\nof St. Mark\u2019s cathedral at Venice, was believed to have been acquired\nin a miraculous way. In the time of Henry III (1216\u20131272) the body of\nthe saint, which had been taken to the cathedral, was suddenly missed\nand no trace of it could be found. Resort was then had to prayers and\nsupplications, and these appear to have been answered, for one day the\nsacristan, while traversing the nave, saw an arm emerge from one of the\npillars. He hastened to report this wonderful thing to the Doge and the\ncathedral clergy, who on reaching the building became witnesses of the\nmiracle. As they were kneeling reverently before the column the hand of\nthe apparition opened and let fall a ring, which was picked up by the\nBishop of Olivolo. At the same instant, hand and arm disappeared, and\nthe column opened, revealing in its interior an iron casket in which\nwere the lost remains of St. Mark.\n\nNot many years later this ring served to give proof of an appearance of\nthe saint. One February day a fearful storm arose, piling up the waters\nof the lagoons and threatening the destruction of Venice. In the midst\nof the tempest, a man approached one of the gondoliers on the Riva dei\nSchiavoni, near the cathedral, and asked to be rowed across the canal\nto San Giorgio Maggiore. It was in vain that the gondolier protested\nhe could not make head against the storm; he was at last forced to\nyield to the importunities of his would-be passenger. But what was his\nsurprise to find that his boat proceeded as easily as though no storm\nwere raging. On their arrival at San Giorgio Maggiore they were joined\nby another man, and the gondolier was now directed to proceed to the\nLido. This time his reluctance was less difficult to overcome, although\nthe storm was growing worse, for he felt encouraged by the ease with\nwhich he had already made part of the journey. And sure enough his\nlong row to the Lido was equally uneventful. Here a third man joined\nthe party, and the gondolier was told to row out between the castles\non either side of the entrance into the open Adriatic. Feeling that he\ncould now refuse nothing, the gondolier undertook to accomplish this\napparently impossible task, and succeeded in reaching the sea. Here\nthere arose before them a ship manned by the demons of the storm, who\nwere steering their way in toward Venice, bringing utter destruction\nwith them. And now the three men in the little boat stood up and\npronounced an exorcism of such power that the ship foundered, and the\ndemons, howling fearfully, were swallowed up in the deep. Immediately\nthe tempest was stilled and the waves died down. The gondolier was now\nordered to take his passengers back to the places where they embarked,\nand when the last of them, the first one he had picked up, stepped\non to the Riva dei Schiavoni, he announced himself to be Mark, the\nEvangelist, and dropped a ring worth five ducats into the gondolier\u2019s\nhand, telling him to show it to the authorities and say that it was\nSt. Mark\u2019s ring, in proof of which they would find that its carefully\nlocked receptacle in the cathedral was empty.[516] This proved to be\ntrue, and the gondolier received a liberal pension as a reward for\nhaving aided, however humbly, in the preservation of Venice by St.\nMark.[517]\n\nThe marvellous ring of Gyges may have suggested to Abbot Tritheim,\nor Trithemius, of Spandau (1462\u20131516) the idea of fabricating a ring\nwhich would give the wearer the power of becoming invisible at will.\nThe Abbot asserts that he had made such a ring out of the material\ncalled electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver, having the color\nof amber. To possess the requisite power, the ring must be cast at the\nhour at which the person designing to use it was born, and it should be\ninscribed with the word \u201cTetragrammaton\u201d signifying the four letters\ncomposing the Ineffable Name. When this ring was placed upon the thumb\nof the left hand, the wearer immediately became invisible. Besides this\nvirtue, when worn on any finger, the ring preserved the wearer from\npoison and betrayed the presence of enemies by changing color.[518]\n\nRings bearing the Latin inscription \u201cJesus autem transiens per medium\nillorum\u201d (Jesus, however, passing through their midst),[519] were\nthought to confer invisibility upon the wearer. This inscription\noccurs on the hoop of a gold ring set with an uncut diamond, shown at\nthe Special Exhibition at the South Kensington Museum, June, 1862.\n\nThis motto, \u201cJesus autem transiens,\u201d etc., was in medi\u00e6val times\nregarded as a great charm against the dangers that menaced a traveller\non his journeys. In his quaint old English, Sir John Mandeville says\nof this that these words were sometimes pronounced by \u201csome men when\nthei dreden them of thefes on any way, or of enemyes, in token and\nmynde that our Lord passed through out of the Jews\u2019 crueltie and\nscaped safely fro hem.\u201d On the gold noble which Edward III had struck\nin commemoration of his victory in the naval battle of Helvoet Sluys\nin 1340, and of his escape from the perils he underwent therein, this\nmotto appears as the legend.[520]\n\nLambeccius narrates that he once told Emperor Leopold I (1657\u20131675) of\na magic gold ring, said to have been long preserved in the Austrian\ntreasury, and whose special virtue was that it could be used as an\noracle to foretell the results of an approaching battle. If victory\nwas to crown the Austrian army, this ring would shine with an unwonted\nsplendor. It was said to be made from the gold offered by the Magi\nto the Infant Jesus. While, however, sacred ceremonies were being\nperformed before the Emperor Frederick, grandson of Rudolph I., just\nbefore his departure for a disastrous battle with Louis of Bavaria,\nthe ring vanished from the eyes of man. Later, it was said to have\nbeen recovered and Lambeccius suggested that a ring he had recently\nobserved in the treasury, bearing certain characters difficult of\ninterpretation, might be the ring made from the offering of the\nMagi.[521] The omen of victory observable in this ring must have been\nsuggested by what Josephus writes of the high-priest\u2019s breastplate.\nAccording to his story \u201cGod announced victory in battle\u201d by means of\nthe twelve stones set in this breastplate, and he proceeds \u201csuch a\nsplendour shone from them when the army was not yet in motion, that all\nthe people knew God himself was present to aid them.\u201d\n\nA magic ring was made in the seventeenth century by a Florentine\nmonk, named Nicolaus; this was designed to drive away gnats. It bore\na charmed figure executed during the ascendency of the planet Saturn.\nThe charm is said to have worked successfully. Since Saturn was usually\nregarded as a bearer of ill-luck, the operation of the magic figure\nmust have depended upon sympathetic magic, the enlisting of the help of\nan evil power to combat a nature-plague.[522]\n\nIt is related that long ago in the Principality of Anhalt, a princess\nhad the habit of going to the window after dinner and shaking out the\ncrumbs from her napkin. Intention or chance induced a great toad to\nstation itself under this window so as to eat up the precious crumbs.\nIn due time the princess was wedded, and one night, shortly before\nthe birth of a child, she saw a maid enter the room with a lighted\ncandle in her hand. Approaching the bedside she handed a gold ring\nto the princess, telling her at the same time that it was sent by\nthe toad, out of gratitude for the food she had given it, with the\nearnest warning to guard the ring carefully, as the fortunes of Anhalt\nwere bound up with it. Moreover, every precaution was to be taken on\nChristmas Eve to guard against fire.[523] It is stated that this ring\nwas still to be seen in Dessau in 1722, and that it was customary to\nput out all the fires in the palace on Christmas Eve, and to have\nwatchmen patrol the building all through the night.[524]\n\nA luminous ring is poetically described in Titus Andronicus, a play\nsomewhat doubtfully attributed to Shakespeare who probably merely\nrevised and embellished, in or about 1590, an original from some other\nhand. In any case, the lines referring to the luminous stone are highly\nexpressive. After the murder of Bassianus, Martius searches in the\ndepths of a dark pit for the dead body and suddenly cries out to his\ncompanion, Quintus, that he has discovered the bloody corpse. As the\ninterior of the pit is pitch-dark, Quintus can scarcely believe what he\nhears, and asks Martius how the latter could possibly see what he has\ndescribed. The answer is given in the following lines:\n\n    Martius,  Upon his bloody finger he doth wear\n              A precious ring, that lightens all the hole,\n              Which like a taper in some monument,\n              Doth shine upon the dead man\u2019s earthy cheek,\n              And show the ragged entrails of this pit.\n                                Titus Andronicus, Act II, Sc. 4.\n\nFor the superstitious among certain Oriental peoples any injury to an\namulet-ring was looked upon as a sure presage of coming misfortune.\nIt is related of a Turk in the town of Jablanica, Bosnia, that having\nbroken his amulet-ring, he started out forthwith on an arduous\nten-hours\u2019 journey to Mostar, the nearest place where his ring could\nbe repaired, and he no doubt pursued his way in fear and trembling\nlest the threatened ill-fortune should befall him ere he reached the\ngoldsmith who could mend his ring and thus restore its virtue.[525] In\nthe National Hungarian Museum at Budapest is a silver ring set with a\ncarnelian, on which are engraved Oriental characters. This was found,\nin 1812, in the garden of the royal palace at Budapest. Rings of a\nsimilar kind are often worn by Turks and Arabs, and are greatly valued\nas talismans, as they are believed to afford the wearers protection in\nbattle, in the chase, and when indulging in dissipation.[526]\n\nThe ring with its smooth circle, having neither beginning nor end, is\na fit symbol of eternity, and is often figured in this connection; and\nyet its material substance is transitory. This aspect is illustrated by\nthe Eastern story that a wise man and favorite of a king once gave him\na ring on which was the inscription: \u201cEven this shall pass away.\u201d In\nbestowing it upon the king, the sage said: \u201cWhen in dire distress your\nsoul is weighed down with trouble, look at this ring! When in the midst\nof festivities, joy and wild hilarity, look at this ring! _Even this\nshall pass away._\u201d[527]\n\nIn an illustrated work on ancient jades, in two quarto volumes,\npublished in 1889 by the well-known scholar and statesman, Wu Ta-cheng\n(b. 1833), this writer conjectures that archer\u2019s rings of _white_\njade were reserved for the emperor\u2019s use. At the present day rings\nof this type are made in Peking from the antler of a species of elk.\nThe Catholic missionary, Father Zi, states that the rings most highly\nvalued are those made out of jade of the Han period (_Han y\u00fc_),\nof a white gray with red veining and green stripes. Rings found in\nthe graves of students who have passed the military examinations are\nof reddish hue, and the opinion prevails that they afford protection\nagainst malevolent spirits.[528]\n\nIn the symbolism of the ring, the complete circle is regarded by the\nChinese as denoting the combination of all divine principles, as these\nare supposed to move in an everlasting and unbroken circle, having\nneither beginning nor end. An evil significance, however, attaches to\nan incomplete or half-ring, called _k\u00fceh_, a sound that means \u201cto\ncut off, to slay; to pass sentence; to decide, to settle.\u201d An early\ninstance of the use of such a ring to signify banishment is related\nof the Prince Sh\u00ean-sh\u00eang whose father sent him on a fatal military\nexpedition in 659 B.C., at the instigation of one of his\nconcubines. This ring, which was attached to a girdle, was equivalent\nto a formal decree that the prince was cast off and should never\nreturn. In consequence of the ambiguity of Chinese spoken and written\nwords, a half-ring or at least one not describing a closed circle is\nsaid to have been worn at one time by Chinese scholars, because one\nof the meanings of the sound _k\u00fceh_ is \u201cto decide,\u201d as has been\nnoted above.[529] The Chinese writer Pan Ku (d. 92 A.D.) says\nthat those who cultivated moral conduct without end, wore a complete\nring suspended from the girdle, while those able to decide questions of\naversion and doubt, wore half-rings, this being again a symbolic use of\nthe double meaning of _k\u00fceh_.\n\nAs the Chinese word signifying \u201ca jade-ring\u201d has the same sound\n(_huan_) as the word meaning \u201cto return, to repay,\u201d and is\nexpressed with the same phonetic symbol, the sending of such a ring\nby an emperor to an exiled official was a symbolic summons for the\nofficial to return. However, a jade-ring could also be a signal\nfor besieging a city, since the syllable _huan_ can mean \u201can\nenclosing wall.\u201d[530] As an illustration, the word \u201cring,\u201d a ring; and\n\u201cring,\u201d imperative of \u201cto ring,\u201d might make the sending of a ring to a\nbell-ringer signify that he should let his bells peal forth.\n\nQuite a number of finely-executed gold rings, with or without settings,\nas well as other pieces of jewelry, are made by Chinese goldsmiths in\nSan Francisco. Silver is never used. Seal rings are occasionally made;\nthe favorite setting is jade, next to which comes the opal; diamonds\nare also used for this purpose. No wedding rings are given, although\nthe bestowal of a ring as a gift is highly appreciated. The prices\nrange from $6 for a plain gold ring to from $20 to $200 for one of\nmandarin-style, set with a piece of jade. Sometimes short inscriptions\nare engraved on rings, such as \u201cLong Life,\u201d or \u201cBeautiful.\u201d[531]\nIn the plate representing the interior of a Chinese jeweller\u2019s shop\nin San Francisco, the proprietor of the place is shown seated in the\nbackground. None of the artisans, however, were willing to face the\ncamera, either from superstitious dread of having their pictures taken,\nor perhaps through fear of being molested in some way by the Government.\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  _Photograph by Cardinell-Vincent Co., San Francisco_\n\n  SHOP OF A CHINESE SILVERSMITH IN SAN FRANCISCO\n\n  As the workers were unwilling to have their pictures taken, the\n  only figure is that of the proprietor]\n\n  [Illustration: MODERN CHINESE RINGS]\n\n  [Illustration: Inset ring stones. 1, moss agate in dark gray\n  jasper; 2, garnet in chalcedony; 3, almandine garnet in brownish\n  chalcedony; 4, aquamarine in red jasper; 5, sardonyx; 6, topaz in\n  lapis-lazuli; 7, banded agate. Part of a collection of rings that\n  all fit in one setting. See page 65\n\n  American Museum of Natural History]\n\n  [Illustration: Spiral brass rings made in the Philippine Islands\n\n  American Museum of Natural History, New York City]\n\nWhen the nine gems of the great Hindu charm, the _naoratna_, are\nset in rings, the Burmese usage is to place the ruby in the centre, and\ngroup around it the eight other stones. Rings of this description were\nworn by Burmese kings and nobles as preventives of disease or danger.\nSometimes an incantation is recited over these nine stones, which are\nthen immersed in water, the belief being that whoever drinks of this\nwater will secure immunity from all evil.[532]\n\nIn the masterpiece of Hindu dramatic literature, the \u00c7akuntal\u00e2 of the\npoet K\u00e2lid\u00e2sa, written about the sixth century of our era, a ring\nplays a most important part. The heroine, the daughter of the nymph\nMenak\u00e2 and the sage Vi\u00e7vamitra, has had it foretold to her that the\nman who loves and marries her will entirely forget her, until his\nlove and memory are revived by a ring. In due time she is beloved of\nthe King Dushyanta, who marries her, but soon leaves her, to return\nto his court. When she follows him thither he fails to recognize her.\nThereupon she remembers what had been predicted in regard to a ring,\nbut finds to her dismay that the one the King gave her has been lost.\nIn the next act of the play a fisherman is dragged in by guards who\ncharge him with having in his possession the royal signet-ring and\nwith having invented the tale that he found it inside a fish. The\nking, however, admits the truth of the story, rewards the fisherman,\nand gladly receives the ring. As soon as he places it on his finger he\nrecognizes his bride and his love for her is renewed.[533]\n\nThe Khedive Tewfik Pasha related, about 1880, his experience with a\ncertain Ahmed Agha, a Turk, who possessed a magic ring. It was a plain\nhoop of gold set with a red stone (probably a carnelian), and was said\nto have come from Mecca. The Turk claimed that by its help visions\ncould be seen, and the Khedive consented to make a test of the ring\u2019s\nvirtue. Ahmed said that he required for the experiment the assistance\nof a child under ten years of age, whereupon the Khedive summoned a\nlittle girl from the harem to act as assistant, or we might rather say\nprincipal. The Turk attached to this girl\u2019s head a silver plate on\nwhich a verse of the Koran was engraved, and placed in her hand the\nmystic ring with the red stone which, he declared, would change from\nred to white if the experiment was to be successful. A few moments\nafter the preparation had been made, the girl cried out: \u201cThe stone has\nchanged to white.\u201d Hereupon the Khedive asked her to describe a number\nof persons she had never seen, and she invariably gave correct answers.\nTewfik was so much impressed by the experiment that he exclaimed: \u201cI\ncan believe it, and yet I cannot understand it.\u201d A few days later he\nsent word to the Turk that he wished to borrow the ring, but the man\nbesought him not to take it away. An offer of \u00a3100 from a court noble\nwas also refused. Finally, Ahmed was summoned to the court and the\nKhedive again urged him to surrender the ring, but when he repeated his\nprayers that it should not be taken from him the Khedive lost patience\nand said to him: \u201cYou are mistaken in thinking that I believe in the\npower of your ring or in things of that kind. I wish you good morning.\u201d\nPoor Ahmed was only too glad to get off so easily and he left Cairo\nnever to return there.[534]\n\nIn this case, as in many others, a change of color is asserted to take\nplace in the stone, an indication that the mineral substance responds\nto some impression from without. It is as though part of the virtue\nof the stone had left it, for with a colored stone we might say, in\na poetic sense, that its color is its life and soul. Hence in this\nparticular instance the loss of color was probably thought to indicate\nthat some in-dwelling spirit had passed from the stone to the little\ngirl and dictated her responses; possibly if the ring were arranged\nwith some mechanical or hollow space a colored foil could be pressed\nunder the white stone, or a liquid passed under it, giving the delusion\nof the change from white to red and red to white.\n\nIn Scandinavia, carnelians were used as ring-stones in very early\ntimes; a fine specimen of such a ring was found in Ysted, in the\nprovince of Scania, and another at Verdalen, Norway. That these were\ncredited with power as amulets seems highly probable, for some of the\nearly Norse rings were so highly valued by their owners that they were\ndesignated by individual names. Thus we are told of a gold ring named\nHnited, \u201cThe Welded,\u201d which was given as a precious gift by Ulf the\nRed to King Olaf. This particular ring was welded together from seven\npieces of exceptionally pure gold, the number of pieces evidently\nhaving a mystic significance.[535]\n\nThere is or was a superstition among the Swedish Lapps that at times,\non the lonely moorlands, might be seen visionary herds of reindeer,\npacks of dogs, or even apparitions having the form of Laplanders. When\none who sees any such objects goes in pursuit of them, they disappear\nbefore they can be reached; if, however, while they are still visible\na steel or brass ring is thrown at them, they immediately become real\nliving creatures. Popular legend even has to tell of men or women who\nin this way have secured wives or husbands, respectively, in reality\nchangelings, _trolls_, apparently or really transformed into human\nbeings.[536]\n\nAn onyx ring is made the cause of a series of wonderful transmigrations\nin an old-fashioned tale written about 1840 by John Sterling, of whom\nThomas Carlyle has left us a most interesting biography.[537] In this\nstory, the hero, a young barrister discouraged in his profession and\ndisappointed in love, finds himself one night in an exceptionally\ndepressed frame of mind. Opening, at chance, an old necromantic work,\nhe is fascinated, perhaps hypnotized, by the vaguely mystic sentences,\nand is scarcely astonished to perceive, standing before him in his\ndeserted room, what appears to be the figure of an aged man, who in the\nmost-approved magician fashion offers him an onyx ring, engraved with\nthe head of Apollonius of Tyana, and of such virtue that if he puts\nit on the forefinger of his right hand, he will be able to transfer\nhimself into the body of any existing personage. His identification\nwith the new personality will indeed be so complete, that his old\nexistence will be entirely forgotten. This is to last for a week, at\nthe expiration of which his memory will suddenly be revived for a\nshort time, and he will have the choice to remain as he is, to change\nhis fleshly tabernacle again, or to return to his own body. In the\nlast-named case, however, his special power will be taken from him, and\nhe must continue in his own form.\n\nThe offer is accepted and a series of transmigrations begins, in\nthe course of which the hero becomes in turn a baronet, a farmer,\na traveler, a divine, a poet, a political reformer and an old\nbasket-maker. In this last _avatar_ he is involuntarily forced\nto return to his own body, for the basket-maker dies before the week\nis up. The various characters through whose lives he passes belong\nto his immediate neighborhood, and the slight plot of the story\ncan thus be carried forward without interruption. When at last the\nbarrister comes to himself, he has just recovered from a long period of\nunconsciousness, and there is a little intentional uncertainty whether\nthe vision and its consequences really took place, or were only the\nproducts of a fevered mind. Among the old basket-maker\u2019s effects is\nfound an onyx ring enclosed in an old box and engraved with a man\u2019s\nhead.\n\nThe greater part of the splendid precious stones in the collection of\nthe English banker Henry Philip Hope were set in rings. One of the\nfinest and most interesting of these gems was the beautiful sapphire\noften called \u201cLe Saphire Merveilleux,\u201d the title of a story written\nby Mme. de Genlis, who had seen the stone when it formed part of the\ncollection of the Duke of Orleans. Its peculiar charm is that its color\nchanges when seen by artificial light. In daylight it is a beautiful\nsapphire blue, but by candle light, or other yellow light it acquires\nan amethystine hue.[538] This fine sapphire, interesting both for its\nrare dichroism and its historic associations, was sold about 1898 for\n\u00a3700 ($3500). It weighs 19\u215b metric carats. Another attractive gem in\nthe Hope Collection is a cabochon-cut amethyst, engraved in intaglio\nwith the figure of a Bacchante carrying a thyrsus. At the back of the\nstone are two strata of different colors, one a whitish gray, the other\nshowing brown spots on a velvet ground. This peculiarity has been\nskilfully utilized by the engraver, who has cut on the stone the form\nof a panther in relief.[539]\n\nThe so-called \u201cPennsylvania Dutch,\u201d largely Germans from the southern\nparts of Germany, made, in the early days, rings out of horseshoe\nnails.[540] The good-luck supposed to be inherent in the horseshoe was\nprobably believed to extend to the detachable nails also, so that these\nrings might have been looked upon as endowed with magic or talismanic\nvirtue.\n\nLord Bacon (1561\u20131626) in his \u201cSylva Sylvarum,\u201d published in 1626,\nsuggests a curious test of telepathy. This is that two parties to an\nagreement or contract, should exchange rings, each wearing the other\u2019s\nring, and they are then to note whether, in case the contract or\npromise should be broken by one of the parties, the other would become\nsensible of this by means of an influence transmitted through the ring.\nHe adds that it has been regarded as a help to the continuance of love\nto wear a ring or a bracelet of the loved one, but he believes that\n\u201cthis may proceed from exciting the magnetism, which, perhaps, a glove,\nor other like favour, might do as well.\u201d\n\nThe peculiar inherent virtue of a ring given by, or exchanged with,\na loved person, renders it far more prized than a merely beautiful\nor costly ring. While we may regard as superstition any fancy that\nthe material ring possesses any magic quality, that lent to it by\nassociation or by memory is none the less real though it is only in the\nbrain or heart of the wearer. The effect of this association of a ring\nor other jewel with a person is also to be seen in the case of rings\nbestowed by royal personages as tokens of gratitude or favor. In olden\ntimes they were often regarded as amulets and believed to transfer\nsomething of the power or genius of the bestower to the recipient.\nIndeed the qualities were conceived to have embodied themselves in\nthe ornament, which was therefore handed down from generation to\ngeneration as a precious heritage, one sure to bring good fortune to\nthe wearer. In the case of lovers the token served as a connecting\nlink, transmitting and transfusing the love sentiment.[541]\n\nBesides the zodiacal, or natal rings, there were also made in medi\u00e6val\ntimes a number of planetary rings, the metal supposed to be especially\nunder the guardianship of the Sun, Moon or five planets known to the\nancient world, being in each case chosen as the material for the\nring of the special planet. These rings were frequently set with the\nprecious stone assigned to the planet, and thus a series was obtained\nof seven rings, each of a different metal and set with a different\nstone. The sun-ring was of gold with diamond or sapphire; the silver\nmoon-ring bore a rock crystal or a moonstone; the ring of Mars was of\niron set with an emerald; for Mercury, the ring was of quicksilver and\nbore a piece of magnetic iron; Jupiter\u2019s was of tin, the setting being\na carnelian; copper was, of course, the material of the Venus-ring\n(_cyprium_, copper, being sacred to the Cyprian goddess), and the\nstone was an amethyst; lastly, the Saturnian ring was of lead and had\nfor setting a turquoise.