CONCERNING FINGER RINGS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7434, 21 June 1902, Page 3

CONCERNING FINGER RINGS.

I The practice of wearing rings has been I widely prevalent in different countries, and j dates from a very early period. Among the many ornaments worn by the rich and luxurious at ail timeSi the most universal and iamouß in general use were finger-rings. The purposes ior which they were vied were various. At first they were used as signets to stamp tho rights of ownership on any object of importance. For this purpose we find them at the earliest period among the Egyptians and Asiatic Greeks. •At a later date they were used for a variety of purposes, as pledges of affection and love, as gifts, or engagement rings, andi the most important of, alii the wedding ring. In the sixteenth century rings were an almost necessary part of the toilet of a gentleman; they indicated rank and character by their style and devices. In an old play (first part of "The Contention i Betwixt York and Lancaster") we find the expression: — I am a gentleman*— look at my ring; ■ itansome me at whai thou wLt, it shall he paid. In another old play by the Duke of Newcastle—"The Country Captain, 1649"— a fop is described "who makes his fingers like jewellers' cards to set rings upon." Ladies at all times have shown a love foi decorative, rings. The figure of an Egyptian lady on a mummy-case in the British Museum exhibits her hands covered with rings. In the Brownsgrove Church, Stef- ' lordshire, are the fine monumental effigies \ oi Sir Humphrey Stafford and his wile ' (1450), remarkable alike for the rich armour of the knight and the courtly costume or the lady. She wears a profusion oi rings ; every finger, except the little finger of the right hand, being furnished with one. They exhibit great variety of design, and are valuable as exponents of the fashion of that day. Paul Hentzner, in his " journey into England," 1598, relates that a Bohemian baron, having letters to present to her at the Palace of Greenwich, the Queen, after pulling off her glove, "gave him her right hand to kiss, sparkling with rings and jewels — a mark of particular favour." Even Popes had a passion for rings, and Pope Paul H. is said to have died a martyr t<> bis love for them, and his death is ascribed to a cold caught from the weight and chill of the rings with which the aged Pontiff was wont to overload his fingers. "Eings in modern times,," writes Madame de Basse^ "have been made in some countries Love's telegraph. If a gentleman wants a .wife, he wears a ring on the first Saga* of the left hand ; if he be engaged, he wears it on the second finger ; and on the fourth if he never intends to be married. When a lady is not engaged, she wears a hoop or diamond on her first finger; if engaged on her second; if married on the third; and on the fourth if she intends to die a maid. As no rules are given for widows 2 it is presumed that j the ornamenting of the right hand and the | little finger of the left is exclusively their ! prerogative." At the present day the chief , object of decorative rings is to exhibit the , wealth and extravagance of the wearer, j They are worn more as ornaments than as articles of use, and to such a pitch is the; passion for these ornaments carried (a prac* tice ih which the ancient Romans set an example), that some wear five or six ring? j

on each finger. How frequently is the hand, in a seemingly careless manner, carried to the cheek to show off some rings of priceless value,^ bearing diamonds darting flashes of light, rubies of richest hue, sapphires of the azure of heaven, and opals displaying the most exquisite changes of colour.