\n\nSome of the appropriate rings and stones to be worn by those who hope\nto attract to themselves the favorable influences of Sun, Moon, and\nplanets, are given in the Syro-Arabic work of the eighth or ninth\ncentury on the mystic potencies of stones, put forth under the name of\nAristotle. For the Sun the stone is rock crystal, which must be set\nin a gold ring; Mercury\u2019s influence is secured by wearing a piece of\nmagnetite in an electrum setting, and for those wishing the help of the\nMoon, one of the varieties of onyx is recommended, silver being the\nmetal in which it is to be set.[542]\n\n  [Illustration: GOLD ZODIAC RING, PROBABLY MADE ON THE WEST COAST\n  OF AFRICA IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  ZODIACAL RING OF SILVER; FOUR VIEWS. SET WITH AN ENGRAVED ONYX.\n  ON THE SIDES ARE CHASED THE SIGNS LEO AND CANCER, AND THE\n  SHOULDERS OF THE HOOP ARE INLAID WITH BRASS AND IRON, RESPECTIVELY\n\n  Gorl\u00e6us, Dactyliotheca, Delphis Bat., 1601]\n\n  [Illustration: Amulet ring of Twelfth Century, engraved with\n  cabalistic characters\n\n  Edwards\u2019 \u201cHistory and Poetry of Finger Rings\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: Talismanic ring, with cabalistic inscription.\n  Found on coast of Glamorganshire, Wales\n\n  Rings inscribed with names of Three Kings, or Magi: Melchior,\n  Jasper and Balthazar. Worn as talismanic rings\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: 1, toad swallowing a serpent; 2, toadstone with\n  embossed figure of toad; 3, massive thumb-ring set with teeth of\n  an animal\n\n  Londesborough Collection\n\n  Fairbolt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\n  [Illustration: 1, talismanic ring that opens when the stone\n  setting (ruby and amethyst) is pressed down, releasing a spring.\n  Hoop inscribed with names of spirits and magic signs; 2, ring\n  set with a ruby; 3, gold enameled ring said to have belonged to\n  Frederick the Great\n\n  Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist\u201d]\n\nFor some reason or other zodiac rings, that is rings bearing zodiacal\nsymbols, seem to be especially favored by the modern goldsmiths of\nthe Portuguese island Madeira. Occasionally a ring of this type from\nearlier times may be seen there; one of these, of crude workmanship\nand much the worse for wear, has been attributed to the time of a\ntwelfth-century duke of Burgundy, whose crusading expedition did not\nextend much beyond the frontiers of Portugal.[543] More than likely\nMoorish influence, or that of the Orient at least, was a determining\nfactor, for the study of zodiacal influences was eagerly pursued in\nSpain in the thirteenth century and earlier, as is witnessed by the\ncurious Lapidario of Alfonso X, the Wise, composed in the latter half\nof that century. The survivance of this style in Madeira depends quite\nprobably upon one of those rather inexplicable chances that cause the\nproduction of a certain class of jewels or ornaments, when a curious\nor unusual example strikes some tourist\u2019s fancy, and he shows it to\nfriends at home; these in their turn will ask for it when they go to\nthe same place, thus creating a demand and a local fashion. Rings of\nthis kind are brought from Madeira by sailors and travelling jewellers,\nand are found at a number of places, including the west coast of Africa.\n\nMany gold zodiac rings of a simple type are made on the Gold Coast\nand brought thence to Europe. The hoop is a flat band, on which the\nconventional symbols of the zodiacal signs are soldered, scroll borders\nalso being applied in the same way.[544] While these rings are totally\nlacking in artistic quality, their production on the Gold Coast may\nindicate that long ago some better work of the class was done here,\nprobably under Portuguese influence.\n\nRings holding truly \u201ccelestial stones,\u201d gems from the heavens as they\nare called, are those in which have been set small, but perfectly cut\nchrysolites (peridots) from crystals found in meteorites. One of these\nwas of the pallasite type, from Brenham, Kiowa County, Kansas[545] and\ngems were also cut out of chrysolite from the meteorite of Glorietta\nMountain, Santa F\u00e9 County, New Mexico.[546]\n\nA most attractive kind of natal ring is that having the birth stone in\nthe centre between the stones of the guardian angel and of the apostle\nof the month. While this particular arrangement of the settings is\nfollowed in the greater number of cases, it sometimes happens that\na better artistic effect is obtained, a better harmony of color, by\nmaking either the stone of the angel or that of the apostle the central\ngem. The essential thing is that the three particular stones assigned\nto the given month shall be grouped together. The following table\nrenders it easy to find the proper combination for each month, or each\nzodiacal sign:\n\n             Zodiacal     Natal        Guardian    Angel\u2019s      Apostle\n Month         Sign       Stone         Angel        Gem        of Month\n\n January     Aquarius    Garnet        Gabriel      Onyx        Peter\n February    Pisces      Amethyst      Barchiel     Jasper      Andrew\n March       Aries       Bloodstone    Malchediel   Ruby        James and\n                                                                   John\n April       Taurus      Diamond or    Ashmodel     Topaz       Philip\n                           Sapphire\n May         Gemini      Emerald       Amriel       Carbuncle   Bartholomew\n June        Cancer      Agate         Muriel       Emerald     Thomas\n July        Leo         Turquoise     Verchiel     Sapphire    Matthew\n August      Virgo       Carnelian     Hamatiel     Diamond     James the\n                                                                     Less\n September   Libra       Chrysolite    Tsuriel      Jacinth     Thaddeus\n\n October     Scorpio     Beryl         Bariel       Agate       Simon\n November    Sagittarius Topaz         Adnachiel    Amethyst    Matthias\n December    Capricornus Ruby          Humiel       Beryl       Paul\n\n\n             Apostle\u2019s      Flower\n Month          Gem         of Month\n\n January     Jasper        Snowdrop\n February    Carbuncle     Primrose\n March       Emerald       Violet\n April       Carnelian     Daisy\n May         Chrysolite    Hawthorne\n June        Beryl         Honeysuckle\n July        Topaz         Water Lily\n August      Sardonyx      Poppy\n September   Chrysoprase   Morning Glory\n October     Jacinth       Hops\n November    Amethyst      Chrysanthemum\n December    Sapphire      Holly\n\n\nIf, like Apollonius of Tyana,[547] anyone should wish to wear on each\nweek day a ring set with the stones especially appropriate to the day,\nthe following list gives for the successive days the pair of stones\nwhose combination was believed to unite the most favorable planetary\nand celestial influences:\n\n                 Gem of      Talismanic     Astral\n                 the Day        Gem         Control\n    Sunday       Diamond       Pearl         Sun\n    Monday       Pearl         Emerald       Moon\n    Tuesday      Ruby          Topaz         Mars\n    Wednesday    Amethyst      Turquoise     Mercury\n    Thursday     Carnelian     Sapphire      Jupiter\n    Friday       Emerald       Ruby          Venus\n    Saturday     Turquoise     Tourmaline    Saturn\n\nThe use of fraternity rings is often connected with a certain amount of\nsentiment or even superstition concerning their emblematic value. The\nmost important of this type of rings are those worn by the Free Masons.\n\nThe greater number of Masonic rings are intended for those Masons\nwho have attained the two highest degrees, the thirty-second and\nthe thirty-third; some, however, are appropriate to those of the\nlower degrees. The bezels of the Blue Lodge, or Master Mason rings,\nfrequently have the square compasses and the latter G in gold on a\nbackground of blue enamel; occasionally emblems and paraphernalia used\nin the Lodge are enamelled in blue on the gold hoops of the ring.\nSometimes, instead of enamel, the background is formed of sapphire,\nbloodstone, or some other stone on which the emblems are encrusted in\ngold. An example of the ring of a Past Master bears a raised gold\nsun-face. In a ring for the Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, the keystone\nis usually enameled white with a black circle and white centre. Shrine\nRings are distinctly Oriental in type, the prevailing design showing\na simitar passed between the horns of a crescent moon. In rings of\nthe Knights Templar the design is usually a cross passed through a\ncrown, with the motto of Constantine the Great: In hoc Signo vinces.\nThe cross will be of black enamel (occasionally of red enamel) and\nthe crown is gold. A special ring for this order has a Blue Lodge\nemblem on one shoulder and the Chapter emblem on the other, and is\narranged for a diamond to be set in the centre of the bezel. On a\nfourteenth degree ring (Lodge of Perfection) appears the initial Hebrew\nletter (_yod_) of the Tetragrammaton, or Ineffable Name, now\napproximately sounded Yahweh. Sometimes the symbols of more than one\ndegree appear on the ring, one example bearing those of the fourteenth,\nsixteenth, eighteenth, thirtieth and thirty-second; this is one of\nthe Consistory rings, as those for thirty-second degree Masons are\ndenominated. These usually have the double eagle on the bezel.\n\n  [Illustration: MASONIC RINGS\n\n  1, 3, Master Mason or Blue Lodge; 2, 4, Knights Templar; 5, \u201cThe\n  Signet of Zerubbabel,\u201d adopted as one of the Royal Arch symbols.\n  Explained as the \u201cSignet of Truth.\u201d See Haggai, ii, 2\u20133; 6, 14th\n  Degree, or Lodge of Perfection; 7, Emblem of 14th Degree on one\n  side, of 32d Degree on the other; 8, 9, 32d Degree; 10, 12,\n  Mystic Shrine rings; 11, 33d Degree]\n\n  [Illustration: RINGS OF ORDERS AND SOCIETIES\n\n  1, Senior Order United American Mechanics; 2, Knights of\n  Columbus. Raised centre emblem on black enamel; 3, Brotherhood\n  of Locomotive Engineers; 4, Knights of the Maccabees; 5, Order\n  of Railroad Telegraphers; 6, Improved Order of Red Men; 7,\n  Independent Order of Odd Fellows (encrusted sardonyx); 8,\n  Fraternal Order of Eagles; 9, Knights of Pythias (encrusted\n  sardonyx); 10, Sons of Veterans; 11, Knights of Pythias (raised\n  centre emblem on black enamel); 12, Patriotic Order Sons of\n  America; 13, Woodmen of the World; 14, Improved Order of Red Men\n  (raised centre); 15, Junior Order United American Mechanics]\n\nThe variety of types of fraternity rings is manifold, most of the\norders having a half-dozen or more different ring-designs, although\ncertain distinctive elements run through all, as with the wide-spread\nBenevolent Protective Order of Elks, for instance, on whose rings the\nelk-head is always conspicuously present. For rings of the Knights\nof Columbus, the anvil, sword and battleaxe are never-failing marks.\nThe Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, a labor organization of the\nhighest type, has for its device a locomotive running on a railway\ntrack, with a telegraph pole at one side. The Loyal Order of Moose\nhas the head of the patron animal, less graceful than the elk, but\nbetter suggesting the aggressive quality of this order. A considerable\nvariety of designs are represented among the rings worn by the Knights\nof Pythias; in most cases a helmet and battleaxes are combined with a\nshield. Last, but not least, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows has\nmany rings rich in symbols, the all-seeing eye, the open hand with a\nheart in it, a death\u2019s-head and cross-bones, and everywhere, the three\ninterlinked rings characteristic of the order. These are only a few of\nthe innumerable ingenious designs that American factories have produced\nto satisfy an overwhelming demand for fraternity rings. For the leading\nschools also, many special rings have been executed to be used as\nprizes, or else to meet the wants of school fraternities or sororities.\nOf course, the numerous college fraternities also frequently use\nspecially designed rings as distinguishing emblems.\n\nThe immense number of rings that must have been produced for members\nof the largest societies becomes apparent when we consider that the\nIndependent Order of Odd Fellows, whose English foundation dates back\nto about 1745, now has a membership of over 1,500,000, in the United\nStates and more than 160,000 in other countries. To this must be added\nthe membership of the Daughters of Rebekah, a co\u00f6rdinate body of women\nnumbering about 700,000. Another society, the Knights of Pythias,\nthough of comparatively recent organization, having been founded in\nWashington, D. C., in 1864, has over 700,000 members in the United\nStates and Canada. This order has a branch exclusively for the colored\nrace, denominated the Knights of Pythias of North and South America,\nEurope, Asia and Africa; its members number 50,000. The Benevolent and\nProtective Order of Elks counts 410,000 members in 1309 lodges and the\nKnights of Columbus, a fraternal and benevolent society founded in New\nHaven in 1882, had, on July 1, 1914, 326,858 members.\n\nThe membership of the Greek-letter fraternities of the universities\nand colleges in the United States is enormous. In 1914 there were 38\nleading fraternities distributed in 1228 active chapters and counting\n2,656,817 members, with 979 fraternity houses. The oldest Greek-letter\nsociety, Phi Beta Kappa, was organized at William and Mary College,\nVirginia, in 1776; Kappa Alpha was founded at Union College, in 1827,\nthis being the first fraternity to be organized according to the system\nat present prevailing. The first sorority was Kappa Alpha Theta,\nestablished at De Pauw in 1870. The sororities now have about 50,000\nmembers in 395 chapters.\n\nA gem representing one of the States is often set in a talismanic ring.\nThe following is a list of the stones of the various States in the\nUnited States,--a precious or semi-precious stone having been found in\nevery State:\n\n    Alabama           Beryl\n    Arizona           Turquoise\n    Arkansas          Diamond\n    California        Kunzite\n    Colorado          Aquamarine\n    Connecticut       Beryl\n    Delaware          Pearl\n    Florida           Chalcedony\n    Georgia           Ruby\n    Idaho             Opal\n    Illinois          Pearl\n    Indiana           Pearl\n    Iowa              Fossil Coral\n    Kansas            Chalcedony\n    Kentucky          Pearl\n    Louisiana         Chalcedony\n    Maine             Topaz\n    Maryland          Orthoclase\n    Massachusetts     Beryl\n    Michigan          Agate\n    Minnesota         Chlorastrolite or Agate\n    Mississippi       Pearl\n    Missouri          Pyrite\n    Montana           Sapphire\n    Nebraska          Chalcedony\n    Nevada            Gold Quartz\n    New Hampshire     Garnet\n    New Jersey        Prehnite\n    New Mexico        Garnet or Peridot\n    New York          Beryl\n    North Carolina    Emerald\n    North Dakota      Agate\n    Ohio              Chalcedony\n    Oklahoma          Smoky Quartz\n    Oregon            Agate\n    Pennsylvania      Sunstone or Moonstone\n    Rhode Island      Amethyst\n    South Carolina    Beryl\n    South Dakota      Agate\n    Tennessee         Pearl\n    Texas             Agate\n    Utah              Topaz\n    Vermont           Beryl\n    Virginia          Spessartite\n    Washington        Agate\n    West Virginia     Rock-crystal\n    Wisconsin         Pearl\n    Wyoming           Moss Agate\n\n For fuller information concerning natal stones, stones of\n the month, stones of the day, stones of the week, stones of\n sentiment, stones for posy rings, for wedding anniversaries and\n similar occasions, see George Frederick Kunz, \u201cThe Curious Lore\n of Precious Stones,\u201d J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia and\n London, 1913, xiv + 406 pp., 58 pl. (8 in color), many text cuts.\n\n\n\n\n                                 VIII\n\n                           RINGS OF HEALING\n\n\nClosely allied with the magic rings, so closely indeed that it is often\ndifficult to establish a satisfactory distinction between them, are the\nrings of healing, those to which were ascribed special and peculiar\ncurative powers. In some instances this was due to a legend connected\nwith a particular ring or with the prototype of a class of rings; at\nother times the therapeutic virtue was believed to result from the\ninscription of certain letters or words. In other cases, again, the\nbelief arose from the form given to the ring.\n\nIn the course of his eleventh consulate, Augustus was attacked by a\nserious illness. None of the remedies prescribed for him were of any\navail, until finally he was relieved by following the directions of\nAntonius Musa, who recommended cold baths and cold drinks. As a reward\nMusa was granted the privilege of wearing gold rings, and also received\na large gift of money from the grateful emperor.[548] Although this\nring was not in itself a cause of healing it was certainly the memorial\nof a successful cure.\n\nA strange remedy for sneezing or hiccoughing, recommended by Pliny,\nwas to transfer a ring from one of the fingers of the left hand to the\nmiddle finger of the right hand.[549] This prescription is copied from\nPliny by the physician Marcellus Empiricus[550] who says, however,\nthat a ring should be put on the middle finger of the _left_\nhand, adding that the cure was immediate. Probably the explanation is\nto be found in the fact that rings were rarely worn by the Romans on\nthe middle finger, and hence the unusual sensation produced by placing\na ring on this finger operated to check the nervous spasm causing\nthe sneezes or hiccoughs. It is well known that any nervous shock,\nsometimes a very slight one, will suffice to cure such spasms; indeed,\nPliny also advises the immersion of the hand in very hot water.\n\nSince lizards were believed to recover their sight by natural means\nafter they had been blinded, this fancy led to the use of a strange\nmethod for procuring remedial rings. A blinded lizard was put into\na glass vessel, in which iron or gold rings were also placed. When\nit became apparent that the creature had regained its sight, the\nrings were taken out and used for the cure of weak and weeping eyes.\nSomething of the natural force that operated to restore the lizard\u2019s\nvision was supposed to communicate itself to the rings.[551]\n\nIn a treatise incorrectly attributed to the Roman physician Galen (\u201cDe\nincantatione\u201d), the statement is made that the wearing of a ring set\nwith a sard weighing twenty grains will ensure deep and tranquil sleep\nand give protection against bad dreams or fearful \u201cvisions of the\nnight.\u201d For nervous derangement, often a cause of nightmare, Marcellus\nEmpiricus, who practised medicine in the Roman world of the sixth\ncentury A.D., recommended a finger ring made out of the hoof\nof a rhinoceros, asserting that any patient suffering from \u201cobstruction\nof the nerves\u201d would surely experience relief by wearing such a ring.\nOn the other hand a ring turned out of rhinoceros horn was supposed to\nhave efficacy against poison and spasms.[552]\n\nAs a cure for bilious or intestinal troubles, the physician, Alexander\nTrallianus (sixth century A.D.) recommends an iron ring with\nan octagonal _chaton_ on which should be inscribed the words:\n\n    \u03a6\u03b5\u03cd\u03b3\u03b5, \u03c6\u03b5\u03cd\u03b3\u03b5, \u1f76\u03bf\u03bd \u03c7\u03bf\u03bb\u03ae, \u1f22 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c1\u03b4\u03b1\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f11\u03b6\u03ae\u03c4\u03b5\u03b9.\n\n    \u201cFly, fly, wretched bile, the swallow is seeking thee.\u201d[553]\n\nThis refers to the belief that the flesh of the swallow was a remedy\nfor those suffering from colic.\n\nA gold ring, evidently of Byzantine origin, bears on the face, divided\ninto six segments, an invocation to the saints Cosmas and Damian.\nAccording to Catholic legend these saints were brothers, of Arabian\nbirth, who practised medicine in \u00c6gae in Cilicia at the end of the\nthird century. They were regarded as the patron saints of physicians\nand were often invoked by those suffering from disease. Hence this\nring probably represents a type common in the Eastern Empire and used\nas a talisman for the cure or prevention of various illnesses. We know\nthat the Byzantines were fervently devoted to three groups of saints,\nregarded as physicians, whose festival days were July 1, November 1,\nand October 17.[554]\n\nThe initial letters of some magic or religious formula believed to\noperate as a charm, were engraved on certain rings, as, for example,\nthe four Hebrew letters \u05d0 \u05e0 \u05dc \u05d0 or their equivalents in Roman\ncharacters, sometimes disposed as follows:\n\n                              _a_  | _l_\n                                ---+---\n                              _g_  | _a_\n\nThis was called the Shield of David and was believed to afford\nprotection from injury by wounds, fire, etc. The Hebrew letters are the\ninitials of the four words:\n\n                          \u05d0\u05d7 \u05e0\u05d1\u05d5\u05d3 \u05dc\u05e2\u05d5\u05dc\u05dd \u05d0\u05dc\u05ea\u05d9\u05dd\n\n                   \u201cThou, God, art mighty for ever.\u201d\n\nA gold ring with a Runic (old Scandinavian) inscription was owned by\nthe Earl of Aberdeen in 1827. It had evidently been destined for use as\nan amulet, the characters reading in translation as follows: \u201cWhether\nin fever or in leprosy, let the patient be happy and confident in the\nhope of recovery.\u201d On rings for wear as protection from the plague\nthe favorite inscriptions were ~IESVS~--~MARIA~--~IOSEPH~ and ~IHS\nNASARENVS REX IVDEORTUM~.[555] A massive thumb-ring in Mr. Hamper\u2019s\npossession bore an old French legend more in accord with true Christian\npiety than the inscription we have noted, namely: _Candu plera meleor\ncera_, or \u201cWhen God pleases, things will be better.\u201d\n\nThe curiously learned theologian and natural philosopher, Albertus\nMagnus (1193\u20131280), Count of Bollst\u00e4dt, and Bishop of Ratisbon,\naffirmed that he had seen a sapphire set in a ring remove impurities\nfrom the eyes. He had also witnessed the curative effects of the stone\nwhen applied to carbuncles, and declares the common belief that after\noperating such a cure a sapphire would lose its virtue, to be entirely\nfalse.[556] As the name carbuncle (or _anthrax_ as Albertus puts\nit) was given both to a boil and to ruby or garnet, we have here an\ninstance among many of the cures by antipathy, the blue stone curing a\nred, inflamed tumor.\n\nShould we need proof that in the Middle Ages rings were believed to\nhave remedial powers, this is offered by a passage in the statutes\nof the H\u00f4tel Dieu of Troyes, dated in 1263. Here it is decreed that\nthe nuns should not be permitted to wear rings set with precious\nstones, _except in case of illness_.[557] Probably in this event\nthe appropriate stone was selected by those versed in this branch of\nknowledge, after they had determined, as well as they were able, the\nreal nature of the disease.\n\nIf the owner of a garnet ring who was not an expert in precious\nstones wished to assure himself of the genuineness of his garnet, the\nfollowing rather troublesome experiment was at his disposal. He was to\ndisrobe, still wearing his ring, and then to have his body smeared with\nhoney. This done, he was to lie down where flies or wasps were about.\nIf in spite of the sweet temptation they failed to light on his body,\nthis was a proof that the garnet was genuine, an added proof being that\nwhen he took off the garnet ring the insects would hasten to make up\nfor lost time and suck up the honey.[558]\n\nJacinth as a ring-setting was said to preserve a traveller from all\nperils on his journey and to make him well received everywhere.\nAnother merit was that he was protected against plague and pestilence,\nand would enjoy good sleep.[559] Certainly if this were true, the\ntraveller could ask for no better amulet to bear about with him on his\ntrip.\n\nA toadstone set in an open ring, so that the stone could touch the\nskin, was thought to give notice of the presence of poison by producing\na sensation of heat in the skin at the point of contact. A ring made\nout of narwhal tusk was believed to be an effective antidote to\npoisons. Apart from these materials, several precious or semi-precious\nstones, such as emeralds, agates, and also amber and coral, were\nassumed to be especially sensitive to the approach of poison, so\nmuch so that when worn suspended from the neck or set in rings, they\nwould lose their natural color, thus giving timely warning to their\nwearers.[560]\n\nThe earliest notices of cramp rings are from entries made in the reign\nof Edward II (1307\u20131327), recording the Good Friday gifts of coins by\nthe sovereign to the altar, the metal of which, or else an equivalent\nquantity of metal, was to be made up into rings. Although no cramp\nring has been preserved--at least none concerning which there is any\ngood evidence--it has been considered probable that it was a simple\ngold hoop. Its curative power was not connected with any image or\ninscription, but solely due to the magic effect of the royal blessing.\nSome old wills contain bequests of cramp rings, or what we may assume\nto have been such rings. Thus John Baret of Bury St. Edmunds, in his\nwill dated in 1463, left a \u201crowund ryng of the Kynges silver,\u201d that is\nof the silver coins of the royal offering; another bequest in the same\nwill is that of a \u201ccrampe ryng with blak innamel, and a part of silver\nand gilt.\u201d A few years later, in the reign of Henry VIII, Edmund Zee\nwills to his niece a \u201cgold ryng with a turkes (turquoise) and a crampe\nryng of gold.\u201d[561]\n\nAt his coronation, Edward II of England offered at the high altar of\nWestminster Abbey a pound weight of gold, fashioned with \u201cthe likeness\nof a king holding a ring in his hand, to this was added a golden image\nweighing eight ounces (\u2154 pound), representing a pilgrim stretching\nforth his hand to take the proffered ring.\u201d The offering of a pound of\ngold has persisted down to modern times, although the later offerings\nhave been in the form of plain ingots, while in medieval times the\nsovereign would have it formed into the saintly figure or figures to\nwhich he paid particular devotion, as Edward II did to St. Edward the\nConfessor.[562]\n\n  [Illustration: Massive gold ring engraved with the Wounds of\n  Christ. A healing talisman; English; Fifteenth Century. Found at\n  Coventry, 1802\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: Edward the Confessor bestowing his ring upon\n  the beggar. From a tile in the Chapter House at Westminster.\n  Thirteenth Century\n\n  British Museum]\n\n  [Illustration: The sapphire as an eye-stone. The woman points to\n  her eye, which the physician is about to relieve by applying a\n  sapphire ring\n\n  Johannis de Cuba, \u201cOrtus Sanitatis,\u201d [Strassburg, 1483], De\n  lapidibus, cap. cix]\n\n  [Illustration: Curious test of the genuineness of a garnet set\n  in a ring. Should the stone not be an imitation, flies and wasps\n  will not alight on the wearer\u2019s body, even though it be smeared\n  with oil\n\n  Johannis de Cuba, \u201cOrtus Sanitatis,\u201d [Strassburg, 1483], De\n  lapidibus, cap. lx]\n\n  [Illustration: Jeweller offering rings\n\n  Johannis de Cuba, \u201cOrtus Sanitatis,\u201d [Strassburg, 1483], De\n  lapidibus, cap. lxv]\n\nThese so-called \u201ccramp-rings,\u201d long regarded in England as specifics\nfor the cure of cramps and convulsions, and even of epileptic attacks,\nowed their virtue, as has been stated, to the royal blessing. Polydore\nVergil, writing in 1534, in the reign of Henry VIII, asserts that the\noriginal cramp-ring was brought to Edward the Confessor shortly before\nhis death by some persons who came from Jerusalem. This very ring had\nbeen given by Edward, many years before, to a beggar, who had craved\nalms of the King for the love he bore St. John the Evangelist. The\nhistorian appears to regard the return of the ring as a warning to the\nKing of his approaching death. When Edward was interred in Westminster,\nthis ring was placed in that church,[563] and it became an object of\ngreat veneration there, for it cured those suffering from paralysis or\nepilepsy, if they touched it. From this time, says Polydore Vergil,\nthe kings of England adopted the practice of consecrating, on Good\nFriday, similar rings, which received the name of \u201ccramp-rings\u201d from\ntheir special efficacy.[564] Confirmation of the exercise of this rite\nof consecration by Henry VIII after the establishment of the English\nChurch is given by Andrew Borde, who writes in 1542 as follows: \u201cThe\nKynges of Englande doth halowe every yere Crampe rynges the whyche\nrynges, worne on ones fynger, dothe helpe them the whyche hath the\nCrampe.\u201d[565]\n\nCramp rings appear to have been consecrated by Henry VIII both before\nand after his breach with the Roman Church, for in 1529 Anne Boleyn\nwrote to Bishop Gardiner, then in Rome, that she was sending him cramp\nrings for himself and certain of his friends.[566] After the death\nof Henry, Bishop Gardiner wrote to Ridley that he trusted the young\nking (Edward VI) would not neglect to continue the usage. However,\nas we have no information that such rings were consecrated during\nEdward\u2019s reign (1547\u20131553), it seems probable that the practice was\ndiscontinued.[567] In the early part of Mary\u2019s reign (1553\u20131558), a\nspecial Latin service for the consecration of cramp rings was drawn up,\nsome extracts from which are here translated:[568]\n\n The rings lying in one basin or more, this prayer is to be said\n over them: \u201cO God, the creator of all celestial and terrestrial\n creations, the restorer of the human race, and the bestower of all\n blessings, send Thy Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, from heaven upon\n these rings made by the hand of man, and deign to so purify them\n by Thy power, that all the corruption of the envious and venomous\n serpent being expelled, the metal created by Thee in Thy goodness\n may remain untainted by all the stains of the enemy. Through\n Christ, our Lord. Amen.\u201d\n\n Benediction: O God, who in every disease hast always shown\n miracles of Thy power, and who hast willed that rings should\n be a pledge of faith for Judah, a priestly ornament for Aaron,\n a symbol of a faithful custodian for Darius, and a remedy for\n various diseases in this reign, graciously vouchsafe to sanctify\n + and to bless + these rings; that all who wear them may be\n protected from the wiles of Satan and armed with the virtue of a\n celestial guardianship; and that they shall neither be menaced\n by convulsions nor by danger of epilepsy, but shall find by Thy\n succor, alleviation of all manner of diseases. In the name of the\n Father +, of the Son +, and of the Holy Spirit +. Amen.\n\nA manuscript owned by the late Cardinal Wiseman described the\nceremonies of the service under this heading: \u201cCertain prayers to be\nused by the Quene\u2019s Heighnes in the Consecration of the Cramp-rynges.\u201d\nThere is also an illuminated design showing Queen Mary as she knelt at\nthe ceremony, a dish filled with the rings being set on either side\nof her. King Philip was also present to take part in the ceremonial,\nalthough the Queen\u2019s share in the consecration must have been regarded\nas the principal one; still Philip\u2019s fervent devotion to the church\nritual found expression here as elsewhere, for on entering the chapel\nhe is said to have crept on his knees along a carpet extending from\nthe entrance to the place where the rings were to be blessed. Here\na crucifix had been placed on a cushion, and the King, still in a\nkneeling attitude, bestowed his royal blessing on the rings. This\nintensely devout approach to them was then repeated by Queen Mary and\nthe ladies who attended her to the chapel.[569]\n\nA talismanic ring especially valuable for a physician is described by\nKonrad von Megenberg. This is to be of silver and set with a stone\nbearing the figure of a man with a bundle of herbs hanging from his\nneck. The wearer is given the power to diagnose diseases, and he will\nbe able to stanch any hemorrhage, however severe, if he only touch the\naffected part with the stone. As a natural result, we learn that the\nphysician will gain both reputation and honors, and it is related that\nGalen, the great Roman medical authority, wore such a ring.[570]\n\nIn the \u201cGesta Romanorum\u201d is a story of a ring endowed with great\nremedial powers:\n\n A certain king had three sons and one precious stone. When the\n hour of his death had come, he reflected that his sons would\n dispute for the possession of the stone. Now he loved one of his\n three sons better than the others, wherefore he caused three\n similar rings to be made and two glass imitations resembling\n the precious stone; he then had the three stones set in their\n respective rings. Lest his plan should fail, the father called his\n three sons to him, and gave to each the ring destined for him,\n giving the best one to the son he most loved. After the father\u2019s\n death each of the sons declared that he had the ring with the\n precious stone. Hearing this, a sage said: \u201cLet us make a test,\n for that ring which can cure disease is the most precious.\u201d The\n test was made, and two of the rings had no effect, but that with\n the precious stone cured the disease; whence it became manifest\n which of the sons had been best loved by his father.[571]\n\nIt was this medi\u00e6val tale that suggested to the German dramatic poet\nand critic, Lessing, the celebrated parable of the three rings, which\nhe puts into the mouth of Nathan the Sage,[572] in answer to Saladin\u2019s\nquestion as to whether the true religion was Judaism, Christianity\nor Mohammedanism. Nathan likens them to the three rings given by the\nfather to his sons, the secret as to which was the genuine magic ring\nbeing hidden from them. Pursuing the parable, he makes the sons, after\nthe father\u2019s death, bring their dispute before a court of justice.\nThe judge having heard the testimony, at first declares that it is\nimpossible for him to determine which of the rings is the genuine one;\nthen, after a moment\u2019s thought, he recalls the statement that the\nhearts of all will be drawn toward him who has it, and asks which of\nthe brothers is most loved by the other two. They are honest enough to\nconfess in turn that each loves himself the best. Thereupon the judge\nadjourns the case for a few thousand years, during which the race that\nhas shown the greatest virtues will become the favored one, and thus\nprove that its ring was the true one.\n\nMedi\u00e6val superstition did not shrink from the belief that some\nmagicians had such power over the spirits of evil that they could force\na demon to take up his abiding-place in a ring, and rings of this kind\nwere thought to be powerful medical amulets. In classic times also\nmedicine-rings were known and used, one having been given by Augustus\nto his son-in-law Agrippa.[573]\n\nIt was not uncommon in the Middle Ages for a pharmacist to make an\nimpression from a signet upon his prescription as a guarantee that it\nhad been prepared by a trustworthy person. A fine specimen of this\ntype of ring is one that belonged to a certain Donobertus.[574] It was\nfound at St. Chamant, dept. Corr\u00e8ze, in 1867. The material is gold and\nthe ring was set with an antique carnelian around which is engraved\non the gold bezel a circular inscription signifying \u201cDonobertus has\nmade this medicine.\u201d The supposition is that, as in so many cases, the\nfunctions of the physician and pharmacist were here exercised by the\nsame person.[575]\n\nAt the trial of Jeanne d\u2019Arc, her judges questioned her closely\nregarding certain magic rings she was asserted to have worn. From\nthe tenor of the questions we can infer that Jeanne was accused of\nhaving used the rings for the cure of diseases and also that they were\nbelieved to have been set with charmed stones.\n\nInterrogated as to whether she had any rings, Jeanne replied: \u201cYou\nhave one of mine; give it back to me.\u201d She added that the Burgundians\nhad taken away another, and requested that if the judges had the\nfirstmentioned ring in their possession they should show it to\nher. When questioned as to who had given her the ring taken by the\nBurgundians, Jeanne answered that she had received it in Domremy,\neither from her father or her mother, and that she believed it was\ninscribed with the names \u201cJhesus Maria.\u201d She did not know who had made\nthe inscription and did not believe there was any stone in the ring.\nShe strenuously denied ever having cured anyone by means of her rings.\nIt is characteristic of the simple straightforward way in which Jeanne\nrefuted the accusation of witchcraft that she charged her judges to\ngive to the church the ring in their possession.[576]\n\nIn 1802 there was found in Coventry Park an ancient gold ring, weighing\n1 oz., 13 dwts., 8 grains, and bearing a number of religious designs.\nIn the central division was depicted Christ rising from the tomb, the\nhammer, ladder, sponge and other emblems of the Passion being shown\nin the background. In two compartments on either side were graven the\nfive wounds, with the following Old English legends: \u201cthe well of\neverlasting lyffe,\u201d \u201cthe well of confort,\u201d \u201cthe well of gracy,\u201d \u201cthe\nwell of pity,\u201d \u201cthe well of merci.\u201d Still existent traces evidenced\nthat black enamel had been used in the figure of Christ, and red\nenamel to picture the wounds and the drops of blood. Inside the hoop\nran the following legend: \u201cVulnera quinq. dei sunt medicina mei, pia\ncrux et passio xpi sunt medicina mihi. Jaspar, Melchior, Baltasar,\nananyzapta tetragrammaton.\u201d The whole signifying that the wounds and\nPassion of Christ were to serve as remedial agents for the wearer, the\nhealing virtue of the ring being strengthened by the names of the Three\nKings, by an enigmatic Gnostic epithet, and by the tetragrammaton,\nor the four Hebrew letters forming the Ineffable Name. A series of\nsixteen mourning rings \u201cof fyne Gold,\u201d bequeathed by Sir Edmond Shaw,\nAlderman of London, by his will made about 1487, were \u201cto be graven\nwith the well of pitie, the well of mercie, and the well of everlasting\nlife.\u201d[577]\n\nIt has been conjectured that the names of the Magi, the \u201cThree\nKings,\u201d Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar, which nowhere appear in the\nScriptures, may have been originally titles or epithets of Mithras,\nsignifying respectively \u201cWhite One,\u201d \u201cKing of Light,\u201d and \u201cLord of\nTreasures.\u201d[578] The invocation or inscription of these names was, in\nearly Christian and medi\u00e6val times, believed to have great curative\neffect, more especially against epilepsy, and hence they were often\nengraved on rings. A number of these may be seen in the British Museum.\nCologne Cathedral has been and still is the great centre of attraction\nfor all devotees of the Three Kings, for their remains are said to\nhave been brought there in 1162 from Milan, whither they had been\nmiraculously conveyed long before from Constantinople.\n\nMedicinal rings were often used in the reign of Elizabeth, and one was\ngiven to this queen by Lord Chancellor Hatton. Writing to Sir Thomas\nSmith, under date of September 11, 158-, Hatton says: \u201cI am likewise\nbold to recommend my most humble duty to our dear mistress [Queen\nElizabeth] by this letter and ring, which hath the virtue to expell\ninfectious airs, and is (as it telleth me) to be worn between the sweet\nduggs, the chaste nest of pure constancy. I trust, sir, when the virtue\nis known, it shall not be refused for the value.\u201d[579] This rather\ncoarse flattery would not offend the Virgin Queen, who habitually\nindulged in very plain speaking.\n\nA diamond ring said by a faithful courtier to have brought him health\nand strength when he was at death\u2019s door, was one sent by King James I\nto Thomas Sackvil, Duke of Dorset, High Treasurer both under Elizabeth\nand James. When, early in June, 1607, news was brought the king that\nhis Treasurer was so dangerously ill that his life was despaired of,\nhe sent him a rich gold ring set with twenty diamonds, five of which\nwere so disposed as to form a cross. With the ring James sent a special\nmessage, expressing the hope that Sackvil would recover and might\nlive as long as the diamond in the ring endured. This proof of his\nsovereign\u2019s favor called the patient back to life, according to his\nown narration.[580]\n\nConvulsions and fits were believed to be cured by rings made of a\nsilver coin representing the value of a number of smaller pieces of\nmoney, sixpences or even pennies, collected at the church door from\nthose who had just been present at a communion service. Should this\nhave taken place on Easter Sunday, the value and efficacy of the\ntalismanic ring made from the offering were much enhanced. A less\nreligious source for a silver ring of this kind has been reported. Five\nbachelors were to contribute a sixpence apiece, and a bachelor was then\nto convey the silver to a blacksmith who was also unmarried and who\nwas to make the ring. An absolute requisite, however, was that none\nof the voluntary contributors should have the slightest idea of the\ndestination of his sixpence.[581]\n\nFor the cure of ulcers, Johannes Agricola advises the wearing of rings\nmade from solidified quicksilver, during a conjunction of the moon with\nthe planet Mercury; these rings were to be worn on the side opposite\nto that afflicted with the ulcer.[582] This might suggest some vague\nidea of the fact that the right hemisphere of the brain controls the\nleft side of the body, and _vice versa_, although if the effect\nof the ring was to be transmitted by reflex action of the brain, the\nstimulus must of course, proceed from the afflicted side. It is said\nthat if a remedial potion were stirred about with the ring finger, the\nheart would quickly realize the presence of poison, and would thus give\nwarning against drinking it; the fourth finger was therefore sometimes\ncalled the \u201cmedical finger.\u201d[583]\n\nThe idea that the ring possessed a mystic restraining power finds\nexpression in the curious custom of the Bagobos of the Philippine\nIslands, who encircle the wrists and ankles of the dangerously ill\nwith rings of brass wire, in the belief that these serve to keep the\nsoul from taking its flight.[584] An analogous, although apparently\ncontradictory impulse induces the Greek inhabitants of the island of\nScarpanto (Carpathus), near Rhodes, to take off all rings from a dead\nperson lest the soul should be bound to the body even after death; the\npressure of a ring on the little finger being sufficient to interfere\nwith the freedom of the spirit.[585] Similar beliefs obtained as to the\nsecret binding power of knots.\n\n  [Illustration: ASTROLABE RING, OF GOLD\n\n  Two views, closed and open\n\n  Albert Figdor Collection, Vienna]\n\n  [Illustration: PHYSICIAN\u2019S RING OF GOLD, WITH MINUTE WATCH FOR\n  COUNTING THE PULSE-BEATS\n\n  Beneath the watch is the maker\u2019s name, Kossek in Prague. The\n  movement is regulated by a slide at one side; the hole for the\n  watch key is on the lower side. Enameled leaf-work decoration.\n  Two views\n\n  Albert Figdor Collection, Vienna]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n    1. WATCH RING, SET WITH DIAMONDS\n    2. WATCH RING, SET WITH PEARLS\n\n  Showing the dial and the movement of the balance staff Eighteenth\n  Century]\n\n  [Illustration: MODERN WATCH RING\n\n  Side and front views]\n\nA ring made from the hoof of a wild ass was supposed to possess\nmedicinal virtue, and one made from the hoof of a rhinoceros, if\nplaced on the finger, was believed to cure certain nervous disorders.\nA ring of rhinoceros-horn was a still more powerful remedial agent\nand its wear was favored in India as an antidote for poisons and to\ncure convulsions or spasms.[586] A ring made from the hoof of the elk\npossessed similar virtues, and cramps in the legs would be cured if\nthe afflicted part were merely touched with such a ring.\n\nAs to the mode in which the elk-hoof should be used for curative rings\nfor epilepsy, the old authorities differed, Goclenius affirming that a\npiece of the hoof should be set in a ring, while others believed that\nthe entire ring should be turned out of this material. The proper way\nof wearing it was to place it on the fourth finger, so that it could\ncome in contact with the palm of the hand. The choice of the particular\nhoof was also matter for debate, some favoring that of the left hind\nfoot and others that of the right one. Rings set with teeth of the\nsea-horse were recommended by Johann Micha\u00ebles, a famous physician of\nLeipsic. A ring made of pure silver, of \u201cthe moon,\u201d as the astrologers\nsaid, if set in a piece of elk-hoof, under the zodiacal sign of Pisces\nand during a favorable conjunction of the planets, would prove a\ncertain cure for epilepsy and all brain diseases.[587]\n\nThe Tyrolean hunters have the same superstitious fancy as to the\ntalismanic power of an antelope\u2019s tooth set in a ring as is (or was)\nheld in some other parts of the world regarding elks\u2019 teeth set in\nrings. Of the Tyrolean rings, four examples were disposed at the sale\nin New York in 1913, of the fine collections of Mr. A. W. Drake.[588]\n\nA gold ring specially designed for a physician\u2019s use in counting\npulse-beats is to be seen in the collection of Dr. Albert Figdor,\nVienna. It is set with a watch, below which, on the bezel, is inscribed\nthe name of the watchmaker, Kossek in Prague. The aperture for the\ninsertion of the watch key is on the lower side, and there is a slide\nfor regulating the movement of the little timepiece.[589]\n\nAmong healing rings none might be thought to promise better results\nthan the \u201celectric rings,\u201d made of an amalgam of copper and some other\nmetal, which are sold to a considerable extent, their curative power\nbeing supposedly derived from an electric charge, or a generation of\nelectricity. Whatever good effects may have been observed as a result\nof the use of such rings, presumably few would be inclined to deny\nthat one of the active agents in the cure was the faith of the wearer,\nwhich assuredly would fortify or supplement the beneficial effects\nof electric emanations, where the mind was firmly impressed with the\nconviction that a curative power existed in the ring.\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAPTER IX\n\n                              RING MAKING\n\n\nThe modern methods of ring manufacture in the United States are far\ndifferent from those of the past, due to an endeavor to keep pace with\nthe growth of the country and with an increase in production. Owing\nto the introduction of modern systems, great quantities of an article\ncan now be sold, which, though not preserving the character of the\nfinest handiwork, yet cost so much less to produce that they can now be\noffered at greatly reduced prices.\n\nIn the manufacture of the modern ring, there is first prepared a\ndesign, or even a model. The initial process consists in cutting this\nobject exactly as it will appear when it is finished,--or such parts of\nit as are made by measure,--on what is known as a \u201chub\u201d made of soft\nsteel. When the design is finally completed, it is hardened by heating\nand then by dipping into water, oil or other solution. When the metal\nhub has been hardened, it is forced into a mass of soft steel by great\npressure, usually hydraulic, producing a die, as it is termed, on which\nall the ornamentation is the reverse of that on the desired object.\nThis die is then hardened.\n\nThe die is placed on the stand of the drop press, the upperweight\nstrikes it and forces the metal into it; this requires from four or\nfive to seven or eight operations. Each time the metal is struck it is\nannealed, then restruck and again annealed, until the ring is ready\nfor trimming. This trimming removes all the superfluous metal, and the\nring is then in condition for the jeweller to bend it into a complete\ncircle.\n\nIn the manufacture of many rings, the metal first receives a special\nform. The gold plates are blanked and rolled to a definite thickness\naccording to the pattern of the ring desired, the width being\ncontrolled by screws attached to the rolls themselves. To obtain the\nexact width, the measure in which it is placed can be adjusted to cut a\nstrip of metal from a millimeter, or thinner, up to several inches in\nwidth. It is slid over a roll and two wheels with sharp edges separate\nthe mass of gold into exactly the desired widths. The gauges are so\nexact as in one instance to provide 16 variations to a millimeter,\napproximately 1/25 of an inch. Another screw gauge is so delicate that\nit can be adjusted to the four-thousandth of an inch.\n\nEach piece is then put in a cutter exactly the outline of the\ndesired piece, which, for a ring, is usually quite flat. The piece\nof metal then drops into a cutting box and a number can be struck\nout successively by simply raising the press and allowing the cutter\nto come down. The metal is now placed in another roll, which, in\nthe case of the signet ring, rolls the sides thinner than the head.\nWhen this process is completed the product is put in a gauge measure\nwhich measures the length of the ring from 0.4 to size 13, on Allen\u2019s\nstandard gauge. The ends of the metal are then cut off so that the\nring is approximately the desired size, and the ends are annealed or\nsoldered without any further operation.\n\n  [Illustration: PRODUCTION OF RINGS WITH PRECIOUS STONE SETTINGS\n  BY MEANS OF MACHINERY\n\n  1, original blank struck from plate of metal. 2, same raised,\n  with claws pointing upward. 3, same reduced. 4, first strike of a\n  one-piece ring. 5, second operation. 6, third operation. 7, 8, 9,\n  10, 11, 12, 13, successive stages in the manufacture of a gallery\n  for the ring]\n\n  [Illustration:\n\n  SUCCESSIVE STAGES IN THE FORMATION OF A RING (MACHINE MADE) FROM\n  THE SHAPED, BENT, UNORNAMENTED BAR TO THE FINISHED RING]\n\nIn most cases when striking a signet-ring, the top is not cut out\nentirely. The gold backing of the stone is left, and the head of the\nring is struck with a concave space so that when the two sides are\nbrought down the space will remain flat. For transparent stones, the\ntop is cut out of the setting entirely. When the rings are finally\ncompleted they are cleaned by what is known as a stripping wheel,\nthe reverse of a plating wheel, which removes all the fire-markings,\nand all the other impurities that exist, leaving the metal clean.\n\nThe rings are then polished by rapidly revolving wheels of hair,--at\ntimes, of other materials. After this, the stones are set. If the rings\nneed engraving, they are then passed to an engraver and are finally\npolished, leaving the metal entirely finished.\n\nIn former times, and now also, by hand methods one man would frequently\nmake an entire ring. By modern methods, the ring passes through\nthe hands of a number of workers: first, the blank-maker, then in\nsuccession the man who operates the drop press, the jeweller, the stone\nsetter, the engraver, and finally, the polisher.\n\nAs to the statistics of ring-making, with the great demand throughout\nthe United States a single factory has produced 3,000,000 rings a year,\nsome selling for less than $1.00 each, and on up to $5.00 and $10.00\neach; very occasionally for higher prices, up to $50.00 or $60.00.\nRecently to fill an order for a chain of popular shops, this factory\nturned out 2,000,000 rings to be sold at ten cents apiece. In the\nregion of Providence, Rhode Island, and the nearby Attleboro, Mass.,\nthe total value of the annual ring output, which gives employment to\nsome two thousand persons, is put at $5,000,000. In a factory of the\nlargest kind, frequently the various parts for making up a ring may be\nkept in small boxes, because a stamper, in making an intricate ring, is\nable to produce more in one day than a jeweller can finish in a week.\nIn simple rings, however, the jeweller finishes as many rings as the\nstamper can produce in a day.\n\nThere is no piece of jewellery that is more generally worn nor whose\npossession causes more joy, than a finger ring. And the proper fitting\nof a ring for comfort in wearing it, or to prevent its loss, which\nfrequently would be looked upon almost as a calamity, is something that\ncan be attained by careful adjustment to the proper size. Many fingers\ntaper forward. In other fingers, the knuckle is very large and the\nthird joint much smaller than the knuckle. Where the finger tapers from\nthe joint at the hand to the tip it is frequently difficult to make a\nring hold properly. But this can be done by wearing a tiny guard ring.\nIn cases where the finger is much smaller between the third and fourth\njoint the ring will turn around, which is not only uncomfortable but\nmakes the ornaments fail to show properly. This can be prevented by\nhaving the hoop penannular in shape, or by the addition of an internal\nspring.\n\nTo prevent the rubbing together of two rings worn on the same finger,\nand the resulting attrition, which in the lapse of years sometimes\nwears down a gold ring until the hoop becomes so thin that it may\ncrack, a simple device has been patented. This is a narrow circlet\nwhich may be made of ivory or any other suitable material. It has a\nthin vertical flange just high enough to interpose between the rings\nthat are to be kept apart, and two horizontal flanges to pass beneath\nthe hoops of the rings.\n\nTo protect two rings from rubbing against each other, an exceedingly\nnarrow gold circlet is worn between them. Where there is risk that a\nhard stone in one ring will come in contact with a pearl in the other,\nor a diamond with any other stone, necessarily softer, one or more very\nsmall beads are welded on that part of the hoop nearest to the setting.\nIn cases where a treasured ring has worn almost to the thinness of\npaper, it is possible to strengthen it by adding gold at either side of\nthe hoop.\n\n  [Illustration: THE \u201cALLEN RING GAUGE\u201d\n\n  Generally used in the United States for measuring accurately the\n  size of the ring required to fit a given finger]\n\n  [Illustration: 1, Engelmann\u2019s ring, finger and millimeter locking\n  gauge.\n\n  2, \u201cDisplay rings,\u201d in which a succession of precious stones can\n  be set and tried on the fingers]\n\nThe size of the finger is often recorded by what is known as the Allen\ngauge, a tapering stick numbered from 1 to size 13 in half sizes. To\nthis stick is attached a chain, and pendant to the chain is a series\nof rings of graduated sizes. When it is decided which ring of the\nseries best fits the finger, it is slipped on the gauge and its size\nascertained. If size 6 is a little tight and 6\u00bd a trifle loose, this\nindicates that 6\u00bc is the correct size.\n\nIn measuring the finger for a ring, by Engelmann\u2019s Ring, Finger\nand Millimeter Locking Gauge, the ring is set _over_ the\n_outside_ perpendicular ends of the gauge (see plate). These are\nthen separated to their fullest extent, so that they touch the ring on\nboth sides. The exact size of the ring is thus indicated on the scale\nover the mark on the movable upper part of the right-hand end.\n\nTo measure the size of a finger, the ends should be separated\nsufficiently to permit the finger to pass through the aperture between\nthem. They are then to be closed so as to touch lightly--not pinch or\nsqueeze--the flesh of the finger. When this has been done the ends are\nlocked, and if the knuckle passes easily through the aperture, the\nright size has been found. This is recorded on the scale in the same\nway as in the ring measurement. In measuring the finger of either a\nchild, boy, girl, or woman, who has not a large or high knuckle, a safe\nrule is to add a \u00bd _ring-size_ to that which has been indicated by\nthe measurement.\n\nThe width of the metal ring-shank is ascertained by placing its lower,\ncentre part between the two inside perpendicular ends, and the exact\ndimensions will be made apparent on the millimeter scale. Where the\nshank is tapered, the maximum and minimum widths must be taken, and\nthese must both be stated in ordering a ring.\n\nAn unset stone is to be measured in the way just described, maximum and\nminimum widths being taken; for this purpose also, only the extreme\npointed ends are to be used; these dimensions should be correctly\nstated when the ring is ordered.\n\nTo alter a ring to any size, place the lower, centre part of the shank\n_over_ the scale and estimate the width of metal to be taken off\nor added, respectively, by the millimeter-lines.\n\nWhere the proper measuring devices are not attainable, resource may be\nhad to various simple expedients. For instance, a bit of copper wire\ncan be used; one end is turned so as to form an eye, and through this\nthe other end is drawn until the circle fits the finger; the free end\nis then twisted to keep it from slipping back. In this way the exact\nsize of a finger can be obtained. It is also possible to have the wire\nnotched so as to indicate the standard numbers of rings, or better\nstill, to have them stamped on a narrow, flat strip of copper or steel\nwith a slot at one end, through which the other end can be passed and\nturned down when the band has closely encircled the finger. Of course,\nthese simple methods need only be resorted to when the prospective\nbuyer is ordering a ring by mail or messenger, as jewellers are always\nprovided with instruments for taking the exact measurement of the\nfingers.\n\nA new and practical invention is that of a \u201cdisplay ring,\u201d by means\nof which the jeweller can enable anyone who desires to order a ring,\nto judge of the effect of various stones when worn as ring settings.\nThis little device is open at one end, the metal band being flexible\nenough to yield to slight pressure applied to both sides. In front,\non either side, are two claws, which open up and grasp the stone when\nthe pressure is relaxed. Thus one gem after another can be displayed.\nSets of these display-rings are made comprising eighteen different\nsizes.[590]\n\nWhen a ring has become painfully and injuriously tight on a finger,\na simple method and often efficacious, for its removal, is to take\nseveral feet of cotton cord, soak this in soapsuds, glycerine, or oil,\nand pass one end of it under the ring, leaving about six inches loosely\nhanging down. The other end of the cord is then to be wound tightly\naround the finger, beginning close to the ring and continuing over the\nmiddle joint up to the end of the finger. If left on for a while, the\ncord compresses the flesh to such an extent that when it is unwound by\npulling at the loose end hanging down from the base of the finger, the\nring will be gradually and painlessly forced off. In very serious cases\nit is safest to file through the hoop and bend it open sufficiently\nto free the finger. The trifling injury to the ring can easily be\nrepaired, leaving it in all respects in its original condition.\n\nA ring that fits too tightly may become a source of serious injury to\nthe wearer in course of time. This applies especially to engagement\nor wedding-rings, for many wearers have a sentimental, or even\nsuperstitious disinclination to remove such a ring after it has once\nbeen placed on the finger by the cherished donor. Slight as the effects\nappear to be, since the progressive tightening is so very gradual,\nthere have been cases where the increasing plumpness of a hand has\ncaused the pressure of the ring to become so intense as to induce an\naffection of the arm, rendering it liable to serious trouble in case of\nan attack of rheumatism or a severe cold. In some cases, when such a\ntight ring has been cut from the hand, the present writer has seen that\nthe entire finger under the ring was an open wound, occasionally a deep\none.[591]\n\nThroughout Europe--England and the Continent--narrow gold rings are\ngenerally worn, almost invariably of 22-carat gold; among the poorer\nclasses, the standard falls to 18-carat--never lower. In the United\nStates the correct wedding ring is a 22-carat ring, but away from the\nlarge cities and among their less prosperous inhabitants 18-carat rings\nare worn to a considerable extent. These are often two, three, or four\ntimes the weight of the European 22-carat ring, flatter and sharp on\nthe edges, thus cutting the finger. Frequently perspiration under the\nring will cause the finger to become sore and infected. The narrow ring\nis more rounded on the inside and never infects the finger in any way.\n\nCharges of selling illegally stamped wedding-rings have recently been\npreferred in a New York court. The proceedings were instituted under\nparagraph 431 of the Penal Law. The marking in one case was \u201c14 Kt.\n\u00b9\u2044\u2081\u2080,\u201d this having been stated to signify that nine-tenths of the\nmetal was 14-carat gold and one-tenth of some baser metal. The real\nmeaning, however, appears to be that one-tenth is of 14\u2013carat gold,\nthe remaining nine-tenths being alloy. The ring was found to weigh 72\ngrains, and on being tested at the United States Assay Office, the\nfineness of the entire metal was determined to be 52/1000, equivalent\nto a fineness of but 12\u00bd carats for the one-tenth represented to be\nof 14\u2013carat gold. The utmost variation from standard permitted by the\nstatute is one carat. The quantity of pure gold in such a ring would\nonly be about 3\u00be grains, worth a fraction over 16 cents. The rings were\nsold for $3.75 and $4.\n\nAn alarm ring, giving the wearer timely notice if its stone setting\nshould fall out, has recently been invented. Beneath the stone, a\nneedle traversing the ring is so adjusted to a coiled spring that if\nthe stone drops out, the spring is released, and the needle-point gives\na slight prick to the wearer\u2019s finger. The idea is ingenious enough\nand the ring may find favor among those who value their ring-stones\nenough to endure a \u201csharp reminder\u201d of their loss when this helps their\nrecovery.[592]\n\nA curious and interesting example of inlaying, is a gold ring owned\nby B. G. Fairchild, Esq., of New York. In the flat bezel have been\ninserted two winged figures, cut in intaglio on pieces of brown\nchalcedony. As there is no margin of stone showing about the figures,\nthe effect is very striking, the chalcedony appearing to be naturally\nembedded in the gold. This is a production of antique art.\n\nIn designing a ring the goldsmith must constantly bear in mind that\nonly the upper part, less than half the circle, will be displayed,\nand he should thus carefully avoid regarding the whole ring as an\nornamental object and chasing or adorning the part that will not be\nshown. To this end he is advised to model the design in wax on the\ncirclet itself, rather than to work from a sketch or drawing. If any\nplant or other nature form enters into his composition, he should,\nwhere possible, have a specimen before him while he works, so that\nwhatever modifications or adaptations he may make will not violate\nthe main lines of the natural type. In making a ring of solid metal,\nit is either cast in the desired form, or hammered from a cast. After\nthe metal has been annealed, the design is sketched on in black\nwater-color; it is then outlined with a small round-edged tracing-tool\nand the ground-work is chiselled away. The design can now be finished\nwith chasing tools.[593]\n\nThe making of finger rings as well as of everything else has been\nstrongly influenced by machine production. Cloth is machine-made,\npictures are lithographed, lace, macaroni, and even small houses are\nnow produced with an exactness that was never before possible. But,\nunfortunately, with the dominance of the \u201cmachine-made\u201d product, the\nartistic quality is entirely obliterated. Rings are now made in such\nvast quantities that exactness of reproduction is the great aim. Thus\nwhile the initial design may possess a certain measure of originality,\nthe single ring of the type, one out of thousands or tens of thousands\nstamped out of the same model, necessarily lacks that personal touch\nwhich alone can produce a truly artistic object.\n\n\n         Names of the Ring[594] in Various Foreign Languages.\n\n    Anglo-Saxon                     Hringe\n    Arabic                          Khatam, ma\u1e25bas\n    Babylonian                      Shemiru, lulimtu?\n    Bohemian, Serbo-Croatian        Kruh, prsten\n    Bulgarian                       Prsten\n    Chinese                         Pan-chih, chih huan[595]\n    Danish                          Ring\n    Dutch                           Ring\n    French                          Anneau, bague\n    Gaelic (Erse)                   Fainne, failbeagh\n    German                          Ring\n    Greek, ancient                  \u0394\u03b1\u03ba\u03c4\u03cd\u03bb\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2, \u03b4\u03b1\u03ba\u03c4\u03c5\u03bb\u03af\u03b4\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd\n    Greek, modern                   \u0394\u03b1\u03ba\u03c4\u1f50\u03bb\u03b9\u03b4\u03b9\n    Hebrew                          Tabba\u2019ath, \u1e25otham\n    Hungarian (Magyar)              Gy\u00fcr\u00fc\n    Italian                         Anello\n    Icelandic                       Hringr\n    Irish                           Fainne\n    Japanese                        Yubi no wa\n    Laos                            Pawp M\u00fc\n    Latin                           Anulus, anellus\n    Lithuanian                      Ziedas\n    Persian                         Angushtar (\u1e25a\u1e37\u1e33at)\n    Polish                          Piercien, krouzek\n    Portuguese                      Annel\n    Roumanian                       Inel\n    Russian                         Kolts\u00f3,[596] p\u00e9rsten[597]\n    Ruthenian (Little Russian)      Persten\n    Sanskrit                        Angul\u00eeya, anguli mudra\n    Serbian                         Prsten\n    Siamese                         New nang (nang pet)\n    Spanish                         Sortija, anillo\n    Sumerian                        MUR (KHAR)\n    Swedish                         Ring\n    Syriac                          Tab\u2019\u00e2, \u1e25athm\u00e2\n    Turkish (Osmanli)               Y\u00fcs\u00fck, halqa\n    Welsh                           Modrwy\n\nThe following hints as to the proper pronunciation of some of the\nrare words in the above list have been kindly furnished by Prof. John\nDyneley Prince, of Columbia University, who has also supplied several\nof the names:\n\nIn _prsten_ (Bulgarian, Bohemian and Serbo-Croatian), the r has a\npeculiar rolling sound with an inherent vowel; this cannot be correctly\nreproduced in English spelling. The ci of Polish _piercien_ is\npronounced like the Italian ci (chee). Little Russian (Ruthenian)\nand Russian _persten_ means literally \u201cfinger-thing.\u201d In the\nLithuanian _ziedas_, the z is pronounced like French j, or our z\nand azure. The Hungarian gy\u00fcr\u00fc sounds like dy\u00fc-r\u00fc; it means something\nrolled. The \u1e6d in Hebrew, Arabic and Syriac is an explosive t unknown in\nEnglish; the letter rendered by the sign is a deep, guttural and faucal\nexhalation. Irish _fainne_ is pronounced fau-in-nye, and the Welsh\n_bodrwy_ is sounded as bod-roo-ee.\n\nThe word \u201cring,\u201d _tabba-ath_, appears once in Genesis (xli: 42),\nthe ring given by Pharaoh to Joseph; six times in Esther iii: 10, 12;\nviii: 2, 8 (bis), 10, the ring of Ahasuerus. In the New Testament the\nring is mentioned once in Luke xv: 22, the ring given the Prodigal\nSon; and once in the Epistle of James, ii: 2. The word \u201crings,\u201d as\nfinger-rings, occurs in Exodus xxxv: 22, of the offerings of the people\nof Israel in the desert; in Numbers xxxi: 50; in Canticles v: 14 (this\nis probably to be rendered \u201crods\u201d),[598] and in Isaiah iii: 21. That\nrings should be so rarely alluded to in the Old Testament might seem to\nprove that they were not as extensively worn in the land of Israel as\nsome have assumed. The finest ancient Hebrew signet is said to be one\nof the time of Jeroboam II, King of Israel (790\u2013749? B.C.),\nfound at Megiddo. This is the seal of Shemai, the King\u2019s Minister of\nState. It is of jasper and bears the finely engraved figure of a lion.\nThe form is oval and the seal measures 3.7 by 2.7 cm.[599]\n\n\n\n\n                                 INDEX\n\n\n            A\n\n    Aah-hotep, Queen, signet of, 117\n\n    Abbots\u2019 rings, 280\n\n    Abbott, Dr., Egyptian collection of, 118\n\n    Abbesses\u2019 rings, 280\n\n    Aberdeen, Earl of, 339\n\n    Achametis, on dreams of rings, 298\n\n    Add-a-link ring, 93\n\n    Adjustable rings, 93\n\n    Adler, Cyrus, viii\n\n    \u00c6lian, 32\n\n    African rings, 64, 83, 84, 328\n\n    Agate, 81, 87, 335\n\n    Agincourt, rings found on battlefield of, 165\n\n    _Agla_ motto on healing rings, 339\n\n    Agricola, Johannes, on healing rings, 351\n\n    Ahasuerus, signet of, 116\n\n    Ahlstan, Bishop of Sherbourne, ring of, 271\n\n    Albert, Prince, 225\n\n    Albertus Magnus, on virtues of talismans, 311\n\n    Alexander the Great, signet of, 123\n\n    Alfonso X, Lapidario of, 304, 305\n\n    Alfonso XIII, old usage said to have been observed at marriage of,\n        213\n\n    Alliot, Hector, viii\n\n    Amber, 104, 341\n      entire rings of, 104\n\n    Ambrose, St., 128\n\n    Amelia, Princess, Memorial ring of, 43\n\n    Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), ring of, 67\n\n    American Museum of Natural History, 65\n\n    American rings, 17\u201330, 47, 84, 85, 108\n\n    Amethyst, 34, 50, 73, 86, 111, 125, 126, 158, 227, 252, 279, 328,\n        335\n\n    Andalusite, 86\n\n    Anglo-Saxon rings, 195\n      of Bishop Ahlstan, 271\n      of Ethelswith, 173, 174\n      of Ethelwulf, 173, 174\n\n    Anhalt, princess of, magic ring of, 316, 317\n\n    Annay, Sir William d\u2019, ring given to by Richard C\u0153ur-de-Lion, 177\n\n    Anne, St., betrothal ring of, 261\n\n    Anne of Denmark, 189\n\n    Antiochus IV, Epiphanes, signet of, 125\n\n    Antoninus Pius, head of, on signet, 140\n\n    _Anularius_, a ring-maker, 16\n\n    Anuli natalitii, 15\n\n    _Anulus pronubus_, 193\n\n    Apollonius of Tyana, magic rings of, 296, 325\n\n    Aquamarine, 158\n\n    Aquinas, St. Thomas, 211\n\n    Arabic rings, Mohammed\u2019s seal, 141\n      with carnelians, 141\n      mottoes and devices on, 142\n\n    Arch\u00e6ological Institute, London, 73\n\n    Archers\u2019 rings, 87, 105\u2013108\n\n    Aristophanes, of rings, 9\n\n    Aristotle, blamed by Plato for wearing rings, 32\n\n    Arnulphus, Bishop of Metz, ring of, 269\n\n    _Art nouveau_ rings, 87\n\n    Artemidora, mummy-case of, 51\n\n    Artemidorus, rings in dream-book of, 37\n\n    Arundel collection, 171\n\n    Arundel, Thomas, keeper of jewels of Edward the Confessor\u2019s shrine,\n        175\n\n    Assyrian and Babylonian rings, 3\n      ancient contract as to emerald set in one, 4, 5\n\n    Assyrian jewellers\u2019 firm, 4\n\n    Astle, Thomas, 155\n\n    Astrolabe ring, 88\n\n    Auckland, Lord, 101\n\n    Augustine, St., 299\n\n    Augustus, 336, 347\n      signet of, 130, 131\n\n    Aurelian\u2019s seal ring, 133\n\n    Austrian rings, 87, 110\n\n    Avery, Samuel P., 66\n\n    Avitus, Archbishop of Vienne, letter of, describing ring, 266, 267,\n        277\n\n    Aztecs, treasures of the, 19\n      silversmiths of the, 20\n      finger-rings of the, 20\n\n\n            B\n\n    Bachaumont, Louis Petit de, 76\n\n    Bacon, Francis, on telepathic test with a ring, 326, 327\n\n    _Bacula_, little rod for rings, 55\n\n    Bagobos of Philippine Islands, superstitions of the, 352\n\n    Balas-ruby, 276\n\n    Bardel, W., x\n\n    Barlow, Hon. Peter T., vii, 153\n\n    Barr, Miss Ada M., vii\n\n    Barrow, F. H., viii\n\n    Beatty, W. Gedney, vii\n\n    Beauvoisin, Mlle. de, rings owned by, 76\n\n    Becket, St. Thomas \u00e0, ring taken from shrine of, 182, 183\n\n    Beefsteak Club memorial rings, 47\n\n    Benedict XIV, 281\n\n    Bequests of signets, 149\n\n    Berghem Lodowyck van (Louis de Berquen) cuts diamonds for Charles\n        the Bold, 215\n\n    B\u00e9quet, Albert, 59\n\n    Berlin Mineralogical Museum, 108\n\n    Berlin Royal Museum, 67\n\n    Bernard of Clairvaux, St., signet of, 145\n\n    Bernhard IV, Margrave of Baden, portrait of, 62\n\n    Berteildis, wife of Dagobert I, signet of, 138\n\n    Beryl, 134, 158, 252, 334, 335\n\n    Besborough collection, 73\n\n    Betrothal rings, _see_ wedding rings\n\n    Bible, rings mentioned in the, 1, 115, 116, 336\n\n    Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale, 162\n\n    Biblioth\u00e8que du Roi (later Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale), 139\n\n    Bingham, Hiram, viii\n\n    Inca rings found by, in Peru, 83\n\n    Bishop, Heber R., collection, 55, 105, 106\n\n    Bishops\u2019 rings, of Allstan, Bishop of Sherborne, 271\n      of Arnulphus, Bishop of Metz, 269\n      of Ebba, Bishop of Rheims, 270\n      of Bishop of Flambard, 275\n      of Bishop Geoffroy Rufus, 275\n      of Archbishop Greenfield, 272\n      of Bishop Herv\u00e9e, 273\n      of Hilary, Bishop of Chichester, 272\n      Innocent III\u2019s definition of, 273\n      of Archbishop Parker, 276\n      of Seffrid, Bishop of Chichester, 272\n      of Archbishop Sewell, 272\n      of Archbishop Sigfroi, 274\n      of Bishop John Stanberry, 275\n      stolen by Piers Gaveston, 276\n      set with green tourmalines, 276\n      of Bishop William of St. Barbara, 275\n      of Bishop Wykeham, 275\n      of Wytlesey, Archbishop of Canterbury, 275\n\n    Blake, W. W., ix\n\n    Blakeslee collection, portraits in, showing ring wearing, 62\n\n    Bloodstone, 158, 191, 331\n\n    Bohemian garnet wings, 109\n\n    Boleyn, Anne, sends \u201ccramp rings,\u201d 343\n\n    Boniface IV, mention of pontifical ring in decree of, 267\n\n    Boniface VIII, ring found in tomb of, 273\n      magic ring of, 306\n\n    _Bonza_, Buddhist priest, rings made by, 82\n\n    Boog, Theodore de, xi\n\n    \u201cBook of Thetel,\u201d magic ring described in, 311\n\n    Borde, Andrew, on cramp rings, 343\n\n    Borgia, Cesare, motto in poison-ring of, 37\n\n    Borgia, Lucrezia, rings at betrothal of, 215\n\n    Borgias, poison rings of the, 37\n\n    Borough, Sir Edward, wins diamond ring at tournament, 181\n\n    Bossuet, Jacques B\u00e9minge, memorial ring given him by Princess\n        Henrietta Anne, 45\n\n    Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 192\n\n    Braddock, Charles S., Jr., ix\n\n    Brandon, Thomas, Earl of Suffolk, wins ruby ring at tournament, 181\n\n    Brant\u00f4me, Pierre de Boudeilles, Seigneux de, 168\n\n    Branualdius, 300\n\n    Brass rings, 82, 84, 352\n\n    Brera gallery, Milan, 203\n\n    British Museum, x, 5, 35, 39, 40, 44, 50, 58, 68, 69, 75, 82, 86,\n        89, 98, 99, 100, 104, 136, 143, 150, 151, 173, 197, 251, 257,\n        293\n\n    Bronze age, rings of the, 2\n\n    Bronze rings, 58, 89, 109, 251, 257, 293\n\n    Broun, W. H., entire emerald ring, owned by, 103\n\n    Brouwer, Bart., entire diamond ring by, 105\n\n    Brummagem rings, 113, 114\n\n    Burgundian rings, 73\n\n    Burmese rings, 82\n\n    Butler, Samuel, 194, 222\n\n    Buxtorf, Johann, on Hebrew betrothal rings, 203\n\n    Byron, Lord, signet owned by, 152\n\n    Byzantine rings, 143, 144\u2013146, 161, 197, 256, 338\n\n\n            C\n\n    C\u00e6sar, Julius, signet of, 130\n\n    Caius, St., ring of, 261\n\n    Caligula, head of, on ring, 133\n\n    Cambodian rings, 82\n\n    Camden, William, 183\n\n    Campbell, Archibald, ring of, 182\n\n    Cantacuzene, Emperor, 146\n\n    Canute, King, ring found on body of, 179\n\n    Caracalla, head of, on signet, 140\n\n    Cardinals\u2019 rings, sapphire used for, 276\n      various stones used for in earlier times, 276\n      cost of, 277\n      of Cardinal Farley, 278\n      in portraits, 278\n\n    Carlomans\u2019 signet ring, 140\n\n    Carlyle, Thomas, 324\n\n    Carnelian, 6, 125, 141, 158, 269, 318, 323, 328\n      entire rings of, 100\n\n    Casa Grande, Arizona, rings found at, 17\n\n    Casimir, John, Count Palatine, medal of, with figure of diamond\n        ring, 171\n\n    Catharine von Bora, ring commemorating her marriage to Martin\n        Luther, 216, 217\n\n    Cathoir the Great, called \u201cHero of Rings,\u201d 191\n\n    Cat\u2019s-eye, 78\n\n    \u201cCelestial stones\u201d in rings, 330\n\n    \u201cCent Nouvelles Nouvelles,\u201d story of a ring in, 215\n\n    Cesnola collection of Cypriote antiquities, 119\n\n    Chalcedony, 74, 124, 158, 159, 334, 335, 363\n      entire rings of, 100, 258\u2013261\n\n    Charioteer\u2019s ring, 33\n\n    Charlemagne, ring of, 300\u2013302\n\n    Charles the Bald, letter of, to Pope Nicholas I, 270\n\n    Charles I, 153, 189, 190\n      memorial rings of, 41\n      signet of, as Prince of Wales, 156, 157\n      as king, 157\n\n    Charles II, sealed with diamond signet of his father, 157\n      gave ring to Judge Jeffreys, 191\n\n    Charles IV, Emperor, 259\n\n    Charles V, of France, signet of, 146\n\n    Charles the Bald, letter of, to Pope Nicholas I, 270\n\n    Charlotte, Queen, 151\n\n    Chase, William M., x\n\n    Chaves Pass, Arizona, ring found at, 17\n\n    Chifflet, Jean Jacques, 139\n\n    Childeris I, signet of, 138\u2013140\n\n    Chindaswinthe, Visigoth sovereign, promulgated law regarding\n        betrothal rings, 200\n\n    Chinese rings, 81, 85, 105\u2013108, 248, 319\u2013321\n\n    Chlorastrolite, 335\n\n    Chrysoberyl, 86\n\n    Chrysolite, _see_ peridot\n\n    Chrysoprase, 34\n\n    Chrysostom, St. John, on ring inscriptions, 135\n\n    Church, Sir Arthur Herbert, 86\n\n    Church collection, 86\n\n    Cicero, tells how Verres had rings made, 16\n      of ring seized by Verres, 127\n\n    Cigarette ring, 94\n\n    Clemens Alexandrinus, 14, 121, 133, 199, 296\n\n    Clement IV, Pope, \u201cFisherman\u2019s Ring\u201d of, 263\n\n    Clement V, Pope, stones used in ecclesiastical rings in time of,\n        276\n\n    Clement VIII, Pope, 263\n\n    Cleopatra, signet of, 126\n\n    Cleveland Museum of Art, 90\n\n    Clotaire II, coin of, set in ring, 162\n\n    Clothilda, receives betrothal ring from Clovis I in 493 A.D., 201,\n        202\n\n    Clovis I of France, on bishops\u2019 signets, 137\n\n    Coats-of-arms on signet rings, 149\n\n    Coello, Claudio, 59\n\n    Coins set in rings, 162\n\n    Coke, Sir Edward, historic ring bequeathed by, 189\n      diamond ring of, 189\n\n    College of Arms, London, gift to, by Duke of Norfolk, 181\n\n    Color of stones in bishops\u2019 rings, significance of, 274, 275\n\n    Columbus, Knights of, rings of, 332\n\n    Commodus, signet of, 131\n\n    \u201cCommunion rings,\u201d 351\n\n    Comnenus, Alexis, signet-ring of, 144\n\n    Comnenus, John, 144\n\n    \u201cCone-shell\u201d rings, 17\n\n    Congo, King of the, thumb ring of, 64\n\n    _Conlegium anularium_, 16\n\n    Constantius II, signet of, 161\n\n    Copper rings, 19, 20, 22, 84, 328\n\n    Coral, 63, 78, 341\n\n    Cordierite, 86\n\n    Corean rings, 107\n\n    Coronation ring, English, 174, 282, 283\n\n    Coronation ring, French, 284\n\n    Cort\u00e9s, Fernan, 19\n\n    Corundum, 86\n\n    Cosmas and Damian, Sts., effigies of, on a healing ring, 338\n\n    \u201cCramp rings,\u201d 341\u2013345\n\n    Cranach, Lucas, 61\n\n    Crisp collection of memorial rings, 43\n\n    Culin, Stewart, vii\n\n    Curry, James, bought Henrietta Maria\u2019s signet, 156\n\n    Cushing, Frank H., 21, 22\n\n    Cypriote rings, 6, 7, 111, 119, 120\n\n    Cyrianides, magic rings described in, 295\n\n\n            D\n\n    _Dactyliotheca_, 53, 54\n\n    Dactylomancy, 299, 308\n\n    Daggett, Frank S., viii\n\n    Dalhousie, Lord, 103\n\n    Dalton, O. M., 39, 150\n\n    Damer, Miss Dawson, 225\n\n    Daniel, Book of, signet mentioned in, 115\n\n    Darius III, signet of, 123\n\n    Darnley, Henry, Lord, wedding ring of, 217, 218\n\n    Dashur, rings found at, 68\n\n    Davenant, Sir William, of a rush-ring, 206\n\n    Death, removing of rings in case of, 134\n\n    Decade rings, 34\n\n    DeForest, Robert W., vii\n\n    Deloche, M., 10, 58, 140\n\n    Dial rings, 39, 87\n\n    Diamond, 78, 89, 98, 99, 101, 167\u2013170, 181, 183, 189, 215, 227,\n        235, 252, 278, 288, 334\n      entire rings of, 105\n\n    Divining with rings, 299\n\n    Divorce rings, 235\n\n    Dixon, Joseph K., viii\n\n    Doctors\u2019 rings, 266\n\n    Domenico dei Camei, gem engraver, 148\n\n    Domna, Julia, wife of Septimius Severus, causes Philostratus to\n        write life of Apollonius of Tyana, 296\n\n    Drake, Alexander Wilson, 85, 86, 217\n\n    Drake, Mrs. Alexander W., vii, 217\n\n    Drake collection, 85, 353\n\n    Dreams about rings, 37, 104, 132, 298\n\n    Dryden, John, 312\n      on gimmal ring, 219\n\n    Durant, Guillaume, Bishop of Mende, on spiritual meaning of wedding\n        ring, 207\n\n    Dutt, Dasmodar, Hindu portraitist, 63\n\n    Dynamite rings, 110\n\n\n            E\n\n    Ebbo, Bishop of Rheims, ring sent to, by mother of Charles the\n        Bald, 270\n\n    Ecgberht, Archbishop of York, 267\n\n    Eden, Hon. Miss, 101\n\n    Edward the Confessor\u2019s ring, 162, 174, 176, 342, 343\n\n    Edward I, tomb of, opened in 1774, 179\n\n    Edward II, 276\n\n    Edward III, 315\n      gives ruby ring, 180\n\n    Edward IV, decree of, against spurious rings, 114\n\n    Edward VI, 343\n      marriage service in prayer-book of, 204\n\n    Eglamore, Sir, medi\u00e6val romance, magic ring in, 310\n\n    Egmont\u2019s poison ring, 38, 39\n\n    Egyptian rings, 1, 5, 6, 51, 67, 68, 96, 117, 118, 249\n\n    Eisen, Gustavus A., vii\n\n    Eleanora, Empress of Germany, ring of, 168\n\n    Eleazar\u2019s magic ring, 294, 295\n\n    Electric curative rings, 354\n\n    Electrum rings, 110, 314\n\n    Elizabeth, Queen, 49, 149, 152, 162, 169, 219\n      diamond ring given by, to Mary, Queen of Scots, 183, 184\n      ring given by, to Essex, 186\u2013188\n      portrait of, showing ring, 188\n      healing ring sent to, 350\n\n    Elk-hoof, rings made from, 352, 353\n\n    Elks, Benevolent Protective Order of, rings of, 332\n\n    Emblems, Christian, on rings, 253\u2013255\n\n    Emerald, 4, 5, 34, 50, 74, 78, 89, 106, 121, 176, 178, 180, 181,\n        211, 227, 252, 274, 275, 276, 282, 305, 328, 335\n      entire rings of, 101\u2013103\n\n    Emnechildis, wife of Childeric II, signet of, 138\n\n    Engagement rings, 227, 230, 233\u2013235, 237\n\n    English rings, 36, 41\u201345, 47, 48, 64, 74, 85, 113, 129, 144,\n        149\u2013157, 169, 173\u2013192, 211, 219, 221, 222, 224, 231, 269\u2013272,\n        274, 282\u2013284, 286, 287, 349\n\n    Enkomi, Cyprus, rings found in tombs at, 5, 6\n\n    Enstatite, 86\n\n    Eskimos, do not favor rings, 31\n\n    Essex, Earl of, wins diamond ring at tournament, 181\n\n    Essex ring, 162\n\n    Essex, William Devereux, Earl of, story of ring sent him by\n        Elizabeth, 186\u2013188\n\n    Estampes, Anne de Pisseleu, Duchesse d\u2019, favorite of Francis I, 168\n\n    Esther, book of, signet mentioned in, 116\n\n    Ethelswith, ring of, 173, 174\n\n    Ethelwulf, ring of, 173, 174\n\n    Etruscan rings, 68, 69\n\n    Eugene III, Pope, 144\n\n    Eugene IV, Pope, 259\n\n    Evans, Sir John, 209\n\n    Evdokim, Archbishop, 282\n\n    Evil eye, rings as charms against, 236, 293\n\n\n            F\n\n    Faber, Conrad, portrait by, 148\n\n    Fairbanks, Arthur, viii\n\n    Fairchild, B. G., 363\n\n    Farley, Cardinal, ring of, 278\n\n    Faustina the elder, head of, in entire sapphire ring, 99\n\n    _Fede_, Italian designation of betrothal ring, 209\n\n    _Fei-tsui_ jade, 107\n\n    Fenton, Edward, on the turquoise, 220\n\n    Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, 81\n\n    Figdor, Albert, x, 89, 167\n\n    Figdor (Dr. Albert) collection, 45, 89, 167, 210, 253\n\n    Filipino rings, 83, 352\n\n    Filippo Maria, Duke of Milan, 259\n\n    Finger on which betrothal or wedding ring is placed, 194\u2013197, 203,\n        215, 222\n\n    Fish symbol (Christian), 255\n\n    \u201cFisherman\u2019s Ring,\u201d 262\u2013265\n\n    Fitzherbert, Mrs., ring of, with portrait of George IV, 224\n\n    Flambard, Bishop, ring of, 275\n\n    Fletcher, John, allusion of, to rush-rings, 206\n\n    Fortnum, Drury, 153, 154, 156\n\n    Fossil coral, 334\n\n    Francis I, verses written with diamond ring by, 168\n\n    Francis II of France, 150\n\n    Franklin rings, 77\n\n    Franks Bequest collection, 40, 104, 150\n\n    Frederick I of Prussia, talismanic ring of, 171, 172\n\n    Frederick the Great, 171\n\n    Frederick William I of Prussia, 172\n\n    Frederick William III of Prussia, 172\n\n    French Revolution, rings of, 76\n\n    French rings, 45, 47, 75\u201377, 85, 87, 89, 90, 92, 93, 139, 140, 145,\n        147, 149\u2013151, 164, 168, 170, 173, 179, 201, 211, 212, 215, 273,\n        348\n\n    French soldiers, rings made by, 92, 93\n\n    \u201cFriday Ring\u201d of Charles V of France, 164, 165\n\n    Friedl\u00e4nder, R, & Sohn, ix\n\n    Fr\u00f6len G\u00f6sta, Washington ring owned by, 192\n\n    Fuller, Thomas, 227\n\n\n            G\n\n    Galba, signet of, 131\n\n    Galen, soporific ring in supposed treatise of, 337\n\n    Galleria Carrara, Bergamo, 61\n\n    Gallo-Roman rings, 59, 202\n\n    Gardiner, Bishop, of \u201ccramp rings,\u201d 343\n\n    Garnet, 21, 86, 109, 110, 111, 125, 178, 227, 335\n      curious test of genuineness of, 340\n\n    Gauge, Allen\u2019s Standard, 356\n\n    Gauge, Engelmann\u2019s ring, finger and millimeter, 359\n\n    Gaveston, Piers, carries off bishops\u2019 rings, 276\n\n    Genesis, signet mentioned in, 115\n\n    Genlis, Mme. de, \u201cSapphire Merveilleux\u201d by, 326\n\n    Geoffroy Rufus, Bishop, ring of, 275\n\n    George I, wedding rings frequently worn on thumb in reign of, 194\n\n    George III, 43, 151\n\n    George IV, ring of, with portrait of Mrs. Fitzherbert, 224\n\n    Germanic Museum, Nuremberg, 210\n\n    German rings, 17, 45, 58, 75, 85, 88, 158, 163, 167, 171, 172, 200,\n        208\u2013210, 216, 221, 227\u2013229, 235, 273, 274, 305\n\n    Germans, ancient, rings of, 17\n\n    \u201cGesta Romanorum,\u201d story of ring in, 300, 306, 307, 345, 346\n\n    Ghirlandajo\u2019s portrayal of the betrothal of the Virgin, 203\n\n    Giardinetti rings, 74\n\n    Gilgamesh Epic, porphyry ring mentioned in, 96\n\n    Gimmal ring, 218\u2013220\n\n    Glasgow, explanation of arms of city of, 216\n\n    Glass rings, 109, 144\n\n    Glenn, L. C., viii\n\n    Goclenius, 353\n\n    Gold-plated rings, 109\n\n    Gold quartz, 335\n\n    Gorius, 33\n\n    Gothic rings, 163\n\n    Gottheil, Richard, vii\n\n    Gratacap, L. P., viii\n\n    Greek Church, usage as to wedding rings in, 203, 204\n\n    Greek-letter fraternities, rings of, 334\n\n    Greek rings, 7\u201310, 51, 69, 110, 111, 112, 122, 124, 126, 198, 251,\n        256\n\n    Greenfield, Archbishop, ring of, 272\n\n    Greer, Right Rev. David H., viii, seal of, 279, 280\n\n    Gregory, St., formula as to bishops\u2019 rings in Sacramental of, 267,\n        268\n\n    Gregory XIII, Pope, 281\n\n    Gregory XVI, 35\n\n    Gregory, Nyassa, St., 256\n\n    Gresham, Sir Thomas, wedding ring of, 219\n\n    Grien, Hans Baldung, 62\n\n    Grimm, Jacob, in betrothal rings in Germany, 207\n\n    Grossherzoglich-Hessisches Museum, Darmstadt, 73\n\n    Guild of ring-makers in ancient Rome, 16\n\n    Gyges, magic ring of, 289\u2013291, 307, 314\n\n\n            H\n\n    Hadrian, value of rings in time of, 98\n      signet of, 134\n\n    Hadrian IV, sends emerald ring to Henry II, when granting\n        sovereignty of England over Ireland, 176\n\n    Hafiz of Shiraz, 289\n\n    Hamilton, Lord John, sapphire ring sent to, by Mary, Queen of\n        Scots, 184\n\n    Hammer-Purgstall, Joseph von, 142\n\n    Hamper, William, thumb-ring owned by, 339\n\n    Han Dynasty, jade rings of, 105\n\n    Hannibal, rings taken by, at battle of Cann\u00e6, 11, 12\n\n    Hapgood, Mrs. Isabel, viii\n\n    Harnham Hill, ring found at, 195\n\n    Harrower, Miss Katherine, signet owned by, 160\n\n    H\u00e2tshepset, Queen, signet of, 117\n\n    Hatton, Lord Chancellor, sends healing ring to Queen Elizabeth, 350\n\n    Hatzfeldt, Princess, portrait of, 61\n\n    Healing rings, 336\u2013354\n\n    Hebrew rings, 85, 115, 134, 213, 214, 252, 253, 338, 366\n\n    Helen of Troy, magic ring of, 92, 292\n\n    Heliodorus, describes a ring in his \u201c\u00c6thiopica,\u201d 111\n\n    Henri II, medal of, with figure of diamond ring, 170\n\n    Henry II receives emerald ring from Pope Hadrian IV with grant of\n        sovereignty over Ireland, 176\n\n    Henry III, of England, rings among Crown Jewels of, 55\n      pawns jewels of Edward the Confessor\u2019s shrine, 175\n\n    Henry IV of England, decree of against spurious rings, 114\n\n    Henry V of England, 166\n\n    Henry VI, of England, serjeants\u2019 rings in time of, 49\n\n    Henry VII of England, gives rings as tournament prizes, 181\n\n    Henry VIII, 182, 189\n      portrait of, 59\n\n    Henrietta Maria, Queen, signet of, 153\u2013156\n\n    Heraclius, Emperor, 141\n\n    \u201cHermit\u2019s stone\u201d in ring, 305\n\n    Herrick, Robert, 218\n\n    Herv\u00e9e, Bishop, ring of, 273\n\n    Hilary, Bishop, ring of, 272\n\n    Hindu rings, 63, 77\u201380, 85, 101\u2013103, 223, 321\n\n    Hirth, Friedrich, viii\n\n    \u201cHnited\u201d (The Welded), mystic ring given King Olaf by Ulf the Red,\n        323\n\n    Hodge, F. W., viii\n\n    Hogarth, William, 94\n\n    Hohenzollern Museum, Berlin, 224\n\n    Holbein, Hans, 59\n\n    Holmes, W. H., viii\n\n    Hololith rings, 97, 99 sqq.\n\n    Homeric epics, rings not mentioned in, 8\n\n    Hope, Henry Philip, 325\n\n    Horace, 44, 53\n      on Thynnian rings, 71\n\n    Horseshoe-nail rings, 110\n\n    Hough, Walter, viii, 24\n\n    Humerous mottoes on rings, 221, 222\n\n    Hungarian rings, 166, 318\n\n    Hunila, Gothic ring of, 163\n\n    Hunyady, John, ring story concerning, 166\n\n    Huntington, Archer M., 278\n\n    Hyalite, 227\n\n\n            I\n\n    Iconographic rings, 74\n\n    Imperial Kunstgewerbe Museum, Vienna, 87\n\n    Indians, American, rings of, 17\u201330\n\n    Innocent III sends four rings to Richard C\u0153ur de Lion, 178\n      definition of bishops\u2019 rings by, 273\n\n    Iolite, 227\n\n    Irene, Empress, wife of Alexis Comnenus, 144\n\n    Irish rings, 85, 226\n      one set with diamonds found near Mallingor, Co. Westmeath, 191\n\n    Iron rings, 10, 11, 17, 84, 228, 328\n\n    Isaiah on rings of Hebrew women, 65\n\n    Isidore of Seville, 52, 70, 195, 267\n\n    Isis and Serapis, ring figuring, 57, 70\n\n    Isis, rings dedicated to statue of, in Spain, 252\n\n    Italian rings, 74, 79, 85, 109, 147, 214, 262\u2013265\n\n    Ivory rings, 84, 104, 113, 120, 136\n\n\n            J\n\n    Jacinth, (zircon), 21, 78, 86, 124, 340\n      healing power of, set in a ring, 340\n\n    Jade, 158\n      ring box of in Bishop Collection, 55\n      entire rings of, 105\u2013108, 319\n\n    Jadeite, 158\n\n    Jackson, A. V. Williams, viii, 160\n\n    James, Epistle of, wearer of gold ring in, 14\n\n    James I, sapphire ring announcing Elizabeth\u2019s death brought to,\n        188, 189\n\n    James IV of Scotland, turquoise ring of, 181, 182\n\n    Japanese rings, 82, 85\n\n    Jasper, 33, 87, 257\n      entire ring of, 99\n\n    Jastrow, Morris, Jr., viii\n\n    Jean Sans-Peur, Duke of Burgundy, ring of, 149\n\n    Jeanne d\u2019Arc, rings of, 347, 348\n\n    Jeffreys, Judge, ring of, 190, 191\n\n    Jehangir Shah, entire emerald ring of, 101\n      entire ruby ring of, 102\n\n    Jemshid, magic ring of, 116\n\n    Jeremiah, on the signet ring, 135\n\n    Jeroboam II, King of Israel, signet ring from time of, 366\n\n    Jet, entire ring of, 108\n\n    John, King, jewels of, 55\n\n    John II of France, ruby ring of, lost at Poitiers, 164, 165\n\n    John V, Paleologus, Emperor, 146\n\n    John XXII, Pope, stones used in ecclesiastical rings in time of,\n        276\n\n    John Constans, Elector of Saxony, portrait of, 61\n\n    John of Salisbury, 176, 177\n\n    Johnson, Dr. Samuel, wedding ring of, 223\n\n    Jones, William H., viii\n\n    Jonson, Ben, \u201cring posy\u201d of, 238\n\n    Jordan, Agnes, abbess of Bridgetine Convent, ring on sepulchral\n        image of, 280\n\n    Joseph\u2019s ring, 1\n\n    Josephus, 132\n      story of magic ring, 294, 295\n\n    Jupiter, ring of priests of, 250\n\n    Justinian, Emperor, decree of, regarding rings, 15\n\n    Juvenal, 57, 96, 97\n\n    Juxon, Bishop, and rings of Charles I, 156\n\n\n            K\n\n    Kalidasa, 321\n\n    Karavongu, Prabha, ix\n\n    Keith, Minor C., viii\n\n    Kentigern, St., promises finding of a wedding ring, 216\n\n    Key-shaped rings, 71\n\n    Khufu (cheops), ring of priest of his pyramid, 118\n\n    King, C. W., 111, 147, 157, 171\n\n    Kircher, Athomasius, 213\n\n    Knights of Columbus, rings of, 332\n\n    Knights of Pythias, rings of, 334\n\n    Knot, the, as origin of the ring, 2\n\n    Koch, Court Jeweller, ring collection of, 209\n\n    Konstantinidis Collection at Nicosia, 6\n\n    Kunzite, 334\n\n    _Kusa_-grass (Saccharum spontaneum) rings of, among the Hindus, 77\n\n\n            L\n\n    Labouch\u00e8re, M., 157\n\n    Labradorite, 34, 86\n\n    Lafayette, ring given to, by Washington, 192\n\n    Lalique, Ren\u00e9, 87\n\n    Lambeccius, 315\n\n    Lapidario of Alfonso X, 304, 305, 328\n\n    Lapis-lazuli, 50, 63, 96, 117, 158, 171\n\n    Lapplanders, magic rings of the, 324\n\n    \u201cLatitude and Longitude Ring,\u201d 233\n\n    Laufer, Berthold, viii\n\n    Layard, Sir Austen Henry, 3\n\n    Leaden rings, 112, 328\n\n    Leaming, Vice-Chancellor E. B., 192\n\n    Legal use of a ring, 36\n\n    Legend, Scotch, of loss of a wedding ring, 215, 216\n\n    Lentulus, signet of, 127\n\n    Leo X, Pope, 264, 269\n\n    Leopold I, 315\n\n    Lessing G. E., tale of rings in his \u201cNathan der Weise,\u201d 346, 347\n\n    Levesque, M., 147\n\n    Leyden Papyrus, formulas for magic rings in, 297, 298\n\n    Lichtenau, Countess, anecdote of ring taken by, 172\n\n    Lincoln, Waldo, ix, 47\n\n    Lindenschmidt, Ludwig, 58\n\n    Locomotive Engineers, Brotherhood of, ring of, 332\n\n    Londesborough collection, 34, 169, 213, 218, 220, 311\n\n    London Arch\u00e6ological Institute, 166\n\n    \u201cLorscher Ring,\u201d 73\n\n    Lothaire\u2019s signet, 140\n\n    Lotto, Lorenzo, 61\n\n    Louis I, signet of, 140\n\n    Louis VII, donates ring to shrine of Thomas \u00e0 Becket, 183\n\n    Louis IX, supposed signet ring of, 145\n\n    Louis XI, 167\n\n    Louis XII, signet of, 147, 148\n\n    Louis of Luxembourg, Constable, rings given by, 167\n\n    Louisa, Queen of Prussia, betrothal ring of, 224\n\n    Louvre Museum, 249\n\n    Lovat, Lord, memorial ring of, 44\n\n    Lucas, Dr. F. A., viii\n\n    Lucian, tale of a magic ring told by, 122\n\n    Lucretius, of Samothracius rings, 70\n\n    Lucullus, signet of, 130\n\n    Luminous ring, 317\n\n    Luther, ring commemorating wedding of, 216, 217\n\n    Lyly, Sir Peter, 62\n\n\n            M\n\n    \u201cMabinogian,\u201d magic ring in, 307, 308\n\n    McCurdy, George Grant, ix\n\n    Machu Picchu, Inca city of refuge, 83\n\n    Macrobius, on ring-finger, 52, 194\n\n    M\u00e6cenas, signet of, 130\n\n    Magic rings, _see_ talismanic\n\n    Magnetic iron, 328\n\n    \u201cMahabharata,\u201d rings mentioned in the, 77\n\n    M\u00e2har\u00e2n\u00ee of Sikkim, portrait of, 63 (Frontispiece)\n\n    Malory, Sir Thomas, 309\n\n    Mandeville, Sir John, 315\n\n    Manx customs as to rings, 205\n\n    Marat, effigy of on ring, 76\n\n    Maratta, Carlo, portrait by, 278\n\n    Marcellus Empiricus, on cure of hiccoughs by the placing of a ring, 336\n\n    Marcina, St., the Younger, ring of, 256\n\n    Marcus Aurelius, head of, in signet, 140\n\n    Margaret of Anjou, 180, 181\n\n    Marguerite de Valois, verses written with diamond ring by, 168\n\n    Maria of Austria, portrait of, 59\n\n    Marius, wore iron ring at triumph, 10\n\n    Mark, St., legend of ring of, 312, 314\n\n    Marlborough Collection of Gems, 99\n\n    Marston John, rings mentioned in play by, 46\n\n    Martial, epigrams of, on rings, 34, 53, 54\n\n    Mary of Burgundy, ring of, 167\n\n    Mary I of England, 183\n\n    Mary, Princess, afterwards Queen, portrait of, 60\n\n    Mary, Queen of Scots, 155\n      ring memorials of, 45, 184\u2013186\n      portrait of, 60\n      signet ring of, 149\u2013151, 153\n      ring given her by Elizabeth, 183, 184\n      wedding ring of, 217, 218\n\n    Masonic rings, 331, 332\n\n    Materials of rings, 95\u2013114\n\n    Mathias, Emperor of Germany, ring of, 168\n\n    Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror, ring found in tomb of, 179\n\n    Maurus, Rabonus, Archbishop of Mainz, 268\n\n    Maximilian I, Emperor, betrothal ring of, 234, 235\n\n    Maximinus, Emperor, thumb ring of, 58, 162\n\n    Mazza, B., viii\n\n    _Mazzel tob_, inscription on Hebrew betrothal rings, meaning of,\n        213\n\n    Medici, Cosimo d\u00e9, _impresa_, with diamond rings, 170\n\n    Megenberg, Konrad son, 311\n\n    Memorial rings, 40\u201348\n\n    Mend\u00e6ans of Mesopotamia as silversmiths, 31, 32\n\n    Mendoza, Spanish ambassador, ring sent to, by Mary, Queen of Scots,\n        185\n\n    Mercato, Michele, 258\n\n    \u201cMerchant of the Ruby,\u201d 180\n\n    Merchant\u2019s ring of glass, mentioned in \u201cPiers Plowman,\u201d 144\n\n    Mercier, Louis Sebastien, 76\n\n    Mercury as bestower of magic rings, 295, 296\n\n    Mero\u00eb, ring of a queen of, 67\n\n    Meronitz, Bohemia, garnets from, 110\n\n    Merovingian rings, 58, 72, 73, 137, 138, 257\n\n    Meteorites, rings set with peridots from, 330\n\n    Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 51, 80, 105, 119, 188\n\n    \u201cMichelangelo\u2019s Signet,\u201d 147\n\n    Mills, William C., ix\n\n    Min Yonk Ik, Corean prince, jade rings of, 107\n\n    Minoan rings, 116, 118\n\n    Minos of Crete, ring of, 291, 292\n\n    Mint-marks from signets, 129\n\n    Mirror rings, Hindu, 79\n\n    Mithridates the Great, 54\n\n    Mocha-stone, 87\n\n    Mohammed\u2019s seal, 141\n\n    Moonstone, 335\n\n    Moore, Isabel, ix\n\n    Moorehead, Warren K., ix, 21, 22\n\n    Moose, Loyal Order of, rings of, 332\n\n    Morgan, Henri de, 2, 68\n\n    Morgan, J. de, 68\n\n    Morgan, Octavius, 75\n\n    Morse, Edward S., ix\n\n    \u201cMorte d\u2019Arthur,\u201d story of magic ring in, 309, 310\n\n    Moss-agate, 335\n\n    Mostiola, St., has betrothal ring of the Virgin, 259\n\n    Mother-of pearl, 81\n\n    Mottoes, 209\u2013213, 221, 222, 233, 234, 237\u2013248\n      formed by initials of stones set in rings, 50, 226\n\n    M\u00fcller, Peter, on legal significance of giving a ring, 204\n\n    Murray, George Gilbert Aim\u00e9, 4\n\n    Musa, Antonius, granted right to wear gold rings, by Augustus, 336\n\n    Museo Nacional, Mexico City, Aztec finger-ring in, 20\n\n    Mycen\u00e6an rings, 6, 68, 99, 109, 118\n\n\n            N\n\n    Nadir Shah, entire emerald rings of, 101, 102\n\n    Nails, horseshoe, rings of, 110, 326\n\n    Names of rings in ancient and modern India, 78, 79\n      in various modern languages, 364\u2013365\n\n    \u201c_Naoratna_\u201d (_navaratna_) ring, 78, 321\n\n    Napoleon memorial rings, 47, 48\n\n    Napoleonic rings, 173\n\n    Narwhal tusk, rings of, 341\n\n    Natal rings, 90, 91, 328, 329\n\n    \u201cNathan der Weise,\u201d tale of rings in, 346, 347\n\n    National Geographic Society, 83\n\n    National Hungarian Museum, 16, 318\n\n    National Museum at St. Germain-en-Laye, 121\n\n    National Museum, Washington, D. C., 85\n\n    Navajo Indians, rings of, 22\u201330\n\n    Nelson, Admiral Horatio, memorial rings of, 44\n\n    Nero, signet of, 130\n\n    New Gallery, London, 225\n\n    New York Historical Society, 118\n\n    Newall, Edward T., viii\n\n    Nibelungen Ring, 303\n\n    Nider, Johann, legend of miraculous nun\u2019s ring in his Formicarius,\n        286\n\n    Niello, how made and applied, 271\n\n    Nippur, record of emerald ring found at, 4, 5\n\n    Noe, Sydney P., viii\n\n    Norfolk, Duke of, donates ring of James IV of Scotland, 181\n\n    Numa Pompilius, iron rings worn in age of, 10\n      rings on statues of, 52\n\n    Nuns\u2019 rings, 284\u2013286\n\n\n            O\n\n    Ohio State Arch\u00e6ological and Historical Society, 19\n\n    Ominous substitution for a wedding ring in a Scotch legend, 226\n\n    \u201cOneirocritica\u201d of Artemidorus, 37\n\n    Onyx, 39, 111, 158, 159, 328\n\n    Opal, 86, 227, 269, 291\n\n    Orders and societies, rings of, 332, 333\n\n    Origin of the ring, 1\u201332\n\n    Ostby & Barton Co., ix\n\n    Othman, loses Mohammed\u2019s seal, 141\n\n    Otto III of Germany, orders disinterment of Charlemagne\u2019s remains,\n        302\n\n    Overbury, Sir Thomas, 189\n\n    Ovid, portrait ring of, 57\n      on a ring gift, 193\n\n    Owen, Sir Richard, 196\n\n\n            P\n\n    \u201cPacifying ring,\u201d 233\n\n    Papal rings, 262\u2013265\n\n    Passion, healing ring with emblems of the, 348, 349\n\n    Pearl, 34, 50, 60, 78, 87, 114, 180, 236, 252, 334, 335\n      figured on portrait of Queen Mary I of England, 60\n\n    Peary, Admiral Robert E., ix\n\n    Pectunculas shells, rings made of, 17\n\n    Pelissier, Georges, ix\n\n    Pembroke, William Herbert, Lord, enjoins in his will that his widow\n        shall enter order of widowhood, 286\n\n    Pepys, Samuel, his bequest of rings to his friends, 41\n\n    Perfume rings, 38\n\n    Peridot (chrysolite), 21, 86, 227, 335\n\n    Persian rings, 2, 80, 103, 116, 122, 123\n\n    Perugia, betrothal ring of the Virgin at, 100, 222, 258\u2013261\n\n    Peruvian rings, 83\n\n    Pesaro, Antonio, 61\n\n    Peters, Rev. Dr. John P., viii, 160\n\n    Peters, Miss Joan St. Michael, signet owned by, 160\n\n    Petrarch, on ruby ring of John II of France, 164\n\n    Petrie, William Flinders, ix\n\n    Phenacite, 86\n\n    Philip II of Spain, ring sent to by Mary, Queen of Scots, 185, 186\n      at consecration of \u201ccramp rings,\u201d 245\n\n    Philostratus, Flavius, 296\n\n    Phocus, ring of, 9\n\n    Ph\u0153nician rings, 68, 121\n\n    Physicians\u2019 rings, 345\n\n    Piccolomini Collection, 71\n\n    Pierce, President, ring given to, 84\n\n    Pinakothek, Munich, 62\n\n    Pilloy, L., 59\n\n    Pipe-stopper ring, 94\n\n    Pius II, Pope, ring of, 262\n\n    Pius VI, 263, 264\n\n    Pius IX, 263, 281\n\n    Planetary rings, 296, 327, 328, 351\n\n    Plasma, 274\n\n    Platinum rings, 229, 230\n\n    Plato, blames Aristotle for wearing rings, 32\n      on ring of Gyges, 290, 291\n\n    Plautus, ring mentioned by, in his \u201cMiles Gloriosus,\u201d 193, 194\n      of sealing up household goods, 133\n\n    Pliny, 1, 8, 10, 53, 104, 121, 195, 199, 336\n\n    Plotina, wife of Trojan, supposed ring of, 71\n\n    Plutarch, 8, 123\n\n    Pococke, Bishop, 191\n\n    Poison ring, in ancient Rome, 36\n      of Hannibal, 36\n      of Demosthenes, 36\n      Rubbinical, 36\n      of the Borgias, 37\n      Egmont\u2019s, 38\n\n    Polish rings, 65\n\n    Polycrates, ring of, 120\u2013122\n\n    Polygnotus, rings in pictures by, 9\n\n    Pompey, 54\n      signet of, 127, 130\n\n    Pomphonica, Roman lady, ring of, 33\n\n    Pope, Alexander, 112\n\n    Porphyry, 96\n\n    Portrait rings, 76\n\n    Portraits illustrating ring-wearing, 60\u201364, 148, 152, 188, 278\n\n    Portuguese rings, 172, 173, 328, 329\n\n    \u201cPosies\u201d for rings, selection of, 237\u2013247\n\n    Prado Gallery, Madrid, 60\n\n    Prehnite, 335\n\n    Prince, John Dyneley, viii, 365\n\n    Prometheus, legend as to ring of, 1, 2\n\n    Propertius, of a ring burned in a funeral pyre, 134\n\n    Protonotaries\u2019 rings, 281\n\n    Proverbs, French, regarding rings, 76\n\n    Pueblo Bonito, Nev., rings found at, 108\n\n    Pueblo ruins of Arizona and New Mexico, rings from, 17\n\n    Purposes, special, of ring wearing, 32\u201350\n\n    Puzzle rings, 219\n\n    Pyrite, 335\n\n    Pythias, Knights of, rings of, 334\n\n\n            Q\n\n    Quicksilver rings, 328, 351\n\n\n            R\n\n    Rabbies\u2019 rings, 252, 253\n\n    Rafael\u2019s \u201cSposalizio\u201d in Brera Gallery, Milan, 203\n\n    Raleigh, Sir Walter, lines written with diamond ring by, 169\n\n    \u201cRamayana,\u201d rings mentioned in the, 77\n\n    Rameses II, ring of, 249\n\n    Rameses III, rings in time of, 97\n\n    Rathbun, R., ix\n\n    Read, Sir Charles Hercules, ix, 58, 99\n\n    Reale Galleria d\u2019Arte Antica, Rome, 60\n\n    \u201cRegal of France,\u201d large diamond in ornament given by Louis VII to\n        shrine of St. Thomas \u00e0 Becket, 183\n\n    \u201cRegard Rings,\u201d 227\n\n    Reinach, Salomon, 121\n\n    Religious use of rings, 249\u2013287\n\n    \u201cRepeal Ring,\u201d 50\n\n    \u201cReynard the Fox,\u201d magic ring described in, 303, 304\n\n    Rhinoceros horn, healing rings of, 338, 352\n      hoof rings of, 337\n\n    Richard, C\u0153ur de Lion receives four gold rings from Pope Innocent\n        III, 178\n\n    Richard II, memorial rings of, 41\n      grants coronation Ring to Westminster Abbey, 174\n      directs that a ring be put on his finger after death, 179\n\n    Rienzi, Cola di, wedding ring of, 214\n\n    Riker, William, ix\n\n    Ring-making, 354\u2013364\n\n    Ring-money, 35\n\n    Roberts, Oliver A., ix\n\n    Robespierre rings, 77\n\n    Rock-crystal, 125, 149, 158, 328, 335\n      entire rings of, 100\n\n    Rogers, Austin T., ix\n\n    Roman rings, 10, 33, 52\u201358, 71\u201373, 85, 97\u201399, 100, 104, 113, 126,\n        128, 130\u2013132, 134, 198, 250, 255, 258\u2013261, 293, 337\n      rules as to wearing those of iron or gold, 10\u201316\n\n    Roosevelt, Miss Alice (Mrs. Longworth) anecdote regarding ring\n        given to, by Sultan of Sulu, 236, 237\n\n    Roscius, Roman actor, right of wearing a ring accorded to, 13\n\n    Rossi, Abbot Adamo, 258\n\n    Rothschild, Baron Ferdinand, 88\n\n    Roty, Oscar, marriage medals of, 232, 233\n\n    Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, 147, 156\n\n    Rubens\u2019 \u201cBetrothal of Marie de\u2019Medici,\u201d 224\n\n    Ruby, 50, 78, 89, 90, 101, 106, 144, 147, 164, 165, 174, 178, 180,\n        181, 183, 227, 269, 270, 274, 275, 283, 334, 340\n      entire ring of, 102\n\n    Runic inscription on healing ring, 339\n\n    Rush-rings, for mock marriages, 206, 207\n\n    Russian Church, usage as to wedding rings in, 203, 204\n\n    Russian rings, 85, 100, 204\n\n\n            S\n\n    Saadi, ring story in Gulistan of, 163, 164\n\n    Sackvil, Thomas, Duke of Dorset, ring given to by James I, 350\n\n    Sagan Kerens of S. E. Asia, superstitious use of rings with, 308\n\n    \u201cSt. Martin\u2019s Ring,\u201d 113, 114\n\n    \u201cSakuntala\u201d of Kalidasa, magic ring in, 321, 322\n\n    Salisbury, Richard, Bishop of, on rush-rings, 206\n\n    Samothracian rings, 70, 85\n\n    Santo Anello, Capella del, 261\n\n    \u201cSaphire Merveilleux,\u201d 325, 326\n\n    Sapphire, 36, 74, 78, 89, 143, 158, 161, 176, 178, 179, 184, 188,\n        189, 227, 269, 270, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 325, 331,\n        335, 339\n\n    Sard, 158, 159, 337\n\n    Sardonyx, 96, 121, 125, 159\n\n    Sarum Rite, order of matrimony in the, 196, 197\n\n    Sassanian rings, 85, 161\n\n    Saxon\u2019s Lode, thumb ring found at, 64\n\n    _Scal\u00e6 anulari\u00e6_ in Rome, where ring-dealers sold their wares, 16\n\n    Scandinavian rings, 323, 324, 339\n\n    Scaraboid rings, 51\n\n    Scaurus, Emilius, _dactyliotheca_ of, 54\n\n    Scheibel, Lieut., ring found by, 300\n\n    Schley, Mrs. Annie R., viii\n\n    Schneider, Hofrat, 172\n\n    Scipio Africanus, signet of, 129\n\n    Seffrid, Bishop, ring of, 272\n\n    Seleucus I, Nicator, signet of, 124\n      magic ring of, 293\n\n    Senlis, Pierre Bishop of, formula for dedicating nun\u2019s rings in his\n        pontifical, 285\n\n    Serapis and Isis, ring figuring, 57, 70\n      head of Serapis on signet, 140\n\n    Serjeants\u2019 rings, 48, 50\n\n    Serpent rings, 72, 78, 91, 92\n\n    Servius Tullius, rings in statues of, 52\n\n    Sewall, Archbishop, ring of, 272\n\n    Shakespeare, 40, 46, 152, 166, 207, 220, 221, 247, 310, 317\n      bequest of rings to his friends, 41\n      signet of, 151\n\n    Shashank I (Shishak), ring of, 117\n\n    Shaw, Sir Edmund, mourning rings bequeathed by, 349\n\n    Shell rings, 17, 18, 21\n\n    Shemai, signet ring of, 366\n\n    \u201cShield of David\u201d on healing rings, 339\n\n    Shook, Sheridan, amethyst ring worn by, 85\n\n    Shujah, Shah, entire emerald ring given by, to British East India\n        Company, 101\n      to Runjit Singh, 102\n\n    Shylock\u2019s turquoise, 220\n\n    Siamese rings, 81\n\n    Sigfroi, Archbishop, ring of, 274\n\n    Sight, restoration of, by rings, 337\n\n    Sigismond Augustus of Poland, decree of, as to Hebrew rings, 65\n\n    Signet ring or rings\n      of Queen Aah-hotep, 117\n      of Ahasuerus, 115\n      of Alexander the Great, 123\n      of Amenhotep IV, 67\n      of Antiochus Epiphanes, 125\n      of the Arabs, 142\n      of Augustus, 130, 131\n      of Aurelian, 133\n      of St. Bernard de Clairvaux, 144\n      at baptisms, 136\n      bequests of, 149\n      betrothal rings used as, 133\n      of bishops, 137\n      owned by Lord Byron, 152\n      of Julius C\u00e6sar, 130\n      of Charles I of England, 156\n      of Charles V of France, 146\n      of Childeric I, 138\u2013140\n      of Childeric II\u2019s wife, 138\n      coats of arms on, 149\n      of Commodus, 131\n      of Alexis and John Comnenus, 144\n      of Constantius II, 161\n      of Dagobert I\u2019s wife, 138\n      of Darius, 123\n      dreams of, 132\n      of early French Kings, 37, 138\n      of Galba, 131\n      of Hadrian, 134\n      of Queen Hatshepset, 117\n      diamond, of Queen Henrietta Maria, 153\u2013156\n      ivory, for sealing amphor\u00e6, 120\u2013122\n      of priest of Khufu\u2019s pyramid, 118\n      of Lentulus, 127\n      of Lothaire, 140\n      of Louis le Debonnaire, 140\n      of Louis IX, 145\n      of Louis XII, 147, 148\n      of Lucullus, 130\n      of M\u00e6cenas, 130\n      of Mary Queen of Scots, 149\u2013151\n      merchants\u2019, 144\n      \u201cMichelangelo\u2019s Signet,\u201d 147\n      of Mohammed, 141\n      mottoes on, in Arabic, 142\n      of Nero, 130\n      in platinum or gold, 158\n      of Polycrates, 120\n      of Pompey, 127\n      of Scipio Africanus, 129\n      of Seleucus, 124\n      of Shakespeare, 151\n      of Shemai, 366\n      superstitious use of, 122, 123\n      of Sylla, 130\n      of Thothmes III, 117\n      of Tiberius, 134\n      one stolen by Verres, 126, 127\n      of Wilhelm I of Germany, 158\n      of President Wilson, 161\n      of Xerxes, 122\n      of Zerubbabbel, 135\n\n    Skiff, F. J. V., ix\n\n    Sloane, Sir Hans, rings in collection of, 87\n\n    Smith, Sir Thomas, 350\n\n    Society of Antiquaries, London, 75\n\n    Solomon\u2019s ring, 288, 289\n\n    Somers, Lt. Robert, ring given to, by Washington, 192\n\n    South Kensington Museum, 190, 315\n\n    Spanish rings, 85\n\n    Spartans, iron rings of, 10\n\n    Spencer, Leonard, ix\n\n    Spessartite, 335\n\n    Sphere, 86\n\n    Sphere ring, 88\n\n    Spinel, 86\n\n    Spodumene, 86\n\n    Squirt ring, 148\n\n    Sta\u00ebl von Holstein, Baron Erik Magnus, 192\n\n    Stanbery, John, Bishop, ring of, 275\n\n    Starr, Friedrich, ix\n\n    State gems for ring setting, 334, 335\n\n    Steevens, George, on Shylock\u2019s turquoise, 220\n\n    Stephen Radislav, King of Servia, nuptial ring of, 198\n\n    Sterling, John, \u201cOnyx Ring\u201d by, 324, 325\n\n    Stewart, Rev. Father William J., viii\n\n    Stone, George C., viii\n\n    \u201cStone of Invisibility,\u201d 307\n\n    Stone rings, 2, 21\n\n    \u201cStone of Remembrance,\u201d 307\n\n    Stoudt, Rev. John Baer, ix\n\n    Stratonice, wife of Seleucus I, rings dedicated by, 251\n\n    Strickland, Agnes, 184\n\n    Suetonius, 134\n\n    Suffolk, Countess of, takes vow of widowhood, 287\n\n    Suidas, 312\n\n    Sulu, Sultan of, pearl ring given by, 236, 237\n\n    Sunstone, 335\n\n    Superstitious use of seal-rings, 122, 123\n\n    Surprise rings, 94\n\n    Surrya, Prince, 81\n\n    Swivel rings, 94\n\n    Sylla, signet of, 130\n\n    Symeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica, his description of Byzantine\n        marriage ceremony about 1400 A. D., 202\n\n    Symbols, Christian, 253\u2013255\n\n    Syrian rings, 124, 125, 160\n\n\n            T\n\n    Tacitus on Germanic iron rings, 17\n\n    Taft, ex-President William H., ix, 161, 236\n\n    Talismanic and magic rings\n      Albertus Magnus on, 311\n      Apollonius of Tyana\u2019s, 296, 325\n      Boniface VIII\u2019s, 306\n      Charlemagne\u2019s, 300\u2013302\n      Christian, in British Museum, 257\n      Clemens Alexandrinus on, 296\n      as charm against the Evil Eye, 236, 293\n      fortune-telling by means of, 299\n      of Frederick I of Prussia, 171, 172\n      of Gesta Romanorum, 300, 306, 345\n      of Gyges, 289\u2013291\n      of Helen of Troy, 92, 292\n      \u201cHnited\u201d (\u201cThe Welded\u201d) given to King Olaf, 323\n      in the \u201cMabinogian,\u201d 307\n      Sir John Mandeville on, 315\n      St. Mark\u2019s, 312\u2013314\n      of Minos of Crete, 291, 292\n      in \u201cMorte d\u2019Arthur,\u201d 309, 310\n      _naoratna_ ring of Hindus, 78, 321\n      in Reynard the Fox, 303\n      \u201cSaphir Merveilleux,\u201d 325\n      Scandinavian, 323, 339\n      of Seluecus I, Nicator, 293\n      in Sir Eglamore, 310\n      \u201cRing of Solomon,\u201d 288, 289\n      in Sterling\u2019s \u201cOnyx Ring,\u201d 324\n      superstitious use of, by Sagan Karens, 308\n      Tewfik Pasha\u2019s experience with one, 322, 323\n      in \u201cBook of Thetel,\u201d 311\n      one made by Abbot Tritheim, 314\n      in Wolfdietrich, 305, 306\n      in Yuain and Gawin, 310\n\n    Tanagra, ring from, 112\n\n    Tassi, Agosto, engraver of \u201cMichelangelo\u2019s Signet,\u201d 147\n\n    Tavernier, Jean Baptiste, 143, 154, 155\n\n    Tedyngton, Richard, keeper of jewels of Edward the Confessor\u2019s\n        shrine, 175\n\n    Tertullian on betrothal ring, 199\n\n    Tewfik Pasha, experience of, with a magic ring, 322, 323\n\n    Theodorus of Samos, engraver of ring of Polycrates, 120\n\n    Thomas, Dr. John, Dean of Westminster, 179\n\n    Thompson, C. J. S., ix\n\n    Thothmes III, ring of, 117\n\n    Thumb rings, 58, 87, 105\u2013108, 194, 222\n\n    Thynnian rings, 70\n\n    Tiberius, seal ring of, removed when he became unconscious, 134\n\n    Tibetan, 81\n\n    Tin rings, 328\n\n    Toad swallowing a serpent, ring designed in form of a, 311\n\n    Toadstone, warns of poison when worn in a ring, 341\n\n    Toe rings, 78, 80\n\n    Topaz, 78, 86, 125, 158, 178, 276, 335\n\n    Tourmaline, 86\n      green (\u201cBrazilian emerald\u201d), used for bishops\u2019 rings in Brazil,\n          277\n\n    Tournament, rings as prizes at a, 181\n\n    \u201cTower Rings,\u201d 169\n\n    Trallianus, Alexander, recommends ring as cure for biliousness, 338\n\n    _Trauring_, German designation of betrothal ring, 209\n\n    Tree, Sir Herbert, x\n\n    Trees sealed with rings, 128\n\n    Tricolored magic ring, 304\n\n    \u201cTrinity Ring,\u201d 75\n\n    Tritheim, Abbot of Spandau, magic ring made by, 314\n\n    True-lovers\u2019 knot, 2\n\n    Tumulty, J. P., ix\n\n    T\u00fcrk, Viennese court jeweller, collection of rings made by, 66\n\n    \u201cTurkie,\u201d old name of turquoise, 220\n\n    Turquoise, 21, 23, 24, 34, 63, 75, 81, 86, 103, 114, 150, 182, 328,\n        334\n\n    Tyrolean rings, 353\n\n    Tyszkiewicz Collection, 121\n\n\n            U\n\n    Ulysses, ring of, 8\n\n    United States National Museum, 85\n\n    University Galleries, Oxford, 60\n\n    University of Pennsylvania, excavations at Nippur by, 4\n\n\n            V\n\n    Valens, Emperor, 299\n\n    Vandyke, Anthony, 62\n\n    Vergil, Polydore, 342\n\n    Verney, Sir Edmund, ring given to, by Charles I, 190\n\n    Verres, seal ring stolen by, 126\n\n    Victoria, Queen, 156, 225\n\n    Victoria and Albert Museum (South Kensington Museum), 217, 269, 271\n\n    Virgin, betrothal ring of, at Perugia, 100, 222, 258\u2013261\n\n    Visigoths, law of, concerning betrothal rings, 200\n\n    Vyse, Colonel, 118\n\n\n            W\n\n    Wada, T., x\n\n    Waddesdon Bequest, 88\n\n    Wade, Mr. and Mrs. J. Homer, 90\n\n    Wales, Prince of, ring among insignia of, made by Welsh gold, 283,\n        284\n\n    Walwyn, Francis, engraver of Henrietta Maria\u2019s diamond signet, 154\n\n    Warbeck, Perkin, 180\n\n    Ward, William Hayes, ix, 3\n      anecdote of ring bought by, 3, 4\n\n    Washington rings, 77, 191, 192\n\n    Watch rings, 40, 87, 353\n\n    Watelet, M., 147\n\n    Waterton, Edmund, 34, 214\n\n    Waterton Collection, 217, 269\u2013271\n\n    Wearing of rings, methods of, 50\u201366\n\n    Wedding or betrothal rings\n      sent by Clovis I, 201\n      conditional gift of, 205\n      diamond, in Shakespeare\u2019s Cymbeline, 221\n      on which finger placed, 194\u2013197, 203, 215, 222\n      George IV\u2019s with portrait of Mrs. Fitzherbert, 224, 225\n      in ancient Germany, 208\n      in modern Germany, 209\n      gimmal rings as, 218, 219\n      gold, already used by Romans in 2d. century, 199\n      gold, surrendered for iron in Germany, 228\n      in Greek Church, 202\u2013204\n      of Sir Thomas Gresham, 219\n      Hebrew use of, 213, 214\n      of iron, in early Roman times, 199\n      of Dr. Samuel Johnson, 223\n      loss of a, Scotch legend regarding, 216\n      of Queen Louisa of Prussia, 224\n      commemorating Luther\u2019s marriage, 216, 217\n      Manx custom as to, 205\n      of Mary Queen of Scots, 217\n      for men, 230\n      mottoes on, 209, 211, 221, 233\u2013248\n      with names formed by initial letters of precious stones, 227\n      obligation involved in giving a, 204\n      ominous substitute for one, in a Scotch legend, 226\n      of Cola di Rienzi, 214\n      rush-ring as, 206\n      Shylock\u2019s turquoise perhaps in betrothal ring, 220\n      story of a, in \u201cCent Nouvelles Nouvelles,\u201d 215\n      turquoise used for in Germany, 221\n\n    Week-day gems for ring-setting, 331\n\n    Weininger, Leopold, x\n\n    Weir, J. Alden, viii\n\n    Wellington, Duke of, 224\n\n    Welsh gold used for Prince of Wales\u2019 ring, 284\n\n    Widowhood,\u201d \u201cRing of, 286, 287\n      order of, 286, 287\n\n    Wier, J. Alden, on rings in portraits, 64\n\n    Wild-ass, healing rings made from hoof of, 352\n\n    William the Conqueror, tomb of, at Caen destroyed by Huguenots, 179\n\n    William Rufus, ring found in tomb of, 179\n\n    William I of Germany, 172\n      signet of used by William II, 158\n\n    William IV, of England, Coronation Ring of, 283\n\n    William de St. Barbara, ring of, 275\n\n    Wilson, President Woodrow, signet-ring of, vi, 161\n\n    Winslow, Isaac, memorial ring of, 47\n\n    Winslow, Josiah, 47\n\n    Wiseman, Cardinal, manuscript describing Solessing of \u201ccramp\n        rings,\u201d owned by, 344, 345\n\n    Wiser, David, 108\n\n    Wissler, Clark, viii\n\n    \u201cWolfdietrich,\u201d story of magic ring in, 305, 306\n\n    Wolter, Charlotte, ring of, 90\n\n    Woodford, General Sir John, 165\n\n    Woodland, Theodore M., viii\n\n    Writing with diamond ring, 168\u2013170\n\n    Wu Ting Fang, jade rings of, 107, 108\n\n    Wykeham, Bishop, ring of, 275\n\n    Wyman, Walter C., viii\n\n    Wytlesey, Archbishop of Canterbury, ring of, 275\n\n\n            X\n\n    Xerxes, signet of, 122\n\n\n            Y\n\n    \u201cYwaine and Gawin,\u201d romance, magic ring in, 310\n\n\n            Z\n\n    Zerubbabel, ring of, 135\n\n    Zick, Stephan, ivory ring made by, 75\n\n    Zircon (jacinth,) 78, 86, 124, 340\n\n    Zodiacal rings, 85, 328, 329\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] Grandchild.\n\n[2] Great grandchild.\n\n[3] Signet of the author, reading George F. Kunz, New York. Engraved\nupon a dark red sard, in Teheran, Persia, in 1895.\n\n[4] Fossey, \u201cLa magie assyrienne,\u201d Paris, 1902, p. 83.\n\n[5] D\u00e9l\u00e9gation en Perse, M\u00e9moires publi\u00e9s sous la direction de M. J. de\nMorgan, vol. viii, \u201cRecherches arch\u00e9ologiques,\u201d 3d ser., Paris, 1905,\npp. 321, 322; figured on p. 320.\n\n[6] Communicated by the late Dr. William Hayes Ward.\n\n[7] Communicated by the late Dr. William Hayes Ward.\n\n[8] Hilprecht and Clay, \u201cBusiness Documents of Murash\u00fb Sons of Nippur\u201d:\nThe Babylonian expedition of the University of Pennsylvania, Series A:\nCuneiform texts, vol. ix, Philadelphia, 1898, p. 30.\n\n[9] F. H. Marshall, \u201cCatalogue of Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan and\nRoman, in the ... British Museum,\u201d London, 1907, pp. 1, 2, 997 (see pl.\nxx); also the same author\u2019s Catalogue of the Jewellery Greek, Etruscan\nand Roman, in the ... British Museum, London, 1911, p. xvii.\n\n[10] Max Ohnefalsch-Richter, \u201cKypros, the Bible, and Homer,\u201d London,\n1893, vol. i, p. 367, and vol. ii, plate xxxii, fig. 32.\n\n[11] Strena Helbigena, 73; Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. xxi, p.\n155, fig. 33; p. 159, fig. 39; Schliemann Mycen\u00e6 and Tiryns, pp. 354,\n360.\n\n[12] See F. H. Marshall, _op. cit._, p. 3; rings from Enkomi,\nCyprus.\n\n[13] Pauly\u2019s Real Encyclop\u00e4die der Altertumswissenschaft, vol. ix, pt.\ni, col: 827; Stuttgart, 1914; Marshall, Catalogue of the Finger Rings,\nGreek, Etruscan, and Roman, in the British Museum, London, 1907, No.\n574.\n\n[14] Corpus inscriptionum Gr\u00e6carum, 3137, i, 87 sq.\n\n[15] Le Brun-Dalbanne, \u201cLes Pierres grav\u00e9es du tr\u00e9sor de la cath\u00e9drale\nde Troyes,\u201d Paris, 1880, p. 32.\n\n[16] Aristophanes, \u201cKnights,\u201d Act II, sc. 4.\n\n[17] \u00c6liani, \u201cVaria historia,\u201d Lib. I, cap. xxi.\n\n[18] Lib. xxxiii, cap. iv.\n\n[19] _Ibid., loc. cit._\n\n[20] M. Deloche, \u201cLe port des anneaux dans l\u2019antiquit\u00e9 romaine, et dans\nles premiers si\u00e8cles du moyen \u00e2ge\u201d; extrait des M\u00e9moires de l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie\ndes Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, vol. xxxv, Paris, 1896, pp. 4, 5.\n\n[21] Titi Livii, \u201cAb urbe condita,\u201d lib. xxiii, cap. xii.\n\n[22] Sat. iii, lines 153\u2013156.\n\n[23] Titi Livii, \u201cAb urbe condita,\u201d lib. xlii, cap. xvi.\n\n[24] Valerii Maximi, \u201cFactorum et dictorum memorabilium libri IX,\u201d lib.\nviii, cap. i.\n\n[25] See Plinii, \u201cNaturalis Historia,\u201d lib. xxxiii, cap. xxiii.\n\n[26] \u201cNaturalis Historia,\u201d lib. xxxiii, cap. xi.\n\n[27] F. H. Marshall, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan\nand Roman,\u201d in the ... British Museum, London, 1907, p. xix, citing\nMacrobius, Saturnalia III, 14, 13, and Cicero, Ad. Fam. X, 32, 2.\n\n[28] Clementis Alexandrini, \u201cP\u00e6dagogus,\u201d lib. iii, cap. ii.\n\n[29] Beck, \u201cCorpus juris civilis,\u201d vol. ii, pp. 406, 407.\n\n[30] \u201cCimeliotheca Musei Nationalis Hungarici, sive catalogus\nhistorico-criticus antiquitatum, raritatum, et pretiosorum--eius\ninstituti,\u201d Bud\u00e6, 1825, p. 136.\n\n[31] Corpus inscriptionum Latinarum, vol. i, No. 1107.\n\n[32] _Ibid._, vol. xi, No. 1235.\n\n[33] Suetonii: \u201cVita Augusti,\u201d 72.\n\n[34] Cicero, \u201cIn Verrem,\u201d iv, 25, 26.\n\n[35] Deloche, \u201cLe port des anneaux dans l\u2019antiquit\u00e9 romaine, et dans\nles premiers si\u00e8cles du moyen \u00e2ge,\u201d Paris, 1896, pp. 46, 47; extrait\ndes M\u00e9moires de l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, vol.\nxxxv, part ii.\n\n[36] Jesse Walter Fewkes, \u201cTwo Summers\u2019 Work in Pueblo Ruins,\u201d Bureau\nof American Ethnology, vol. xxii, pt. i, p. 91. Also the same writer\u2019s\n\u201cCasa Grande, Arizona,\u201d Bureau of American Ethnology, vol. xxviii, pp.\n143, 144; rings figured on pl. lxxv, fig. _A_, and in text cut,\nfig. 49.\n\n[37] Communications from Prof. George Grant McCurdy, Curator,\nAnthropological Section of Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale\nUniversity, and from Dr. Frank S. Daggett, Director, Museum of History,\nScience and Art, Los Angeles, Cal.\n\n[38] Communicated by Dr. William C. Mills, Curator and Librarian of the\nMuseum.\n\n[39] W. W. Blake, \u201cThe Antiquities of Mexico,\u201d New York, 1891, p. 74,\nfigure.\n\n[40] _Ibid._, p. 73, figures.\n\n[41] Warren K. Moorehead, \u201cPrimitive Men in Ohio,\u201d New York, 1892, p.\n148; see plate xxvi, p. 152.\n\n[42] Warren K. Moorehead, \u201cStone Age in North America,\u201d Boston and\nNew York, 1910, vol. i, p. 440, fig. 385, ring in Collection of B. H.\nYoung, Louisville, Kentucky.\n\n[43] See the writer\u2019s \u201cMagic of Jewels and Charms,\u201d Philadelphia and\nLondon, 1915, pp. 352, 353; colored plate opp. p. 352.\n\n[44] Warren K. Moorehead, \u201cA Narration of Exploration in New Mexico,\nArizona, Indiana, etc.,\u201d Andover, Mass., 1906, p. 89, fig. 45.\n\n[45] Not named after Charles L. Tiffany.\n\n[46] Communicated by Walter Hough, Acting Head Curator, Dept. of\nAnthropology, United States National Museum, Washington, D. C.\n\n[47] Communicated by Joseph K. Dixon, Secretary of the National\nAmerican Indian Memorial Association.\n\n[48] The details in this and the following paragraphs are taken from\nWashington Matthews, \u201cNavajo Silversmiths,\u201d in the Second Annual Report\nof the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1880\u20131881, Washington, 1881, pp.\n171\u2013178.\n\n[49] _Op. cit._, between pp. 174 and 175, plate showing silversmith\u2019s\nshop set up near Fort Wingate.\n\n[50] \u201cAn Ethnologic Dictionary of the Navaho Language,\u201d published by\nthe Franciscan Fathers, Saint Michaels, Arizona, 1910, p. 271.\n\n[51] This is a well-printed octavo of 536 pages, with a most\ncomprehensive index.\n\n[52] _Op. cit._, pp. 283, 284.\n\n[53] Communicated by Admiral Peary in a letter to the author, February\n13, 1916.\n\n[54] C. W. King, \u201cAntique Gems,\u201d London, 1860, p. 281; citing \u00c6lian,\niii, 19.\n\n[55] Frederick William Fairholt, \u201cRambles of an Arch\u00e6ologist,\u201d London,\n1871, p. 86, with figure of ring.\n\n[56] J. P. Mariette, \u201cTrait\u00e9 des pierres grav\u00e9es,\u201d Paris, 1750, vol. i,\np. 18.\n\n[57] See Marshall, \u201cCatalogue of the finger rings, Greek, Etruscan,\nand Roman, in the departments of antiquities, British Museum,\u201d London,\n1907, p. xxvi, note.\n\n[58] Arch\u00e6ological Journal, London, 1863, vol. xx, p. 75.\n\n[59] London, 1853, p. 6.\n\n[60] O. M. Dalton, \u201cFranks Bequest, Catalogue of the Finger Rings,\nEarly Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later\u201d (British\nMuseum), London, 1912, p. 122, No. 792, pl. xi.\n\n[61] X. Barbier de Montault, \u201cLe costume et les usages eccl\u00e9siastiques\nselon la tradition romaine,\u201d Paris, 1897, vol. i, pp. 176, 177.\n\n[62] Historical Manuscripts Commission, Report of MSS. in various\ncollections, vol. iv, Dublin, 1907, p. 59.\n\n[63] Plinii, Hist. Nat., lib. xxxiii, cap. xxv.\n\n[64] \u201cNeuhebr\u00e4isches und Chald\u00e4isches W\u00f6rterbuch,\u201d by Jacob Levy,\nLeipzig, 1879, vol. ii, p. 139, s. v. tabba\u2019ath.\n\n[65] Artemidorus, \u201cOneirocritica,\u201d ii, 5.\n\n[66] Davenport, \u201cJewelry,\u201d Chicago, 1908, pp. 127, 128.\n\n[67] Frederick William Fairholt, \u201cRambles of an Artist,\u201d London, n. d.\n(1865?), p. 144, fig. 177.\n\n[68] John Lathrop Motley, \u201cThe Rise of the Dutch Republic,\u201d New York,\n1856, Vol. iii, pp. 558, 559, citing a curious Dutch pamphlet published\nat Leyden in 1582 and consisting of two letters, one from Bruges, dated\nJuly 25, 1582, the other written two days later from Antwerp.\n\n[69] C. J. S. Thompson, \u201cPoison Romance and Poison Mysteries,\u201d London,\nn.d., 2d. ed., p. 123.\n\n[70] O. M. Dalton, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger-rings, Early Christian,\nByzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val, and Later [British Museum],\u201d London,\n1912, p. lv.\n\n[71] O. M. Dalton, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Early Christian,\nByzantine, Medi\u00e6val and Later,\u201d bequeathed by Sir Augustus Wollaston\nFranks (British Museum), London, 1912, p. 243, No. 1698, pl. xxiii.\n\n[72] O. M. Dalton, \u201cFranks Bequest, Catalogue of the Finger Rings,\nEarly Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later\u201d (British\nMuseum), London, 1912, p. 245, No. 1708, pl. xxiii.\n\n[73] \u201cMemorial Rings, Charles the Second to William the Fourth, in the\nPossession of Frederick Arthur Crisp,\u201d privately printed (London). The\ndata in this and succeeding paragraphs treating of memorial rings, are\n(unless otherwise noted) derived from this valuable and interesting\nwork.\n\n[74] Crisp Collection, No. 334, p. 115.\n\n[75] No. 632, p. 197.\n\n[76] Crisp Collection, No. 981, p. 317.\n\n[77] No. 165, p. 69.\n\n[78] Notes and Queries, 11th ser., No. 311, December 11, 1915, p. 469.\n\n[79] A. E. Cropper, \u201cSome Notes On Three Classes or Types of Rings,\u201d in\nThe Connoisseur, London, vol. xix, p. 184, September to December, 1907.\n\n[80] Communicated by L. Weininger, of Vienna.\n\n[81] O. M. Dalton, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Early Christian,\nByzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later,\u201d bequeathed by Sir Augustus\nWollaston Franks, K.C.B. (British Museum, London, 1912, p. xxxiii,\nfootnote.)\n\n[82] O. M. Dalton, \u201cFranks Bequest, Catalogue of the Finger Rings,\nEarly Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val, and Later [British\nMuseum],\u201d London, 1912, p. 204, No. 1417.\n\n[83] Communicated by Waldo Lincoln, the owner of the ring.\n\n[84] O. M. Dalton: \u201cFranks Bequest, Catalogue of the Finger Rings,\nEarly Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later [British\nMuseum],\u201d London, 1912, p. 232, No. 1628.\n\n[85] Szendrei, \u201cCatalogue de la collection de bagues de Mme. de\nTarn\u00f3czy,\u201d Paris, 1889, pp. 142, 143.\n\n[86] Charles Edwards, \u201cThe History and Poetry of Finger-Rings,\u201d New\nYork, 1855, pp. 86\u201390.\n\n[87] Hon. R. C. Neville (4th baron Braybrooke), \u201cThe Romance of the\nRing, or the History and Antiquity of Finger Rings,\u201d Saffron Walden,\n1856, pp. 25, 26.\n\n[88] Londesborough Collection: Catalogue of a collection of ancient and\nmedi\u00e6val rings and personal ornaments, London, 1853, p. 7. Privately\nprinted.\n\n[89] Compte rendu de la Commission Arch. de St. P\u00e9tersbourg, 1864, p.\n182.\n\n[90] Macrobii, \u201cSaturnalia,\u201d Lipsi\u00e6, 1868, p. 446, lib. vii, cap. 13.\n\n[91] \u201cHistoria Naturalis,\u201d liber xxxiii, 24.\n\n[92] Sancti Isidori Hispalensis Episcopi, \u201cOpera Omnis,\u201d vol. iv, col.\n702, Etymologi\u00e6, lib. xix, cap. 33, vol. lxxxii of Migne\u2019s Patrologia\nLatina, Paris, 1850.\n\n[93] \u201cHistoria Naturalis,\u201d lib. xxxiii, cap. 6.\n\n[94] Duffield Osborne, \u201cEngraved Gems,\u201d New York, 1912, p. 107.\n\n[95] Plinii, \u201cNaturalis Historia,\u201d lib. xxxvii, cap. 11.\n\n[96] Martialis, \u201cEpigrammata,\u201d xi, 59.\n\n[97] Martial, Bk. XIV, No. cxxiii; from \u201cMartial translated into\nEnglish prose,\u201d London, George Bell & Sons, 1897.\n\n[98] Hardy, \u201cRotuli litterarum patentium in tursi Londinensi\nasseverati,\u201d London, 1835, vol. i, pt. i, p. 55.\n\n[99] Rymer, \u201cF\u0153dera,\u201d London, 1727, vol. i, pp. 878, 879.\n\n[100] _Op. cit._, vol. ii, pp. 249, 250, No. 760, illustration.\n\n[101] Schaumi, \u201cDe annulis,\u201d Francofurti, 1620, cap. ix.\n\n[102] Col. T. C. Hendley, \u201cIndian Jewellery,\u201d London, 1909, p. 79.\nJournal of Indian Art and Industry.\n\n[103] Luciani, \u201cOpera Omnia,\u201d Paris, 1615, p. 712.\n\n[104] Juvenal Sat. I, ll, 26\u201330.\n\n[105] Schaumi, \u201cDe annulis,\u201d Francofurti, 1620, cap. iv.\n\n[106] Tristia, Lib. i, el. vii.\n\n[107] Julii Capitolini, \u201cMaximini duo,\u201d cap. vi; Scriptores hist.\nAugust., vol. ii, p. 7.\n\n[108] Deloche, \u201cLe port des anneaux dans l\u2019antiquit\u00e9 et dans les\npremiers si\u00e8cles du moyen \u00e2ge,\u201d pp. 61\u201363.\n\n[109] O. M. Dalton, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Early Christian,\nByzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later, bequeathed by Sir Augustus\nWollaston Franks, K.C.B. (British Museum),\u201d London, 1912, pp. xxv,\nxxvii, 1, figs. 6, 15.\n\n[110] Berthold Laufer, \u201cNotes on Turquoise in the East,\u201d Field Museum\nof Natural History, Pub. 169, Anthrop. Ser., vol. xiii, No. 1, plate 1;\nChicago, July, 1913.\n\n[111] Communicated by J. Alden Weir, N.A., in letter of March 15, 1916.\n\n[112] Journal of Arch\u00e6ology, vol. iii, p. 268.\n\n[113] John Ogilby, Africa, London, 1671, p. 559.\n\n[114] Vogelstein and Rieger, \u201cGeschichte der Juden in Rom,\u201d vol. i, p.\n337.\n\n[115] Sir John Gardner Wilkinson, \u201cManners and Customs of the Ancient\nEgyptians,\u201d vol. iii, p. 373.\n\n[116] F. H. Marshall, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan,\nand Roman, in the Departments of Antiquities, British Museum,\u201d p. 50,\nNos. 278\u2013281; pl. vii, No. 281.\n\n[117] See F. H. Marshall, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Greek,\nEtruscan, and Roman, in the Departments of Antiquities, British\nMuseum,\u201d London, 1907, pp. xxxvii-xlix.\n\n[118] Figured in Caylus, \u201cReceuil d\u2019antiquit\u00e9s,\u201d vol. ii, p. 310.\n\n[119] Sancti Isidori Hispalensis Episcopi, \u201cOpera Omnia,\u201d vol. iv, col.\n702, Etymologi\u00e6, lib. xix, cap. 32; vol. lxxxii of Migne\u2019s Patrologia\nLatina, Paris, 1850.\n\n[120] C. D. E. Fortnum, \u201cAdditional Notes on Finger Rings and on Some\nEngraved Gems of the Early Christian Period,\u201d Arch\u00e6ological Journal.\n\n[121] Dom Bernard de Montfaucon, \u201cL\u2019Antiquit\u00e9 expliqu\u00e9,\u201d Paris, 1724,\nSuppl., vol. viii, p. 40; pl. xiv, opp. p. 43, two views, side and\nfront.\n\n[122] M. Deloche: \u201c\u00c9tude historique et arch\u00e9ologique sur les anneaux\nsigillaires,\u201d Paris, 1900, pp. 225, 226, figs.\n\n[123] Friedrich Henkel, \u201cDer Lorscher Ring,\u201d Trier, 1896.\n\n[124] C. W. King, \u201cNotices of Glyptic Arch\u00e6ology exhibited by\nthe Arch\u00e6ological Institute in June, 1861,\u201d London (Report from\nArch\u00e6ological Journal), p. 12.\n\n[125] \u201cCatalogue of the Special Exhibition of Works of Art at the\nSouth Kensington Museum, June, 1862,\u201d section 32, \u201cRings,\u201d by Edmund\nWaterton, p. 622.\n\n[126] De Laborde, \u201cNotice des \u00e9maux du Mus\u00e9e du Louvre,\u201d 2d Part,\n\u201cDocuments et Glossaire,\u201d p. 131, s. v. Anel.\n\n[127] Cyril Davenport, \u201cJewellery,\u201d Chicago, 1908, p. 118.\n\n[128] William Jones, \u201cFinger-Ring Lore,\u201d London, 1877, pp. 487, 488.\n\n[129] T. N. Mukharji, \u201cArt Manufactures of India,\u201d Calcutta, 1888, pp.\n105\u2013107.\n\n[130] T. N. Mukharji, \u201cArt Manufactures of India,\u201d pp. 124\u2013128,\nCalcutta, 1888.\n\n[131] O. M. Dalton, \u201cFranks Bequest, Catalogue of the Finger Rings,\nEarly Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val, and Later [British\nMuseum],\u201d London, 1912, p. 247, fig.\n\n[132] Col. T. H. Hendley, \u201cIndian Jewellery,\u201d Journal of Indian Art and\nIndustry, vol. xii, pp. 4, 5; 1907\u20131909. Figs. on plates 6, 7, 8, 15,\n18.\n\n[133] _Ibid._, p. 103.\n\n[134] Communicated by Dr. Berthold Laufer, Curator of Anthropology,\nField Museum of Natural History, Chicago.\n\n[135] Communicated by Mr. F. W. Partridge, through Mr. Walter C. Wyman.\n\n[136] O. M. Dalton, \u201cFranks Bequest: Catalogue of the Finger Rings,\nEarly Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later [British\nMuseum],\u201d London, 1912, p. 336, No. 2422, Pl. xxx.\n\n[137] Communicated by Dr. T. Wada, of Tokio.\n\n[138] Hiram Bingham, \u201cThe Story of Machu Picchu,\u201d in The National\nGeographic Magazine, February, 1915, pp. 172\u2013217.\n\n[139] Communicated by Prof. Frederick Starr, of the University of\nChicago.\n\n[140] Charles Edwards, \u201cThe History and Poetry of Finger-Rings,\u201d New\nYork, 1885, pp. 42\u201344; quoting from Gleason\u2019s Pictorial Newspaper,\nDecember 25, 1852.\n\n[141] Communicated by Dr. Leonard J. Spencer, Curator of the Department\nof Mineralogy, British Museum (Nat. Hist.).\n\n[142] Figured in _Journal der Goldschmiede Kunst_, 30 Jahrg., No.\n27, Leipzig, July 3, 1909, p. 220.\n\n[143] See also p. 353 of the present work.\n\n[144] Communicated by L. Weininger, of Vienna.\n\n[145] O. M. Dalton, \u201cCatalogue of Finger Rings, Early Christian,\nByzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later [British Museum],\u201d London,\n1912, p. 243, No. 1700, Plate xxiii.\n\n[146] Sir Charles Hercules Read, \u201cThe Waddesdon Bequest: Catalogue of\nthe Works of Art Bequeathed to the British Museum by Baron Ferdinand\nRothschild, M.P.,\u201d 1898; London, 1902, p. 94.\n\n[147] O. M. Dalton, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Early Christian,\nByzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val, and Later [British Museum],\u201d London,\n1912, p. 87, No. 571, fig.\n\n[148] Communicated by L. Weininger, of Vienna.\n\n[149] The Cleveland Museum of Art, Catalogue of the Inaugural\nExhibition, June 6 to September 20, 1916, Cleveland, 1916, p. 68, No.\n109.\n\n[150] Frederick William Fairholt, \u201cRambles of an Artist,\u201d London, n.\nd., p. 77, fig. 88. A later edition of this book, dated 1871, bears the\ntitle, \u201cRambles of an Arch\u00e6ologist.\u201d\n\n[151] From the collection of W. Gedney Beatty, New York City.\n\n[152] \u201cLes bagues des tranch\u00e9es,\u201d _L\u2019Illustration_, July 3, 1915,\np. 20, with cuts showing soldiers at work and specimens of their rings.\n\n[153] Frederick William Fairholt, \u201cRambles of an Artist,\u201d London, 1880,\np. 141, fig. 171.\n\n[154] Morris Jastrow, Jr., \u201cThe Civilization of Babylonia and Assyria,\u201d\nPhiladelphia and London, 1915, pp. 459, 460.\n\n[155] Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson, \u201cManners and Customs of the Ancient\nEgyptians,\u201d revised by Samuel Birch, New York, 1879, vol. ii, p. 340,\nnote by Birch.\n\n[156] Juvenal, sat. vi, 1, 382.\n\n[157] Persius, sat. i, l, 16.\n\n[158] Juvenal, sat. vii, ll, 143, 144.\n\n[159] _Idem_, sat. xiii, ll, 138, 139.\n\n[160] Ulpian, L., 6 _sqq._, De bon. damnat.\n\n[161] F. H. Marshall, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan\nand Roman, in the Departments of Antiquities, British Museum,\u201d London,\n1907, pp. 127\u2013129, pl. xx, 778, 785, 790, and text figures 106, 107 on\np. 129.\n\n[162] From a personal letter to the writer, dated February 21, 1916.\n\n[163] C. W. King, \u201cAntique Gems and Rings,\u201d London, 1872, p. 373.\n\n[164] See pp. 222, 258\u2013261 of present work, and plate opposite p. 316\nof the writer\u2019s, \u201cThe Curious Lore of Precious Stones,\u201d Philadelphia\nand London, 1913.\n\n[165] F. H. Marshall, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan,\nand Roman, in the Departments of Antiquities, British Museum,\u201d London,\n1907, p. 110, No. 654, pl. xvii.\n\n[166] Bosio, \u201cRoma Sotteranea,\u201d Rom\u00e6, 1672, vol. i, p. 211.\n\n[167] Gorl\u00e6i, \u201cDactyliotheca,\u201d 1672, vol. i, p. 211; cited in\n\u201cDictionnaire d\u2019Arch\u00e9ologie Chr\u00e9tienne et de Liturgie,\u201d Paris, 1907,\nvol. ii, col. 2194, figures.\n\n[168] King, \u201cNatural History of Precious Stones,\u201d London, 1870, p. 297.\n\n[169] Blochmann, \u201cAin-i-Akbari,\u201d Calcutta, 1871, p. 414 and Wills, \u201cThe\nLand of the Lion and the Sun,\u201d London, 1883, p. 376; cited in Ball, \u201cA\nDescription of Two Large Spinel Rubies,\u201d Dublin, 1894, p. 390; reprint\nfrom Proc. of the Roy. Ir. Soc., 3d ser., vol. iii, No. 2.\n\n[170] T. H. Hendley, \u201cIndian Jewellery,\u201d _Journal of Indian Art and\nIndustry_, vol. xii, 1907\u20131909, p. 166; pl. 141. Gul-Begum, \u201cThe\nHistory of Hum\u00e2y\u00fbn,\u201d translated by Annette S. Beveridge, London, 1902,\np. 121, note; Orient Trans. Fund, n. s., vol. i.\n\n[171] Hodder M. Westropp, \u201cA Manual of Precious Stones and Antique\nGems,\u201d London, 1874, p. 120. No. 1627 of British Museum Catalogue\nof the Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan and Roman, in the Dept. of\nAntiquities, by F. H. Marshall, London, 1907.\n\n[172] Oneirocritica, lib. ii, cap. 5.\n\n[173] F. H. Marshall, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan,\nand Roman, in the Departments of Antiquities, British Museum,\u201d London,\n1907, p. xxxvii; see plate xxiv, Nos. 1621, 1624.\n\n[174] Figured in Leviticus, \u201cGeillustreerde encyclopedie der\ndiamantnijverheid,\u201d Haarlem, 1907, p. 229.\n\n[175] \u201cThe Heber R. Bishop Collection of Jades,\u201d New York, vol. ii, p.\n259, illustration.\n\n[176] Science, vol. iv, No. 82, pp. 172, 173, with cut of the ring;\nvol. iv, No. 85, pp. 270, 271, communication by Edward S. Morse on\nthe subject; vol. vi, No. 126, July 3, 1885, reply of George F. Kunz,\nciting letter of Lieut. G. C. Foulke, U.S.N., of U. S. Legation at\nSeoul, Corea.\n\n[177] Communicated by Stewart Culin, Brooklyn Institute.\n\n[178] Heinrich Fischer, \u201cNephrit und Jadeit,\u201d Stuttgart, 1880, pp. 39,\n334, fig. 52 on page 39.\n\n[179] George H. Pepper, \u201cThe Exploration of a Burial Room in Pueblo\nBonito, New Mexico,\u201d Putnam Anniversary Volume, New York, 1909, p. 244,\nfig. 7.\n\n[180] F. H. Marshall, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan\nand Roman, in the ... British Museum,\u201d London, 1907, p. xxxii.\n\n[181] A natural or artificial mixture of gold and silver found native\nat Vorospotak, Transylvania, and elsewhere, mentioned by Herodotus. The\nelectros, \u1f27\u03bb\u03b5\u03ba\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2, of Homer and Strabo; Pliny, xxxiii, 23; although\nthis word was most frequently used to designate amber. Varying in\nspecific gravity from 15.5 to 12.5. The ratio of gold to silver is 1:1.\nSpecific gravity of gold, 19.33; silver, pure, 10.5; correspond to\n35.3 per cent. of silver, gold 64.7 per cent. Pliny states that when\nthe proportion of silver to gold is 1:4 (20 per cent.), it is called\nelectra.\n\n[182] Corpus Inscriptionum Atticarum, ii (5), 767 b, 1, 19.\n\n[183] J. H. Marshall, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan\nand Roman, in the ... British Museum,\u201d London, 1907, p. xxxi.\n\n[184] \u201cHeliodorou Aithiopik\u00f4n, biblia deka,\u201d Parisiois, 1804, pt. i,\npp. 190\u2013192.\n\n[185] C. W. King, \u201cThe Natural History of Precious Stones and Gems,\u201d\nLondon, 1865, p. 64.\n\n[186] F. H. Marshall, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan,\nand Roman, in the Departments of Antiquities, British Museum,\u201d London,\n1907, pp. xxxv, xxxvi.\n\n[187] \u201cCimeliotheca Musei Nationalis Hungarici sive catalogus\nhistorico-criticus antiquitatum raritatum et pretiosorum eius\ninstituti,\u201d Bud\u00e6, 1825, p. 136.\n\n[188] Francis Cohen, \u201cSt. Martin\u2019s rings,\u201d Arch\u00e6ologia, vol. xviii, pt.\ni, London, 1815, pp. 55, 56.\n\n[189] Communicated by Prof. A. V. Williams Jackson, of Columbia\nUniversity, who cites G. B. Browne\u2019s \u201cLiterary History of Persia\u201d\n(London and New York, 1906), vol. ii, p. 123, note 3, and Louisa Stuart\nCostello, \u201cRose Garden of Persia,\u201d London, 1887, p. 33.\n\n[190] British Museum, Fourth Egyptian Room, No. 201 (Table Case J).\n\n[191] British Museum, Fourth Egyptian Room, No. 202.\n\n[192] British Museum, Fourth Egyptian Room, No. 204.\n\n[193] British Museum, Fourth Egyptian Room, No. 217.\n\n[194] W. M. Flinders Petrie, \u201cA History of Egypt During the XVII and\nXVIII Dynasties,\u201d London, 1904, pp. 9, 10.\n\n[195] W. M. Flinders Petrie, \u201cA History of Egypt from the Earliest\nTimes to the XVI Dynasty,\u201d New York, 1895, p. 42.\n\n[196] New York Historical Society, \u201cCatalogue of Egyptian Antiquities,\u201d\nNew York, 1915, p. 63; No. 1046, figs. 1, 2 and 3.\n\n[197] Adolph Furtw\u00e4ngler, \u201cDie Antiken Gemmen,\u201d Leipzig and Berlin,\n1900, vol. iii, p. 31.\n\n[198] A descriptive atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote\nAntiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, by Louis P. di\nCesnola, vol. iii, pt. i, New York, 1903, pl. xxiv, Nos. 12 and 13.\n\n[199] _Ibid_., pl. xxv, figs. 10 and 12.\n\n[200] Alexander Palma di Cesnola, \u201cSalaminia (Cyprus), The History,\nTreasures and Antiquities of Salamis in the Island of Cyprus,\u201d London,\n1884, p. 73, figs. 7 and 13 on pl. vii.\n\n[201] Lib. iii, caps. 40\u201343.\n\n[202] P\u00e6dagogus, lib. iii, cap. ii.\n\n[203] Adolf Furtw\u00e4ngler, \u201cDie Antiken Gemmen,\u201d Berlin, 1900, vol. ii,\np. 273, vol. iii, p. 81; see vol. i, plate lxi, No. 11.\n\n[204] Reinach, \u201cCultes, Mythes et Religions,\u201d Paris, 1906, vol. ii, p.\n214.\n\n[205] Duffield Osborne, \u201cGem Engraving,\u201d New York, 1912, p. 287.\n\n[206] Luciani, \u201cOpera,\u201d vol. iii, Lipsi\u00e6, 1881, pp. 119, 120.\nPhilopseudes, 37.\n\n[207] Plutarchi, \u201cVit\u00e6,\u201d vol. ii, Lipsi\u00e6, 1879, p. 32. Timoleon, 31.\n\n[208] \u201cDe rebus gestis Alexandri Magni, regis Macedoni\u00e6,\u201d lib. vi, No.\n6.\n\n[209] Justini, \u201cHistoriarum phillipicarum libri XLIV,\u201d lib. xv, cap. 4.\n\n[210] Adolf Furtw\u00e4ngler, \u201cDie antiken Gemmen,\u201d Leipzig and Berlin,\n1900, vol. iii, p. 150.\n\n[211] \u201cLe Cabinet de la Biblioth\u00e8que de Sainte Genevi\u00e8ve,\u201d by the Rev.\nFather Claude du Molinet, Paris, 1692, p. 29.\n\n[212] \u201cThe Natural History, Ancient and Modern, of Precious Stones and\nGems,\u201d London, 1865, pp. 60, 61; Anthology ix, 752; ix, 748.\n\n[213] M. Tullii Ciceronis, \u201cIn Verrem, lib. iv,\u201d Oratio nona, cap. 26.\n\n[214] Ciceronis, \u201cIn Catilinam,\u201d iii, cap. v.\n\n[215] Georgii Longi, \u201cDe annulis signatoriis antiquorum,\u201d Francofurti\net Lipsi\u00e6, 1709, p. 24, citing Plutarch\u2019s life of Pompey.\n\n[216] _Ibid._, p. 40.\n\n[217] _Ibid._, p. 115.\n\n[218] Edward T. Newell, \u201cHistoria numorum,\u201d Oxford, 1911, p. 159.\n\n[219] W. J. Andrew, \u201cA Remarkable Hoard of Silver Pennies and\nHalfpennies of the Reign of Stephen, found at Sheldon, Derbyshire, in\n1867,\u201d in _The British Numismatic Journal_, 1st ser., vol. vii\n(1911), pp. 52, 56; see pl. ii, fig. 27.\n\n[220] P. J. Mariette, \u201cTrait\u00e9 des pierre grav\u00e9es,\u201d Paris, 1750, vol. i,\npp. 23, 24.\n\n[221] P. J. Mariette, \u201cTrait\u00e9 des pierre grav\u00e9es,\u201d Paris, 1750, vol. i,\np. 20.\n\n[222] Georgii Longi, \u201cDe anulis signatoriis antiquorum,\u201d p. 25;\nArtemidori, \u201cOneirocriticon,\u201d lib. v, cap. 32, i, 709.\n\n[223] Josephus, \u201cHistory of the Jews,\u201d book xix, chap. 2.\n\n[224] Act II, sc. i, ver. 58.\n\n[225] Vopisci, \u201cDivus Aurelianus,\u201d in Scriptores hist. August., vol.\nii, p. 184.\n\n[226] Abb\u00e9 Barrand, \u201cDes bagues \u00e0 toutes les \u00e9poques,\u201d Paris, 1864, p.\n177; reprint from _Bulletin Monumental_, vol. xxx.\n\n[227] Plinii, \u201cNaturalis Historia,\u201d lib. xxxiii.\n\n[228] Suetonii, \u201cVita C\u00e6sarum,\u201d Tiberius.\n\n[229] Lib. iv, No. vii.\n\n[230] Albert G. Mackey, \u201cThe Book of the Chapter: or Monitorial\nInstructions in the Degrees of Mark, Past and Most Excellent Master and\nthe Royal Arch,\u201d New York, 1858, p. 128.\n\n[231] \u201cLe Cabinet de la Biblioth\u00e8que de Sainte Genevi\u00e8ve,\u201d by the Rev.\nFather Claude du Molinet, Paris, 1692, p. 3, pl. 8, fig. 5, impression\nof seal; the letters are rather irregularly disposed.\n\n[232] Clementis Alexandrini, \u201cP\u00e6dagogus,\u201d lib. iii, cap. ii.\n\n[233] O. M. Dalton, \u201cFranks Bequest, Catalogue of Finger Rings, Early\nChristian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later (British Museum),\u201d\nLondon, 1912, p. 120, No. 778.\n\n[234] SS. Zenonis et Optati, \u201cOpera omnia,\u201d in Migne\u2019s Patrologia\nLatina, vol. xi, Paris, 1845; S. Optati, \u201cDe schismate Donatistiarum,\u201d\nlib. i, cap. 10, note.\n\n[235] Philippi Labb\u00e6i and Cossarti, \u201cSacrosancta concilia,\u201d vol. iv,\ncol. 1403.\n\n[236] Deloche, \u201cLe port des anneaux dans l\u2019antiquit\u00e9 romaine, et dans\nles premiers si\u00e8cles du moyen \u00e2ge,\u201d Paris, 1896, pp. 108, 109; from\nM\u00e9moires de l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, vol. xxxv.\n\n[237] M. Deloche in Revue arch\u00e9ologique, 3d Series, 1886, vol. ii, p.\n141 and 1893, vol. i, p. 269.\n\n[238] See also the same writer\u2019s \u201c\u00c9tude historique et arch\u00e9ologique sur\nles anneaux sigillaires,\u201d Paris, 1900, p. 203, fig. This ring was found\nat Laon, dept. Aisne.\n\n[239] \u201cAnastasis Childerici I Francorum regis, sive Thesaurus\nsepulchralis Tornaci Nerviorum effossus et commentario illustratus,\u201d\nAntverpis, ex officina Plantaniana Balthazaris Moreti, 1655. This is a\nquarto of 367 pages, with 27 plates and copper-plate engravings.\n\n[240] Deloche \u201cAnneaux Sigillaires,\u201d Paris, 1900, pp. 192, 193.\n\n[241] C. W. King, \u201cOn the Use of Antique Gems in the Middle Ages.\u201d\n\n[242] \u201cProl\u00e9gom\u00e8nes Historiques,\u201d of Ibn. Kaldoun, in Notices et\nExtraits des Manuscripts de la Biblioth\u00e8que Imp\u00e9riale, vol. xx, pt. i,\npp. 61\u201362, Paris, 1865.\n\n[243] Burton, \u201cSupplementary Nights,\u201d 1868, vol. v, p. 52.\n\n[244] Hammer-Purgstall, \u201cAbhandlung \u00fcber die Siegel der Araber, Persen\nund T\u00fcrken,\u201d Denkschriften der Kaiserl. Akad. der Wissenschaften,\nPhil.-Hist. Kl., Wien, 1850, p. 29.\n\n[245] _Ibid._, p. 1.\n\n[246] Garzoni, \u201cPiazza Universale,\u201d German transl., Franckfurt am Main,\n1641, p. 697.\n\n[247] Jean Baptiste Tavernier, \u201cRelation du Serrail,\u201d Paris, 1702, pp.\n480, 481.\n\n[248] O. M. Dalton, \u201cByzantine Art and Arch\u00e6ology,\u201d Oxford, 1911, p.\n540; figs. 319, 320 on p. 537.\n\n[249] Nicetas, \u201cHistoire de l\u2019Empire Grec, R\u00e8gne de John Comn\u00e9nus,\u201d\nParis, 1693, p. 7.\n\n[250] P. J. Mariette, \u201cTrait\u00e9 des pierres grav\u00e9es,\u201d Paris, 1750, vol.\ni, p. 21.\n\n[251] \u201cCatalogue of the Special Exhibition of Works of Art at the\nSouth Kensington Museum, June, 1862,\u201d section 32, \u201cRings,\u201d by Edmund\nWaterton, p. 622.\n\n[252] C. W. King, \u201cAntique Gems and Rings,\u201d London, 1872, p. 399.\n\n[253] Jules Labarte, \u201cDissertation sur l\u2019abandon de la glyptique en\nOccident au Moyen Age et sur l\u2019\u00e9poque de la renaissance de cet art,\u201d\nParis, 1871, pp. 12\u201318.\n\n[254] Labarte, \u201cInventaire du mobilier de Charles V,\u201d Paris, 1879, p.\n86, No. 555.\n\n[255] Joannis Cantacuzeni, \u201cHistori\u00e6,\u201d vol. i, lib. iii, cap. xlvii.\n\n[256] Migne\u2019s Patrologia Gr\u00e6ca, vol. cliii, Paris, 1866.\n\n[257] Emil Hannover in \u201cPolitikon\u201d Kjobenhavn, April 10, 1911.\n\n[258] C. Drury Fortnum, \u201cNotes On Some of the Antique and Renaissance\nGems and Jewels in Her Majesty\u2019s Collection at Windsor Castle,\u201d London,\n1876, pp. 12, 13; cut double linear size on p. 13.\n\n[259] _Ibid._, p. 15.\n\n[260] O. M. Dalton, \u201cFranks Bequest, Catalogue of the Finger Rings,\nEarly Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later (British\nMuseum),\u201d London, 1912, p. xxxi.\n\n[261] \u201cCatalogue of the Special Exhibition of Works of Art at the\nSouth Kensington Museum, June, 1862,\u201d section 32, \u201cRings,\u201d by Edmund\nWaterton, p. 623.\n\n[262] O. M. Dalton, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Early Christian,\nByzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later, bequeathed by Sir Augustus\nWollaston Franks, K.C.B. (British Museum),\u201d London, 1912, p. li,\nfootnote.\n\n[263] Franks Bequest, Catalogue of Finger Rings, Early Christian,\nByzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later (British Museum), London, 1912,\np. 53.\n\n[264] See also Catalogue of the Books, Manuscripts, Works of Art and\nRelics, at present exhibited in Shakespeare\u2019s Birthplace, with 61\nillustrations, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1910.\n\n[265] Halliwell, \u201cLife of William Shakespeare,\u201d London, 1848, p. 334.\n\n[266] \u201cCatalogue of an Exhibition Illustrative of the Text of\nShakespeare\u2019s Plays,\u201d New York, The Grolier Club, 1916, plate opposite\np. 96, from a mezzotint by G. F. Storm, 1847.\n\n[267] See Arch\u00e6ologia, vol. xlvii, 393, and vol. 1, p. 114.\n\n[268] Vol. xlvii, London, 1883, p. 393. The original document is in the\nprivy seal books of the Clerk of the Pells, now in the Public Record\nOffice, No. 11, p. 142.\n\n[269] \u201cLes six voyages de Jean Bapiste Tavernier,\u201d La Haye, 1718, vol.\ni, pp. 540, 541.\n\n[270] H. Clifford-Smith, \u201cThe King\u2019s Gems and Jewels at Windsor\nCastle,\u201d _The Connoisseur_, 1903, vol. v, p. 244.\n\n[271] Fortnum, \u201cCollection at Windsor Castle,\u201d London, 1876, p. 141.\n\n[272] C. Drury Fortnum, \u201cNotes on Some of the Antique and Renaissance\nGems and Jewels in Her Majesty\u2019s Collection at Windsor Castle,\u201d London,\n1876, pp. 26, 27.\n\n[273] George Frederick Kunz, \u201cThe Etiquette of Gems,\u201d _Saturday\nEvening Post_, June 27, 1908, p. 5.\n\n[274] Augusta Huiell Seaman, \u201cThe Sapphire Signet,\u201d New York, The\nCentury Co., 1916.\n\n[275] C. W. King, \u201cThe Natural History of Precious Stones,\u201d London,\n1870, p. 254; Duffield Osborne, \u201cEngraved Gems,\u201d New York, 1912, p.\n293. First published by Ducange, in the seventeenth century.\n\n[276] From letters of Ex-President Taft and of Private Secretary\nTumulty to the author.\n\n[277] Chabouillet, \u201cCatalogue g\u00e9n\u00e9ral et raisonn\u00e9 des cam\u00e9es et pierres\ngrav\u00e9es de la Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale,\u201d Paris, 1858, p. 388, 389; Nos.\n2636, 2639.\n\n[278] M. Deloche, \u201c\u00c9tude historique et arch\u00e9ologique sur les anneaux\nsigillaires et autres des premiers si\u00e8cles du moyen \u00e2ge,\u201d Paris, 1900,\npp. 90\u201392, figure.\n\n[279] \u201cThe Gulist\u00e2n or Rose Garden,\u201d trans. by Edward B. Eastwick,\nLondon, 1880, p. 148.\n\n[280] Francisci Petrarch\u00e6, \u201cDe remediis,\u201d Genev\u00e6, 1613, p. 151.\n\n[281] Francisci Petrarch\u00e6, _op. cit._, p. 147.\n\n[282] Labarte, \u201cInventaire du mobilier de Charles V,\u201d Paris, 1879, p.\n83, No. 524.\n\n[283] _Ibid._, p. 80, No. 491.\n\n[284] _Ibid._, p. 16, note; for the ruby of the dukes of Brittany,\nsee p. 80, No. 492.\n\n[285] Szendrei, \u201cCatalogue de la collection de bagues de Mme.\nTarn\u00f3czy,\u201d Paris, 1889, pp. xxvii, xxviii.\n\n[286] Chroniques d\u2019Enguerrand de Monstrelet, Paris, 1596, vol. ii,\n\u201cAutres nouvelles chroniques,\u201d f. 55 recto. These \u201cnew chronicles\u201d are\nfrom various sources, and were composed by one of the continuators of\nMonstrelet\u2019s work.\n\n[287] _Ibid._, f. 78 recto.\n\n[288] Communicated by L. Weininger, of Vienna.\n\n[289] See for original accounts Lettres in\u00e9dites de la Reine\nMarguerite, pt. i; Brant\u00f4me, ed. Lalanne, vol. ix, p. 715 and also\nBermier, Hist. de Blois, Paris, 1682, p. 8.\n\n[290] Cyril Davenport, \u201cJewellery,\u201d Chicago, 1908, p. 126.\n\n[291] Theodore Andrea Cook, \u201cOld Touraine,\u201d New York, 1895, p. 195.\n\n[292] Catalogue of a collection of ancient and medi\u00e6val rings and\npersonal ornaments, London, 1853, p. 15. Privately printed.\n\n[293] Cyril Davenport, \u201cJewellery,\u201d Chicago, 1908, p. 127.\n\n[294] S. D. C. in _The Boston Chronicle_, Feb. 17, 1769, from a\ncopy in the Union League Club Library, New York City.\n\n[295] C. W. King, \u201cNotices of Collections of Glyptic Art exhibited by\nthe Arch\u00e6ological Institute in June, 1861,\u201d pp. 20, 21; reprint from\nArch\u00e6ological Journal.\n\n[296] See Schneider, \u201cAus dem Leben Kaiser Wilhelms,\u201d Berlin, 1888,\nvol. i, pp. 154\u2013161.\n\n[297] Communication by Mrs. Isabel Moore, formerly of Woodstock, N. Y.,\nnow in the Azores.\n\n[298] O. M. Dalton, \u201cFranks Bequest, Catalogue of the Finger Rings,\nEarly Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later (British\nMuseum),\u201d p. 206.\n\n[299] O. M. Dalton, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Early Christian,\nByzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later, Bequeathed by Sir Augustus\nWollaston Franks, K.C.B. (British Museum),\u201d London, 1912, pp. xvi, 29,\n30, pl. ii (Nos. 179, 180).\n\n[300] See pp. 342, 343, in chapter on Rings of Healing.\n\n[301] Fourth Report of the Royal Commission on Manuscripts, London,\n1874, p. 191.\n\n[302] Idem., _loc. cit._\n\n[303] _Idem, loc. cit._\n\n[304] See pp. 341\u2013345.\n\n[305] King, \u201cPrecious Stones and Metals,\u201d London, 1870, p. 319, note.\n\n[306] O. M. Dalton, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Early Christian,\nByzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later, Bequeathed by Sir Augustus\nWollaston Franks, K.C.B.\u201d (British Museum), London, 1912, p. xiii.\n\n[307] Hon. R. C. Neville (4th baron Braybrooke), \u201cThe Romance of the\nRing, or the History and Antiquity of Finger Rings,\u201d Saffron Walden,\n1856, p. 19.\n\n[308] On the toadstone, see the present writer\u2019s \u201cThe Magic of Jewels\nand Charms,\u201d Philadelphia and London, 1915, pp. 162\u2013167.\n\n[309] Migne\u2019s Patrologia Latina, vol. ccxiv, cols. 179, 180.\n\n[310] Arch\u00e6ologia, vol. xix, London, 1821, pp. 411, 412.\n\n[311] A fine, thin silk stuff, plain, but especially valued for its\nsoftness.\n\n[312] Sir Joseph Ayloffe, \u201cAn Account of the Body of King Edward the\nFirst As It Appeared in the Tomb in the Year 1774,\u201d Arch\u00e6ologia, vol.\niii, London, 1775, pp. 389\u2013391. See also Rhymer\u2019s \u201cFoedera,\u201d vol. viii,\np. 75.\n\n[313] \u201cIssues of the Echequer,\u201d from Henry III to Henry VI, ed. by\nFrederick Devon, London, 1837, p. 170.\n\n[314] Rhymer, \u201cF\u0153dera,\u201d London, 1727, vol. xi, p. 76.\n\n[315] William Jones, \u201cFinger-Ring Lore,\u201d London, 1877, p. 197.\n\n[316] Arch\u00e6ologia, vol. xxxiii, p. 335 _sqq._, London, 1849.\n\n[317] William Jones, \u201cFinger-Ring Lore,\u201d London, 1877, p. 478.\n\n[318] Gasquet, \u201cHenry VIII and the English Monasteries,\u201d London, 1906,\np. 409. Cott. MS. Tib. e. viii, f. 269.\n\n[319] Third Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts,\nLondon, 1872, p. 231.\n\n[320] Camdeni, \u201cAnnales rerum Anglicarum et Hibernicarum regnante\nElizabetha,\u201d Francofurti, 1616, pp. 151, 152.\n\n[321] In Thoms\u2019 \u201cAnecdotes and Traditions,\u201d London, 1839, p. 107\n(Camden Soc. Pub.).\n\n[322] Buchanan, \u201cPoems,\u201d St. Andrews, 1594, p. 117.\n\n[323] Agnes Strickland, \u201cHistory of Mary, Queen of Scots,\u201d London,\n1873, vol. ii, p. 446.\n\n[324] James Anthony Froude, \u201cHistory of England,\u201d London, 1899, vol.\nxii, chap. 69, pp. 248, 249.\n\n[325] C. Justi, \u201cFelipe II amigo del arte\u201d; Espa\u00f1a moderna, April,\n1914, pp. 26, 27.\n\n[326] See Dictionary of National Biography, vol. xiv, London, 1888, pp.\n437, 438; in Sir Sidney Lee\u2019s article on Essex.\n\n[327] Catalogue of the Loan Exhibition of Ancient and Modern Jewellery\nand Personal Ornaments, 1872, London, 1873, p. 33, No. 137.\n\n[328] Historical Manuscripts Commission, Report of MSS. in various\ncollections, vol. iv, Dublin, 1907, p. 323.\n\n[329] South Kensington Museum: Catalogue of the Loan Collection, 1872;\nLondon, 1873, p. 72, No. 838. The ring is figured in the _Gentleman\u2019s\nMagazine_ for 1797, vol. lxvii, pt. ii (Oct.), on plate opposite p.\n827, figs. 5 and 6; see also pp. 830 and 1017.\n\n[330] \u201cCatalogue of the Special Exhibition of Works of Art at the South\nKensington Museum, June, 1862,\u201d section 33, \u201cMiscellaneous Rings,\u201d by\nR. H. S. Smith, p. 637.\n\n[331] Gilbert Barnet (Bishop of Salisbury), \u201cHistory of His Own Time,\u201d\nLondon, 1724, 1736. First published by his son Thomas, after the\nbishop\u2019s death in 1715.\n\n[332] Arch\u00e6ologia, vol. ii, pp. 32-35, London, 1773. Figured on plate\ni, figs. 1 and 2.\u2013\n\n[333] George Frederick Kunz and Charles H. Stevenson, \u201cThe Book of the\nPearl,\u201d New York, 1908, p. 438.\n\n[334] Federici Augusti Junii, \u201cDe annulo Romanorum sponsalitio,\u201d\nLipsi\u00e6, 1744, citing Ovidii, lib. ii, Amor. Eleg. xv.\n\n[335] Saturnalia, lib. vii, cap. 13.\n\n[336] See page 222.\n\n[337] Isidori, \u201cDe ecclesiasticis officiis,\u201d lib. xx, cap. 8, in\nMigne\u2019s \u201cPatrologia Latina,\u201d vol. lxxxiii, cols. 811, 812.\n\n[338] Deloche, \u201cLe port des anneaux dans l\u2019antiquit\u00e9 romaine, et dans\nles premiers si\u00e8cles du moyen \u00e2ge,\u201d Paris, 1896, pp. 96\u201398; M\u00e9moires de\nl\u2019Acad\u00e9mie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, vol. xxxv, pt. 2.\n\n[339] Naturalis Historia, lib. xxxiii, cap. 24.\n\n[340] John Yonge Akerman, \u201cAn Account of Excavations in an Anglo-Saxon\nBurial Ground at Harnham Hill Near Salisbury,\u201d in Arch\u00e6ologia, vol.\nxxxv, p. 266, and Plate XII (opp. p. 278).\n\n[341] \u201cThe Sarum Missal done into English by A. Harford Pearson,\u201d\nLondon, 1844, p. 552. The directions and blessings are translated from\nthe Latin; the vows of the bride and bridegroom are from an old English\nversion.\n\n[342] O. M. Dalton, \u201cByzantine Art and Arch\u00e6ology,\u201d Oxford, 1911, p.\n544, fig. 329.\n\n[343] _Ibid._, p. 546.\n\n[344] Marshall, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan, and\nRoman, in the Departments of Antiquities, British Museum,\u201d London,\n1907, pp. 99, 100; No. 579, pl. xvii.\n\n[345] Federici Augusti Junii, \u201cDe annulo Romanorum sponsalitio,\u201d Lipsi\u00e6\n(1744), pp. xiii, xiv; citing Pliny\u2019s \u201cHist. Nat.,\u201d lib. xxxiii, cap.\ni, and Clement\u2019s \u201cP\u00e6dogogus,\u201d lib. iii, cap. xi.\n\n[346] Tertulliani, \u201cOpera Omnia,\u201d ed. Migne, Parisiis, 1879, vol. i,\ncol. 353. Apol. adv. gen.\n\n[347] August. Epist. 119 ad Januar. cap. 18.\n\n[348] C. Drury Fortnum, \u201cOn Finger Rings of the Early Christian\nPeriod,\u201d in Journal of Arch\u00e6ology, vol. xxviii, pp. 266\u2013292; figured on\np. 291.\n\n[349] Fredegari, \u201cHistoria Francorum epitomata,\u201d cap. xviii; in\nPatrologia Latina, ed. J. P. Migne, Parisiis, 1879, vol. lxxi, col. 584.\n\n[350] Hucher, \u201cSigillographie du Maine,\u201d _Bulletin Monumental_,\nvol. xviii, p. 308.\n\n[351] Symeonis Thessalonicensis Archiepiscopi, \u201cOpera Omnia,\u201d in\nMigne\u2019s Patrologia Gr\u00e6ca, vol. clv, Paris, 1866, cols. 505, 508, \u201cDe\nhonesto et legitimo conjugio.\u201d\n\n[352] Coloni\u00e6, 1509, cap. 11.\n\n[353] Communicated by Mrs. Isabel F. Hapgood.\n\n[354] Petri M\u00fclleri, \u201cDe annulo pronubo,\u201d Jen\u00e6, 1734, p. 22.\n\n[355] Petri M\u00fclleri, \u201cDe annulo pronubo,\u201d Jen\u00e6, 1734, p. 31.\n\n[356] Cyril Davenport, \u201cJewellery,\u201d Chicago, 1908, p. 114.\n\n[357] Cap. 55.\n\n[358] \u201cGlossarium ad scriptores medi\u00e6 et infim\u00e6 Latinitatis,\u201d Parisiis,\n1733, vol. i, col. 457.\n\n[359] Cited in H. R. D. Anders, \u201cShakespeare\u2019s Books,\u201d Berlin, 1904, p.\n189.\n\n[360] Deloche, \u201cLe port des bagues dans l\u2019antiquit\u00e9 romaine et dans les\npremiers si\u00e8cles du moyen \u00e2ge,\u201d Paris, 1896, pp. 61\u201363; from M\u00e9moires\nde l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, vol. xxxv.\n\n[361] Jacob Grimm, \u201cDeutsche Rechtsalterh\u00fcmer,\u201d Berlin, 1854, pp. 177,\n178.\n\n[362] This recalls Juvenal\u2019s \u201cdigito pignus fortasse dedisti\u201d (perhaps\nthou hast set a pledge on a finger). Sat. vi, 27.\n\n[363] Fairholt, \u201cRambles of an Artist,\u201d London, n.d., p. 90, fig. 97.\n\n[364] _Ibid._, p. 124, fig. 124.\n\n[365] Communicated by L. Weininger, of Vienna.\n\n[366] _Anima magis est ubi amat quam ubi animat._\n\n[367] Barbier de Montault, \u201cUn anneau du XVe si\u00e8cle,\u201d Tours, 1876.\n\n[368] Jean Szendrei, \u201cCatalogue de la collection de bagues de Madame\nGustave de Tarn\u00f3czy,\u201d Paris, 1889, p. xlviii.\n\n[369] Barbier de Montault, \u201cUn anneau du XVe si\u00e8cle,\u201d Tours, 1876, pp.\n14\u201317. For additional \u201cposies\u201d see pp. at end of this chapter.\n\n[370] Shown in Fairholt\u2019s \u201cRambles of an Artist,\u201d p. 127, figs. 152,\n153.\n\n[371] _Ibid._, p. 128, fig. 154.\n\n[372] Kircheri, \u201c\u0152dipus \u00c6gyptiacus,\u201d Rom\u00e6, 1652, vol. i, p. 283.\n\n[373] Jewish Encyclop\u00e6dia, vol. x, art. Rings by Albert Wolf, of\nDresden, Saxony.\n\n[374] \u201cCatalogue of the Special Exhibition of Works of Art at the\nSouth Kensington Museum, June, 1862,\u201d section 32, \u201cRings,\u201d by Edmund\nWaterton, pp. 630, 631.\n\n[375] See Gregorovius, \u201cLucrezia Borgia,\u201d pp. 375, 376, of Ital.\ntranslation.\n\n[376] Robert de Berquen, \u201cLes Merveilles des Indes Orientales et\nOccidentales,\u201d Paris, 1661, pp. 14, 15. Robert de Berquen writes of\nLouis (Lodowyk) as \u201cone of his ancestors.\u201d\n\n[377] Alfred Maury, \u201cCroyances et Legendes du Moyen Age,\u201d Paris, 1896,\np. 277, note.\n\n[378] Fairholt, \u201cRambles of an Artist,\u201d p. 128, fig. 155. The\nauthenticity of the ring may be regarded as somewhat doubtful.\n\n[379] Julius K\u00f6stlin, \u201cLife of Luther,\u201d trans. from the German, New\nYork, 1883; pp. 334, 335.\n\n[380] Fairholt, \u201cRambles of an Artist,\u201d p. 132, fig. 165.\n\n[381] Burgon, \u201cThe Life and Times of Sir Thomas Gresham,\u201d London, 1839,\nvol. i, p. 51.\n\n[382] Catalogue of a collection of ancient and modern rings and\npersonal ornaments formed for Lady Londesborough, London, 1853, pp. 8,\n9. Privately printed.\n\n[383] Cited in Furness, \u201cVariorum Shakespear,\u201d vol. vii (Othello),\nPhila., 1888, p. 132.\n\n[384] Evans, \u201cPosy Rings,\u201d London, 1892, p. 13.\n\n[385] _Ibid._, p. 13.\n\n[386] Thomas Joseph Pettigrew, \u201cOn Superstitions Connected With the\nHistory and Practice of Medicine and Surgery,\u201d London, 1844, pp. 36, 37.\n\n[387] Col. T. H. Hendley, \u201cIndian Jewellery,\u201d \u201cJournal of Indian Art\nand Industry,\u201d vol. xii, p. 5, 1907\u20131909.\n\n[388] G. Bapst, \u201cLes Joyaux de la Couronne,\u201d Paris, 1889, p. 18.\n\n[389] Cyril Davenport, \u201cJewellery,\u201d Chicago, 1908, p. 112.\n\n[390] William Tegg, \u201cThe Knot Tied: Marriage Ceremonies of All\nNations,\u201d London, 1877, p. 314.\n\n[391] Fuller, \u201cHoly State,\u201d chap. xxii, Of Marriage.\n\n[392] Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen des allerh\u00f6chsten\nKaiserhauses, vol. i, Pt. II, p. xxi, Wien, 1883.\n\n[393] Johnson, \u201cTunis of To-day\u201d; in the National Geographic Magazine,\nvol. xxii, p. 747; No. 8, Aug., 1911.\n\n[394] Historical Manuscripts Commission, Twelfth Report, Appendix, Pt.\nIV, MSS. of Duke of Rutland at Belvoir Castle, vol. i, London, 1888, p.\n6.\n\n[395] A number of posies of the list comes from Joseph Maskell\u2019s\nexcellent little monograph, \u201cThe Wedding-Ring,\u201d London, 1888, pp. 31\u201335.\n\n[396] From the \u201cCard of Courtship, or the Language of Love,\u201d published\nin 1653; cited in Tegg\u2019s \u201cThe Knot Tied,\u201d London, 1877.\n\n[397] From \u201cThe Mysteries of Love and Eloquence,\u201d London, 1658; in\nTegg\u2019s \u201cThe Knot Tied.\u201d\n\n[398] T. Wada, \u201cDie Schmuck- und Edelsteine bei den Chinesen,\u201d Tokyo,\n1904, reprint from the \u201cMitteilungen\u201d of the Deutsche Gesellschaft f\u00fcr\nNatur- und Volkeskunde Ostasiens, vol. x, Pt. I.\n\n[399] Pompei Fasti, \u201cDe verborum significatu,\u201d lib. xx, s. v. Edera,\ned. of Ed. Thewrewk de Ponor, Budapest, 1889, p. 58.\n\n[400] Adolf Furtw\u00e4ngler, \u201cDie Antiken Gemmen,\u201d Leipzig and Berlin,\n1900, vol. iii, p. 446.\n\n[401] F. G. Frazer, \u201cThe Golden Bough,\u201d vol. iii, London, 1911, p. 314.\n\n[402] F. H. Marshall, \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan,\nand Roman, in the ... British Museum,\u201d London, 1907, pp. xxix, xxx,\nNos. 629, 640.\n\n[403] Montfaucon, \u201cL\u2019antiquit\u00e9 expliqu\u00e9,\u201d vol. ii, Pt. II, Paris, 1719,\npp. 324, 325; Plate 136.\n\n[404] Communicated by Prof. Cyrus Adler of the Dropsie College for\nHebrew and Cognate Learning, in Philadelphia, the information being\nderived from the Hebrew Encyclop\u00e6dia entitled \u201cOzar Yisrael,\u201d vol.\nv, p. 6, col. i, s. v. Tabaath. Prof. Richard Gottheil of Columbia\nUniversity confirms the views expressed by Prof. Cyrus Adler that the\nring was never the distinguishing mark of a Rabbi.\n\n[405] Abb\u00e9 Barraud, \u201cDes bagues \u00e0 toutes les \u00e9poques,\u201d Bulletin\nMonumental, vol. xxx, pp. 624\u2013641.\n\n[406] Raoul Rochette, \u201cTableau des Catacombes de Rome,\u201d Paris, 1837,\npp. 235, 236.\n\n[407] S. Augustini, \u201cDe trinitate,\u201d lib. viii, cap. 5, 6. Figured in\nRaoul Rochette, \u201cTableau des Catacombes de Rome,\u201d Paris, 1837, title\npage.\n\n[408] Ruinart, \u201cActa sanctorum martyrum sincera et selecta,\u201d Paris,\n1689, p. 40.\n\n[409] Gregorii episcopi nysseni, \u201cOpera,\u201d vol. iii, in Migne\u2019s\nPatrologia Gr\u00e6ca, vol. xli, Parisiis, 1858, col. 990.\n\n[410] See Rev. I, viii.\n\n[411] C. W. King, \u201cAntique Gems,\u201d London, 1860, p. 358.\n\n[412] King, \u201cThe Gnostics,\u201d London, 1864, p. 139.\n\n[413] O. M. Dalton, \u201cFranks Bequest, Catalogue of the Finger Rings,\nEarly Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later [British\nMuseum],\u201d London, 1912, p. 7, No. 39.\n\n[414] M. Deloche, \u201c\u00c9tude historique et arch\u00e9ologique sur les anneaux\nsigillaires,\u201d Paris, 1900, pp. 139\u2013142, figs.\n\n[415] Mercati, \u201cMetallotheca Vaticana,\u201d Rom\u00e6, 1719, p. 185.\n\n[416] Giacinto Gimma, \u201cDelia storia naturale delle gemme,\u201d Napoli,\n1730, vol. i, p. 39.\n\n[417] Pauli Aringhi, \u201cRoma subterranea,\u201d Rom\u00e6, 1651, p. 701.\n\n[418] Santi Aurelii Augustini, \u201cOpera Omnia,\u201d ed. Migne, Parisiis,\n1884, cols. 226, 227.\n\n[419] Communicated by L. Weininger, of Vienna.\n\n[420] Platina \u201cDe vitis Pontificorum\u201d; \u201cVita Clementis IV.\u201d\n\n[421] Edmund Waterton, \u201cOn the Annulus Piscatoris, or Ring of the\nFisherman\u201d; Arch\u00e6ologia, vol. xl, figures on pp. 140 and 142.\n\n[422] Edmund Waterton, \u201cOn the Annulus Piscatoris, or Fisherman\u2019s\nRing,\u201d Arch\u00e6ologia, vol. xl, pp. 138\u2013142, London, 1866.\n\n[423] Abb\u00e9 Barraud, \u201cDes Bagues \u00e0 toutes les \u00e9poques et en particulier\nde l\u2019anneau des \u00e9v\u00eaques et des abb\u00e9s,\u201d Bulletin Monumentale, vol. xxx,\npp. 390, 391, 1864.\n\n[424] X. Barbier de Montault, \u201cLe costume et les usages eccl\u00e9siastiques\nselon la tradition romaine,\u201d Paris, n.d., vol. i, p. 161.\n\n[425] _Ibid._, pp. 158, 159.\n\n[426] Sancti Aviti, Epist. lxxviii, Migne, \u201cPatrologia Latina,\u201d vol.\nlix, col. 280.\n\n[427] Isidori, \u201cDe ecclesiasticis officiis,\u201d lib. ii, cap. v, 12.\n\n[428] Migne, \u201cPatrologia Latina,\u201d vol. lxxxiii, cols. 783, 784.\n\n[429] Philippe Labb\u00e9 and Cossart, \u201cSacros. concil.,\u201d vol. v, cols.\n1618, 1714.\n\n[430] Wetzer and Welte\u2019s \u201cKirchenlexikon,\u201d 2d ed., Freiburg im\nBreisgau, 1897, vol. x, p. 211, art. Ringe by K. Schrod.\n\n[431] Ed. Merati, p. 1737.\n\n[432] Edmund Waterton, \u201cOn Episcopal Rings,\u201d _The Arch\u00e6ological\nJournal_, vol. xx, London, 1863, p. 228.\n\n[433] Rot. Pat. Hen. III. m. 20 d.\n\n[434] Liber 28, Ed. I; fol. 278, p. 344.\n\n[435] Philippi Labbei et Cossarti, \u201cSacrosancta concilia,\u201d vol. viii,\ncol. 878.\n\n[436] Edmund Waterton, \u201cEpiscopal Rings,\u201d in _The Arch\u00e6ological\nJournal_ vol. xx, p. 227, fig. p. 228.\n\n[437] Ph. Labbei et Cossarti, \u201cSacrosancta Concilia,\u201d vol. ix, col.\n395, of the Council of Nimes.\n\n[438] Edmund Waterton, \u201cEpiscopal Rings,\u201d in _The Arch\u00e6ological\nJournal_, vol. xx, p. 235, figs. 6, 7 and 8 on plate opposite that\npage.\n\n[439] \u201cDe sacro altaris mysterio,\u201d Migne\u2019s Patrologia Latina, vol.\nccxvii, col. 796.\n\n[440] Arnaud, \u201cNotice sur les objets trouv\u00e9s dans plusieurs cercueils\nde pierre \u00e0 la cath\u00e9dral de Troyes,\u201d Troyes, 1844, p. 13.\n\n[441] Catalan, \u201cPontificale romanum,\u201d vol. iii, p. 358, citing the\nannals of Abraham Begovius, ad annum 1303, num. 8.\n\n[442] R. Rucklin, \u201cDas Schmuckbuch,\u201d Leipzig, 1871, vol. ii, pl. 56,\nfig. 5.\n\n[443] See also Hefner, \u201cTrachten,\u201d pl. 9.\n\n[444] _Op. cit._, vol. i, p. 167.\n\n[445] Edmund Waterton, \u201cOn Episcopal Rings,\u201d _Arch\u00e6ological\nJournal_, vol. xx, p. 228, London, 1863; citing Dart, \u201cHist. of\nCant. Cath.,\u201d p. 346, fol. 279, and Duranti, \u201cDe ritibus,\u201d lib. ii,\ncap. ix, sec. 37.\n\n[446] O. M. Dalton, \u201cFranks Bequest, Catalogue of the Finger Rings,\nEarly Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic Medi\u00e6vel, and Later [British\nMuseum],\u201d London, 1912, pp. xxxvii, xxxviii.\n\n[447] Catalogue of the special exhibition of works of art ... at the\nSouth Kensington Museum, June, 1862, London, 1863, p. 636.\n\n[448] Maurice Faucon, \u201cLes arts \u00e0 la cour d\u2019Avignon sous Cl\u00e9ment V et\nJean XXII,\u201d in M\u00e9langes d\u2019Arch\u00e9ologie et d\u2019Histoire II^{\u00e8me} Ann\u00e9e, pp.\n76, 77; IV^{\u00e8me} Ann\u00e9e, p. 107.\n\n[449] Italian XIV Century MSS. in the author\u2019s library. What appears to\nbe a topaz ring is on the fourth finger of the right hand in Titian\u2019s\nportrait of Archbishop Filippo Archinto, painted in the middle of the\nsixteenth century.\n\n[450] Edinburgh Review, July, 1866, p. 247.\n\n[451] X. Barbier de Montault, \u201cLe costume et les usages eccl\u00e9siastiques\nselon la tradition romaine,\u201d Paris (1897), vol. i, p. 162.\n\n[452] _Ibid._, vol. i, p. 159.\n\n[453] This ring is figured as frontispiece to the writer\u2019s \u201cCurious\nLore of Precious Stones,\u201d Philadelphia and London, 1913.\n\n[454] From a letter written by Bishop Greer to the author, September\n22, 1916.\n\n[455] Kirchmann, \u201cDe anulis,\u201d Lugd. Bat., 1672, p. 185.\n\n[456] Tractatus de officio episcopi, ad Henricum Senonensem episcopum,\ncap. ix.\n\n[457] H. Druitt, Costume in Brass, p. 98.\n\n[458] \u201cDictionnaire d\u2019arch\u00e9ologie chr\u00e9tienne et de liturgie,\u201d ed. by\nDom Fernan Cabrol, vol. i, Paris, 1907, col. 2187, art. _anneau_\nby Leclercq.\n\n[459] X. Barbier de Montault, \u201cLe costume et les usages eccl\u00e9siastiques\nselon la tradition romaine,\u201d Paris (1897), vol. i, pp. 163, 164.\n\n[460] _Ibid._, vol. i, pp. 164\u2013170.\n\n[461] _Ibid._, vol. i, pp. 175, 176.\n\n[462] The complete ceremonies and procedures observed at the coronation\nof the kings and queens of England, London (1902), p. 30.\n\n[463] Debrett\u2019s Dictionary of the Coronation, London (1902), pp. 38,\n126.\n\n[464] Cyril Davenport, \u201cJewellery,\u201d Chicago, 1908, Plate xvi, opp. p.\n110.\n\n[465] Abb\u00e9 Barraud, \u201cDes bagues \u00e0 toutes les \u00e9poques, et en particulier\nde l\u2019anneau des \u00e9v\u00eaques et des abb\u00e9s,\u201d Bulletin Monumental, vol. xxx,\np. 17.\n\n[466] Abb\u00e9 Barraud, \u201cDes bagues \u00e0 toutes les \u00e9poques et en particulier\nde l\u2019anneau des \u00e9v\u00eaques et des abb\u00e9s,\u201d Bulletin Monumentale, vol. xxx,\np. 32.\n\n[467] X. Barbier de Montault, \u201cLe costume et les usages eccl\u00e9siastiques\nselon la tradition romaine,\u201d Paris, (1897), vol. i, p. 174, note.\n\n[468] Cited by William Jones, \u201cFinger-Ring Lore,\u201d London, 1877. pp.\n236, 237.\n\n[469] Henry Harrod \u201cOn the Mantle and Ring of Widowhood,\u201d Arch\u00e6ologia,\nvol. xl, pt. 2, p. 308; London 1864.\n\n[470] Op. cit., p. 309, citing Gough, \u201cSepulchral Monuments,\u201d vol. i,\np. cxix.\n\n[471] Giovanni B. Rampolli, \u201cAnnales Musulmani,\u201d vol. viii, Milano,\n1824, p. 544 _sqq._, note 90.\n\n[472] Burton \u201cSupplementary Nights,\u201d London, 1886, vol. iii, p. 72,\nnote.\n\n[473] The poems of Mohammed Hafiz of Shiraz, translated by John Payne,\nLondon, 1901, vol. iii, p. 230; epodes II, 2.\n\n[474] Lib. ii, cap 3; Platonis Dialogi, ed. Hermann, vol. iv, Lipsi\u00e6,\n1883, pp. 37, 38.\n\n[475] C\u00e6selii, \u201cCommentarii antiquorum lectionum,\u201d Venetiis, 1516, p.\n141; lib. iii, cap. xxv.\n\n[476] Hygini, \u201cAstronomica,\u201d ed. by Emile Chatelain and Paul Legendre,\nParis, 1909, p. 19. Biblioth\u00e8que de l\u2019\u00c9cole des Hautes \u00c9tudes, Fasc.\n168.\n\n[477] King, \u201cHandbook of Engraved Gems,\u201d London, 1866, p. 184, citing\nPtolemy Hephaistion, bk. ii, and Suidas.\n\n[478] This may have been the ring supposed to have been given by\nApollo, before the birth of Seleucus.\n\n[479] Abrahami Gorl\u00e6i, \u201cDactyliotheca,\u201d Delphi Batavorum, 1601, p. 3.\n\n[480] F. H. Marshall \u201cCatalogue of the Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan\nand Roman, in the British Museum,\u201d London, 1907, pp. xxiii, xxxiii,\n131, Plate XX, fig. 801.\n\n[481] F. H. Marshall. \u201cCatalogue of Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan, and\nRoman, in the Departments of Antiquities, British Museum,\u201d London,\n1907, p. xxxiii, No. 386; see Plate XII.\n\n[482] Suetonii, \u201cNero,\u201d cap. xlvi.\n\n[483] Suetonii, \u201cGalba,\u201d cap. x.\n\n[484] Flavii Josephi, \u201cAntiquitates Judeorum,\u201d Basile\u00e6, 1540, p. 203.\n\n[485] Luciani, \u201cOpera Omnia,\u201d ed. Jocobitz, Lipsi\u00e6, 1881; Navigium, 42,\n43, 44.\n\n[486] Philopseudos, 17.\n\n[487] Clementis Alexandrini, \u201cStromata,\u201d lib. i.\n\n[488] Longi, \u201cDe annulis signatoriis\u201d Francofurti et Lipsi\u00e6, 1709, p.\n39.\n\n[489] \u201cDictionnaire d\u2019arch\u00e9ologie chr\u00e9tienne et de liturgie,\u201d ed. by\nDom Fernan Cabrol, vol. i, Pt. II, Paris, 1907, cols. 2215, 2216, s. v.\nanneaux.\n\n[490] Artemidori Daldiani et Achametis Sereini \u201cOneirocritica,\u201d\nLutiti\u00e6, 1603, p. 259.\n\n[491] Rev. Oswald Cockayne, \u201cAnglo-Saxon Leechdom,\u201d vol. iii, London,\n1866, pp. 199, 205, 215 in \u201cA Book of Dreams by the Prophet Daniel.\u201d\n\n[492] Lebeau, \u201cHistoire du Bas-Empire,\u201d livre XIX; vol. iv, p. 307, ed.\nDesaint et Saillant, Paris, 1759.\n\n[493] St. Augustine, \u201cDe doctrina christiana,\u201d lib. ii, cap. 20.\n\n[494] Communicated by L. Weininger, of Vienna.\n\n[495] Scheuzeri, \u201cItinera per Helveti\u00e6 alpinas regiones,\u201d Lug. Bat.,\n723, vol. iii, pp. 381\u2013383.\n\n[496] See the present writer\u2019s \u201cThe Magic of Jewels and Charms,\u201d\nPhiladelphia and London, 1915, pp. 238, 239.\n\n[497] Petrarch\u00e6, Epistolarum libri, Lugduni, 1601, pp. 10, 11.\n\n[498] Annales Lamberti, in Monum. Germ., vol. iii, p. 91.\n\n[499] Monum. Germ. Script., vol. vii, p. 106.\n\n[500] \u201cThe Edda,\u201d by Winchell Faraday, Pt. II, London, 1903, pp. 16, 17.\n\n[501] The history of \u201cReynard the Fox,\u201d trans. and pub. by William\nCaxton, 1481; ed. by Edmund Goldsmid, Edinburgh, 1884, vol. ii, pp. 55,\n56. Privately printed.\n\n[502] \u201cLapidario del Rey D. Alfonso X, codice original,\u201d Madrid, 1881,\nfolios 3 recto, col. 2; 14 recto, col. 2; 106, verso, col. 2.\n\n[503] Mauricii Pinder, \u201cDe adamante,\u201d Berolini, 1829, p. 68.\n\n[504] \u201cDer grosse Wolfdietrich,\u201d ed. Holtzmann, Heidelberg, 1865, pp.\n243, 271.\n\n[505] C. W. King, \u201cAntique Gems and Rings,\u201d London, 1872, p. 393;\nciting \u201cLa vie, \u00e9tat et condition du pape Maleface, racont\u00e9s par des\ngens de foi.\u201d\n\n[506] \u201cDie Gesta Romanorum,\u201d ed. Wilhelm Dick, Erlangen, 1890, pp. 10,\n11.\n\n[507] Wirt Sikes: \u201cBritish Goblins: Welsh folklore, fairy myths,\nlegends and traditions,\u201d London, 1880, pp. 365\u2013366.\n\n[508] Pierre Lacroix, \u201cSciences et Lettres au Moyen Age,\u201d Paris, 1877,\np. 238.\n\n[509] Mason in Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1865, Pt. II,\np. 200; Bastian, \u201cOestliches Asien,\u201d vol. i, p. 146.\n\n[510] Bishop Percy\u2019s Folio Manuscript, ed. by John W. Hales and\nFrederick J. Furnivall, London, 1868, Vol. II, p. 363.\n\n[511] Slay.\n\n[512] Ritson, \u201cAncient English Medical Romances,\u201d London, 1802, vol. I,\np. 65.\n\n[513] Jacobi Gaffarelli, \u201cCuriositates inaudit\u00e6,\u201d Hamburgi, 1706, p.\n112; Latin trans. citing Alberti, \u201cDe mirabilibus,\u201d tr. 3, cap. 3.\n\n[514] Konrad von Megenberg, \u201cBuch der Natur,\u201d ed. by Dr. Franz\nPfeiffer, Stuttgart, 1861, p. 472.\n\n[515] Catalogue of a collection of ancient and medi\u00e6val rings and\npersonal ornaments, London, 1853, p. 5. Privately printed.\n\n[516] William Jones, \u201cCredulities, Past and Present,\u201d London, 1880, pp.\n208\u2013210.\n\n[517] The Venetian artist, Paris Bordone (1500\u20131570) painted a picture\ndepicting the gondolier in the act of delivering St. Mark\u2019s ring to the\nDoge.\n\n[518] Johannes Tritheim\u2019s \u201cWunder-Buch,\u201d Passau, 1506 (Reprint, p. 275).\n\n[519] Luke iv, 30: \u201cBut he passing through the midst of them went his\nway.\u201d This refers to his escape at Nazareth from those who sought to\ncast him down from the hill.\n\n[520] O. M. Dalton, \u201cFranks Bequest, Catalogue of the Finger Rings,\nEarly Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later [British\nMuseum],\u201d London, 1912, p. 138, Nos. 877, 878, 879; see Plate XV.\n\n[521] Petri Lambeccii, \u201cDe Augustissima Bibliotheca C\u00e6sarea\u201d Vindobon\u00e6,\n1665, p. 28.\n\n[522] Jacobi Gaffarelli, \u201cCuriositates inaudit\u00e6,\u201d Hamburgi, 1706, p.\n118; Latin trans.\n\n[523] William Jones, \u201cCredulities Past and Present,\u201d London, 1880, p.\n211.\n\n[524] Citing Beckmann, \u201cGeschichte des F\u00fcrstentums Anhalt,\u201d Dessau,\n1722.\n\n[525] William Jones, \u201cCredulities Past and Present,\u201d London, 1880, p.\n177.\n\n[526] \u201cCimeliotheca Musei Nationalis Hungarici,\u201d Bud\u00e6, 1825, p. 55.\n\n[527] Communicated by Mr. George Osborn.\n\n[528] Berthold Laufer, \u201cJade, a Study in Chinese Arch\u00e6ology and\nReligion,\u201d Chicago, 1912, pp. 284, 285.\n\n[529] Berthold Laufer, \u201cJade, a Study in Chinese Arch\u00e6ology and\nReligion,\u201d Chicago, 1912, pp. 210, 211; Field Museum of Natural\nHistory, Pub. 154, Anthropological Series, Vol. X, citing A. Conrady in\npreface to Stentz, \u201cBeitr\u00e4ge zur Volkskunde S\u00fcd-Schantung\u2019s,\u201d p. 10.\n\n[530] _Ibid._, p. 210.\n\n[531] Communicated through Prof. Austin F. Rogers, Leland Stanford\nUniversity, by Mr. Wah S. Lee.\n\n[532] Personal communication from Kien Taw Sein Ko, of Rangoon, Burma.\n\n[533] Arthur A. Macdonel, \u201cA History of Sanskrit Literature,\u201d New York,\n1914, pp. 354\u2013358.\n\n[534] Butler, \u201cCourt Life in Egypt,\u201d London, 1880, pp. 238\u2013242.\n\n[535] Du Chaillu, \u201cThe Viking Age,\u201d New York, 1889, vol. ii, pp. 310,\n326.\n\n[536] Torsten Kolmodin, \u201cLapparne och deres Land: Skildringar och\nStudier,\u201d Stockholm, 1914, Pt. III, p. 30.\n\n[537] John Sterling, \u201cThe Onyx Ring,\u201d Boston, 1850, xxii 263 pp. 8 vo.\n\n[538] Catalogue of the Collection formed by Henry Philip Hope Esq.,\narranged and described by B. Herz, London, 1839, 6 + 112 p., 42 pl.,\nfolio; see p. 38, No. 3. Plate XI.\n\n[539] _Ibid._, p. 86, No. 5.\n\n[540] Communicated by the Rev. John Baer Stoudt, of Northampton, Pa.\n\n[541] Jacobi Wolfii, \u201cCuriosus amuletorum scrutator,\u201d Francofurti &\nLipsi\u00e6, 1692, pp. 660, 661.\n\n[542] Julius Ruska, \u201cDas Stienbuch des Aristoteles,\u201d Heidelburg, 1912,\np. 6.\n\n[543] Communicated by Mrs. Isabel Moore, formerly of Woodstock, N. Y.,\nnow in the Azores.\n\n[544] O. M. Dalton, \u201cFranks Bequest, Catalogue of the Finger Rings,\nEarly Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Medi\u00e6val and Later [British\nMuseum],\u201d London, 1912, p. 347, No. 2514, fig.\n\n[545] George F. Kunz, \u201cOn five new American Meteorites,\u201d American\nJournal of Science, 3rd Series, vol. 40, pp. 320\u2013322.\n\n[546] George F. Kunz, \u201cOn three masses of meteoric iron from Glorietta\nMountain near Canoneito, Santa F\u00e9 Co., New Mexico,\u201d Amer. Journal of\nScience, 3rd Series, vol. 30, p. 238; vol. 32, pp. 311\u2013313.\n\n[547] See p. 296.\n\n[548] Cassius Dio, lib. liii.\n\n[549] Plinii, \u201cHistoria Naturalis,\u201d lib. xxviii, cap. 15.\n\n[550] Marcelli Empirici, \u201cDe medicamentis,\u201d cap. 17.\n\n[551] Plinii, \u201cNaturalis historia,\u201d lib. xxix, cap. 38.\n\n[552] Jacobi Wolfii, \u201cCuriosus amuletorum scrutator,\u201d Francofurti &\nLipsi\u00e6, 1692, pp. 388, 392.\n\n[553] Alexandri Tralliani, \u201cDe medicamentis,\u201d Basile\u00e6, 1556, p. 593;\nlib. x, cap. 1.\n\n[554] G. Schlumberger in the M\u00e9m. de la Soc. des antiq. de France,\n1882, vol. xliii, pp. 135 _sq._\n\n[555] William Hamper, \u201cObservations on a Gold Ring with a Runic\nInscription,\u201d Arch\u00e6ologia, vol. xxi, London, 1827, pp. 24\u201330.\n\n[556] Cited in Johannis de Cuba, \u201cOrtus Sanitatis\u201d (Strassburg, ca.\n1483); \u201cDe lapidibus,\u201d cap. cix.\n\n[557] Havard, \u201cHistorie de l\u2019orf\u00e9vrerie,\u201d Paris, 1896, p. 358.\n\n[558] Johannis de Cuba, \u201cOrtus Sanitatis,\u201d \u201cDe lapidibus,\u201d cap. lx.\n\n[559] Johannis de Cuba, \u201cOrtus Sanitatis,\u201d (Strassburg, ca. 1483). \u201cDe\nlapidibus,\u201d cap. lxv.\n\n[560] Jacobi Wolfii, \u201cCuriosus amuletorum scrutator,\u201d Francofurti &\nLipsi\u00e6, 1692, pp. 408, 409, 419.\n\n[561] Edmund Waterton on Cramp Rings in the \u201cArch\u00e6ological Journal,\u201d\nvol. xxi, pp. 103\u2013113.\n\n[562] \u201cAncient and Modern Gold and Silver Smiths\u2019 Work in the South\nKensington Museum,\u201d with introduction by John Hungerford Pollen,\nLondon, 1878, p. cxlix.\n\n[563] See also pp. 174, 175.\n\n[564] Polydori Vergilii, \u201cHistori\u00e6 Anglic\u00e6,\u201d Lug. Bat., 1651, p. 187.\n\n[565] The fyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge made by Andrew\nBorde of Physcycke Doctor; ed. by Furnivall, London, 1870. Early\nEnglish Text Series; Extra Series No. X.\n\n[566] Burton, \u201cHistory of the Reformation,\u201d Oxford, 1829, vol. II, Pt.\nII (Collection of Records, bk. II, No. 24) pp. 413, 414.\n\n[567] _Ibid._, vol. ii, p. 645.\n\n[568] _Ibid._, vol. ii, Pt. II (Collection of Records, Bk. II, No.\n24) pp. 415, 416.\n\n[569] William Jones, \u201cCrowns and Coronations,\u201d London, 1883, p. 474.\n\n[570] Konrad von Megenberg, \u201cDas Buch der Natur,\u201d ed. Pfeiffer,\nStuttgart, 1866, p. 470.\n\n[571] \u201cDie Gesta Romanorum,\u201d ed. Wilhelm Dick, Erlangen, 1890, pp. 65,\n66.\n\n[572] \u201cNathan der Weise,\u201d Act III, sc. 7, 11. 395 _sqq._\n\n[573] Jacobi Wolffii, \u201cCuriosus amuletorum scrutator,\u201d Francofurti et\nLipsi\u00e6, 1692, p. 574.\n\n[574] M. Deloche, Revue arch\u00e9ologique, 2d Ser., 1880, vol. ii, pp. 1\n_sqq._\n\n[575] \u201cEtude historique et arch\u00e9ologique sur les anneaux sigillaires,\u201d\nParis, 1900, pp. 239\u2013242, fig.\n\n[576] Quicherat, \u201cProc\u00e8s de condemnation et de r\u00e9habilitation de Jeanne\nd\u2019Arc,\u201d vol. i, Paris, 1841, pp. 86, 87.\n\n[577] Thomas Sharp, \u201cAn account of an ancient gold ring found in\nCoventry Park in the year 1802,\u201d Arch\u00e6ologia, vol. xviii, pp. 306\u2013308.\nThe \u201cCoventry Ring\u201d as it has been called is now in the British Museum.\n\n[578] C. W. King, in _Arch\u00e6ological Journal_, vol. xxvi, p. 234.\n\n[579] Pettigrew, \u201cOn Superstitions Connected with the History and\nPractice of Medicine and Surgery,\u201d London, 1844, p. 67. This letter is\namong the Harleian MSS, and was read before the Soc. of Antiquaries,\nNov. 12, 1772, according to the Minute Book of the Society.\n\n[580] Arthur Collins, \u201cThe English Baronage,\u201d London, 1727.\n\n[581] Thomas Joseph Pettigrew, \u201cSuperstitions Connected with the\nHistory and Practices of Medicine and Surgery.\u201d London, 1844. pp. 61,\n62.\n\n[582] Jacobi Wolfii, \u201cCuriosus amuletorum scrutator,\u201d Francofurti &\nLipsi\u00e6, 1692, p. 460.\n\n[583] _Ibid._, p. 570.\n\n[584] Blumentritt, \u201cDas Stromgebiet des Rio Grande de Minda\u00f1ao,\u201d in\nPetermann\u2019s Geographische Mitteilungen, vol. xxxvii, p. 111, 1891.\n\n[585] Blackwood\u2019s Magazine for February, 1886, p. 238.\n\n[586] Jacobi Wolfii, \u201cCuriosus amuletorum scrutator,\u201d Francofurti et\nLipsi\u00e6, 1692, pp. 390, 392.\n\n[587] _Ibid._, p. 32; Sec. I, cap. ii.\n\n[588] \u201cIllustrated Catalogue of Mr. A. W. Drake\u2019s famous collections,\u201d\nNew York, 1913, Pt. I, Nos. 1757, 1758, 1759, 1760.\n\n[589] Communicated by L. Weininger, of Vienna.\n\n[590] Patent application filed April 3, 1912, by Monroe Engelsman, and\nserial number 688,244.\n\n[591] George Frederick Kunz, \u201cThe Etiquette of Gems,\u201d the Saturday\nEvening Post, June 27, 1908, p. 29.\n\n[592] U. S. Patent, No. 1,179,025, April 11, 1916.\n\n[593] H. Wilson, \u201cSilverware and Jewelry,\u201d New York, 1903, pp. 110, 111.\n\n[594] The word \u201cring\u201d belongs to the Teutonic language group, and\netymologically it is what is termed common Teutonic.\n\n[595] Archer\u2019s thumb ring.\n\n[596] Plain ring.\n\n[597] Ring set with a stone.\n\n[598] The word used here and also in Num. xxxi: 50 is _glilim_.\n_\u1e25otham_ means a seal-ring in Jeremiah xxii: 24.\n\n[599] Mitteilungen and Nachrichten des deutschen Pal\u00e4stina-Vereins,\n1904, pp. 1 sqq.\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes: 1. Obvious printers\u2019, punctuation and spelling\nerrors have been corrected silently.\n\n2. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have\nbeen retained as in the original.\n\n3. Where hyphenation is in doubt, it has been retained as in the\noriginal.\n\n4. Superscripts are represented using the caret character, e.g. D^r. or\nX^{xx}.\n\n5. Italics are shown as _xxx_.","title":"Rings for the finger : $b from the earliest known times to the present, with full descriptions of the origin, early making, materials, the arch\u00e6ology, history, for affection, for love, for engagement, for wedding, commemorative, mourning, etc.","tradition":"folklore-oral-tradition","translated_text":null,"word_count":124997}